Towing Maintenance

[jtbmoore]

I tow a 4000lb travel trailer about 150 miles each way. I have done about 6 trips with my trailer and was wondering what type of maintenance I should consider. Should I service the transmission every few trips or would that be overkill. I get my normal oil changes but have not done anything else. I have 23000 miles on my truck. Any suggestions would be great.

[ROTORRAY]

You might check your owner's manual for "SEVERE" service, which I think towing falls under. It should spell out exactly what you should do. Given Honda's lousy tranny history I don't think exceeding their severe recommendation would be overkill. I change my tranny fluid every-other oil change. It's only 3 quarts and, in my book anyway, is cheap insurance. When you consider the tranny is $4K, $12-$15 for tranny fluid once in a while is cheap piece of mind.

[Webwader]

Honda's recommendations for RLs that tow is to change the transmission fluid every 30,000 miles and the VTM-4 fluid every 15,000 miles. In 34,000 miles, 12,000+ miles were towing 3,500 lb. I follow Honda's recommendation and have had no issues with the power train.