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What is the most weight you've ever towed? Moving in a few months, plan to supplement w/ EV switch

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by SRQ, Jul 27, 2018.

  1. SRQ

    SRQ Member

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    So I'll be renting a U-haul trailer in a few months to move. What's the maximum you guys have towed? The plan is to load up both the car and the trailer and drive the recommended 55 MPH to my destination. I will be using my EV switch to get the car up to the 33 MPH as much as I can, and then going no faster than 55 MPH. I'll have plenty of oil with me and will be checking and noting the amount of oil burned. I'm driving a 2008 with 192k miles. I've towed a U-Haul trailer with it before, but now I have a few more belongings. I'm selling a bunch of stuff I don't need now to save weight and get extra cash, but there will still be more weight than last time.

    Edit: should I also try to fill up the car with everything I can fit in it and THEN fill up the trailer? There will probably be more space than I need in the trailer, but I know for stability purposes it's probably better to max out the car and then distribute the weight to be heavier at the the front of the trailer. That way there's less stress on the hitch setup.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what purpose does using ev serve?
     
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  3. SRQ

    SRQ Member

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    The purpose is to reduce strain on the ICE when accellerating up to at least 34 MPH. My main concern regarding that though is the drain on the battery, although the initial EV switch accelleration will not happen often since I'll only pull over for gas. I travel with prepared food to avoid eating the convenient trash that's served along the highway, and also since it's difficult to find gas stations and grocery stores near each other along the highway that could serve as good preplanned gas/grocery/restroom stops on the fly.
     
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  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    You don't understand how the EV switch works. Its just to chug around the parking lot briefly and slowly. Pretty worthless. You wont go 10 feet in ev with the trailer and car loaded. Well actually you can drive in ev till the battery is depleted. With a big weight load you can count that in feet on a 2008 battery.

    Not sure how far your going but at that many miles on your car hope not to far. Age and mile wise Your right in the window for a tired hybrid battery and doing what your planning will put an extraordinary load on the car and that battery. You will quickly discover the weak point in your car.

    If you must do this put all the weight you can on the center of the trailer axle and try to balance it. I tow alot and the bad part about towing in a G2 is it basically disables the regen braking so your left with the really weak hydraulic brake system so not much braking with a big load.

    The car is finely tuned for its base weight but was never designed to haul around weight.

    And hopefully you will not have to go up any big hills because that will kill you in this heat.
     
    #4 edthefox5, Jul 27, 2018
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2018
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    without putting it in ev, it will use engine and battery, which i think would be better. does she burn any oil now?
     
  6. SRQ

    SRQ Member

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    Yes, the car burns oil now.

    Looks like I'll forgo the EV switch idea; however as I said I have towed in the car before, and I'll only have a few extra hundred pounds of belongings. I'll be staying at 55 MPH and will be closely monitoring the vehicle, this trip should be less stressful than the last one where I consistently went 70 MPH.

    I will be towing in the cooler months, likely during the night as well. Minimal braking will be used due to the smaller braking system, with a primary focus on slowing down to be just anticipating the need to do so and letting go of the gas/cruise control. That combined with going 55 MPH should minimize strain on the car.
     
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a few hundred pounds isn't going to hurt anything. put the heavy stuff in the other car.
     
  8. egg_salad

    egg_salad Active Member

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    For $600 you can rent a truck and a trailer to put your Prius on. Why are you trying to use a screwdriver to drive a nail?
     
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    How far are you going?
     
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  10. justlee

    justlee Junior Member

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    How does pulling a trailer disable the regen braking? I would think you would get more regen and that would help getting rolling again thus slightly cancelling the extra weight of pulling the trailer. What am I not understanding? I can see losing gas mileage from extra wind resistance when highway driving but a short trip around town shouldn't hurt too much?
     
  11. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    You Have never towed anything in a Prius have you?

    I said basicly meaning it feels like it has no regen braking.

    And how does more regen help you get rolling again and in closing what he hell are you talking about?
     
  12. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Regen braking has its limits.
    So you can drive around and use almost only regen brake if you don't have steep or long downhills and start slowing down early. But with extra weight (trailer and stuff) same downhill or same slowing distance requires you to press the brake harder and engage the hydraulic brakes or fill up the hybrid battery (energy can't be stored in the battery anymore when it's already full). Yes there's a bit more regen happening with the extra weight but not much because regen and battery size have limits (and they are designed for just for car itself) and system is not nearly 100% efficient. Also with the extra load you will likely get the gas engine to high powered less efficient operating area more and that will further reduce the fuel economy.
     
  13. oil_burner

    oil_burner Active Member

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    I have really pushed the limit and towed about 1500lb with another 600lb of stuff in the back seats/trunk. Generally the Prius does fine but you do have to be very careful how you load the trailer not to get any sway. Remember heaviest objects at the front and light objects at the rear and centre the load. Regen works fine, it charges the battery faster with the extra weight. But that doesn't translate to faster acceleration. Brakes suffer, you need to brake very early. To some of us having driven larger trucks from the 80's it does not feel unsafe at all. If you are used to towing with a modern pickup truck then you have some adjustments to learn. Tire pressure very important as well make sure trailer tires and car tires are all properly inflated. If your car burns oil make sure it is full and a coolant change is wise.