| dory |
It seems we are slim on people who tow on this board...
I need to know where people are mounting their brake controllers. I do not want to screw into this dash and I don't want to wreck the look of this gorgeous vehicle. I'd love a brake controller that could be hidden behind the dash and displayed on the nav system....am I hoping for too much? |
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| G. COLTON |
You do not see many postings on here about towing because the MDX is limited in towing capacity.
You probably should not even be towing anything that needs a brake controller!
G |
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| dory |
quote:
Originally posted by G. COLTON
You do not see many postings on here about towing because the MDX is limited in towing capacity.
You probably should not even be towing anything that needs a brake controller!
G
The MDX manual requires a trailer to have brakes for anything over 1000lbs. Our trailer comes with electric brakes (and we already had the brake controller in our Escape). So, your statement that we shouldn't be towing anything that needs a brake controller is false, else we wouldn't be able to tow anything over 1000#. Our trailer has a GVWR of 3000# and it is a pop-up trailer. Our Escape towed it perfectly, we were just running out of towing capacity with an additional child and those kid keep growing....the MDX should be fully capably of towing this trailer. |
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| efenska |
I'm towing a 23' Yamaha AR230 boat with the Acura hitch, and the total weight (dry) is over 4000 lbs. Throw in skis, jackets, 50 gallons of gas and a case of beer (with ice) and i'm pushing 5000 lbs.
Not sure what you mean by 'brake controller' as my trailer has brakes and they are controlled via the 7-pin harness that's plugged in to the vehicle electronics (controls brakes to prevent swaying, etc.) |
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| dory |
quote:
Originally posted by efenska
Not sure what you mean by 'brake controller' as my trailer has brakes and they are controlled via the 7-pin harness that's plugged in to the vehicle electronics (controls brakes to prevent swaying, etc.)
The little box that goes inside your vehicle, has a manual lever on it in case you ever need to apply the brakes manually, has a display to show you how much braking force is being applied, and also allows you to initially set the proper force according to the trailer and your tow vehicle. http://www.tekonsha.com/prodig.html
I just thought about it, and you said you are towing a boat? Then I think you'd likely have surge brakes? From what I've read, a brake controller is not needed for surge brakes. We have electric brakes and that's what the brake controller is needed for. |
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| BlueStreak |
I tow 3500lbs and my trailer has surge brakes and not electric brakes. Thus, no brake controller required.
FWIW - I tow a waverunner trailer and a comp. ski boat and trailer with a total weight about 3,500lbs fully loaded. |
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| efenska |
| Yep - surge brakes here too. Here's a pic of my tiny MDX with the boat: |
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| dory |
quote:
Originally posted by efenska
Yep - surge brakes here too. Here's a pic of my tiny MDX with the boat:
Wow! Does that boat every make your MDX look small! :) |
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| normrd |
I also tow, we have a 21 ft" malibu wakeboarding boat. Weight is around 4k with trailer, no problems. However, no brake controller as we have surge brakes.
Have you considered mounting it in the arm rest? |
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| wahoo5 |
I have the dealer installed towing package. I need to add a brake controller to tow my race car trailer. Does the wiring harness installed by the dealer have a connection for a brake controller or I am I going to have to have additional wiring done for the brake controller? Any recommendations on brake controllers? Thanks.
David |
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| dory |
quote:
Originally posted by wahoo5
I have the dealer installed towing package. I need to add a brake controller to tow my race car trailer. Does the wiring harness installed by the dealer have a connection for a brake controller or I am I going to have to have additional wiring done for the brake controller? Any recommendations on brake controllers? Thanks.
David
Tekonsha Prodigy or the new Tekonsha P3. There is supposed to be a connector for a brake controller, and I recall there is a connector piece they left in my rear floor compartment. We've been so busy since we bought the MDX, I haven't had a chance to check these things out. I will do so tomorrow and get back to you. |
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| dory |
quote:
Originally posted by wahoo5
Thanks.
Sorry, I've had a sick kids since late last week so haven't left the house...I'll check for you in the next couple of days! |
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| lleonidas |
Hi,
I have a Tekonsha Progidy brake controller in my 07 MDX. the unit is attached under the dash toward the center console (south of ignition).
Regarding the wiring, the MDX is prewired for brake controllers. There is a set of wires on a single wiring harness located just under the lower dash in the driver side footwell. If you reach your fingers around the plastic covering you should find it there. In fact, Tekonsha even has a special wire with appropriate harness to plug into the wiring harnes of the MDX and on the other end, to plug into the brake controller (this wiring actually is listed under the Ridgeline when you search for it; it is a Honda OEM style wiring harness part 3070 -- it cost about $15).
In a "plug and play" fashion the brake controller is readily installed and probably the part that took longer was mounting the unit.
As of this writing, I unfortunately have not had the luck of trying it all out. We're waiting for the weather to warm up and get our selves out camping with our hybrid trailer. |
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| dory |
quote:
Originally posted by lleonidas
Hi,
I have a Tekonsha Progidy brake controller in my 07 MDX. the unit is attached under the dash toward the center console (south of ignition).
Regarding the wiring, the MDX is prewired for brake controllers. There is a set of wires on a single wiring harness located just under the lower dash in the driver side footwell. If you reach your fingers around the plastic covering you should find it there. In fact, Tekonsha even has a special wire with appropriate harness to plug into the wiring harnes of the MDX and on the other end, to plug into the brake controller (this wiring actually is listed under the Ridgeline when you search for it; it is a Honda OEM style wiring harness part 3070 -- it cost about $15).
In a "plug and play" fashion the brake controller is readily installed and probably the part that took longer was mounting the unit.
As of this writing, I unfortunately have not had the luck of trying it all out. We're waiting for the weather to warm up and get our selves out camping with our hybrid trailer.
Thank you for the information. And thanks for the info on the wiring, I had a chance to check this weekend, and forgot!
If you have a chance to take a pic of your brake controller location, I'd love to see it (we also have the Prodigy). |
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| gross |
| For those of you who tow a decent size boat are you using an equalizer hitch set up or just a plain receiver and ball? And how does the MDX handle the boat as far as sag in the back end? |
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| pcrispy |
Reviving this thread. Any more thoughts on the best placement for a brake controller? I had assumed that I would put mine on the left side above the parking brake. Then do a quick disconnect and store the controller in the glove box any time that I am not towing.
It cracks me up when people state on here that you shouldn't be towing stuff with an MDX that is heavy enough to need weight distribution or a brake controller. News Flash! The MDX can tow as much or more than a 2WD Chevy/GMC 1500 or 2WD Ford F-150. People assume that a truck should always be able to tow more, and they usually do, but that doesn't mean that an SUV like the MDX isn't capable of feats like this too. |
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| lleonidas |
I placed mine under the dash near the center console so that it is just about under the ignition / in front of my right knee. It is very inconspicuous there and easily reached if needing to hit the switch for boosted trailer brake performance -- which I've not needed to at all as the MDX is towing my trailer well.
And on the matter of towing, I can report that I have had no problem towing my 3400lb hybrid travel trailer (trailer weight based on truck scale weighing, loaded for trip). I've so far had minimal sway that I think was all handled by the sway control hitch and not the VSA. Certainly, the vehicle has to work hard and on inclines on the highway 4th gear or even sometimes 3rd gear is necessary. I usually tow with the vehicle in manumatic so that I have some control over the gearing. On level stretches of highway, 5th gear can be used occasionally.
So far we've had 3 camping trips with the trailer, all fairly close to home (furthest tow was 90 miles), and gas mileage plummets -- no surprise -- to about 11 to 12 mpg.
Overall, I am pleased with the performance of my X as a tow vehicle and my only wish is that it were able to tow even more so I could have a larger trailer, but then likely that would cut into fuel economy for everyday driving which right now I'm getting about 21 MPG.
I also wish I had gotten the Navi with rearview camera to help with hitching up, but that was my mistake. |
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| lleonidas |
| Heres a picture of my X with trailer. |
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| dory |
Thanks for the pic! Would you be able to take a pic of where your brake controller is? We were thinking ours might work right under the steering column and we'll just remove it when we don't need it.
Good point about the back-up camera, we LOVE IT for hitching up! |
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| pcrispy |
| lleonidas, what kind of towing mirrors are those? I'm not a big fan of the strap against the paint idea but just wondering how they were working. The suction cup tow-n-see mirrors do not work for the driver's side, the lip on the side of the mirror is way too deep. |
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| lleonidas |
| The mirrors are made by McKesh and can be purchased at www.mckeshmirrors.com. They work great and have not caused any scratches on the paint. I do not get any flapping of the straps with them and they are very easy to remove and reinstall. I can take them off when we get to our camp site and only put them back on when we leave to go home. I have not tried any other mirrors, however these are the best things I've read about online when I was researching mirrors for towing. I am very happy with them. |
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| tbebko |
| This is what I'm towing - No coolers and no brakes :) |
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