Originally Posted By: carguy996
It struggles hard to maintain anything over 65, kept shifting in and out of 6th gear. The owners manual says NOT to run it in D4 when towing loads on the highway. Also I was getting a fair amount of sway and the rear sags a lot. I was hoping that perhaps the Monroe Load Leveler shocks would be available for my van but they aren't. The only thing I saw was the Sumospring coil inserts but that doesn't look wise to me since the van has variable rate springs and I don't want to mess around with the spring rate.
I think you've got a couple things going on here...
Can't understand why Honda would want all that shifting on the highway while towing but I'd defer to their manual vs what we all "think is right".
Check your tires air pressure - camper - up to the max on the sidewall, van max on what Honda says.
The sway is most likely the loading of the trailer - it's a popup so it's probably not the wind catching it like the bigger campers. Check your loading - put the heavy stuff in the front or near/over the axles. Rear heavy on the trailer will cause and amplify sway.
Towing is a different animal and your vehicle will feel 100% different than normal. We pull a 9500lb, 35' travel trailer behind our F150 (yes it's got the correct setup for it) and it's night and day with and without the trailer. Without it, the truck rides well. With it, it's a little bouncy and you know when you are about to get passed. Acceleration, stopping, and maintaining speed is completely different too. So expect a different feel.
You will notice more shifting and that's fine - your engine will sing and it's perfectly fine. Just make sure you keep an eye on temps and oil level as with more RPM comes the chance to burn more oil.