So I know I'll have to remove the rear drive shaft to flat tow my Rodeo, but I was thinking of easy ways to get it hooked up.

Since I have a Class III hitch already on the front of the Rodeo for my winch, is there anything that just plugs in to that? It seems like it would be more than strong enough, but I haven't seen anything pre-made for that.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!!!

I've towed my 5 speed Rodeo over 50,000 miles before the tail shaft bearing in the tranny started to howl.

Go to a RV Store and ask them about tow bars and drive shafts. For Automatics there are add on slip joint that are remote operated that can solve the DS issue.
As far what you need for your application, we don't know. We can't tell what transmission you have in your Honda.

I wouldn't put all my trust in a single mount 2 inch reciever up front to handle all the stress of a towed vehicle. There are a lot of issues associated with a single mounting point tow bar. May work well for a yard tractor but not on a public highway. Not to mention the braking issue. My Rodeo has an air brake assist that ties into my Motorhomes brakes and applies the Rodeos brakes in conjunction with the MH's. Makes all the difference in the world and has saved my life more than once coming out of the mountains. Check out Roadmaster.com.

Why not consider a trailer with electric brakes? About the same money as a real tow bar & brakes system like the Motorhomes use. Not to mention how handy a trailer is to have around.

CJ

The Rodeo is an automatic.

I understand there are a lot of stresses to single point towing, but the front hitch is solidly constructed and meant to take a winch. It's pretty darn strong.

I for one dont see much of a problem, considering you still have a hitch that is rated probably twice as much as the rodeo weighs that is mounted to a substantial frame. Sure it might be a single point, but that weight is then transfered to both sides of the frame. Which is about what a normal, cant think of what its called right now, car towing hitch would do. Consider this on the oppositte end, the vehicle that is doing the towing, will have the same stresses applied to it. Well, the stresses wont be the same considering the frame strength and thickness may be different, but the forces will be the same. The only problem I can see is stability. If you do that, you should probably have a rigid mount that would go right in the receiver, and have the ball coupler on the other end. Im not too sure how well it would do around corners, but assuming you have mostly straight roads, I think it would work rather well. But I guess any time you flat tow something, its not too easy around corners. But like I said, the forces acting on the frame will be basically the same as if you were to flat tow it using the tow bar, now I think of the word <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />. But this is just what I think and can figure. I may be wrong, and will apreciate any correction to further enhance my knowledge on all things auto.

Dan

I dont know where you would find a tow bar that would work in your reciever hitch, nor am I sure thats really a good idea, though I cant articulate why. If you've already got a hitch up there it would be easy enough to add the 2 tabs that a reese or other brand tow bar mounts to. Also if you're gonna try the reciever thing, remember the bar MUST be hinged at the front of the towed vehicle so that it can swing up and down, otherwise you'll be trying to lift the whole front end of the truck any time you go up or down a driveway.

Dallas