Day 29
Should Everything Be Changed?
Note: Yesterday at 5pm, I Blogged the same post that you see below at 8am.
8am - What to do now?
Several readers have commented that the Honda is a very poor tow vehicle for pulling Scampy.
W3JDR wrote:
Overall, I'd say you're slowly killing this little car. I wouldn't be surprised by possible premature transmission failure and likely premature brake wear. I think you're courting disaster applying bandaids to a basic use-case problem.
OK! There it is! I very likely made a mistake thinking that I would buy a light trailer [Scampy] to be towed by the Honda.
Sooooo! What to do now?
11am - Breakfast pic
While all of this stuff is going on about Little Honda and Little Scampy, life goes on! And one of those things going on is preparing breakfast.
Today's breakfast turned out to be a good one!
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| wWBreakfast in Beaverton |
1pm - Running around town
We have been going to auto repair, spring and suspension shops to find out about raising up Little Honda's rear end.
Here are the shops that we went to:
➜ Bassitt Auto Repair
➜ Erickson Trailers
➜ Firestone Complete Auto Care
➜ PSI [Portland Speed Industries]
➜ Oregon Auto Spring Services
➜ Line Up Shop
After going to all of these shops, we learned that there is nothing available to lift up Little Honda's rear end.
If we wished to do this job, it would require the fabrication of special parts. $1,000s of dollars.
4pm - Got sooooo tired!
We had started our trip to return back to Beaverton. Commuter traffic was huge. We had to pull over and get out of that mess.
There was a place for us behind a Chevron station. Scampy's bed was setup and George took a 1/2 hour nap. After that nap, our Blog was updated so that you would know what had gone down this afternoon.
7pm - Sushi
There is a sushi place in a shopping center near our Nite Camp. This place looks to be very popular! So, I went there for a look-see.
The sushi was sooooo good! And inexpensive too.
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| SushiLand/Marinepolis |
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George, your readers warned you before you bought Scampy that little Honda could not tow and recommended by Honda the car should not tow....but you did it anyway. Glad you admit your thinking was wrong. You got a few miles with Honda towing. Better late than never to switch out to a better tow vehicle to be safe with boid and safety to others on the road. I love your real life dilemmas...it teaches us what to do and what not to do :-) We love ya George.
ReplyDeleteRita, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." (John 8:7)
DeleteP/S You are right, the comment did seem a little harsh in tone but it was not meant to be. I believe Scampy is fine, just needs a new tow vehicle.
DeleteJust keep putting one foot in front of the other and it will all work out my friend. Have enjoyed reading about your travels for many years.
ReplyDeleteHi Chuck,
DeleteOne foot in front of the other! Thank you! 😎
George
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George
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's any need to knee-jerk about this, I just think the roadmap needs to be modified according to a change in plans.
When you purchased Scampy, I don't think you were planning anything approaching full-timing, so expectations of Honda Fit were lower. Now, you're putting a lot more miles on the combo, so a change in tactics might be in order.
Don't fret over it, but start thinking about equipment that's in line with your long-range strategy.
BTW, maybe just re-balancing Scampi's load would take some weight of the hitch and ease the problem somewhat.
Joe
If you wish to continue towing Scampy, you need a new tow vehicle rated to tow 3000 lbs. minimum. Several that come to mind are the Honda CR-V, the Chevy Equinox, or the Ford Escape. I'm sure there are many other options also.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, a few posts back you mentioned the benefits of having a 4-wheel drive truck and camper rig for enabling you to safely go off-road. Here is an elegant solution that I have been considering: http://www.fourwh.com/
ReplyDeleteThere is a dealer for them near you in Tigard, OR, or you can hit their main facility on your drive back through northern CA in Woodland if you want to check them out. Good luck, always!
Looks like Scampy is fine may just need a new tow vehicle. Maybe size it for the trailer back in the park so you can take anything anywhere.
ReplyDeleteDon't push the Honda too hard or resale might go \/ phhht.
A better, maybe 4 wheel, might work really well, no compromising then!
Your Friend,
Florida Mike
Hi Mike,
DeleteYou've been a Reader for a very long time! Thank you for that.
And thank you for your advice.
George
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Thank you!
George
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Hi George,
ReplyDeleteIf I was in your position, and felt I could afford it, I would get new tow vehicle with appropriate tow ratings, more road clearance, and all-wheel drive. Maybe a Subaru Forester which is not too much bigger than the Fit. As a bonus, you would be able to go more out of the way places.
If I felt I could not afford it, I would get a transmission cooler installed on Fit, rear air springs installed, and find a really good welding shop to proactively reinforce all hitch mounting points. This stuff could be done for $500-$600. Then I would change oil and transmission fluid frequently and realize that there is a potential for expensive repairs down the road. Maybe I would get a AAA RV membership in case of a breakdown. And then I'd forget about it and go have fun!
If you find yourself in Seattle, Mann's Welding & Trailer Hitch is the place to go for the welding!
Drew
Hi Drew,
DeleteThank you sooooo much for your interesting comment!
George
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worth reading about towing your Scamp.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.scampowners.com/forums/scamp-trailer-weights
Hi Ed, Carol & GD,
DeleteIt seems that everybody has an opinion. And everybody is right.
Gotta love it!
George
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Lots of naysayers. I've checked European websites and the tow capacity is well within range. You're not going to get a straight answer from anyone such as a Honda dealer or mechanic. They are stuck on U.S. facts and statistics and can't see the fact that much of American tow capacity ratings are based on manufacturer liability, insurance companies, and lawyers who are lawsuit happy.
ReplyDeleteI say, research, study and get the facts but you won't get them here.
My question for you is, How do you feel driving and towing with the Honda Fit? Is the engine lagging? What will be the majority of your rving, flats and hills or mountain driving? I love the combination.
Hi LBM,
Delete➡︎ Honda's engine does NOT lag. Accelerates good.
➡︎ Brakes stop good too.
➡︎ Goes up paved mountain roads without slowing traffic.
➡︎ Majority of driving will be in the flats.
➡︎ Mileage while towing Scampy = 18mpg
➡︎ Milage without Scampy = 22mpg
George
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Sounds to me like George is still the King of the Road!
DeleteAnd he makes a really mean breakfast!
Just wanted to say your breakfast looked delicious!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
DeleteThank you for this very nice compliment about my breakfast!
George
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George, I've done some searching on the web and I found a site that might be an answer to your Prayers (and mine too!).
ReplyDeletehttp://riderite.com/vehicle-search?year=2013&model=Fit&make=Honda
If I read it correctly, Ride-Rite makes a rear air suspension leveling product for your 2013 Honda FIT. They might be an offshoot of Firestone. Might want to go to this site and check it out and call them and let them know your problem and see if this would fit the bill. Hopefully, if it does it won't cost you an arm or a leg. They also have a "Where to Buy" button and I saw that Les Schwab (our Pacific Northwest tire stores) might carry them.
Sending you Positive Thoughts & a Side of Prayers your way!
-Tom L.
BTW: These Air Suspensions don't necessarily "raise" your back end. It just firms it up so it won't sag when you attach your trailer weight to your hitch. The more the air, the firmer it gets and it'll eliminate your sag and hence your drag! ;)
Delete"Cheers!"
-Tom L.
Hi Tom,
DeleteThank you sooooo much. I will phone Ride-Rite tomorrow!
George
PS: I went to a Firestone service shop today, and they did NOT know about Ride-Rite!!
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https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-gen-ge8-specific-fit-exterior-modifications-jdm-styling-sub-forum/92169-hitch-hitch-rack-broken-trunk-pan-mount.html
ReplyDeleteThe answer is very simple George
If you're going to keep the fit, the fix is simple.
And it goes like this take The tire cover our take the tire out
You'll notice you have nipple that holds the tire to the trunk pan
Find a mechanic that will take that piece off and make a flat floor out of it
Take the two bolts off that hold the hitch on of the underside of the trunk pan knock off the cover.
Have the mechanic fine 2 12 in.² pieces of 16th inch plate steel
Put one plate inside the trunk pan the other one on the underside of the trunk pan
On the outer corners you drill four holes for a 3/8 bolts
Bolt it all together
Now lineup the two holes for the end of the trailer hitch drill the appropriate size and put two bolts in it and you got a fish plate
If you can't read it without proper capitalization punctuation's and commas
Disregard it and go buy a jeep
Hi Mister ed,
DeleteHere is a [Link] to my Blog page where I posted how my repair was made.
What do you think?
George
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George
ReplyDeleteYour Fit uses a special variant of automatic transmission called a CVT. They're designed for lighter loads and have special maintenance requirements, especially when you're working them hard. If you haven't already, look it up on the Web. And have your brakes checked regularly.
Joe
Hi Joe,
DeleteNice to know your real name!
If you check again, I believe that you will find that the continuously variable transmission (CVT) replaced the previous 5-speed automatic transmission in 2014.
My Honda is a 2013.
George
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