Tow Vehicle Woes

On Oct 16, 9:51 am, rlovinggood wrote:
I'm curious why you're not considering the gas powered CR-V?

I have been a Honda person for years, with four Honda motorcycles, my
first Accord that ran for 396,000 miles before it was totalled in a
wreck and my current Accord that has 201,000 miles on it and remains a
great car. If Honda made sailplanes, I would probably be lusting
after one all the time.

The CR-V is rated to tow "only" 1,500 lbs. Remember how I started
this thread: Trailer hitch getting ripped off the car and the trailer
most likely weighs more than 1,500 lbs. I'm tired of having to weld
up the car where the trailer hitch is attached...

Now, after driving the 2000 Accord for a few years, I do like the
power of the V-6 over that of a four. Also, it seems that some V-6's
give very similar mileage as four cylinder engines. My wife drives a
2006 Hyundai Sonata with a four cylinder and on the same trek as I
drive to work, it gets NO BETTER mileage than my six cylinder Accord.

From the web page: www.fueleconomy.gov

The numbers shown below are the "new" EPA estimates on mileage. Note
that the four cylinder CR-V doesn't do much better than any of the V6
vehicles.

Since a very high percentage of my driving is highway driving, I tend
to look at those figures more than the city or combined numbers.

Yes, a four cylinder will work, but for not much, if any, penalty, why
not use a V6?
Power corrupts and absolute power is pretty neat.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
3.3 litre V6
4WD
17 city
19 combined
24 hwy

2007 Toyota RAV4
3.5 litre V6
4WD
19 city
21 combined
26 hwy

2007 Honda CR-V
2.4 litre inline four
4WD
19 city
22 combined
26 hwy

2000 Honda Accord
3.0 litre V6
FWD
18 city
21 combined
25 hwy

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

I second the "treading water" approach. A well depreciated Subaru or
even (and I'm admittedly biased here) Dodge with a Cummins diesel,
until newer smaller diesels start showing up. I'm addicted to owning
3/4 ton pickups. I bought mine (on ebay) with 124,000 miles on it for
under $11,000. I'm always amazed at the fuel economy. Empty, I get
19.5 mpg on the highway, 17ish around town. Towing my trailer, 19
highway and 16ish around town. I feel it's about twice as much
vehicle and engine than I really need. If I could find a mid size
pickup with a 2.5 to 3 liter TD engine (that I could afford) I'd have
one.

rlovinggood wrote:
I'm curious why you're not considering the gas powered CR-V?

I have been a Honda person for years, with four Honda motorcycles, my
first Accord that ran for 396,000 miles before it was totalled in a
wreck and my current Accord that has 201,000 miles on it and remains a
great car. If Honda made sailplanes, I would probably be lusting
after one all the time.

The CR-V is rated to tow "only" 1,500 lbs. Remember how I started
this thread: Trailer hitch getting ripped off the car and the trailer
most likely weighs more than 1,500 lbs. I'm tired of having to weld
up the car where the trailer hitch is attached...

Now, after driving the 2000 Accord for a few years, I do like the
power of the V-6 over that of a four. Also, it seems that some V-6's
give very similar mileage as four cylinder engines. My wife drives a
2006 Hyundai Sonata with a four cylinder and on the same trek as I
drive to work, it gets NO BETTER mileage than my six cylinder Accord.

From the web page: www.fueleconomy.gov

The numbers shown below are the "new" EPA estimates on mileage. Note
that the four cylinder CR-V doesn't do much better than any of the V6
vehicles.

Since a very high percentage of my driving is highway driving, I tend
to look at those figures more than the city or combined numbers.

Yes, a four cylinder will work, but for not much, if any, penalty, why
not use a V6?
Power corrupts and absolute power is pretty neat.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
3.3 litre V6
4WD
17 city
19 combined
24 hwy

2007 Toyota RAV4
3.5 litre V6
4WD
19 city
21 combined
26 hwy

2007 Honda CR-V
2.4 litre inline four
4WD
19 city
22 combined
26 hwy

2000 Honda Accord
3.0 litre V6
FWD
18 city
21 combined
25 hwy

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA


1500 lb towing capacity, not so good. I checked the Element, it's the
same. Wonder if a diesel Rav is on the way...


Shawn

rlovinggood wrote:
I'm curious why you're not considering the gas powered CR-V?

I have been a Honda person for years, with four Honda motorcycles, my
first Accord that ran for 396,000 miles before it was totalled in a
wreck and my current Accord that has 201,000 miles on it and remains a
great car. If Honda made sailplanes, I would probably be lusting
after one all the time.


Do let me know when you take delivery of your Honda business jet. I'd
love a ride in one :-).

https://hondajet.honda.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

Tony V.
http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING

On Oct 16, 3:57 pm, Tony Verhulst wrote:
rlovinggood wrote:
I'm curious why you're not considering the gas powered CR-V?

I have been a Honda person for years, with four Honda motorcycles, my
first Accord that ran for 396,000 miles before it was totalled in a
wreck and my current Accord that has 201,000 miles on it and remains a
great car. If Honda made sailplanes, I would probably be lusting
after one all the time.

Do let me know when you take delivery of your Honda business jet. I'd
love a ride in one :-).

https://hondajet.honda.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

Tony V.http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING

I love hondas as well, have owned several of their cars and
motorcycles. I was looking at getting a honda element as a friend said
that his towed very well. After driving Jim Staniforth's subaru
outback from ely to eureka and back, up and down some big mountains,
to retrieve him and an LS-6 in a cobra, decided to try a subaru
forester.

I'm very happy with the car after a year, I was worried that the
little four cylinder engine wouldn't have enough power but it hasn't
been an issue. The car tows the LS-6 and now an ASH-26 up and down the
mountains out west with no problems. I'm very happy with this car,
it's easy to drive, park, and doesn't use too much fuel. As nice as it
was, I don't miss my full size chevy pickup.

Jim Dingess

The CR-V's towing capacities are very limited. When I inspected an 08
model a few weeks ago I could not even see how one could get a class 3
hitch on it.

2NO

The VW Rabbit (current model) works for me. Perfectly stable at 65 mph
(towing a Cobra with Discus inside) and 25 mpg with the trailer. No
problem accelerating when going uphill with the trailer. 25,000 miles
and nothing has gone wrong, though the car does have various rattles.

Hitch assembly attaches to the car's frame. Don't see how there could
be any problem there (though there now is a second hitch design
available that isn't strong enough for glider towing). The exhaust
system does rattle against the hitch assembly, which I have attempted to
solve by gluing a thin strip from an old wing skid to the hitch assembly
at the point of contact.

As another data point -- a local pilot used to tow with a VW Scirocco,
and he says it was a great towcar.



rlovinggood wrote:
The discussion on tow vehicles hits home. I have to replace the
trusty Accord with something that has a beefier hitch attachment
point.

I've managed to rip the hitch off from the bottom of the trunk twice
now.

Car: 2000 Honda Accord V6 sedan, 201,000 miles.

Trailer: 2006 Swan, with fiberglass top. Tongue weight: 170 lbs.
Total weight: Not yet weighed, but empty trailer is, according to the
manufacturer, 500 kg and the glider (LS1-d)weighs around 550 lbs, I
think. I would imagine the total trailer weighs about 1,700 lbs. I
hope to weigh it soon.

The first hitch attached with three bolts to the bottom of the Honda
trunk. The sheet metal measures "Oh Too Thin" I found out the hard
way. I think the trunk started tearing when the trailer hitch
wouldn't release from the knob as I was cranking the trailer hitch up
off of the knob and I was lifting the rear end of the car. Why was
the knob sticking? Because, unknown to me at the time, the Al-Ko
hitch has a little rubber cover that provides a cushion for the
trailer tongue when you back your car's bumper into it. It prevents
the trailer tongue from scratching your bumper. Well, a bit of the
rubber would get caught on the knob when hooking up the trailer and
when I tried to release, I would end up jacking up the rear of the car
a bit and stomp on the trailer hitch to release it. I thought it was
just a tight connection. Turns out the car wasn't made for this
abuse. Duh.

A body shop welded up the trunk and I found another hitch design.
This one bolted to the "frame" in two points and also to the "tie
down" or "tow" loop that is right over the center of the hitch. The
first hitch bolted here, too.

But I've managed to tear that out too. I think I did that when I
bottomed out recently. That is, when I drove the car out of a gravel
driveway onto a road and the trailer hitch hit the ground. I suppose
that's when the bottom of the trunk cracked around the central hitch
attachment point.

Damn.

So now, I need a vehicle that I can afford to buy, and afford to
commute 80 miles per day to work. Oil just hit US$88 per barrel.

I try to ride a bus to work as often as I can, but sometimes, I still
drive.

So, no, I'm not buying a Ford F-150 or Chevy pickup truck. I'm not
getting an Avalanche or Ford Excursion. In fact, I'm not getting a
Ford of anything. I've had two and they both lived up to the name of
"Found on the Road Dead."

I wish Honda had their turbo diesel here in America in the CR-V.
Sigh.

So, I think I've narrowed my search to the current Toyota RAV4 with V6
and the current Hyundai Santa Fe with V6. Both seem to have good
reviews in media that I have found. The plus for the RAV4 is that it
is a Toyota. It also gets about the same mileage as my Accord, even
with all wheel drive and 69 more horsepower! The Hyundai gets
excellent reviews on safety, but mileage isn't as good as the RAV4.
Both are rated to tow 2,000 lbs without the trailer towing package.
And both can tow 3,500 lbs with the tow package.

Which shall it be? I don't know, the story isn't over yet. But if
anyone wants a good hitch for a 2000 Accord (probably fit any sixth
generation Accord), send me a note. Should be great for a bicycle
rack.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
Have trailer and glider, but no tow vehicle

So, I think I've narrowed my search to the current Toyota RAV4 with V6

The RAV 4 is in PERMANENT four wheel drive. I owned one for a bit, and the
fuel consumption was horrendous. And that was a 2 liter 4 cylinder example
so God knows what the six will be like. I'd ask some searching questions
before purchase.

Alistair Wright
Scotland.

Tony,
While I'm not in the market for a powered aircraft,
Honda or other make, I do live somewhat close to the
place where they will be assembled: Burlington, North
Carolina. In fact, Burlington is a common turnpoint
for us when we fly our 300 km FAI triangle around the
RDU Class C airspace.

This evening as I got off the bus coming back from
work, I saw a Subaru Forester in the park and ride
parking lot with a 'For Sale' sign on it. 2002 'S'
model with 72,000 miles. Asking $10k or best offer.

Normally aspirated four banger with four speed auto
tranny.

Has a trailer hitch on it.

Ray



At 23:00 16 October 2007, Tony Verhulst wrote:
rlovinggood wrote:
I'm curious why you're not considering the gas powered
CR-V?

I have been a Honda person for years, with four Honda
motorcycles, my
first Accord that ran for 396,000 miles before it
was totalled in a
wreck and my current Accord that has 201,000 miles
on it and remains a
great car. If Honda made sailplanes, I would probably
be lusting
after one all the time.


Do let me know when you take delivery of your Honda
business jet. I'd
love a ride in one :-).

https://hondajet.honda.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1

Tony V.
http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING

http://world.honda.com/news/2004/4040506.html

The Honda Diesel will be the car to own. Incredible. achieved up to 92
MPG to boot.

One of the cars got 92 MPG. They don't mention what the other one got.

Mike Schumann

"tommytoyz" wrote in message
oups.com...
http://world.honda.com/news/2004/4040506.html

The Honda Diesel will be the car to own. Incredible. achieved up to 92
MPG to boot.




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