Towing a small utility trailer with a dodge neon

[PingSpike]

My wife and have struggled with decided what to do with our second vehicle. We have a newer elantra that we car pool with to work, my old 99 dodge neon sits in the driveway most of the time. Its worth very little to sell (I think it would be optimistic to get $2K for it, and then only because it only has 82k on it). We look at pickups, but 4WD all get terrible mileage, 2WD ones little better and they stink in the snow. Plus, with plans to start a family soon a pickup isn't exactly the ideal vehicle to put a couple car seats in. I'm starting to realize my pickup fantasy has little root in practicality.

I acknowledge the time the neon has with us is limited...but it gets decent gas mileage, I know most of its problems and the FWD car actually putts around in your average snowfall with little trouble. But I can't haul shit for our house in it or the elantra. The elantra's trunk is spacious for a compact car but of course nothing fits in it. The neon's trunk is an oversized glove compartment. Our hauling needs are probably pretty light duty though.

I'm thinking of slapping a tow hitch on the neon, getting a little utility trailer 4'x8' or maybe 5'x10' and use that to haul garbage to the dump, larger junk home from stores, bring the lawn mower or snow blower in for service, etc. It has a towing capacity of 1000lbs. In a couple years we'll buy a good used subaru or small SUV or something with a little better towing capacity, put a tow hitch on that and continue.

Is this a crazy idea? My parents used to tow a popup camper with chevy corsica and while it wasn't exactly a speed demon it worked.

 

[nakedfrog]

It doesn't sound like you're overly concerned with the long-term lifespan of this vehicle, so I say go for it.
People tow small campers in old VWs with 40-60hp

 

[PingSpike]

Well, the neon isn't really worth a lot right now so its hard to be to overly concerned. There's nothing really wrong with it (currently) besides a small oil leak. But I wasn't really planning on going beyond the alloted towing capacity or towing more then 30-40 miles or something.

However, if I used the same setup with a new(er) vehicle I might be more concerned. I've seen utility trailers that weigh about 250pounds The heaviest thing I can envision putting on the trailer is maybe a ride on lawn mower or I guess I might want to get some paver bricks or mulch or something? But those might be things that I would just have delivered instead anyway...they might be to heavy, particularly some paver bricks.

 

[thedarkwolf]

As long as you don't haul more then its rated for I don't see how you can hurt anything. My freaking miata has a hitch on it and the last owner used it to haul a little utility trailer.

 

[PCMarine]

Go for it, but a couple things first:

If you want to turn your neon into a vehicle strictly/mostly for hauling:
1) Install a transmission cooler - will greatly increase the lifespan of your transmission and increase your towing capacity
edit, a trans cooler looks like this, and shouldn't cost more than $100 in parts.

2) Maybe remove excess weight from rest of car (seats, spare tire and jack, etc), but again, this is if you're just hauling stuff with the neon

 

[Arkaign]

That's nothing worse than having a couple of fat people in your backseat. Just be easy on the starts and stops, no problem.

 

[PingSpike]

Well, I'll probably keep the seats! But as far as the transmission cooler, how much do those run to install? I read some one saying they bought one for $30 at an auto parts store and installed it themselves.

I have a manual transmission in the neon if that matters.

Edit: you already edited to answer some of my questions

 

[PCMarine]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Well, I'll probably keep the seats! But as far as the transmission cooler, how much do those run to install? I read some one saying they bought one for $30 at an auto parts store and installed it themselves.

I have a manual transmission in the neon if that matters.

Edit: you already edited to answer some of my questions

Hmmmm... the trans cooler suggestion was pertaining to cars with automatics transmissions. I don't think you'll need a cooler for your manual neon. Like Arkaign said, just take it easy and towing shouldn't be a big deal at all.

 

[marvdmartian]

Yeah, the worst thing you might notice is a longer period of time/distance to stop, due to having more weight (and thus, momentum).

I've seen a small trailer with a jet ski towed behind a mid-80's Honda CRX, so your car shouldn't have too much trouble.

 

[radioouman]

With a manual, I think that you'll be just fine. I used to do some odd mowing and trimming jobs with a guy that towed a small trailer with a Dodge Omni with a manual transmission. He put mowers and other yard equipment on it. No problems. It is a far more economical choice than buying a pickup.

 

[OUCaptain]

Just remember, getting a car trailer going is the easy part. Stopping them is a whole nother adventure.

 

[jagec]

Not a problem at all.

I tow with my 89 MR2. Of course, I get a tow rating of 1500lbs.

Just take it real easy and you'll do fine.

 

[redgtxdi]

Ok, who's gonna start the parody thread...........

"I've got a Smart Car and want to tow a 32' Weekend Warrior w/ 2 ATV's, and full kitchen inside w/ green, black and grey tanks.....sound OK?"


(Somebody please give me a photochop of such a thing........please!)

Like this but.........well..........more ridiculous!!!

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: OUCaptain
Just remember, getting a car trailer going is the easy part. Stopping them is a whole nother adventure.

x2

who cares if you can hook up and move a loader behind your camry/neon/s-10......please leave the proper distance between cars, don't overload, use a brake controller (on trailers with brakes). Not many light trailers have brakes though, but brake controllers make a world of difference.

Just realize you are driving a car that's not usually even rated at a 1/4 of a truck.

 

[PingSpike]

I think I just realized a bonus to this plan. I can probably borrow my parents van which has a tow hitch on it to tow really heavy stuff.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't look for a trailer with brakes. My long term plan here is to keep the trailer and maybe use it for a little heavier lifting when the neon moves on and is replaced with something like a forester.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Your biggest concerns with this whole plan have been hit on already - maintaining cooler temps with the heavier demands of towing, and ensuring that you have adequate braking. As long as you don't exceed the rated towing capacity of your vehicle, and you have addressed the two issues above, you should be fine. I used to tow a 10' tent camper with an Accord and never had any issues with it.

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I think I just realized a bonus to this plan. I can probably borrow my parents van which has a tow hitch on it to tow really heavy stuff.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't look for a trailer with brakes. My long term plan here is to keep the trailer and maybe use it for a little heavier lifting when the neon moves on and is replaced with something like a forester.

You'll never find a small landscaping trailer with brakes. At least I've never seen one. How much weight are you really going to load on this? Those little trailers weigh almost nothing.