mach8274 wrote: Just a quick question. Friends of ours are looking to buy a new to them pup. It's a Jayco Jay Series 1207, 12' box with a GVWR of 2950#. They have a 2007 Honda Odyssey. We plan on adding the factory hitch kit and wiring and a large trans cooler. The van has a tow rating of 3500#. Does anybody else use an Odyssey for towing a small trailer? He understands that he won't be winning any races with the combo. They have to wait until next summer before they can purchase a more suitable tow vehicle.
Well I can say I have the same pup and tow it with a full size chev 4x4 truck now it don't know its there but I can say it is heavy when loaded with stuff. I would never fill the water tank till you get to the park your going and maybe better. I will say I think your pushing it with the mini van. I think when the front is loaded up to max it will over load the tongue weight for your van (I have over loaded my truck this way) any how good luck and hope it works out for you guys
Thanks for the replies, y'all. He already has the coolers and we will be installing them next week. Hopefully by this time next year, he will have a more suitable tow vehicle. The van is somewhat temporary, just has to get them through one camping season.
Dave and Amy Anthony-2005 Norah-2008 Sasha the weiner dog 2008 Jayco Jay Flight G2 29FBS "No Worries"
2011 F-250 Super Duty Lariat, CC, SB, FX4 Off Road, 6.7L Power Stroke "The Mistress"
2002 F-150 7700, XLT, SC, SB, 4x4, 5.4L Triton-Gone, but not forgotten!
It sounds like the deal is done but does the PUP have brakes? That was the deciding factor if we would use our 06 Odyssey to pull our 12' Jayco. Ours didn't have brakes and I didn't want to add them, or rely on the Odyssey to stop it. Admittedly though, we DO NOT pack light!
2000 Trail Lite 8300
1996 Jayco Jay Series PUP
1977 Starcraft Eagle PUP
We had a Chrysler Pacifica (awd) which had a tow rating of 3500 lbs. Our first pop up had no brakes on it our second one did. It was nicer towing with brakes but we never needed a WDH and did fine with the pacifica as long as I watched it merging onto freeways. Your friend may need to find a ball mount that raises up the trailer so it is level. The Pacifica's hitch was pretty low to the ground. IMHO your friend should be fine for one season with their van especially if they aren't in mountains.
Wildcat63
07 Coachmen Clipper Classic 1070ST
02 Explorer 4.6 V8 TV
We had a 2004 Odyssey with the towing package and a VERY small old coleman popup. it only weighed about 1000 lbs. By the time we got in the car and all of our gear it was heavy. The van felt it and we felt it. The BRAKES really felt it on hills!!! Scary!! We sold the Odyssey and got a Pilot.
If that's all they are towing the van should do just fine. For comparison we have a 2007 Odyssey that we used to pull a 3500lb gvwr hybrid travel trailer for a season (weighed in at 3300lb loaded to camp, never went above the van's gcvwr with all passengers and gear loaded). I outfitted the van with a brake controller, 7 pin wiring, transmission fluid cooler, and weight distributing hitch. The van did great pulling that trailer. It was definitely working but any tow vehicle will work harder when towing, and anyone who tells you it towed 'like the trailer wasn't there' is full of baloney. We just took it easy, and watched the temps and transmission fluid color and had no issues at all. Your friend will be way below that weight and won't have to worry about the wind resistance of a full height trailer.
Keep in mind the 2007 Honda Odyssey has the uprated transmission from the Honda Ridgeline which is rated at 5000lb towing. This is why we bought the 2007 rather than an older model so as long as you keep temps reasonable there is no reason to expect reliability issues. If they are worried it might be a good idea to start with fresh transmission fluid as well.
We've since moved to a 5800lb camper and a half-ton, but we still have the van and use it to tow other things occasionally. It makes a great all-around vehicle compared to the truck.
I pull a 1999 Coleman Westlake (see pics below) with my 2006 Odyssey. The trailer has a dry weight of around 2200 pounds and a max weight of 3250 pounds. I have towed it somewhere between 9000-10000 miles with this van including a 2200 mile trip to Sequoia/Yosemite and a 3400 mile trip to Mt Rushmore/Yellowstone. If I am really loaded with all the family/dogs, etc., extra water, coolers, etc. I am probably really close to max weights and the van has always done great. Plenty of power, very stable towing, etc. I usually get between 16-17 mpg towing with a high of right at 18mpg on our Yellowstone trip. Keep in mind that I live in Phoenix so most of my traveling is in the summer (think hot!) and almost everywhere we go is uphill from here. That being said I think it is about the heaviest trailer I would want to tow.
And as others have said the WDH and trailer brakes are a must. I use a prodigy brake controller and a Single bar 400 WDH and am very happy with both.
They will be fine. I have a 2007 Honda Odyssey that I have had since new. Our popup loaded is pretty light at about 2,200 pounds but our van is packed. I went over the scales this summer and had plenty of capacity on all axles. My pup doesn't even have brakes but if I got a newer pup I would certainly get brakes.
I have the Honda dealer installed tow package - hitch, cooler, etc. Tell them to get it setup properly and enjoy.
Wavesprite wrote: We had a 2004 Odyssey with the towing package and a VERY small old coleman popup. it only weighed about 1000 lbs. By the time we got in the car and all of our gear it was heavy. The van felt it and we felt it. The BRAKES really felt it on hills!!! Scary!! We sold the Odyssey and got a Pilot.
The Odyssey and the Pilot are essentially the same, if you are comparing the same generations. Same engine, transmission, brakes etc. Not sure what was wrong with your setup that a 1000 lb trailer concerned you.
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