Hey let’s get hitched!

The only problem with towing in a Prius or any other front wheel drive vehicle, is that anything heavier than an extremely light trailer is simply dangerous...

 

My brother has a Jeep with a hitch.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jul 28 2006, 05:11 PM) [snapback]293837[/snapback]</div>

I disagree with your generalisation about towing with a front wheel drive vehicle!

Providing that you conform to the manufacturers recommended maximum towing weight of the vehicle and are sensible about the trailer nose weight there is no danger. Over the past 20+ years I've towed 16 foot caravans and various trailers with my cars, which have all been standard front wheel drive, over some of the most difficult terrain in Britain & Europe. I agree that if your rear suspension is soft it can cause a problem but surely you configure your car for the job in hand with suspension assisters if that's the case.

The prius in the UK hasn't been type approved for towing, presumably that's also the case in the States, therefore tow bars are also not type approved. Towing a trailer with a receiver hitch is illegal but not dangerous if common sense is used.

Stuart S

 

I know if a person chooses to modify their vehicle appropriately it is possible to tow with front wheel drive. The reason I made my statement is that in my experience, most people do not want to modify their vehicles with the exception of adding the hitch itself, and most folks tend to go to a U-haul or other place and just install whatever they think is supposed to be installed. The engineering of a tow system is beyond most peoples understanding, or desire to understand.

I would not sleep well at night if I thought for a single moment that someone loaded up a trailer on a front wheel drive vehicle, drove a vehicle on it, and took off down the road with the front end floating like the breeze.

I have been towing stuff since before I had a drivers license and from what I have seen anything more than a light small boat trailer is simply too much for the average driver to handle.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jul 28 2006, 02:49 PM) [snapback]293984[/snapback]</div>

Are you talking about pulling a CAR on a trailer with a Prius?? That's ridiculous. No one is doing that, nor even suggesting it. It wouldn't matter if your car is front-wheel or rear-wheel drive. If you overburden the car you will compromise safety and damage the vehicle.

I think a lot of people with "trailer hitches" use them for bike carriers, like I do. It's a convenient attachment point for a bike rack and it makes it easy to load and unload the bikes. It also keeps the bikes out of the airstream on top of the car. Roof racks really kill milage and they expose the bikes to the hazards of low-hanging stuff.

 

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of it, but I have used my 4x8 utility trailer with my Prius. I used it to move a bunch of my stuff across town. The two biggest loads were a washer and dryer pair with assorted boxes, followed by a '79 honda 750cc motorcycle. Both of those loads felt like they were pushing the limits, but more of the trailer then the car. For the other trips, I carried as many boxes of random household stuff as would fit. The car and trailer behaved beutifully, though I never exceded 55mph. I've also used it to move branches and small logs around my property after we cleared part of a really big tree. That was effortless (well, except loading and unloading the branches ), without pavement, either.

To those preparing to tow, please read the "hitch melting the bumper" thread. If you use a Uhaul hitch, make sure to change the exhaust flow to keep it off the hitch.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jul 28 2006, 05:49 PM) [snapback]293984[/snapback]</div>

I think the GVW of a trailer pulled by an owner of a 'towing not recommended' vehicle would have a proper tongue weight SUBSTANTIALLY lower than the weight of 3 or 4 bicycles on a rack, either rear or receiver hitch mounted.

Proper tongue weight is 10 to 15% of the GVW. Assuming your bikes and rack weigh only 100 pounds, an equivilent trailer and load would weigh 700 to 1000 pounds. A small utility trailer weighing 150 or 175# would only have a load capacity of maybe 300 pounds, probably less. Well below that 700 GVW trailer with a 15% tongue weight and more than I could see myself wanting to tow behind my Prius.

 

Here you go. Prius towing Shifter Kart. The loaded trailer weighs about 400 pounds, I'm guessing tounge weight is around 20 pounds or so (easily lifted with one hand). I've intentionally balanced it so that there is just enough tounge weight to keep the trailer from rattling on the hitch. I can barely notice the trailer being pulled, no handling problems at all. Mileage drops to about 42 while towing from a normal of about 50. [attachmentid=4512]

BTW, note the Formula Ford being towed in the background. Guess which race car is faster, the Formula Ford or the shifter kart? Hint: bigger isn't always better

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jul 28 2006, 10:11 AM) [snapback]293837[/snapback]</div>

I guess I have to jump in here on this one. This statement is simply not true. Many SUV's and minivan's for example are front wheel drive. Our SUV is Front wheel drive when the 4 WD is not kicked in. The manufacturers publish towing specs for them and even put the hitch on the vehicle. We're not talking cheap or unknowledgable hitch installations here.

If you stay within the manufacturers maximum towing capacity and tongue weight this is not dangerous. Putting a light tongue load on the back end of a vehicle that is sporting a few thousand pounds of it's own weight, nevermind the fact that a lot of that weight is forward of the center of gravity with the engine and the front half of the vehicle, the front wheels are not close to being lifted enough to affect the handling, even during acceleration.

To say that towing "with any other front wheel drive vehicle ... is simply dangerous" is a bit of an extreme statement.

Yes, if you tow beyond the manufacturers recommendations on tongue weight you can find yourself with a whole new experience in steering. And if you exceed the maximum towing capacity you could fry your transmission, brakes, or have a unique experience in stopping the load. Which of course means any towing at all with the Prius.

I'm curious what would happen if you got into an accident with a Prius towing something. By definition you are exceeding the manufacturers recommended capabilities of the vehicle. Do you therefore have some new liability? Can they hit you with careless or reckless operation of a vehicle? Is it illegal or just poor judgment in the eyes of the law?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(narf @ Aug 16 2006, 03:42 PM) [snapback]304250[/snapback]</div>

Sweet - what are the graphis on the side? got a better pic of that?

 

Hey Cheap!, do you know what kind of trailer was being towed.

Wayne

 

-

 

For those who have a hitch, which hitch did you get and where did you buy it?

Thanks,
Curt

 

Just ordered the Coastal 2" hitch reciever because there are more options for reciever adornments than for the smaller receiver. besides, I have a Thule 2" Bike rack that I use with my Audi TT Roadster, so I wanted to be able to use it on both cars.

Imagine a propeller on the back of a Prius - and the people behind you wondering what you tow!

 

Cheap! the trailer is a Magneta Trailer.

Wayne

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Aug 17 2006, 10:13 AM) [snapback]304765[/snapback]</div>

yep, that's me... plusaf. three times 'cross the USA in that configuration.
got questions?
start with my pages listed above.
want a photo? how about My Trailer hooked to my Prius....?
gobs of details at: Saga of my Prius, with trailering details....