First Time Pulling Toad

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Heli_av8tor

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Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Posts
1,088
Location
NW Illinois
I pulled my 2014 Honda CR-V for the first time today. I'm a bit surprised at how much it affected the acceleration. I've read comments from others that they hardly notice the toad.

Not sure there is a question here, but...

Tom
 
My 2000 Lexus weighs 4,000 lb and I know it's there. 

Let me give you a tip about pulling toads...When you first take off after hooking up your toad have someone go look at the wheels and make sure ALL of them are rolling.

Don't ask how I learned that.
 
Well, you've increased the weight you are accelerating by almost 20%, so yeah you will notice that. When folks say they don't know its there, they probably mean maneuvering or just plain driving down the highway.
 
Ya, I suppose so. And it does handle well in that regard.

I'm planning an 1800 mile trip through Michigan's Upper Peninsula starting next weekend so will get better acquainted then.

Tom
 
Drivers should notice their toad.  It's always having some effect one steering and acceleration, and definitely will have an effect on braking.  The more massive toads of course will have greater effect.  Consider a 30,000# MH with a 3000lb toad... 10% is a lot and your CRV likely weighs more than the one in the example given. The increase in stopping distance is the reason why most US states and CN require toads to have aux. braking systems.

Enjoy your trip thru the UP.  It's beautiful.
 
I tow a Hyundai Azera on a dolly, adding 4500 lbs, or about 20% of my original coach weight, so I notice a difference when starting and stopping, but once you are rolling, there isn't much of a difference. In order to accommodate for the difference when starting, I take a lot longer to get up to speed. It saves the engine and gas mileage. When stopping, I take a lot longer to slow down and I coast as far as possible by allowing much more room between myself and the next vehicle if front of me. Also, try to keep your eye on the road as far away as possible, a ? mile if you can, rather than just on the car in front of you. This will give you a lot more time to slow down and stop rather than having to make quick stops that eat up your mileage and brakes.
 
Yep, towing our RAV4 does affect acceleration when starting up, but our auxiliary braking activation system pretty much eliminates any noticeable extra load when stopping. In normal highway driving our toad has no noticeable effect on handling.
 
I think most of us become aclimated to towing nearly all of the time and really don't notice it's there. I recently took my MH in for service and really noticed the difference in acceleration due to dropping the 4, 600 lb. Jeep Rubicon. I realized that I hadn't driven the MH without the tow for over a year. In this instance I drove 30+ miles of highway, but more often most probably never leave local streets for such a task.

Ernie
 

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