Would like to find a vehicle with OK gas milage to tow a 16′ boat-do not need to pull out a stump or have 5 tons of bricks droped into the vehicle like in the commercials-do not need to ‘compensate’. Would like something reliable-Suggestions?Someone told me the Pilot would work.
Pilots would work fine for a 16′ boat IMHO
A Honda Pilot would be way more than enough to tow a 16 ft. boat. I think they’re rated to tow about 3500-4000 lbs and most 16 ft. boats should not weigh nearly that much. I think they recommend trailer brakes for towing anything over 1100 lbs or so.
I’ve been towing my 17 foot Lund Explore for years with my 2006 Honda Pilot without problems. I do have surge brakes on the trailer. Unfortunately the timing belt just went out so now I’ll have to use my wife’s 2014 Honda Pilot. (See my post on how to sell a non-drivable vehicle 
) I doubt towing the boat had anything to do with the broken timing belt since I’ve towed that boat with the Pilot since both were new in 2006 and the Pilot had 268,000 miles on it.
Boone
I average 17 to 20 mpg pulling a 1875 Lund Pro Guide/ 90 Mercury 4 stroke with a Dodge Durango 6 cylinder, 20 to 27 mpg when not towing.
My neighbor tows a big, glass deckboat with a 140 4-stroke with a Pilot.
I tow my Lund proV 1775 (1996) with my 2014 Pilot. No issues at all. I used to have Yukon XL’s before the Honda. The shorter wheel base on the Honda took a bit to get used too.
used to tow a 1660 pro v lund with a old body 2011 escape 6 cyl. if you can find a 2010-2011 escape with v6 and factory tow they could tow quite a bit for a smaller suv
if looking newer a little off the wall but the Mitsubishi outlander with v6 can tow a good amount for a cheap suv and from what I hear they don’t break. resale nothing like a Honda so would be more the route if you would hang onto it for a long time. for resale you can’t beat a honda
Honda pilot is heavier than i thought. IMO rated towing capacity is the least of my top three concerns when it comes to towing with #1 being how well can the tow vehicle stop what I am towing, #2 can the tow vehicle control the load when the *poo* hits the fan(need weight for that) and #3 can tow vehicle handle the towing that weight.
FYI in my Silverado 1500 I get 17-18 empty and 12.5-14 towing my pro sport 1600 (+/-2500# with trailer), but I don’t do hardly and city driving (like twin cities, lacrosse isn’t exactly city driving). So kind of depends on what you consider ‘good mileage.
If your going to haul any long distances(regardless of vehicle), cover the boat with a decent travel cover, I pulled mine back from Duluth once without the cover on, got barely 10.5 mpg (2-3 mpg loss) and I could feel it pulling harder. Never again, any farther than an hour away and the cover goes on.
I was surprised to find out my wife’s Chevy traverse is only about 500# lighter than my Silverado. Hers doesn’t have the towing package, but if hate to see what towing my boat would do to that things mpg, she only gets about 1.5-2mpg better than me empty.
I own a 2006 Honda Pilot with 197,000 miles and tow a 2004 Lund 1800 Fisherman sitting on a trailer equipped with surge brakes. Fully loaded with fuel and gear, the boat and trailer weighs 3500 pounds or so.
I never had a problem towing the boat, but I don’t beat it up either. Every spring I haul the boat 500 miles north to Sioux Lookout, ON and back. Fuel economy is about 15 mpg.
I have a 2013 Honda Pilot. It tows my 17ft Alumacraft Trophy and trailer, with lots of gear, just fine. Never had a problem. I go up to Sioux Narrows every year in August with the boat. No problem.
It gets 14-15 miles a gallon with the boat on the back. It gets about 20 miles a gallon by itself for how I use it.
I like this car a lot. Nothing but good things to say.
Shouldn’t be a problem at all. I tow with a 2015 Explorer. I get 20-21 mpg with out the boat, and 15ish with the boat (Bayliner 175).
Ok you people always covering your boat thought that was just fussy-makes sense that it would make the boat more aerodynamic-hmmmmm
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