Towing with Prius C

Nice so the tent opens up and has legs?

Is that a Cargo trailer?

I would love to pull a trailer trailer one day with brakes. I want to add a transmission oil cooler with pump as well but when I did the 1600lbs pull it was slow up the mountain. A lot of trucks though were much slower then me so I went up with them.

 

Corwin Toyota in Fargo ND installed a Curt Hitch and Curt Wiring Harness in my new Used 2013 Prius c Three. I added the Rola 59507 hitch carrier and a Rola 59516 LED light kit. We also use a Saris Freedom 2 bike rack for 2 bikes. I'm not worried about it being under powered because my c is Flux Capacitor powered.

 

I like that cargo carrier with the LED brakes lights in the back.

Sounds like your dealer was nice to install that hitch and not say something about warranty?

 

I'm very aware of the warrant and that has been discussed ad nau·se·am here on Prius Chat.

 

Placing a bicycle rack onto your Prius - even the C-model will not, can-not void your warranty.
Period.
Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The dealer has to prove that hauling a 20-pound bike on a 30 pound carrier contributed to the problem that you're trying to get fixed under warranty.

Towing large and heavy items with a 2500# car is a different thing altogether, and it's been covered many times, in many threads, on many forums.
There's a difference between hauling a bicycle and towing a camper.

Since common sense ISN'T, Toyota takes the wise legal stance that Priuses have a Zero-pound tow rating.
However (comma!!) this does not excuse them from honoring their power train warranty.
They can refuse the warranty claim (and they might!) but if you go after them, the legal burden of proof is still on them.

YMMV!

 

I've been meaning to post this for two months. Back in August I drove a 2012 Prius C from Orlando FL to Los Angeles, CA, with a hitch installed at U-haul, and the 5x10 trailer. I had only one problem with the hybrid system overheating, I was climbing a mountain and it was 102 degrees outside. I pulled over, waited ten minutes, and it started up no problem. Besides that, I drover through LA traffic, and mountains no other problems. Just give yourself room to stop.

Weight was 700 lbs with the trailer, 900 more with the contents, 320 lbs in passengers and probably a couple hundred more on the roof racks. Gas was about 22 mpg average. Shitty but better than my corolla gets.

 

Nice! Love hearing about tows.

You don't have scan gauge to monitor the temps?

So you were over 2000lbs with the total load! You have the record on the C!

I have no temp problems with 1300lbs but drag plays a big roll. My jetski seems to be fine.

The roof rack is rated for 135lbs but you had no issues with it going over that?

 

No man, no issues with anything, my grandmother says it was angels on my side... I'm not sure what scan gauge is, so I have no idea what the temp was, I just shut it off. I've never seen that error before, I drive for uber and once had 9 people in the car too, the C is a tough little car!

 

I see lots of people talk about towing with a Prius C. However does anyone PLEASE have pictures of a Prius C towing?

 

A couple of years back when I got my C I installed a Hidden Hitch Class I receiver (1 1/4") and then the Curt T-Connector 4 pole wiring harness.

I tow a 5x8 enclosed trailer, the trailer is a V-Nose with rear ramp and side door that weighs 650 lbs empty. Aside from the occasional Home Depot and County dump runs consisting of 300-400 lbs I have the trailer setup to carry a motorcycle, my smallest bike is the one I use the trailer for as the 125cc isn't interstate friendly. It's a 125cc Honda Grom that weighs 225 lbs. My car has a full size spare that matches the other (3/4 season) wheels/tires I run instead of the little donut as well as a jump starter and some other essentials. All in max load weight I am under 1000 lbs total. The car tows well and doesn't work nearly as hard as it did when I took a trip in it (without the trailer) from MD to Pittsburgh, PA. When towing I get 25-30mpg.

URL=http://s448.photobucket.com/user/slolane_md/media/PriusC/20160323_105846_zpsrzd93k9m.jpg.html][/URL]

 

Nice pull!! The front area and size of the trailer play an important roll over weight sometimes.

Glad to see your pulling a trailer with a motorcycle. Keep speeds low around lows 60mph helps for safety and heat on the transmission.

 

Thx. Yes, I believe the V-nose helps a good bit since the trailer is taller than my car. The trailer is a good width for the car too, not needing any other mirrors to see well, anything wider I think it would. I keep my speeds 55ish and drive it nice and easy (as usual). I have been towing since I started driving 27 years ago and this car does really well.

 

Hi David, what trailer and bars are you using? Did you make the bars yourself? Thanks.

 

Every manual for every small car I have owned for the past 25 years or so has specifically recommended no trailer. I have towed small trailers behind every one. Mostly very light, mostly short distance, usually flat (with one notable exception behind an old Ford Festiva). I did pull over 1000 lbs behind a 'regular' Prius for a few miles, and it offered such low resistance I barely knew it was there (makes me wonder about overall weight and its relation to rolling resistance and so on...). I now pull about 300 lbs of boat and trailer behind a Prius C on flat ground for a one-way distance of 7 or 8 miles. Again, barely know it is there with much less resistance than when I put a kayak or two on top. All that said, a trailer adds a whole new dimension to your driving, so if you do pull one, with any vehicle, extra care is more than prudent. Watch speed, be hyper defensive behind others to allow for braking, like that.

 

I thought I'd add this photo for reference's sake. I just installed a Reese Towpower that I got from Amazon for $89. Exact same hitch as Drawtite, but with a different sticker--box even said Drawtite, among other labels. Fit and quality is fine, considering I'll never tow anything more than about 400 lbs. I just bought a Northern Tool / Ultra Tow aluminum 40 x 48" trailer for it that weighs about 125 lbs, 70 of which is in the wheels, springs, and axle. FWIW, the aluminum version is only about 15 lbs weight savings over the steel version, but the shipping was included, as were the LED lights.

Anyway, the hitch's install height as measured from the top of the drawbar is about 13". I might not even need to get the 5" riser drawbar for that little trailer, as the 2-1/4" one looks like it might carry the trailer level. We'll see.

 

I have the CURT hitch on my C. So far have only used it for a bike rack, but would like to have a lightweight trailer for camping purposes.

Class 1 Trailer Hitch with 1-1/4" Receiver SKU #11299 for $179.99 by CURT Manufacturing

 

Nice trailer, has a 45 mph speed rating. Wonder how it would fair at highway speeds.
I guess you would have to have the tires balanced for highway speeds.

 

I have the Uhaul hitch installed and no issue towing around 1000lbs ( Uhaul motorcycle trailer + CBR600RR). Just really slow when merging onto a highway

 

This trailer weight 250# and is highway rated.
Looks good.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Carry-On-Trailer-3-5-ft-x-5-ft-Wire-Mesh-Utility-Trailer/3680952

 

That Lowe's trailer looks about a thousand times more capable than the little aluminum trailer I bought. It's about twice the weight and the sides appear to be welded in place, which is less of a factor for Prius Jr. than it is for me taking it through personnel doors or leaning it up against the shed in the backyard. If I didn't need to do those things, I'd have likely bought that trailer instead.

I don't have a lot of good things to say about the Northern Tool / Ultra Tow aluminum trailer, and I haven't even finished assembling it yet. The frame is lightweight but even lighter duty. The leaf springs, however, don't even hint at flexing with my ample nice person jumping on them. Basically, they're way too stiff for the flimsy trailer frame that's likely to someday fail because aluminum isn't particularly fond of repetitive flexing, which it will do everywhere, even totally unloaded. The only saving grace is that with two bolts, I can remove leaf springs and thus the whole axle, splitting the whole trailer into two 60-ish lb parts that easily fit through any door. The cheap bias ply tires are both unbalanced and unrated for speed, but they do at least give a 55 mph rating on the wheel. There's a chance I may take this trailer on a 2,000 mi trip soon, so I'll get them balanced and peel off that sticker before I go.