How to Find the Towing Capacity of a 2011 Honda Pilot 4WD  

Question:

Expert Reply:

According to the owner's manual the maximum towing capacity of your 2011 Honda Pilot depends on the number of occupants. It maxes out at 4,500 pounds if you only have 2 people in the vehicle and decreases if you add more passengers. This is the 4-wheel drive model like you have, this decreased to 3,500 pounds for the 2-wheel drive model. This figure assumes each person weighs an average of 150 pounds and is seated from the front of the vehicle back. So the two passengers need to be in the front seats for the full 4,500 pounds. Plus, there can only be 15 pounds of cargo per person. More cargo also decreases the Pilot's towing capacity.

To tow your R-Pod if you fully load it to 3,780 pounds you can have up to 6 passengers as long as they meet the same criteria. According to the manual with 6 people the Pilot can tow up to 3,800 pounds.

So unless you're really packing the Pilot with a bunch of stuff and people to put you over the limit you'll be fine. All 2011 Pilots are equipped with a hitch from the factory but if you need trailer wiring I recommend part # 118253. It plugs into a connector behind the rear bumper on the driver side. Then you need to plug in the Modulite to another conenctor behind the trim panel on the driver side in the rear cargo area. I've linked a video on a 2010 Pilot for you.

The R-Pod 180 has electric brakes and the Pilot's manual also states that Honda recommends trailer brakes if the trailer's weight is more than 1,000 pounds. To activate the trailer brakes the Pilot needs an electric brake controller, like the Prodigy P3 # 90195. To install the P3 use the adapter # 3070-P. The adapter plugs right into a connetor under the Pilot's dashboard so there's no need to splice any wires. I've linked a video of this as well for you.

In addition to the videos I've also linked some articles on towing you might find helpful. Including one on selecting the correct ball mount by finding the difference between your trailer and receiver hitch. I've also linked our selection of ball mounts to fit your Pilot's receiver.

expert reply by: Charles S

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Derek A.

7/15/2020

Hi, I currently own a 2011 Pilot and purchased both the 7-way wiring harness, the P3 brake controller and adapter listed above and here: As a follow-up to the useful advice giving by Charles S., I'm looking into getting a pop-up trailer that's well within the towing capacity of my Honda Pilot (Dry weight of 2,153 lbs and GVWR of 3,063 lbs). My main concern is the hitch weight of the trailer which is 313 lbs. Honda states that with 2 people in the front of the car (150lbs each), my Pilot's maximum tongue load is 450lbs. It drops down to 330lbs. with four people in the car. If me and my wife are in the front seat and the kids are in back along with a full cooler and other items for camping, can my Pilot tow this pop-up safely? Does the tongue weight refer more to the GVWR or the dry weight. Our plan would always be filling up water, etc at the campsite. Thanks in advance,

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Chris R.

7/20/2020

If the tongue weight capacity of your Pilot is still at 330 pounds with 4 people in the vehicle, the 313 pound tongue weight of the trailer is still within its limits. It's certainly creeping up to that capacity but you shouldn't have any issues.

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Eddy

2/22/2021

Hi, The 2011 V6 AWD Pilot's owner's manual states for 4 occupants in the car: Max trailer weight: 4,100 lb Tongue Load = 8%to15% of trailer = 330 lb to 615 lb The Flagstaff E Pro brochure for 20BHS model states: Unloaded trailer weight: 3,513 lb Hitch weight: 455 lb So, I have a "cushion" of 4100-3513 = 587 lb for adding options+cargo although it would be better to keep this cushion much lower for margin of error. But the hitch/tongue limit is confusing. If I pick lower limit of Honda's limit of 330 lb, the E-Pro 20BHS is too heavy at 455lb on hitch. If I pick the higher end of Honda's tongue load at 615 lbs, then the Flagstaff EPro 20BHS seems fine. Am I making any sense? Is this pushing to the limits? Would adding a weight-distributing hitch make matters better or worse or won't matter at all? Any insight would be much appreciated. Thank You!

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Jon G.

2/23/2021

@Eddy Great questions! The 8-15% that Honda states is more of an "acceptable" tongue weight for the vehicle. The best tongue weight percentage to shoot for is about 13%. The exact amount of pounds will vary depending on how much your trailer weighs. I do agree that the 587 lb cushion is not much so I would honestly try to either pack really light or look for a smaller trailer. Anytime the trailer weighs at least half the weight of the tow vehicle we recommend using a weight distribution system (WDS). For your application I recommend using the Blue Ox TrackPro # BLU47FR. At first glance it looks like it's rated too high for your setup, but when it comes to WDS you actually factor in both the loaded tongue weight of your trailer, plus the weight of any cargo behind your rear axle. This should put you in the 600 lb - 800 lb range of this system. I'm attaching a link to some helpful articles about weight distribution that you can check out.

Helpful Links

article-categories.aspx?productgroup=weight-distribution

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