[PassportF0x]

So I have a 2019 Honda Passport Elite (AWD) with all the towing accessories except for the Honda ATF Cooler Kit which I’ll be getting installed sometime in the next few months.

Honda ATF Cooler Kit (Passport, Pilot)

The Honda ATF Cooler helps prevent wear to your vehicle's transmission while towing. Installing this ATF cooler is strongly recommended by American Honda and BernardParts.com to avoid damage to your vehicle or voiding your vehicle's warranty

www.bernardiparts.com

Anyways my plan is to get a travel trailer that is under 5,000 pounds (which I believe is the towing limit for the Honda passport with awd) and travel the United States for a couple of months to a year.

The travel trailer I’m looking at specifically has an unloaded weight of 4,240 pounds and since it’ll just be me and my dog I would make sure when towing to keep
the weight of the trailer under 5,000 pounds so I don’t mess up the transmission.


So the question I have is this. I keep seeing posts in here saying that people are able to tow a max of 4,000 to 4,100 pounds with the 2019 passport awd. Is that really the max towing capacity for this suv? Would the plans I listed above seem feasible as long as I get that ATF Cooler Kit installed and make sure the weight of the trailer while towing doesn’t go over 5,000 pounds? Is there anything I should look into to make this work? Would there be any problems anyone can think of with this setup?

2021 Jay Flight SLX 8 212QB | Jayco, Inc.

 

[Wrascal]

For you (and this important subject) I'm gonna break my self imposed silence.

Oftentimes manufacturers weigh (Label) trailers WITHOUT BATTERIES, PROPANE TANKS, PROPANE, WATER, ETC; this is intentional (and deceptive) and allows them to publish better numbers. Add in those typical additions and your actual road (and tongue) weight goes up. Add in your personal stuff (dishes/ coffee pot, groceries, ice & drinks, clothes, lawn chairs, grill, toilet paper, etc.) and these weights go up even more. It's very easy (and very common) to go over - and until you perform an actual Loaded Road Scaled weight check you'll never know what you've got.

PLUS your tow vehicle should only pull within its specs; add in cargo (people, pets (& dogfood), laptop, perhaps a firearm and ammo, tools, luggage, rack mounted bike/ canoe AND the actual hitch) to your Passport and its available allowances go down, directly affecting the allowable hitch weight. Remember: when towing your Passport must be able to safely steer (and stop) the combined weight.

So cumulatively - with your proposed Jayco marriage - you may be playing (if not exceeding) both weight restricted ends against each other.
So can your Passport/ Jayco still forcefully do it? Yes! and I wouldn't question your doing this with a slow/ carefully piloted short trip to a nearby lake, etc.

But is it recommended? Sorry, I wouldn't, NOT on a nationwide interstate touring expedition; it's much better to be safe than sorry.
For your intended use I suggest you build-in a greater safety margin and only consider a smaller /lighter camper; then enjoy it.

Two additional thoughts (+ two final recommendations +): for safe bumper-pull hook-ups your tongue weight REQUIRES 10%-15% (of the campers ACTUAL weight) be on the hitch; and Don't try and offset a too heavy tongue load by loading cargo towards the campers rear end (it'll lead to sway and unsafe handling). Lastly don't forget to add a trailer brake controller to your Passport.

+ I would never pull a camper without these two additional items: a camper TPMS system and an Electrical Management System (NOT a simple Surge Suppressor). +Tire blowouts and campground brownouts are both common - and can lead to expensive repairs.

+ My biased recommendations lean towards a TST-507 system and a Progressive Industries EMS: both available on Amazon and/or elsewhere.

You (and a dog named Blue) shouldn't require 25+ feet of camper. YMMV.

 

[HarveyW]

Not sure I would call it deceitful. You just has to understand the various terms used and the various specifications listed. Understanding RV Weights

 

[robertb]

I tow an unloaded weight trailer of 3100lbs which is probably 4000lbs loaded. No issues at all. I do have a good brake controller but no trailer TPMS or EMS. No need for those overpriced pieces of equipment.

 

[pshadoa]

So I have a 2019 Honda Passport Elite (AWD) with all the towing accessories except for the Honda ATF Cooler Kit which I’ll be getting installed sometime in the next few months.

Honda ATF Cooler Kit (Passport, Pilot)

The Honda ATF Cooler helps prevent wear to your vehicle's transmission while towing. Installing this ATF cooler is strongly recommended by American Honda and BernardParts.com to avoid damage to your vehicle or voiding your vehicle's warranty

www.bernardiparts.com

Anyways my plan is to get a travel trailer that is under 5,000 pounds (which I believe is the towing limit for the Honda passport with awd) and travel the United States for a couple of months to a year.

The travel trailer I’m looking at specifically has an unloaded weight of 4,240 pounds and since it’ll just be me and my dog I would make sure when towing to keep
the weight of the trailer under 5,000 pounds so I don’t mess up the transmission.


So the question I have is this. I keep seeing posts in here saying that people are able to tow a max of 4,000 to 4,100 pounds with the 2019 passport awd. Is that really the max towing capacity for this suv? Would the plans I listed above seem feasible as long as I get that ATF Cooler Kit installed and make sure the weight of the trailer while towing doesn’t go over 5,000 pounds? Is there anything I should look into to make this work? Would there be any problems anyone can think of with this setup?

2021 Jay Flight SLX 8 212QB | Jayco, Inc.

I am looking to buy a travel trailer to tow behind my AWD Touring with OEM hitch and cooler. I am looking at Forwst River RPod 20' long single axle trailers with dry weight of 3000 -3200 lbs. I would be uncomfortable going any heavier. RPods have everything you need. Queen bed, you don't have to fold up, dry bath, furnace, AC stove, fridge, etc., etc.

 

[HPWJR]

My experience causes me to very much agree with Wrascal’s assessment (with the slight possibility of saying I could see dropping the EMS, though I do have the very one he recommends as well as the TPMS he recommends). TPMS, in my experience with multiple trailers, is very important. The number one cause of major trailer problems is blowouts. In my opinion, the trailer you’re looking at is indeed simply too big. It will probably be close to 5000 unloaded, but also the front is a large wind catcher. You would be very dissatisfied with the performance on the highway. I believe you’d be much happier with a lighter, smaller, lower profiled trailer. I believe you ought to look at a trailer with a GVWR around 5000 lbs, not a dry weight in that area.

 

[passportland]

We tow a 2018 NuCamp [email protected] 400. We have factory installed trailer hitch and transmission cooler. Hitch is a weight distribution kit from Anderson. We use a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller which is wireless and super easy. Total Dry Weight is listed at 2,690 with a tongue weight of 390. We always drive fairly close to the dry weight beyond propane, chairs, kitchen stuff and a Harbor Freight Predator 2000 generator at the back of the trailer. Passport does very well. Mileage is somewhere between 11 and 13 depending on elevation, weather conditions and speed. I would estimate the total weight is somewhere around 3,000 lbs give or take.

 

[passportland]

So I have a 2019 Honda Passport Elite (AWD) with all the towing accessories except for the Honda ATF Cooler Kit which I’ll be getting installed sometime in the next few months.

Honda ATF Cooler Kit (Passport, Pilot)

The Honda ATF Cooler helps prevent wear to your vehicle's transmission while towing. Installing this ATF cooler is strongly recommended by American Honda and BernardParts.com to avoid damage to your vehicle or voiding your vehicle's warranty

www.bernardiparts.com

Anyways my plan is to get a travel trailer that is under 5,000 pounds (which I believe is the towing limit for the Honda passport with awd) and travel the United States for a couple of months to a year.

The travel trailer I’m looking at specifically has an unloaded weight of 4,240 pounds and since it’ll just be me and my dog I would make sure when towing to keep
the weight of the trailer under 5,000 pounds so I don’t mess up the transmission.


So the question I have is this. I keep seeing posts in here saying that people are able to tow a max of 4,000 to 4,100 pounds with the 2019 passport awd. Is that really the max towing capacity for this suv? Would the plans I listed above seem feasible as long as I get that ATF Cooler Kit installed and make sure the weight of the trailer while towing doesn’t go over 5,000 pounds? Is there anything I should look into to make this work? Would there be any problems anyone can think of with this setup?

2021 Jay Flight SLX 8 212QB | Jayco, Inc.

Looking at the specs of that trailer I would agree with several others here and say you are probably going to be too close if not over the limits for a Passport. The tongue weight alone is within 30 pounds of the max tongue weight for the PP and that spec is normally without propane or anything else on the trailer. I would seriously consider something lighter or you may have to consider a different tow vehicle if your heart is set on that Jay Flight model.

 

[rocky]

Most truck stops have Cat Scales at them. They’ll help you understand the weight on each axle and the benefits of weight distribution hitches, including proper set up

 

[mcrimm]

You need a 1/2 ton truck IMO to tow that trailer - safely,

 

[QCEng1]

I built climate control products for the OEM manufacturers for over forty years. I also own and tow trailers. I can assure you that even 4,000 actual weight will be too much under certain conditions. Honda has chosen to use an external transmission oil cooler rather than an internal oil cooler. This gives up a LOT. You are depending on ambient air temperature to cool your transmission with this system. Driving up a very long mountain road in the summer will soon show you the lack of robustness in this system. Those numbers that Honda provides are developed on a test track on flat ground in very controlled conditions. Adding external coolers has been around for many, many years. They started out as a supplement for an internal oil cooler (which was the “norm” for an awful lot of years on automatic transmissions). The OE manufacturers made larger radiators for vehicles that would be used for towing and also made packages for vehicles that would be used to pull trailers a great deal of the time. Honda has circumvented this entire process and simply recommends adding an external cooler.....the least effective method of cooling. I’d get a smaller trailer or a vehicle designed to tow heavier trailers.

 

[Sendbeta]

Upgraded Travel Trailers. My 2013 Coachman Clipper 16 Fb. The trailer weights 2500 lbs dry, probably max loaded at 3300 lbs loaded. I'm sitting around 3500 lbs with passengers and cargo in the Passport. No transmission cooler yet, unfortunately its backordered in Canada for some reason. The Passport tows great, Prodigy Brake Controller works perfect, Weight Distribution Hitch is a game changer.

 

[robertb]

Upgraded Travel Trailers. My 2013 Coachman Clipper 16 Fb. The trailer weights 2500 lbs dry, probably max loaded at 3300 lbs loaded. I'm sitting around 3500 lbs with passengers and cargo in the Passport. No transmission cooler yet, unfortunately its backordered in Canada for some reason. The Passport tows great, Prodigy Brake Controller works perfect, Weight Distribution Hitch is a game changer.

Similar to my setup... I have a 17' trailer which is a few hundred pounds more but I have the tranny cooler and installed a ScanGauge in the Passport to monitor trans temp plus lots more.

 

[Travelor]

Just ought one of these. Only complaint is lack of storage space. It pulls great behind my Passport Elite AWD.

2020 Hummingbird - 17RB | Jayco, Inc

Jayco RV 2020 Hummingbird 17RB. Review specifications that come with this travel trailer.

www.jayco.com