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Old 07-06-2008, 05:40 PM   #1
jpcoll01
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Default Honda Odyssey and 2720sl

I'll admit I was scared to death leaving on a weeklong trip with my Honda Odyssey pulling our 2720sl, I have read all of the horror stories on here and on the Odyssey forum about Tranny problems, etc. Long story short it did awesome, the mountains slowed us down some but for the most part it did great, just had to watch the rpm's to ensure the torque converter didn't stay locked in, etc. other than that, no searching for gears and the v6 felt really strong. We averaged 18.06 mpg for the trip, I think around 15.5 towing average and this wasn't at all flat it was a ton of up's and downs from Louisville, KY to the mountains for Western NC.
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Old 07-06-2008, 06:59 PM   #2
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Nice to hear that it worked out well for you. But those are big hills not mountains...heh. We just drove across New Hampshire and Vermont and before we left the CG in eastern NY another camper warned us that we would never make it over the 'mountains'. I just had to snicker since we usually spend our vacation time in Colorado, Montana and Idaho. And our TV has a 8600# tow capacity. I kept looking for the mountains but never saw one on this trip.
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Old 07-07-2008, 07:27 AM   #3
Mr. Adventure
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpcoll01 View Post
I'll admit I was scared to death leaving on a weeklong trip with my Honda Odyssey pulling our 2720sl, I have read all of the horror stories on here and on the Odyssey forum about Tranny problems, etc. Long story short it did awesome, the mountains slowed us down some but for the most part it did great, just had to watch the rpm's to ensure the torque converter didn't stay locked in, etc. other than that, no searching for gears and the v6 felt really strong. We averaged 18.06 mpg for the trip, I think around 15.5 towing average and this wasn't at all flat it was a ton of up's and downs from Louisville, KY to the mountains for Western NC.
I went and looked at a new cars last week, and decided that even if transmissions might turn out to be expensive for somebody, they are a whole lot cheaper than new tow vehicles! The parts I like best in your story are the 18.6mpg for the total trip, and that you are taking it easy when towing.

Most of our TV horror stories are written by people without firsthand knowledge of the events or vehicles in question. Maybe it doesn't mean that we don't have our own horror stories, it just means that we'd much rather talk about somebody else's .
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Old 07-07-2008, 08:07 AM   #4
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... even if transmissions might turn out to be expensive for somebody, they are a whole lot cheaper than new tow vehicles! The parts I like best in your story are the 18.6mpg.
That's quite true - but transmissions are very expensive compared to what you save with an added 4 mpg.

You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

Bill
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Old 07-07-2008, 04:36 PM   #5
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Not saying there is a correct answer but the extra 4mpg is while towing which for me is about 0.5% of the time, when not towing (i.e. daily driving) I get 24 hwy and 20ish city
15k miles @ 16mpg @ $4.19 (current price in Louisville) = $3928
15k miles @ 24mpg @ $4.19 = $2618
So for a years worth of driving (assuming gas doesn't go up, and we all know it will) I will save $1310 in fuel.
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Old 07-08-2008, 06:21 AM   #6
Mr. Adventure
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That's quite true - but transmissions are very expensive compared to what you save with an added 4 mpg.

You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

Bill
Bill,
You've been on this board from way back, and maybe you have some good statistics about transmissions and the real world towing experience that people have had with them. My foggy recollection is that the Chrysler minivans can have fragile transmissions, and I don't remember reading about anybody else telling us that they think they tore up their transmission towing a TrailManor.

But a quick look at Consumer Reports says pretty good things about Toyota transmissions and nothing good about many other TV transmissions, so I'm hoping I have both the extra 4mpg AND the better tranny.

Regards!
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Old 07-11-2008, 04:29 PM   #7
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Pat

I added an Airlift 1000 kit http://www.airliftcompany.com/al1000.html to our Odyssey as per recommendations over at the Odyclub forum.

Although with the WDH I was able to level the TM and van, I wanted to supplement the WDH and stiffen the rear end to help eliminate the rear end bounce. I chose this kit over airshocks based on bad experiences with air shocks years ago (they leaked) and also the guidance over at odyclub. Installation was a solid 4 hours but fairly straightforward. I also replaced both rear shocks with KYB GR2 shocks since the rt rear was leaking.

What surprised me the most was that, with the van empty, the airlift kit only raised the rear end ~1/8" going from 0 psi to 30psi. It is not a "lift kit" in the sense of a 4x4 lift kit but a rear end stiffener!

It works well. We have taken a couple trips since the install and have really noticed the smoother ride. Although you still know the TM is back there, it is much less noticeable. My easily carsick wife did fine without the usual dose of dramamine to keep her stomach calm.

Troy
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