Parts Needed to Flat Tow 1994 Honda Civic DX with 2004 Honda Odyssey

Question:

Hello I have a 2004 Honda Odyssey EX with 135k miles on it. I live in San Jose, CA and driving to San Diego, CA, about 650 miles. I also own a 1994 Honda Civic DX Hatchback. Can I tow the Civic with Odyssey to San Diego. There would not be any additional weight in the Civic. Just the weight of the Civic itself. If yes, what type of tow hitch would you recommend? Thank you.

asked by: Fred

Expert Reply:

I looked up the towing capacity of your 2004 Honda Odyssey EX and it looks to have a capacity of 3,500 lbs. The weight of your 1994 Honda Civic DX looks to be right at 2,100 lbs so you should be fine. I'd recommend installing a transmission cooler on your Odyssey like the part # D13503 to prolong the life of the transmission.

For a base plate kit to fit the Odyssey you'd want the Roadmaster kit part # 508-1 to provide the attachment point for the tow bar.

In addition to the base plates, you will also need a compatible tow bar, safety cables, lighting, and supplemental braking to flat tow your vehicle. The most popular compatible tow bar is the Falcon 2, # RM-520. For safety cables you can use # RM-643. The coiled design helps keep the cables off of the ground.

For lighting you can use the diode kit, # RM-15267, and not have to worry about cutting into the taillight housing. This will splice into your taillight wiring to allow your tow vehicle to control the taillight assemblies of the towed vehicle. This comes with a round 6-way connector that you will install on the front of your towed vehicle and enough coiled wire to go from there to the RV.

And finally, most states now require supplemental braking in the vehicle being flat towed. The easiest system to set up and use is the Blue Ox Patriot # BLU37TR, that applies the vehicle brakes in proportion to how much the tow vehicle is braking. This is the safest way to stop and it reduces wear and tear on both vehicles.

Most likely you will also need a high low adapter so that the tow bar will be level when you are flat towing. I attached a link to a page that has all of the ones we carry.

I have included a couple of helpful links to our articles on flat towing for you. Be sure to consult the vehicle owners manual for more specific information on flat towing your vehicle.

You'll need to have a hitch installed on your Odyssey if you don't already. For that you'd want the Draw Tite part # 75270 that you referenced. Then for wiring you'd need the # 118336 and you'd be set.