My family and I are moving to SoCal in August and I'm trying to decide whether we should:

1) drive both vehicles (we really don't want to do this because we'd rather share the driving in one vehicle)

2) pay the $850-$1,000 to have the xB shipped (not only is this expensive, but it'll take about ten days to get there)

3) tow the xB with my wife's Honda Odessey (we're wondering if the Honda can tow the xB without damaging it!!!)

Anyone have any advice for us? . . . we'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

I would suspect the safest way to tow an xB would be with it's front wheels off the ground on a tow dolly - especially if the xB is an automatic. Tow dollys can be rented.

My biggest question would be if the Odessey is stout enough for whatever load it will be carrying plus 3000 pounds worth of trailing load... I'd check with the Honda folks on that...

 

Thanks Tomas. Yep, we would tow it with a dolly and the front wheels up, and we're going to check with Honda this week as well.

 

If you do end up towing it, be sure to put something over the front of it to protect the poor thing from being stoned to death...

Good luck on your move!

 

Where are you moving to? Let us know when you are here so we can invite you to one of our meets. Good luck on your move.

 

How much is a plane ticket from SoCal to Memphis?

When my roommates and I moved here from Chicago we were a driver short for our vehicles too. So we brought an extra friend to share in the driving. After we arrived she stayed for about a week doing the tourist thing, and then flew back home. (I think we split the airfare with her.) Bet you can find a plane ticket for $300 - $400 easy. Start talking up the palm trees and Hollywood. . . .

Speaking of, welcome to Lollywood!
Please check your sense of reality at the door.

 

put the xb on a flat bed towing trailer and tow the xb. im planning to do this soon when my group goes to long distance shows.

 

A flatbed would add unneccary weight for the Odessy to pull. The dolly will work just fine. Make sure the xB is centered on the dolly or it will tow crooked.

 

A dolly can also have vastly lower tongue weight than a full trailer. My biggest worry would be the dead-weight tow limits of the Honda. most states also have requirements for trailer brakes based on trailer load capacity or actual trailer plus load weight. In some states that limit is as low as 1500 pounds.

In my state, brakes are required on all trailers on all wheels. Except under 3000 lbs, brakes are not required unless trailer exceeds 40% of the towing vehicle gross weight.

So many ways to get into trouble.

Good luck!

 

thomas....as a truck/semi-driver I thank you for pointing out the limits of towing & trlrs.
many ppl do not understand the limits of their tow cars or the laws which may apply.or why the laws are in place in the 1st..

 

Been a looooong time since I shifted a Roadranger across Texas and Oklahoma.

Personally I'd be a bit concerned about the strength of the Honda unibody - I've seen people pull welds in unibody vehicles trying to pull too much weight, and I'd also be concerned about the tow vehicle weight and wheelbase being large enough for a stable tow of 2500 pounds worth of xB and dolly. Both of those questions can best be answered by the Honda folks, rather than us.

(I used to haul my wife's commute car, a Honda Z600 coupe behind one of my Toyota Land Cruisers quite a lot with absolutely no problems, Thing is the Z600 was a tiny little thing less than 1400 pounds, and my Land Crusher weighed in over 5000, and had a super-solid ladder frame.)

 

I thought about using a dolly once and checked with U-Haul and they say xB not approved for a dolly because of the low ground clearance.
I say just drive it. It would be way cheaper than paying to have it shipped plus you can carry aditional stuff in the xB

 

I'm throwing in my two cents her b/c my xB was towed and I thought I should share...

I'm assuming that a dolly attached to a vehicle is different than a towtruck towing an xB, but if not - be careful, the front end damages easily!

I had the unfortunate displeasure of having my xB towed (not my fault, error on the local township's side) and the towtruck caused damage to the lower front spoiler on the xB - so just letting you know, BE CAREFUL!

I've got a tear in the underside of the spoiler, a hole in the right side, and both ends of it are buckled. And of course the towtruck company says that the damage was there and I did it myself. And I only had the xB 2 weeks.

Just my two cents.

 

I towed my xb across country with a UHAUL Auto Transporter. no problem. Things to keep in mind:

-xB will not fit on a UHAUL TOW DOLLY.. auto transporter only.. if they tell you it doesnt work that rep is lieing to you (i work for UHAUL... it will work)
-you will have to find a parking lot with a "dip" in it so you dont scrap your side skirts, there are other options for this such as getting planks of wood under the transport ramps before loading. reference this page http://www.uhaul.com/towing/special_loading.aspx
-the transporter has surge brakes, no additional brake controller needed.
-your Odessey CAN do this hookup no problem.. but if its an automatic transmission i would advise getting a tranny cooler installed if its going a long distance or up and down mountains (less than $150 installed compared to cost of new trans)

depending on your pickup and dropoff cities this may be the cheapest option i can almost guarantee it will be under $350

 

woops.. did a bit more research.. turns out there isnt a 5,000lb hitch for an odessey without weight distribution.. this mioght be more costly

 

Hey, I have both an Odyssey and an xB as well.

I haven't towed with my Odyssey (2005), but the specs on it state this:

* 3500 lb capacity
* "Requires surge-type or electric trailer brakes, load-distribution hitch and transmission- and power steering-fluid coolers."

The coolers part sounds like a towing package to me. The Odyssey is a *pretty* strong vehicle; if the xB's rear wheels are on the ground that will help. What does your owner's manual say about towing?

Incidentally, the xB's scale creates a ground clearance illusion for most people. It actually sits higher (6.10") than the Odyssey (4.30")! That's why people install lowering kits for the xB and can get away with it.

 

its the vehicle's length thats the problem, this is the reason it doesnt fit on a UHAUL tow dolly.. it may fit on another manufactured tow dolly. 3500 lbs is enough for the 2200 lb xB and the 650 lb tow dolly, a full car trailer will put you over the 3500 lbs though