[bearshirey]

Hey all,

Looking for advice. My wife and I have a 2014 AWD CR-V EX. It has 110K miles. We are considering purchasing a 6' wide x 10' long x 6' tall V-Nose enclosed trailer with electric brakes. It's rated at 120lb tongue weight, 1200 lbs dry weight, and 2990 lbs gross value weight.

The purpose of the trailer is to turn into a camper. My wife and I would really like a project building one out and the value of enclosed trailers are hard to beat. Anyhow, we'd quickly pass the 300lb buffer that would put us at the towing capacity of 1500 lbs. A rough guess of the weight of the trailer while towing is close to 1700 lbs after we add things like batteries, a fridge, a sofa bed, a sink, and light-duty cabinets. Additionally, most of the driving is on flat land, as we live in Michigan and would only occasionally travel to places like Tennessee, and only if things are otherwise OK with this setup.

If we went forward with this, I'd add additional transmission cooling and would try not to drive more than 60 mph as I'd like to treat the CR-V kindly. It seems that with additional cooling, not driving like a bat out of hell and the addition of trailer brakes, it'd be OK. I'm wavering on that though. We really like the CR-V and would like to keep it. Thoughts?

 

[mrtn]

Change that 60 mph to 55, 55 mph tops in your mind, then you can keep the CR-V.

 

[bearshirey]

Change that 60 mph to 55, 55 mph tops in your mind, then you can keep the CR-V.

Mrtn,

Thanks for the reply and the heads up. I'll drive 40 if that's what it takes to keep it I see you have a similar CR-V to mine - how are you liking it? We are new to the family but are so far very happy.

 

[mrtn]

I see you have a similar CR-V to mine - how are you liking it?

I'm a bit conflicted about it. It's a very good car, drives well, stable at high speeds, quite economical for its size but for me it lacks the soul and feel of my lazy and thirsty Gen3 (sold). The 2014 is a better car in every other department but I do have a couple of complaints: the driver seat doesn't go back as far as I'd like. The HID headlights are worse than on my Gen3. Bluetooth is wonky.

 

[bearshirey]

I'm a bit conflicted about it. It's a very good car, drives well, stable at high speeds, quite economical for its size but for me it lacks the soul and feel of my lazy and thirsty Gen3 (sold). The 2014 is a better car in every other department but I do have a couple of complaints: the driver seat doesn't go back as far as I'd like. The HID headlights are worse than on my Gen3. Bluetooth is wonky.

That's fair, in my opinion. The Bluetooth is, like every vehicle around that year, less than ideal. I don't have the nav option, but it took me a good long while to find where to even set my phone up. I also noticed the HID headlights being problematic - there's a huge dead zone in front of the car. But as far as complaints go, we've get pretty minimal ones. After hearing your experience, I'm glad that I don't have the experience of a gen3 to compare to!

 

[Tigris99]

Ok make this pretty clear,

No, no and no. Trailer is way too big and heavy for a CRV. Transmission cooler or not you will burn it up, not to mention cut the life of the engine down substantially.

If it was 1200lbs finished and not near as tall and the aerodynamics on a parachute then ok. V nose trailers help very little, and due to the flat rear it will tow like a boat anchor behind a CRV


I have a 2003 and have towed plenty with it, know more about towing design and requirements than most.

The issue isnt so much the weight, it's the insane size of the trailer being pulled behind an oversized subcompact sedan. Too much aerodynamic drag and too cumbersome.

Want something with that kind of space, build it. Dont try to use a construction/tow hauler for a base unless you have a full size pickup to tow it with. Keep the weight down and not quite as large.

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[newbie99]

Like many folks, I tow different utility trailers, boat trailers, RV trailers and Enclosed trailers for 30+ years. Even got a blown Auto transmission and trailer's broken axle memories as well. Ouch! Regardless of their GVWR numbers, they each pull differently - compared to their white board diagram specs. My 6x12 enclosed trailer pulls like a "cement brick" square box trying too pull against a strong wind. And during up hills against the wind, it pulls even harder. Ouch! As others mentioned, NO WAY would I tow a 6x10 enclosed trailer with a little CRV vehicle.

 

[bearshirey]

Ok make this pretty clear,

No, no and no. Trailer is way too big and heavy for a CRV. Transmission cooler or not you will burn it up, not to mention cut the life of the engine down substantially.

If it was 1200lbs finished and not near as tall and the aerodynamics on a parachute then ok. V nose trailers help very little, and due to the flat rear it will tow like a boat anchor behind a CRV


I have a 2003 and have towed plenty with it, know more about towing design and requirements than most.

The issue isnt so much the weight, it's the insane size of the trailer being pulled behind an oversized subcompact sedan. Too much aerodynamic drag and too cumbersome.

Want something with that kind of space, build it. Dont try to use a construction/tow hauler for a base unless you have a full size pickup to tow it with. Keep the weight down and not quite as large.

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Thanks for your input, Tigris! That's unfortunate to hear. I'm not opposed to building my own from scratch - I'm curious though, is there a way to get the 6' height (so it can be stood in properly) without destroying the aerodynamics of the trailer? Or, if I'm understanding your point correctly, the backend being flat is the bigger concern?

 

[bearshirey]

Like many folks, I tow different utility trailers, boat trailers, RV trailers and Enclosed trailers for 30+ years. Even got a blown Auto transmission and trailer's broken axle memories as well. Ouch! Regardless of their GVWR numbers, they each pull differently - compared to their white board diagram specs. My 6x12 enclosed trailer pulls like a "cement brick" square box trying too pull against a strong wind. And during up hills against the wind, it pulls even harder. Ouch! As others mentioned, NO WAY would I tow a 6x10 enclosed trailer with a little CRV vehicle.

Thanks for the input, Newbie99. It's always great to get first-hand experience from experienced people like yourself. I'll reconsider this. A previous user suggested building our own from scratch, so that might be what I do so we can get the right and proper shape and size.

 

[Tigris99]

The height isnt a great thing regardless but the big issue when forward towing ignoring cross wind risks is the nose height and the square back of the trailer.

This next bit will be a bit long but worth the read to give you examples to help understand.

I built a squaredrop camper trailer. 4.5" internal height. Width and height matched that of our honda odyssey (got my CRV a year later) but was flat backed. Odyssey didnt care much, even fully loaded for a long weekend camping trip. Which scaled trailer at just under 1500 lbs fully loaded (including full cooler and water tank, bikes on front and rear). Family of 4.

The I got my CRV, installed high end transmission cooler and so on. I worked as engine tech at a transmission shop for almost 20 years so I had the knowledge to make sure my V could handle towing.

Towed the camper trailer at only 55mph to a near by camping area. 30 minutes away. V struggled and trailer wasnt maxed out. Much was in the odyssey. Even the return trip with cooler, water tank and so on empty, was still a struggle. Less weight, but a bit breezy.

Fast forward to last summer. I had sold the camper trailer, built a basic trailer from pile of steel with plans of removable camper pod just for the V to tow. We we had decided to move here to St Louis last spring. So trailer was used for the move. This open utility style trailer behind my V with 1000+lbs of stuff each trip, 3 trips. Wifes odyssey made a few trips just loaded inside then last 2 was a 5x10 uhaul behind it.

Side note: odyssey handled the trailer and weight ok. Larger, heavier and twice the engine/twice the towing capacity.

The last trip was the heaviest easily as my V was also loaded internally, my garden tractor and snow attachments was in the trailer along with everything else I could cram around it.

V did well but really had to watch it, keeping it out of overdrive, keep speed down and so on. Every stop was monitoring transmission fluid temperatures which were barely ok.

Basically the loads moving, the aerodynamic drag wasnt bad at all because it's a basic, open utility trailer more or less. Even same/more weight wasnt an issue compared to the previous camper trailer I had built, because even though I had made the front of the camper more aerodynamic, the back was the same as an enclosed trailer. Big, fat and flat.


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[Tigris99]

All that said:

you must keep the final loaded weight at or below 1500lbs. Honda isnt known for building workhorse capable cars and such. They cant seem to mix their ATV and automotive side lol. Install good trans cooler too. Will save the transmission.

Secondly and most importantly, try to keep the height down but mainly no flat front or rear.

Look at teardrop campers. Old school but aerodynamics are great. If you went this route, planning it correctly, you could do full stand up height without straining the CRV or being difficult to tow. Teardrop camper at 6ft, width of the CRV with the axle placing the wheels wider than the camper itself/wider than the CRV will keep it stable when towing, not being an aerodynamic brick and have the height you want.

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[agentl074]

The AWD CR-V has a NHTSA classification of light duty truck; whereas, the 2WD CR-V is classified as a passenger car. This being said, the CR-V is designed for hauling -- not towing. The CR-V has always had a 1500 max weight -- this is the TOTAL weight with all contents. While the smallest enclosed U-Haul trailer (4X8 or 5X8) should work ok, I would not want to stress the engine or trans more than that. The CVT only gets air cooled from the radiator -- there are no lines to install a trans oil cooler. Anything bigger than a 4X8 or 5X8, I wouldn't do it. I think the Pilot and Ridgeline wouldn't have much of a problem with what you want done, but the CR-V is a tiny truck.

Crossover utility vehicles blur distinction between passenger cars and light trucks - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

www.eia.gov

 

[mrtn]

The AWD CR-V has a NHTSA classification of light duty truck; whereas, the 2WD CR-V is classified as a passenger car. This being said, the CR-V is designed for hauling -- not towing. The CR-V has always had a 1500 max weight -- this is the TOTAL weight with all contents.

This is US only. The new CR-V in Europe, for example, has 4400/5180 lbs (manual/automatic) towing limit (trailer with brakes).

 

[Tigris99]

This is US only. The new CR-V in Europe, for example, has 4400/5180 lbs (manual/automatic) towing limit (trailer with brakes).

You might want to look at those numbers again because there is no damn way a CRV can tow over 5000lbs. 2.5 tons, ya not a chance. That's a bad accident and people dying is all that is.

Checking information, ya the 5000lb towing is complete BS. Its 1500kg, certain diesel versions go as high as 2000kg.

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[mrtn]

Checking information, ya the 5000lb towing is complete BS. Its 1500kg, certain diesel versions go as high as 2000kg.

Granted I will not reply to you in a manner suitable for your genetic pool or neighborhood but I'll post a screenshot of a Honda CR-V brochure very first column, 1.5T/MT/2WD (kg):

 

[Tigris99]

And you proved my point, thank you. 2000kg is not 5000lbs. And I specifically stated certain diesel versions are rated at 2000kg.

So seems the genetic pool issue is on your end do to lack of reading comprehension.

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[mrtn]

And you proved my point, thank you. 2000kg is not 5000lbs. And I specifically stated certain diesel versions are rated at 2000kg.

What I proved is that the base model gasoline CR-V with a manual transmission can tow 2000 kg/4400 lb according to Honda brochure, which I specifically said. 1.5T is not a "certain diesel model". You putting words in my mouth does not change what you are or you being wrong and rude.

I cannot find the page I got the automatic/5180 lbs data yesterday but even if it's not right we still have 2000 kg/4400 lbs for NON DIESEL model and it is WAY above your 1500 lbs "BS", should I say to be at your level of human skills?

 

[rocky]

European standards are different. Also they have stick shifts over there. We don't any more. The fastest way to kill an auto is to overheat the transmission fluid. Sadly we have no way I know if (perhaps there is in Android land) of monitoring ATF temperature. My gut says if you can go for a folding camper, you reduce the parachute effect that puts so much strain on a transmission.

 

[RockyMtnCRV]

We are in the process of ordering this little guy:

Mini RV Campers & Trailers | MeerKat Trailers

The MeerKat Trailer is a mini RV camper that offers a hanging closet, comfortable bed, cooking capabilities & an ice box. Click here to learn more!

www.meerkattrailers.com

Small and light, pop the top and there is good headroom.

 

[Basset3]

After your trip with the 6 x 12 trailer, I'd like to have a mechanic do an autopsy on the transmission to certify the cause of its death.