Anyone tow a 21’ Hideout w/ a CRV?

[TopoTony]

I just need to back the Hideout into the tight turn in my driveway. My Tundra’s length makes it so difficult, it takes me at least dozen tries. There’s a bit of an incline on the first part, too, which doesn’t help.

I was thinking it’d be way easier if the Honda could do it. The hitch specs show the tongue weight is ok, but the towing weight is about 5 to 800 low.
Since I’m not actually driving down the road, I’m hopeful this will work. I can pull the trailer in, unhook and pop it onto the CRv.
Anyone have experience moving around this size trailer with an SUV like the Honda?

 

[Kirk]

The hitch weight rating on my 2009 CR-v was only 250#. Also, the CR-v is front wheel drive so all of that weight will be on the non-drive wheels. If it is at all difficult to push the drive wheels probably wont have enough traction.

 

[TopoTony]

The hitch weight rating on my 2009 CR-v was only 250#. Also, the CR-v is front wheel drive so all of that weight will be on the non-drive wheels. If it is at all difficult to push the drive wheels probably wont have enough traction.

Thanks for replying. My hitch spec matches the tongue weight @ 550. My CR-v is all wheel drive, but I’m not sure what activates the rears. I’ll have to research that. Has something to do with loss of traction, so it might kick in straight away. Would be nice if there was an override manual activation switch for that.
The other small factor that comes to mind is how capable braking is. I’ll only need to brake once after I hook it up and get 50 ft to the bottom of the driveway. But I’ll only be creeping down at less than 1mph. Then it’s just a matter of backing up and negotiating the curve to get to the parking spot.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If the hitch tongue weight rating is OK (as you describe), then you have little to worry about when giving it a try for a very short distance. If the trailer moves fairly easily, go for it. But if the CRV seems to be struggling, I wouldn't push it.
This is mostly a wear & tear thing, not on instant failure.

 

[TopoTony]

If the hitch tongue weight rating is OK (as you describe), then you have little to worry about when giving it a try for a very short distance. If the trailer moves fairly easily, go for it. But if the CRV seems to be struggling, I wouldn't push it.
This is mostly a wear & tear thing, not on instant failure.

Thanks Gary. I think it's worth a try. My Tacoma worked great for this purpose, but we swapped for the Tundra and it's significantly longer, making this process so much more difficult. I'll probably know pretty quickly if it's a struggle for the CRV, but I'm hoping for the best.

 

[tlmgcamp1]

The internet is saying that the current crv has a towing capacity of 1500 pounds which follows Kirk's comment about 250 lb max tongue. Where are you getting the hitch capacity for the crv?

Putting a hitch rated for 500lb tongue on a vehicle with a 250lb max doesn’t increase your tongue capacity any more than putting z-rated tires on a smart car will make it do 150 mph

 

[Kirk]

The Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) for a Honda CR-V with all-wheel drive is not explicitly stated in the provided search results. However, search results do specify that the maximum towing capacity for both the 2WD and AWD versions of the gas-powered CR-V is 1,500 pounds. More specific information about the year and model of your CR-V would help, if you are interested. You mentioned the "bottom of the driveway" so if it is much of a slope, you could have trouble stopping it. If you do it, we would appreciate hearing how it goes.

 

[TopoTony]

The Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) for a Honda CR-V with all-wheel drive is not explicitly stated in the provided search results. However, search results do specify that the maximum towing capacity for both the 2WD and AWD versions of the gas-powered CR-V is 1,500 pounds. More specific information about the year and model of your CR-V would help, if you are interested. You mentioned the "bottom of the driveway" so if it is much of a slope, you could have trouble stopping it. If you do it, we would appreciate hearing how it goes.

The tag on the Drawtite hitch has the specs. I’ll see if I can attach the photo.
It’s a 2015 AWD EX-L
That being said, I dug out the manual and it indeed says 1500 max towing weight.
It’s such a short distance and small slope, but I’m just not sure if it can work.
Possibly I’ll hook it up and go a few feet and see what happens. It would sure save me a lot of headache if it does.

 

[tlmgcamp1]

The tag on the Drawtite hitch has the specs. I’ll see if I can attach the photo.
It’s a 2015 AWD EX-L
That being said, I dug out the manual and it indeed says 1500 max towing weight.
It’s such a short distance and small slope, but I’m just not sure if it can work.
Possibly I’ll hook it up and go a few feet and see what happens. It would sure save me a lot of headache if it does.

Again, that hitch rating is for the aftermarket hitch itself, it says nothing about what the vehicle that the hitch is mounted to. It looks like you are looking to at least double the max hitch weight of the crv. This cause cause suspension, frame or drivetrain damage to the crv. That trailer looks like it is triple the weight that the crv is rated for and you are trying to push it uphill.

 

[CharlesinGA]

You might do better with this front mount receiver and pushing the trailer.

Charles

 

[TopoTony]

Again, that hitch rating is for the aftermarket hitch itself, it says nothing about what the vehicle that the hitch is mounted to. It looks like you are looking to at least double the max hitch weight of the crv. This cause cause suspension, frame or drivetrain damage to the crv. That trailer looks like it is triple the weight that the crv is rated for and you are trying to push it uphill.

I guess I’m gonna have to get way better at backing it up in the Tundra. It’s a breeze with a shorter truck. Just not a lot of room to negotiate the turn. Oh well. It was worth thinking about, but not worth chancing damage to the crv.

 

[Kirk]

Before you put the weight of the trailer tongue on to your hitch, check to see how it is mounted as that may be the weak point. The hitch that I had on my CR-v was attached to the box frame on either end and to the pan that held the spare tire on the end of the receiver. The spare tire well was made of some sort of heavy plastic like material.

 

[SuwanneeDave1]

you could get one of these

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

www.amazon.com

 

[TopoTony]

Before you put the weight of the trailer tongue on to your hitch, check to see how it is mounted as that may be the weak point. The hitch that I had on my CR-v was attached to the box frame on either end and to the pan that held the spare tire on the end of the receiver. The spare tire well was made of some sort of heavy plastic like material.

From all the comments, I think I’m not gonna chance it. I just have to get better at backing up in the tight corner with my tundra.

 

[tlmgcamp1]

you could get one of these

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

www.amazon.com

That unit has 3600lb max. OP's trailer is 4000lb dry and he is pushing it up hill

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Isn't the CRV a unibody construction, i.e. no separate frame? No hitch is going to be very solidly attached.

It's clear the trailer far exceeds the CRV towing specs, but that was a given from the start. The question is whether the drivetrain & hitch can withstand the extra stress for a very short time. Pure guesswork! Overheating and fatigue are probably not a risk, and pulling on near-level terrain is rarely an issue anyway. But double or triple the hitch carrying capacity is definitely asking for trouble, and backing uphill from a more or less standing stop is a lot of transmission strain. And since it involves some maneuvering, it will likely be a repetitive kind of thing. Sounds more of a gamble than most would entertain.

 

[CharlesinGA]

you could get one of these

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

www.amazon.com

That unit has 3600lb max. OP's trailer is 4000lb dry and he is pushing it up hill

However, they list a newer model that is twice the money, but also twice the capacity. If this is a really tight, this might be the long term solution. However, if I were pushing uphill I would have the breakaway cable in my hand to set the brakes if needed, and probably have a couple of rubber chocks hanging from the trailer dolly ready to use.

At work, when moving an airliner, if we could build brake pressure we did so and had someone riding the brakes, if there was no power and no brake pressure we were required to have people walking alongside the wheels with chocks in hand.

 

[garyb1st]

Personally I'd work on backing with the Tundra. There will be times when you need to back into a tight spot at a campground and will be happy you are able to do it.

 

[TopoTony]

you could get one of these

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

Amazon.com: SuperHandy Electric Trailer Dolly 3600LBS Max Trailer Weight 600LB Max Tongue Weight DC 24V 800W 7Ah w/Heavy Duty Commercial 2" Ball Hitch Mount : Automotive

www.amazon.com

Nice idea, but I’d need a much beefier model that could handle about 5000lbs and be able to climb a short incline.
I need a tractor…haha

 

[Kirk]

I think I’m not gonna chance it.

In post #16, Gary has pointed out the issues that I had in mind. I think that you have made the best decision. (I always wanted a good tractor.)