I want to tow a camper with my RDX. Camper weighs 1250 lbs but will be over the 1500 lb max when full of stuff. I want to get brake control for the RDX but the trailer hitch guy said that the RDX does not have a brake control for the connection. He said he would have to wire it through the firewall to the battery and custom wire the whole thing.

Is this right?

 

Yes...but you'll still be over the weight limit. Brakes don't do a whole lot when you overheat your transmission.

 

So as long as I keep it to the 1500 lbs I,d be ok???

No way to beef it up?

 

No. The part of the frame that the hitch bolts up to is nothing more than some "stamped steel". It is not a beefy frame like on most cars. I think it would bend if overloaded.

 

On my MDX, 5000lbs is the max towing IF I only have 2 passengers with min luggage/cargo in the hatch. My max tow goes down 250lbs for each passenger I add with their cargo. I go down to 4250lbs if I have 5 passengers. Pretty much whatever weight I put in the MDX, I have to take the weight off the towed trailer.

I don't know if the +13 RDX might have the same restrictions if you planning to pull up to 1500lbs and 3-5 passengers with gear?

 

Anyone know if the car has a brake control?

So as long as the trailer is 1500 lbs or under I'm ok?

 

Yes, you have to deduct the weight of anything beyond the base (2 people?) level. If you add people and cargo, you remove the allowable tow weight.

As was said, the hitch doesn't bolt on to a sturdy metal frame but instead some sheet metal. The MDX is designed to tow and as such the hitch is mounted to fairly sturdy body components. If you have a body on frame truck, the hitch mounts to the frame rails themselves which is why you get a tow rating of 7k+ lbs no problem.

I wouldn't go up to 1500lbs if I were you. That is the MAX tow rating and as such, I personally wouldn't approach that in real life.

The RDX for sure does not have a brake controller but that only helps on trailers that have electronic brake control. You can get it wired in if you must have it but anything less than 1500lbs capacity will not have electronic brakes as they aren't worth it.

I would be more so concerned with overheating transmissions and brakes before I was concerned with the engine's ability to pull the thing. Towing with a car not designed to tow is a great way to get a new transmission.

FWIW, you can add an external cooler to the system for fairly cheap but that only does so much. If you want to tow, buy something designed to tow.

 

brakes upgrade,tranny cooler upgrade, good oil in transfer case, tranny and engine and you should beable to get aways with 2k.. depending on other circumstances, hills,speed, elevation.. ect.. ive pulled 1800lbs for 400 miles no issues in my 2010 and it ran just fine.. it was sluggish pulling but it did it

 

GVWR is 4700 according to the door if I remember. Towing is 1500 lbs. I plan on getting a 1200 lb teardrop camper. Little guy silver shadow 6x10 to be exact. It does have brakes. Towing anything will push the car in hard breaking. I have to believe that the space is an underestimate of what it can really do. So I have to think it will tow 1500.

Big question is does it have a connection for a break control or do I have to hardwire it to the break controler?

 

Someone already responded saying it does NOT have a brake controller. The majority are also recommend not towing that heavy of trailer, but you appear to already have your mind made up.

 

The tow rating is a little bit pathetic for a vehicle with this type of power. A mini cooper can tow 1400lbs and a 180hp kia portage can tow 2000lbs.

 

I have towed 900 lb and it was a walk in the park for the engine and brakes on the flat to moderately hilly terrain of central Texas. I installed the Curt class 3 hitch, and it bolts to the same frame rails that the rear suspension bolts to. I think you can easily tow 1500 lb.

I suspect the RDX could handle 2500 lb once in a blue moon with care, maybe even without modification. But I would not push it like that regularly as you're asking for trouble. Our last vehicle, a Saturn VUE, was rated at 2500 lb towing capacity with a 181 hp V6, rear drum brakes and front brakes slightly smaller than the RDX. I don't recall the hitch mounting on the VUE as being any more secure than the RDX. I don't recall anything special about the transmission, but it was an Aisin unit.

If Honda had rated the RDX to tow any more, it would have only succeeded in cannibalizing MDX sales. How many people really need to tow close to 5000 lb? I suspect more people need to tow between 1500 and 3000 lb than 3000-5000. And I suspect less than 5% of RDX buyers will ever tow a trailer. Keeping the tow rating on the RDX low must be a risk/reward decision. Why waste the time determining the real mechanical limits if 95% of the buyers just want a people mover?

So, how much can the RDX really tow before something breaks? There is only one way to find out :-) I encourage you or anyone to find out, and report back. Note: I will not reimburse any associated costs.

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc...leid=201417055

 

Do you feel lucky punk...... ?


Harry Kalihand

 

May trade it in for an escape or explorer with regret. I like my car.

 

I have a neighbor that tows his 22' 3,000 lb pontoon with his 2013 RDX. He has done this for over a year. I have accompanied him many times on a ten mile trip to the launch ramp here in SW Florida.


He installed a oil cooler and temperature/pressure gauges when he first bought the vehicle. He is a state certified auto technician in drive lines which in includes transmissions. He does all his own maintenance on the RDX. His BIL is a mechanic and works at a Acura dealer and says the MDX shares the same transmission as the RDX.


28,000 + miles so far with one twenty mile trip to the launch ramp there/back trip with the boat per week + vacations. The launch ramp is fairly steep. The gauge notes that the trans temp rises about 20 degrees while towing. Which he says is with in the safety margin for the transmission. He installed the hitch and it does not have any additional bracing. The topography is very flat in SW FL.


I also have a 22' pontoon boat that is a little heavier than his (3,500). He has towed my boat two times. I now have a 1999 RX 300 and will be purchasing a 2013 RDX as soon as I can find a white/parchment vehicle for a price that does not cut into my boating budget too badly. My boat is stored in a in/out rack facility. I will not have a need to tow it other than once a year to bring it home for maintenance. My friend will tow it for me. I will get a hitch and trans cooler for my RDX.... just in case my friend is not available to help when needed.

 

So you do feel lucky, then?

what do you say to the people who think the frame can't handle the load?

Do you have a measurement of the tongue weight?

 

Yes.... I do.


I'm now retired. But in another life and another state (MI), I also was a state certified auto technician. Like my neighbor friend drive lines was one of my certifications. like my friend I also have relatives employed in the auto repair industry, some at dealer ships. We both have more experience and knowledge that the unwashed masses that buy and drive these vehicles. I have a factory installed trans cooler on my Lexus. I installed pressure and heat gauges. I will do the same on my soon new too me RDX.


A well prepared (knowledgeable) person that meets a opportunity and takes it.
Is thought by many and particularly the timid to be "lucky'.


Kind regards,

 

Please correct me if I am wrong? But.... I believe that I made mention in my post, that my neighbor installed his hitch himself and did not make any additional modifications to it.

 

So...category 1 hitch, by definition, is rated at 2000 pounds capacity, and you are running 1000 to 1500 pounds over the rating, for short distances on flat roads. When you have an unexpected panic stop, or some other unforeseen event, or the hitch comes loose, what then? It's not about can the engine or tranny handle it, or whether you boil the fluid, it's whether it's safe / prudent to flaunt the rating, and presume that you can tow more than double the rated capacity of a class 1 hitch.

 

Where did I make mention of using a class 1 hitch.....? He has a 4k max hitch & air adjustable rear shocks. Panic stops....? the trailer is equipped with dual (4) wheel disk brakes, It actually stops the tow vehicle not vise versa. You are way out of your trailer towing knowledge league here.... Pilgrim


What if this happens or what if that happens? You better keep wearing your belt & suspenders and hide under your porch.... A meteor might fly from the sky and hit you (lol).

 

These towing discussions invariably come to no universally accepted conclusion.

You (Rascal) and your boating buddy clearly know what you are doing. Because you know what you're doing, you've demonstrated that the specified towing limits are well below the actual mechanical limits when operated with care.

In the absence of hard evidence, people will tell you not to do it, for two reasons: 1) legal (because the vehicle is not spec'd to do it) and 2) hypothetical arguments based on #1, i.e. "because the vehicle is not spec'd to do it, what if X,Y,Z were to happen?"

I am very happy to hear of your positive experiences and verification of the capabilities of our RDX's.

Can you post the part number for the trans cooler you or your buddy used, and any mounting brackets, etc?

Do you keep the transmission in a low gear while towing?
Do you know the tongue weight of your trailers? is it 10%, i.e. 300-350lb?

 

Thank you Mr.Zeros,


The transmission is not allowed to go into a over drive gear while towing. The trans cooler was taken from another vehicle. I think a wrecked RX? The mounts were custom fabricated.


He says that the temp/pressure gauges were installed first to get a base line temp & pressure readings. After the cooler (wreck take off) was installed, surprisingly there was no noted difference in temp or pressure. He's leaving the cooler on for the time being. It appears that it was not needed.


I don't think that I will install a cooler the my car when I get it. I will do the gauges though. He intends to take off the cooler & gauges if he ever has to go to the stealer for a warranty item. Most likely take off the 2 " hitch also. He has a second "plan B" smaller factory hitch.


Keep in mind this is SW Florida. Normal afternoon temperatures 92/95 degrees here in the summer when we return from fishing . The temperature with the sun bouncing off the road exceeds 100. Although our trip to the ramp is under 10 miles and all flat land other than one small canal bridge. Mostly light traffic as we take the back roads that are unknown to the in season snow turds. We turn the AC off. As we noted higher trans temp when we use the AC. Keep the radiator clear of leaves. We do not go out on weekends.


The tongue weights are 300/350 (10%) measured at our hitch heights. Trailed tire pressures are 90 lb. and checked on each trip out. We found that a small variance particularly on the front trailer tires can increase the tongue weight.


A special "Thank You" should go out to the members that have the brains, talent and guts to make the changes (2012 rear shocks & 1" lift of the passenger seat ) to their RDX's.


I believe there are more member's here that have made similar changes (improvements) to their vehicles. But, chose to remain " in the closet". So they do not have to listen to the B.S of the gutless "the sky is falling" chicken Little member's.


Kind regards,

 

GCW is 6482 and the RDX is 3850 or so, two mechanics are easily another 400, and the boat is 3000 and 3500, and this assumes nothing else in the RDX or the boat. Means you are some 760 to 1260 over the GCW. I get the acura engineers may be conservative, marketing may be trying to sell MDXs, etc. The thing is, Acura also never designed or likely tested a bigger hitch or included the structural member needed to support this long term. Maybe you used some nice beefy structural member that gets it done, but you can't test or know, and you share the road with the rest of us. So someone attached one on their own and hey, we towed the boat and that proves it works and that Acura is low balling. That argument isn't valid, nothing got demonstrated conclusively. It's "proof" by example essentially with a sample of one.

Many things are possible, just maybe not prudent. So a Toyota tundra ad from a while back showed it "towing" the space shuttle. Possible? Yes, also likely with a bunch of owner modifications. Prudent? No. And in many states, illegal to do.

Also, no mention of tongue weight, where GVWR starts to also intrude.

Final point is that wheelbase, beyond almost anything else, dictates what you can tow and still maintain control. An argument can be made that towing a 22' trailer in a vehicle with less than a 106" wheel base will cause problems as well. It's only the DOT that studied this, I'm sure they don't "get it" either. And hey, we proved it can be done...

And for the love of god, no more real men take calculated chances and the rest of us hide under our porches statements....

 

Two posts crossed in the void....

 

Its better to go through life checkered with defeat than to live in the gray twilight of those who never win or never lose.... because they never try.


(Stay under the porch)

 

A little bit of sidebar since I did some research on this commercial.