Back from our holiday road trip - very happy overall

[pearsonrj]

We spent 11 days on a 1,500 mile road trip San Francisco - Death Valley - Las Vegas - San Diego - LA/Manhattan Beach and back to the SF East Bay over the holidays. 4 adults, 6 kids aged 9/10/11/12/13/14. Our 2011 Pilot with a Yakima Skybox 16s cargo box, and our 2008 Toyota Prius with a Thule Frontier ES cargo box. 2 adults/4 kids in the Pilot, 2 adults/2 kids in the Prius.

Observations:
We used all the technology that the Touring Pilot has to offer to its fullest. Cruising down the road, DVD or Netflix via an iPhone playing on the rear screen, kids with wired and wireless headphones sitting in silence, me and front passenger listening to XM radio, able to make and receive call hands-free, GPS showing me where I need to go. Very nice.

Gas mileage averaged about 20mpg - very happy with that given the rooftop cargo box and carrying 6 - 9 people plus a trunk filled to the roof. The Prius suffered badly when loaded with the rooftop cargo box: 32 - 34 mpg where usually it would get 45 mpg mainly freeway. The roof box really destroys the finely-tuned aerodynamics of the hybrid and cruising 70+mph also works against the Prius.

Sightseeing around LA we squeezed 9 into the Pilot (2 front, 4 middle, 3 rear), with no complaints. Saved taking two cars.

The opening rear glass is a real advantage when you're packing in as much as you can. Fill the trunk up to the top of the cargo net then close the trunk and open the glass. You can load stuff in right up to the roof, with the 3rd row headrests raised. It's not a huge trunk but that feature makes the most of it.

All the little door pockets and other storage cubbies came in really useful so all the passengers could bring iPods/iPads/Kindles/books/PSPs etc with which to entertain themselves.

Although the Pilot has less interior space than a minivan, it instilled much more confidence in me when driving in the desert and occasional dirt - much more solidly built, and the wheels/tires are much more capable of handling rocks, curbs and potholes in LA for example (and I used to own a 2002 Odyssey). Plus, you couldn't fit 9 in an Odyssey at a pinch I don't think.

[1YESfan]

Nice to read you had a safe and fun trip and that you enjoyed your Pilot.

[coffeejay]

Makes me want to take a similar trip!

[ponyboy13]

Thanks for sharing your experiences on your roadtrip. How did you connect the iPhone to the rear screen?

Thanks,
PB

[coffeejay]

Ponyboy I bought an RCA adapter from the apple store and connected into the RCA ports in the rear. Not sure how pearsonrj did it though

[pearsonrj]

Ponyboy13 - I used a cable with an Apple docking connector and USB plug at one end, and 3 RCA plugs at the other (it's an Apple accessory) - then plug it into the RCA jacks at the back of the center console. It charges your iPod/iPhone while you are watching. The video quality is not as good as a DVD but it saved bringing a mass of DVDs along on the trip.

[coffeejay]

Originally Posted by pearsonrj

Ponyboy13 - I used a cable with an Apple docking connector and USB plug at one end, and 3 RCA plugs at the other (it's an Apple accessory) - then plug it into the RCA jacks at the back of the center console. It charges your iPod/iPhone while you are watching. The video quality is not as good as a DVD but it saved bringing a mass of DVDs along on the trip.

Question for you. Did you have an issue with the audio with this method? When using this method the audio would cut off 15 second after starting any kind of playback.

[pearsonrj]

coffeejay - other than the occasional fuzzy line across the screen we have not had any issues using the cable...

[coffeejay]

Ok thanks for responding. I have some figuring out to do.

[Tmuchacho]

Sounds like a great trip! I guess the VCM kicking in and out is not so noticeable on your Pilot. I have an '11' with 5000 miles that I may trade in since it's driving me crazy, good luck with yours.

[titleist]

Nice! We're taking four adults (maybe 5) and two kids (one booster, one child's seat) in April down to Disneyland. I think I need to rent a Yakima Skybox.

[mudbog]

Another option:
When hauling more crap than our Pilot can hold, we use a Stowaway2 container that plugs into the hitch receiver. It's easier to get into vs a roof mounted container and it's hinged to swing out to the side so you can still get into the rear of the Pilot without removing the box.

Another thing to consider is that in some states, there are height sensors on the turnpike tool gates. If you have a roof mounted container and the vehicle is too high, you get charged a higher rate.

[titleist]

Originally Posted by mudbog

Another option:
When hauling more crap than our Pilot can hold, we use a Stowaway2 container that plugs into the hitch receiver. It's easier to get into vs a roof mounted container and it's hinged to swing out to the side so you can still get into the rear of the Pilot without removing the box.

That's a good option. But, I can rent a Skybox from Rack and Road for $30/day AND not have to store any box when it's not in use... which is like 99% of the time.

[rocky]

Netflix via iphone. Great idea.

[pearsonrj]

Originally Posted by titleist

That's a good option. But, I can rent a Skybox from Rack and Road for $30/day AND not have to store any box when it's not in use... which is like 99% of the time.

Agreed - personally I considered that option for our trip, but it would have been an 11 or 12 day rental. For an additional $150 I get to keep the Skybox for another trip, and I've managed to squeeze it into my garage.