Honda CRV Toad Set-Up

[rick werth]

Just got a 2014 CRV to replace our old toad and beyond what is in the manual for prepping the car for towing, any other tips other CRV toad owners can recommend?

Thanks much

[Jim & Alice]

Be sure... as in the Honda instructions... to not forget to release the Honda Parking brake when departing in tow.

[kathydavidb]

Make sure you shut off all accessories when you tow so you don't wear down the battery. We tow ours (2009) for 6 hrs. a day with no problems. Just follow the instructions in your owners manual. Dave.

[docj]

We installed a Toad Charge so that we don't have to worry about the battery. I often forget to turn off the accessories and it doesn't matter.

[Mariner]

Maybe consider a fuse bypass switch. I installed one in our Saturn Vue, really easy install. Mounts on side of console. After car is in neutral, key off, just flip the switch and go. No worry about batteries being drawn down.

[GABELL]

We set up a 2013 Honda CRV as our tow vehicle behind our 2012 Class A motorhome last May and proceeded to take it on a 7000 mile trip to the Canadian Rockies.

 

- The Honda was a perfect tow vehicle with all 4 wheels down. Right weight and easy to tow.

- Used the Blue Ox tow system and wouldn't use anything else. Easily hooked-up and unhooked in a few minutes.

- Installed the Blue Ox with an electrical "drip line" which keeps a slight, consistent charge occurring between the RV and the Honda while in tow.

- With the Blue Ox, towing was a breeze.

- Honda suggests to run the engine and go through the gears every 300 miles. We did this more frequently when we stopped for gas or to walk the dog...about every 2-4 hrs or 200-250 miles.

- After that follow the Honda's manual for towing prep and happy travels.

[docj]

 

- Honda suggests to run the engine and go through the gears every 300 miles. We did this more frequently when we stopped for gas or to walk the dog...about every 2-4 hrs or 200-250 miles.

 

 

The 2014 Owner's Manual doesn't say that, what is says is the following:

 

■ Extended towing

If you tow more than eight hours in one day, you should repeat the “before towing your vehicle procedure” at least every eight hours. You also need to perform the

following procedure to prevent the battery from running down.

1. Remove the 7.5 A accessory radio fuse. This fuse is located in the interior fuse box.

2. Store the fuse in a safe place so you do not lose it.

-Make sure to reinstall the fuse before you start driving your vehicle.

 

I felt that the fuse that needed to be removed was difficult to get to and, from what I had read, it would be more difficult to install a fuse switch in the micro-fuse location than it had been with the larger fuses in our Malibu so we went with the charging wire instead.

 

One additional thing to note, is that Honda recommends changing the transmission fluid every two years or 30,000 miles if the vehicle is being towed. I've spoken with Honda of America and no one there knew if the 30,000 miles was driven vehicle miles, towed miles, or the sum of both. Since we had driven the CR-V 20,000 miles last year and towed it ~10,000 we decided to change the fluid. It seemed better to be safe than sorry.

[GABELL]

Keyboard entry error...typed "3" instead of "8"...BUT regardless...running you motor and moving though the gears more frequently should only provide more protection and keep the gears lubricated.

 

As far as removing fuses, who'd want to remove or disconnect anything in order to tow if there are other intelligent options like a "drip charge"? We've towed for over a year, thousands of miles, numerous hours and never had a problem with the battery loosing its charge.

 

As stated...always refer to your owner's manual for the minimum requirements.

[Rvtripper]

I took the fuse severed the middle, as if it had been blown. Added pig-tales to the fuse and wired it to an on /off button on the dash.

Cost:about eight bucks. Been using it since 2012.

[docj]

I took the fuse severed the middle, as if it had been blown. Added pig-tales to the fuse and wired it to an on /off button on the dash.

Cost:about eight bucks. Been using it since 2012.

 

It sounds as if you've removed the fuse from the circuit entirely. That would mean that that circuit has no over-current protection. A fuse switch normally incorporates a fuse.

[Dance Chick]

DH would rather remove the fuse each time, so If you don't hook up some kind of battery charge, and therefore, remove the fuse each time like us, don't forget to switch the lights from auto to off. It never occurred to me to do that until we traveled in dark, rainy weather. We had a dead battery since the lights were on.

[AprilWhine]

Hubby installed a fuse bypass swiitch. He mounted it to the left of the steering column on a blank switch plate. Unobtrusive and effective.

[Kirk W]

We towed a 2009 CR-V that had the suggestion of pulling that fuse but never did remove it. What we did do was to drive the CR-V at pretty nearly every stop and on the rare occasion that I didn't drive it, I would start the CR-V when I began preparation for travel and allow it to run until we were all unhooked, then do the "run through gears" thing with the transmission as the book calls for and shut down, just as though we had been hooking back up. We never had any problems with a discharged battery. But you might note also that we rarely ever traveled for longer than 6 hours and often less than that.

[Rvtripper]

The line between the pigtails to the on/off switch has inline fuse.