BWCA do you have a honda oddysey? Boundary Waters Listening Point - General Discussion
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04/28/2011 11:52PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Looking for pics of a honda oddysey minivan carrying a canoe and tripping gear...

Gotta pick between another suburban or a minivan.... not sure how canoes fit on minivans... any help appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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04/29/2011 07:38AM  
Also any stories of actual experience with TOWING something behind an Odyssey would be appreciated. Got a 25' pontoon to haul a couple times a year.
 
04/29/2011 08:11AM  
The specs on the tranny and engine should tell you what weight a vehicle is capable of towing safely.

I'm guessing that a 25' pontoon may be a big too large for something that is not an 8 cylinder and it'd have to have a tow package or you'll blow up the tranny from overheating it.

IDK if a Honda Odyssey is even made in an 8 cylinder ...
 
RAFA Ranger
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04/29/2011 08:14AM  
I have an Oddysey. I frequently have a canoe on top and occasionally a canoe and 2 kayaks. If I had the longer Yakima bars I could fit 2 full size canoes. I like the gas mileage I get on long drives and the fact that I can fit 4'x8' sheetrock or plywood inside.

Concerns I would have when considering this vs an SUV or other mini-van.

Roof rack length. For how long the vehicle is, the spread you can get between bars isn't much, the rack ends behind the front doors.

Towing package. I think there is an option for this that includes a larger radiator, not sure if it includes better brakes, but it should. We don't tow but often have 5-8 people in the car for local/ hilly trips. We go through brakes far more often than the other cars we have.
 
TuscaroraBorealis
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04/29/2011 08:23AM  
quote Amok: "The specs on the tranny and engine should tell you what weight a vehicle is capable of towing safely.


I'm guessing that a 25' pontoon may be a big too large for something that is not an 8 cylinder and it'd have to have a tow package or you'll blow up the tranny from overheating it.

IDK if a Honda Odyssey is even made in an 8 cylinder ..."


Agreed.

The minivan and hauling canoes is one thing. Hauling a pontoon is definitely something you'll want a vehichle with some horses under the hood. :)
 
04/29/2011 08:54AM  
quote TuscaroraBorealis: "
quote Amok: "The specs on the tranny and engine should tell you what weight a vehicle is capable of towing safely.



I'm guessing that a 25' pontoon may be a big too large for something that is not an 8 cylinder and it'd have to have a tow package or you'll blow up the tranny from overheating it.


IDK if a Honda Odyssey is even made in an 8 cylinder ..."



Agreed.


The minivan and hauling canoes is one thing. Hauling a pontoon is definitely something you'll want a vehichle with some horses under the hood. :)"


More importantly than horses under the hood is large wheels and brakes. Pontoon is not super heavy but I think a mini-van is too small to safely tow any real weight or more importantly stop any real weight. Electric trailer brakes are a crap shoot at best. Hydraulic trailer brakes work but I do not think you can use them with a mini van. Canoes would be no problem but the boat is a different story. Lots of great deals on tahoes and burbs out there right now with gas at $4 a gallon.
 
04/29/2011 08:54AM  
quote TuscaroraBorealis: "
quote Amok: "The specs on the tranny and engine should tell you what weight a vehicle is capable of towing safely.



I'm guessing that a 25' pontoon may be a big too large for something that is not an 8 cylinder and it'd have to have a tow package or you'll blow up the tranny from overheating it.


IDK if a Honda Odyssey is even made in an 8 cylinder ..."



Agreed.


The minivan and hauling canoes is one thing. Hauling a pontoon is definitely something you'll want a vehichle with some horses under the hood. :)"


More importantly than horses under the hood is large wheels and brakes. Pontoon is not super heavy but I think a mini-van is too small to safely tow any real weight or more importantly stop any real weight. Electric trailer brakes are a crap shoot at best. Hydraulic trailer brakes work but I do not think you can use them with a mini van. Canoes would be no problem but the boat is a different story. Lots of great deals on tahoes and burbs out there right now with gas at $4 a gallon.
 
schweady
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04/29/2011 09:45AM  
Not an Odysey, but thought this might be a good enough spot to show off one of my new purchases this spring. Two sets of Yakima Gunwale Brackets set on some new 78 inch bars. Bonus of the long bars is the ability to occasionally carry 6 bikes once I pick up 2 more bike mounts. (It's seen here on our 2008 Taurus X - probably the most versatile, yet most poorly-marketed vehicle in history.)


 
04/29/2011 09:58AM  
Thanks guys, I think you're right on the towing... Odyssey rated to 3400 pounds (and yes, dealer recommended a "package" that essentially adds a second radiator to the engine to cool it as it works extra hard). Not sure what that adds to the price.

Tooner may not be super heavy compared to a 5th wheel or tow-behind RV, but the trailer is "substantial" compared to say the trailer for my tri-hull motorboat. Lift to hold pontoon is rated to 3500 lbs, but of course that includes gas and a few people too. In any case, I've never thought twice towing it all behind the Suburban - even when there is a lot of wind on the farmland I pass. Burban (Yukon XL this time round it looks like) rated to 8400 pounds - more than double the minivan.

Yes, Odyssey only comes in 6cyl.

Yes, I saw the roof rack looked "short" compared to what I'm used to. Wondered how that would impact the canoes up top, but I've seen canoes on eco-sedans, so it must be do-able.

I was surprised that the official mpg in the models I am considering is only 3mpg better for the minivan city and 6mpg better highway. I kind of expected a bigger difference.

schweady - thanks! I don't really know how the Yak bars and such work. My extended rack is two 8-foot 2x4s clamped to rack with U-bolts. But I would like to find something to haul 5 bikes...

Thanks all, think I'll bite on a Yukon XL that's the same as the car that just died except a couple more buttons, AWD, a sunroof, and a DVD player. Wasn't looking for those, but they are on the model with the other things I need, and it's ready to go. The DVD player is enough to sway kids from their minivan campaign I think :-)
 
schweady
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04/29/2011 12:42PM  
BW... Yakima is simply the cats! Check out Yakima's Fit My Car for more ideas/possible pitfalls of various models. Also, the literature in my gunwale brackets package reminded me of the need to have at least a 30 inch spread (front to back) between bars for top racking canoes. Ours is 36 in. Sometimes, getting a new vehicle hinges on what toys will work with it. Sounds odd, but I know we got the X instead of the Escape because it was long enough to fit my portable fish house perfectly. Good luck with the search. (Did insurance come through with enough $$?)
 
J-Stroke
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04/29/2011 01:02PM  
We have a 2001 Odyssey without the extra package for towing extra weight. Yakima rack works fine for carrying my Old Town Penobscot and bikes. Last summer we rented 3 canoes (pyramided) from VNO with their rack system. We had no problems transporting the 6 of us, all our gear, and the three souris river canoes to EP16. Ours is a 6 cylinder Odyssey.

 
schweady
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04/29/2011 01:40PM  
J-Stroke... rather than completely hijacking BW's thread, take a look at another I'm starting about possibly pyramiding canoes on my new rack.

...we now return to our previously scheduled thread about the Honda Odyssey...
 
04/29/2011 03:30PM  
quote schweady: "Good luck with the search. (Did insurance come through with enough $$?)"


Amazing what you can do in a day with a fax and email. I am in process of owning a Yukon XL replacement. It's identical to what crashed with a few more options and 35,000 less miles. I will save the Odyssey until the other car craps out I guess. Paperwork should be done shortly, but I likely can't get up there to pick it up until Monday.

As to the OLD Suburban... yesterday my own insurance called me to make an offer. I was disappointed with it, would have had me PAYING $1500 to settle the loan (possibly recouping $500 deductible if they other guy is found liable and his insurance pays).

I asked how they determined the offer basis and then asked for time to think about it. They use "market" value so I scrapped my Edmund's and Kelley's info and researched what was for sale NOW. It seemed higher than their offer... so I called back and very politely speculated if they had missed some options on the totaled car, or if my sources were not reliable for values, etc. I explained my loan situation and said I was not looking to make some kind of profit, but I was hoping my research results would warrant at least covering the loan. They took notes, reviewed the options, heard my report on CarSoup and AutoTrader comparables... and told me they'd call back in a bit.

When they called back, they said they had an alternate offer. This one would cover the entire loan, give me a check for $150, and possibly another $500 when the other insurance settles up. WOW. I was on cloud 9 and very impressed with myself after that one! I pressed my luck and asked my bank if any portion of the extended warranty was recoverable... and I hit the JACKPOT on that too... and I will get about 25% of that cost back eventually. I feel like I should go buy a lottery ticket!!!

Thanks for asking :-)
 
04/29/2011 03:51PM  
AWESOME!
 
04/29/2011 09:25PM  
You made the right choice on the burb. It can do all, as you already know.

We had a oddesey, great vehicle, I'd get another one. If anyone else is wondering the tow package consists of P.S. cooler, wire harness and hitch. There might be an item I'm forgeting but can't think of it. At any rate by the time your done its a $900 value, just the way it is. We hauled a 16' boat for a while, it can do it but will shorten life of van and you can feel the boat in the steering. The only other thing is when you don't have Yak bars trying to open the hatch leaves you with little room to get at stuff in the rear.

The insurance deal, you gotta keep heckling them. They've always lowballed me. My last crash I held out for what I wanted it took 2 months to settle but I won. Pain in the butt. I hate dealing with insurance companies.
 
04/29/2011 09:42PM  
I would go with the American made and owned Suburban. It helped you survive your last weekend. Go with the Camo paint job and Rock the Road
 
04/29/2011 09:45PM  
quote BoxofRain: "I would go with the American made and owned Suburban. It helped you survive your last weekend. Go with the Camo paint job and Rock the Road"

They handle the snow too
 
beavertails
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04/29/2011 09:55PM  
No honda oddysey, but i do have a chrysler town and country. never hauled anything but I can get two canoe on top no problem. if you're looking for a cheeper solution then a yakima roof rack you can lash two 2*4's to each cross beam to get some extra width and bolt two tennis balls to the ends ( the bolts keep the canoes from sliding off the edge and the tennis balls are for padding). make sure to tie the canoe to the actual roof racks and not just to the 2*4 those are only to get you some extra width, sorry wish i had a picture
 
04/30/2011 02:06AM  
quote beavertails: "No honda oddysey, but i do have a chrysler town and country. never hauled anything but I can get two canoe on top no problem. if you're looking for a cheeper solution then a yakima roof rack you can lash two 2*4's to each cross beam to get some extra width and bolt two tennis balls to the ends ( the bolts keep the canoes from sliding off the edge and the tennis balls are for padding). make sure to tie the canoe to the actual roof racks and not just to the 2*4 those are only to get you some extra width, sorry wish i had a picture"

Good point on the liftback of the minivan! At least the truck has the window that opens... minivan no such thing. Forgot about that. We're renting a Town & Country at the moment... my kids love it, and I admit it's pretty handy with lots of front dash gadgets to play with.

Here's my homemade 2x4 roof rack. I do tie canoes only to 2x4s though - have you had issues? I use U-bolts and lock nuts to lock the 2x4 onto the roof rack. And I added 3 more U-bolts facing up that I COULD use for a tiedown point if I wanted to - they may also help the canoes from sliding off the end, but the canoes stayed put while we were T-boned, so I think the approach is fairly sound. What's your experience with it?

On the way home from the accident, we lashed the 2x4s to the utility trailer of the relative who picked us up. THEN lashed the canoes to the 2x4s... Again, rock solid for a 3 hour road trip.

 
schweady
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04/30/2011 08:56AM  
quote BWPaddler: "I do tie canoes only to 2x4s though - have you had issues?"


BW... I'm pretty sure what beavertails is saying is similar to what Yakima suggests in their installation instructions: when the side gunwale of the canoe extends outboard of the towers (where the bar is attached to the vehicle) straps must be inboard of the tower. In other words, the strap should first be wrapped inside the vehicle attachment point under the canoe before tying up to your 2x4.
 
beavertails
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04/30/2011 03:33PM  
I only had a problem once, years ago when we first started doing this I hadn't gotten everything tied down properly and on our way up to Duluth the driver side canoe slipped off and was hanging next to the van, pretty scary at 70mph to have a canoe come off like that. ever since then I always double and triple check every point that could possibly fail.
 
04/30/2011 04:05PM  
quote schweady: "Not an Odysey, but thought this might be a good enough spot to show off one of my new purchases this spring. Two sets of Yakima Gunwale Brackets set on some new 78 inch bars. Bonus of the long bars is the ability to occasionally carry 6 bikes once I pick up 2 more bike mounts. (It's seen here on our 2008 Taurus X - probably the most versatile, yet most poorly-marketed vehicle in history.)


"


We have a Ford Freestyle (same as the Taurus X) and I agree, so versatile. So much in fact that Ford is "discontinuing" the name but turning the Ford Explorer into it. With the wide bars it can easily carry two canoes, or a handful of kayaks and tow a small load at the same time. Wouldn't be able to tow a pontoon though :)
 
05/01/2011 10:03PM  
Thanks all, the Yukon XL came home yesterday. The Odyssey will wait, and who knows, maybe something else will be invented before I buy another vehicle. Let's just hope this one lasts more than 16 months!
 
schweady
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05/02/2011 07:00AM  
Yay BWP!

quote gsfisher13: "We have a Ford Freestyle (same as the Taurus X) and I agree, so versatile. So much in fact that Ford is "discontinuing" the name but turning the Ford Explorer into it. With the wide bars it can easily carry two canoes, or a handful of kayaks and tow a small load at the same time. Wouldn't be able to tow a pontoon though :)"


About the only thing they changed when going from Freestyle to X was the roofline, which made fitting a Yakima system to the existing track a bit of a challenge. I think they have now come up with their 'official' solution, but previous to that we did a (very solid) improvise after extensive Taurus X searches of bulletin boards like this one for rack owners.
 
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