bubba928

Always have your trailer tire pressures at their maximum psi as they run cooler on the road.

Your current tow vehicle will be fine for now.

A good start, so far.

Frank 993 C4S

Why do you think this is the case? I have a TPMS System and it shows that my pressures increase by about 5 psi and 10-20 deg F from cold when under way . Why not start with manufacturer recommended cold pressures?

RickBetterley

It's been said a trailer is an accident waiting to happen (hope that settles the OP's mind).
Lots of good advice here, including 'relax, you will be ok'

ShakeNBake

+1, I get about 5psi, and up to a +40F swing depending on the sun. I've never seen it go down (yet).

tgavem

Take the trailer with the car on it to a place where you can measure tongue weight. Measure tongue weight/load, and adjust car position on the trailer so tongue weight is close to MDX rating. Mark spot with tape or black marker for future reference. If tongue weight is light, your trailer will sway behind you at higher speeds. Not fun.

In the trailer thread above here, there are some good tips as well regarding loose strap experience. After 20-30 min, stop and check. Then every 2-3 hours after.

dgrobs

Just got home from Lightning. Event was great.

My maiden trailer voyage is finally behind me.

All went well.

Thanks so much to all the folks who posted advice. Was very helpful. Still nervous, but not as much..

Need bed.......

T&T Racing

Goodyear has a Made in America trailer tires.....Goodyear Endurance. Purchased 4 for my dual axle trailet this year. I support service and pitching trailer tires every 5 years even if tread depth is OK.


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hf1

Assuming that you're driving in an instructed run group and that your car is street-legal (with street tires and alignment), does it make sense to be trailering from Northern NJ to NJMP, or to anywhere else for that matter -- plus, killing the transmission on a sub-optimal (hence unsafe) tow vehicle?

dgrobs

The car is still street legal, but it won't be after this season is over.

The alignment is not a street alignment. New control arms up front saw to that as the alignment was taken out quite a bit with the new adjustable control arms that went in last month, but yes, the car is still street legal.

The reason I got the trailer was the mileage that I was putting on the car (it is only used for track use now) going to and from many many track days this season. I put 8000 miles on the car just driving to and from various tracks since I got this car in May. (Yes, the addiction came on strong and swift and really hit hard this season). I was not this bad with the track days until this season. Just the Tremblant DE put 1500 miles total on the car alone.

Then there were 5 trips to The Glen, at least 12 to Palmers, 3 to Pocono, and a bunch of others in between.

Also, if I am at a track a long way from home, like VIR or Tremblant, I do not want to be stranded if something happens to the car during a track event. I can still get myself, and possibly the car, home if something goes wrong with the car at the track.

There is a good chance that I will be getting a new tow vehicle (new to me anyway), sometime over the winter if can can talk the wife into it. It might cost me an extra trip to The Caribbean or Europe with her, but it would be worth it to me if everyone stays happy and the money spent on another tow vehicle is kept to something not crazy.

The MDX towed the car fine this past weekend both ways and I didn't feel any sway behind me. For the most part, I was doing the speed limit and maybe a few mph over, but for the most part, it was speed limit driving with lots of space left in front of me wherever i was.

Just curious, what makes the MDX an unsafe tow vehicle? It is rated at 5000 lbs towing capacity, and I am towing right around 4000 lbs (car and trailer together). What makes the MDX unsafe as a tow vehicle? It may not be the ideal tow vehicle, but it's what i have for now. What makes it unsafe? Any advice concerning that would be most helpful, so please give me your thoughts and advice on the safety issue you are talking about. That's information I could definitely use. Thanks for any and all thoughts on the safety issues you see here.

I am still relatively new to this compared to most (if not all) of you, so any advice on safety with the MDX would be appreciated. Thank you.

MSR Racer

Main problem is “tail wag the dog effect”. MDX is too light for what you towing. If you catch any serious wind or rain, you have a very unstable or even scary rig. This is common knowledge.

I first towed with a 1/2 ton and quickly moved to a 3/4 tom diesel. That’s the only way I will tow a car trailer now....never with a MDX type vehicle. Braking ability is also severely limited with a light tow vehicle.

DTMiller

The MDX will do fine until December when you buy an enclosed trailer and an F350.

hf1

^this.
The MDX will be "fine" 99.99% of the time, except for frying its transmission. It's that 0.01% where size will make a decisive difference: strong side winds, wakes of large tractor trailers passing, sudden strong braking, turning, or lane changing, etc.

dgrobs

Understood, and thank you.
I will weigh my options when the season is over and take this advice to heart. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.
Any suggestions for a better tow vehicle that won't break the bank and will be "safer" than the MDX?
I have seen many folks towing with a Cayenne and similar SUV's.
Any suggestions for a "reasonably priced" tow vehicle?
(The wife is not gonna be crazy about this).

177mph

"Suggestion for a tow vehicle" threads are like "which oil do you use" threads. They go on for days and everyone's right.

By the time you get to page 11 they'll have you buying an enclosed gooseneck and a diesel F350. Just do some research and read up on trailering tips. You'll be fine.

jlanka

re: Tow vehicle, most generally accepted would be diesel pickup with the Cummins (AKA Dodge) being thought to be most reliable. I need the SUV so I got the Ford Expedition EL (which contains the 3.5 Ecoboost). This tows "ok" but if I had my druthers I would get a diesel pickup.