05 Dynasty towing Honda CRV

[Barlow46]

I will be picking up a coach next week and will be towing my Honda CRV back home. Does anyone out there have a like setup that could tell me if I will need to pick up a drop hitch to get the tow bar near level and if so is 4" about right.

[Lash]

We tow a 2007 Honda CRV behind a 2008 Vacationer XL on UFO chassis and I do not need a drop hitch. I use a straight hitch for the receiver and have a Blue Ox tow bar. The Vacationer XL uses a similar body configuration to the rest of the Monaco motorhomes of 2008 even though it is on a UFO chassis---

[Keithb56]

I tow a 2005 CRV with the Roadmaster Sterling all terrain tow bar and brackets. The tow bar literature specifies the drop or rise, I believe it is 3.5 inches. My setup has a rise of 3 inches, the coach hitch sits pretty low.
We've towed the CRV over 9,000 miles over three years with no issues.
The drop receiver will require longer safety cables.
Keith

[bobinaz123]

I have an 08 Camelot and 07 CRV. No step needed. I've towed over 20K miles.

[bdaball]

Newmar Mountain Aire Workhorse W22 with a Blue Ox bar and plate towing a CRV.

Yes, we use a 4" drop and all is fine and we did not need longer cables.

Check your towbar literature for towing angles allowed/preferred.

[walt2137]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barlow46 I will be picking up a coach next week and will be towing my Honda CRV back home. Does anyone out there have a like setup that could tell me if I will need to pick up a drop hitch to get the tow bar near level and if so is 4" about right.

Barlow we tow a Element with a 2000 dyn and dont need a drop hitch but did need one on our old dip, you will find out on the Honda that the front tires will wear on the sides pretty bad with the hitch out of level 4 inches or more or at least that is what I have found, I have friends that tow a Pilot and CRV that experienced the same problem. I think you will need to make sure you have the tag pressure set at the right pressure as that will or could change the rear height of the coach and could overload the front axle, some of the guys with a Monaco Tag could give you info on that.

[Barlow46]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walt2137 Barlow we tow a Element with a 2000 dyn and dont need a drop hitch but did need one on our old dip, you will find out on the Honda that the front tires will wear on the sides pretty bad with the hitch out of level 4 inches or more or at least that is what I have found, I have friends that tow a Pilot and CRV that experienced the same problem. I think you will need to make sure you have the tag pressure set at the right pressure as that will or could change the rear height of the coach and could overload the front axle, some of the guys with a Monaco Tag could give you info on that.

Thanks. That's another thing that I didn't give any thought to. Will need to research that some more.

[walt2137]

Barlow this is a past from a member that has a lot of experience with the tag.

>When I said that I try to adjust the tag so that all the tires are carrying
>the same weight, I misstated it. I should have said that is my starting
>point.
>
>For example, lets say a coach weighs 42,000 pounds. Divide that by 8 tires
>and each tire would carry 5250 pounds. The front and tag axle would each be
>carrying 10,500 pounds and the drive axle would have 21,000 pounds on it.
>However, both the tag axle and the drive axle would be over weight. The
>tag's max weight is 10,000 pounds and the drive axle is 20,000. The front
>axle could carry as much as 14,600.
>
>By adjusting the tag axle, one can shift weight from the drive axle to the
>front axle. If the weight on the front axle were increased by 3000 pounds,
>the weight on the tag would be 9500 and drive axle 19,000. But if you were
>to add another 500 pounds to the front, the tag axle weight would decrease
>by 1000 pounds. (42,000-(10500+3500+20,000)=8,500.
>
>While the tag axle is now within limits, the drive axle is at it's maximum
>capacity. Adding a little more weight to the front axle would reduce the
>weight on the drive axle. I won't bore you with the math since I think you
>get the idea.
>
>Once you are happy with how much each axle is carrying, you should adjust
>your tire pressure according to the tire inflation table.
>
>Bill D's suggestion to use 37 PSI in the tag is a good starting point, But
>it is only a starting point. You have to make adjustments based on what your
>coach weighs. The only way to do that is weight your coach. I like the truck
>stops which have Cat Scales.
>
>The first time I set my Tag Axle Pressure, I had to cross the scales quite a
>few times until I sorted things out.

[Barlow46]

Returned home and did not need a 4" drop receiver. In fact, after hooking up to coach and crv, the crv is slightly higher than the coach. Hitch is pointing downhill toward the coach which is not good as I understand it. No problems on the way home but don't like the idea of a panic stop or worse.....I may need to reverse a drop receiver and raise the coach end. Anyone else seeing this with a dynasty w/tag?

[justimagination]

Barlow............Now how do you like your new coach, my dream m/home. I don't think I've talked to anyone who dislikes their's. Try and get you Bar as level as possible, if too low it will have a tendency to lift the front tires, and if too high it will put too much pressure on front tires. JMHO, Happy Trails/Travel Safe, good luck...........Put a photo in so we can see it, congradulations are in order.
David G.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barlow46 Returned home and did not need a 4" drop receiver. In fact, after hooking up to coach and crv, the crv is slightly higher than the coach. Hitch is pointing downhill toward the coach which is not good as I understand it. No problems on the way home but don't like the idea of a panic stop or worse.....I may need to reverse a drop receiver and raise the coach end. Anyone else seeing this with a dynasty w/tag?

We had the same condition on our CRV, towbar sloped down, and it caused the front tires on the CRV to scalop on the outside edge. Also made them very noisy. We purchased a riser to raise the towbar in the receiver on the motorhome. Now I need to get a longer 7-pin cable because there is some strain on the one we have.

Bob

[walt2137]

Be sure to double check your ride height, the drop hitch works ether way up or down.

[moisheh]

Every MH has a different hitch height. So a poster with a Monarch will be in a different situation than one with say a Camelot or Dynasty. Our 08 Dynasty has a very low hitch height. This worked fine towing a Tacoma with a very low bracket height. Whatever you do, do not play with the tag axle pressure. You do NOT want to transfer any weight to the front axle. Normally these are set correctly at the factory. On Our Dynasty I think the tag carries about 5 or 6000 lbs. This is normal. If you increase the tag pressure and conversely the rear ride height then the front ride height will also have to be changed. You could affect the ride and handling needlessly.

[Barlow46]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justimagination Barlow............Now how do you like your new coach, my dream m/home. I don't think I've talked to anyone who dislikes their's. Try and get you Bar as level as possible, if too low it will have a tendency to lift the front tires, and if too high it will put too much pressure on front tires. JMHO, Happy Trails/Travel Safe, good luck...........Put a photo in so we can see it, congradulations are in order. David G.

Thanks for the congrats. So far (knock on wood) everything is going very well. I changed the oil, filters (oil and fuel (2)) today. Most difficult was removing oil filter, it was really cranked on. Had to use a cheater bar on and strap wrench to get it budge. I wanted to do it myself the first time to be sure where everything was and to determine how difficult it was. If "speedco" prices remain about the same, they will get my business next time. Temp here today was in high 90's and heat index was 102. Way too hot for this old man to be out turning wrenches. Also talked with Josam in Orlando about doing an alignment next week and found out today my new tires will be in Deland on Thursday. Still to do is send oil sample from todays oil change to Blackstone, check the sca's in the coolant, change the oil in the the tag oil bath bearings and decide whether to go with oil bath on the steer wheels when I go to Josam. Barry at Josam said oil bath was good to go after sitting for up to 6 months but wouldn't hurt to make them roll if it is going to be stored too long. I think I will probably make the change so I can service them myself. Still learning the systems and so far so good. Only one thing I can't get to work is the TV on Antenna. Coach has in-motion dome and an open crank up dish plus the wingard roll up antenna. I may be missing a master remote mx800. Not sure if it came with the coach or not. Inputs look ok on channel 2 and 3 with an A/B switch box hooked up to the Sony. Need a little more time to experiment before I call for help. Thanks again for the help and I'm sure I will be back for more. As far as the ride goes, I have decided to put my fifth wheel and truck up for sale sooner than later. I wanted to wait and see if I really liked the ride and have determined there is no comparison to my F450 and HR Presidential. What a difference. I am not sure if I can post a pic here but will try.