Towing 2014 CRV with 2014 2551

Although searching has produced many references to the Honda CRV as a toad, I'm not sure how to navigate the forum to find the specific answer I'm looking for. I don't want to start a new thread if the answer is already out there -

Retirement is June 1, 2019 and my 2014 2551 will be in my drive, ready to roll. I want the advantage of pulling a toad and from what I've read, my 2014 CRV should work. I will have to farm out whatever work on is required to make this happen, so I would like to learn what equipment and/or modifications are necessary.

Please point me in the right direction and I will read every previous post for answers to my questions. I thank you all in advance for patience with a question that has been discussed at length, I'm sure.

Lee Anne

Congrats on retirement! I've now been at it two months, its a tough job but it has to get done!
I too would like to hear about the CRV as a toad. I'm thinking of replacing my wife's current driver with something we could possibly set up for towing in the future if needed.
All ears.
Doug

we’ve towed a 2013 crv with our 2015 2552 for 12000 miles or so and have had no problems.
itis A good towed with lots of storage. we use a brake buddy which draws down the battery. the furst rule is—-when you park in the campsite is “take care of the honda” which means turn the key to off, if you forget the battery will be
 dead in the morning. great car for just about evertthing. good luck.
dave

Hi Lee Anne,

There are two main ingredients to towing any vehicle including your CRV, a tow bar set-up, and a braking set-up.

There are many different braking systems with many variations.  Some are low-cost, some are expensive (for a good reason).  Some are interchangeable for people who use it in more than one tow vehicle.  Some are more simple to install but inconvenient to use.  Others are complicated to install, but easy to use.  Each system has it's own pros and cons.  Because of all the flavors of systems, it is not practical to provide a list of components.

The towing set-up requires these basic components.
1) hitch on the motor home, rated for the weight of your CRV (you have this)
2) a tow bar LIKE THESE (the long 3-point connection between your PC and CRV)
3) a tow bar bracket (also called a base plate) kit LIKE THESE TWO CHOICES specific to your CRV (it is permanently mounted to your CRV)
4) safety cables (often blue colored)
5) an electrical connection cable between vehicles, often referred to as the umbilical cord (often red colored)
6) required pending the system, a brake-away cable
7) as-needed, a tow bar offset receiver (used to "level" the tow bar)

There are a number of tow bar brands.  Roadmaster and Blue Ox are two very popular ones.  One thing certain, don't buy the lowest priced ones LIKE THIS ONE because you will soon replace it with the right one.

Here is a picture of my towing set-up, presented for reference only.  Your CRV would naturally be a bit different.  I have all the items I listed.

I selected THIS TOW BRAKING SYSTEM back in 2009 and installed it myself.  It works well, I like it, but I wonder if there are better (smarter) systems available today.  My tow brake setup brakes simply on/off.  I would prefer a tow vehicle brake system that brakes harder as my PC brakes harder, brake less with less PC braking.


Now as for your CRV itself,  It might require an extra transmission fluid pump to circulate trans fluid while being towed, and it might not.  You might have to start your CRV every 500 miles and change gears standing still while remaining connected to your PC, required to circulated transmission fluid every so-often.  It's all about protecting your CRV transmission from the towing process.  You don't want to overlook such requirements.

Ron  has covered all the details very well, as always. His picture shows a well implemented setup.

We are about to set off on our first trip  with a Toad. We found a nice 2000 Chevy Tracker 4x4 automatic (would love to hear from others with this Toad) with a Blue Ox tow bar, and because of the age of it we opted for a portable brake system, in case we would upgrade to a different dingy. We went for the RVI system for ease of installation and techy features and options. It uses a wifi pod in the coach to communicate and control the system with a monitor screen for the cab. It has the option of adding tire pressure monitors to both the toad and the RV ($45 each, not bad really) which is a very nice feature I will ask Santa for next year.
As I say, we have yet to actually try it, hopefully next week I'll know more. Here's a link to the RVI ask them if there are any specials coming up, they had a 10% discount at Christmas:

https://rvibrake.com/products/rvibrake3-auxiliary-braking-system?variant=20046642181&_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=CjwKCAiA4OvhBRAjEiwAU2FoJWQlqEUTte1yTLQAk3srKVXBCt7EC2cGYIr44mtNs4yPl8aaUaL5JBoCKqYQAvD_BwE

One other thing I have heard and appears to be possible has to do with the key in the Toad needing to be in the ON position or not. If your brake lights and signals operate without the key needing to be on, and you have an always on 12v outlet (for the brake system) the following may be possible. It appears to work in the Tracker.

You need to free the Toad steering wheel lock to tow a dingy, so it will follow the RV. Most vehicles unlock the steering wheel when you turn the key to the first position, and do not lock the wheel until you turn it off AND remove the key. So turn the key on, then off, but leave the key in the ignition and the steering remains unlocked. The only drain on the Toad battery then is from the brake itself. Also, properly wired to the coach, the toad battery can be charging while being towed. There are stories of folks getting to their destination with a dead battery in the dingy.

Please anyone correct me if this info is wrong or has flaws. It all seems to be possible with the Tracker.

Dougn

Lee Anne,

We tow a 2014 Honda CR-V with our 3100.  Once you get it setup for towing you won't even know it is behind you unless you look in the rear-view camera or your mirrors.  You are lucky to have a 2014 model year as that was the last year that the CR-V could be toad all down.  Although you will need a tow bar, base plate, braking system for the CR-V, and a few other items, it is well worth the expense.  The nice thing about a CR-V is that you don't need to purchase anything to modify the transmission to allow it to be towed.  Just look in your owner's manual and there is a section that tells you what you need to do to tow the vehicle all wheels down. 

We purchased everything we needed from etrailer.com and were very happy with their service.  They will also provide installation services if you need them.  I installed everything that had to be installed on our CR-V, thanks to the online instructional videos that etrailer has on their website.  They also provide a toll-free number to call to talk to a technician if you have questions.  When we began towing our CR-V, we had a Class A, diesel pusher with air brakes, so we installed an Air Force One braking system on our CR-V.  When we replaced the Class A with our PC, we had to change that system over to one that worked with hydraulic brakes.  The company that makes the Air Force One system also makes a comparable one for hydraulic brakes, called Stay and Play Duo.  We switched our CR-V to that system and REALLY like it.  It is very easy to use, just flip a switch in the car and it is ready to go, no messing with installing and removing a braking device from the front floor area everytime you want to use the CR-V.

Glad you are planning on retiring this year, you will definitely enjoy it for sure.  Susie and I retired 12 years ago and it has been a great time.  If you have any questions regarding towing and setup of your CR-V, just send us a PM with your phone number and we will call you back.  One thing I would recommend you do before you start towing your car, is to create a checklist from the information in your owner's manual for towing.  That way, if you use the checklist everytime you hook up your car to your PC, you won't forget to do any of the steps required to tow your CR-V.

Gary

In addition to the above the CRV has a couple of other requirements that need to be observed. We’ve put about 30k towing miles on  our 2014 Honda with Blue Ox equipment, with which we’ve been very pleased. Their Patriot breaking system is another story. The one problem we’ve encountered is referenced above:  dead battery.  For the first two years we made sure we ran the engine when ever we did a rest stop, that helped but the original battery only lasted two years. I then installed a Toad charger as recommended here in the forum and have not had a dead battery since. Last week I had the oil changed and the Honda dealer performed its overall inspection and said I needed  a new battery (not even two years old).  That’s this weeks project, manufacturers battery’s are generally of lesser quality, so if needed will purchase a better grade battery.
Back to the specifics:  transmission according to Honda must have the fluid changed every two years if towed, ($300+), depending on your current miles you might want to start fresh. The other issue is the transmission lubrication procedure you need to go through at the beginning of each towing, basically just running it through the gears. This must be repeated at least every 8 hours by the clock.  Finally when towing you cannot exceed 65mph.
Good luck it’s good car have with you.

I see the 2014 CRV comes in AWD or FWD. Those with history, what version are you towing?
Doug

We found a nice 2000 Chevy Tracker 4x4 automatic

Dougn

I would have been happy to sell you my 93 year old mother's 2002 Tracker ZR-2 4x4 last summer.  It was a cream puff with just over 21,000 miles.  A local buyer bought it from me for $5,000.

Unfortunately I don't know anything regarding towing it.  I would have researched and then tow it ourselves except my wife still loves her Jeep Liberty.

Doug,

We have an AWD because of needing it for winter driving.

Gary

Anyone wanting to tow a vehicle, 4-down, should consult the FMCA towing guide, along with word-of-mouth

https://www.fmca.com/towing-guides-towing-four-wheels-down/

If you are not a member of FMCA, try the guide from Motorhome Magazine

http://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/