Towing Capacities and Capabilities

[Stunt]

So my parents offered me a seadoo since all of the kids have now moved out of the house and they have no use for them. I own a 2dr honda civic coupe which I love because it's cheap on gas, cheap to maintain, and fun to drive (standard). Seadoos are fairly light, so I think I can tow it behind the civic so I don't have to buy a new car that probably isn't going to fit my needs like my current car does.

I found a site that offers trailer hitches for my model of civic (only $60-$90); it's a respectable brand and has a towing capacity of 2000lbs total, 200lbs at the ball. The seadoo I'd be carrying is 900lbs (add 500lbs for the trailer) so well under the limits of the hitch manufacturer.

My big concern is the functionality of launching and whatnot. The civic is a front wheel drive car and is low to the ground; therefore when weight is placed on the back wheels (backing down the ramp) there's less weight on the driving wheels (front wheels). On steep slopes i could have a tough time with slipping. Similarly I could have issues with shallow slopes as the car can't go deep in like a high SUV. Then there's the weight of the water logged trailer and seadoo when pulling out. Are there any calculations available on the net or that you guys can recommend to assist with the capabilities of a car when trailering, launching and pulling boats out of the water.

Assistance with this is appreciated!!

 

[Stunt]

My civic has 115hp and 110 ft.lb. at 4500 rpm torque.

Ideally I'd like to find out a maximum/minimum incline that the civic could do...I'm sure it can pull it...hell I can do that on my own.

 

[Stunt]

I'm not the only one who has tried this...haha...just thought I'd post this before people get all over me for towing with a compact car
link

Question
Hi Shayne,

I have a 2001 Honda Civic LX, Manual transmission. I have had an itch to get an ATV for several years. I was wondering if my car would be capable of towing an ATV that weighs 540 lbs, and a trailer that is 350 lbs. A total weight of 890 lbs? And if it can should I make any modifications to the car to help it get the job done?

Thanks,

Jack


Answer
I would check your owner's manual, but I think you should be fine up to 1,000 lbs. Be careful you don't overload the car or trailer with extra fuel, gear, tools...

Just take it easy, don't be in a hurry to get there and you'll get back.
Remember the trailer is going to try to push the back end of the car out in a corner. Do everything slower than you normally would.

Enjoy,
Shayne Peterson

 

[DrPizza]

1. Don't forget about the wiring harness for the hitch. Last year, I installed a hitch on a Mercury Sable; I was amazed that the wiring cost more than the hitch. I could have saved money, but there's something to be said about the simplicity of just plugging things in.

2. What class of hitch are you looking at? I believe that at the weight you're suggesting, you need a class II hitch. Class I only goes to 1000 pounds (IIRC; you can look it up to verify.) (edit: never mind, you already pointed out the capacity of your hitch.)

3. IF you are towing this, remember that your stopping distance just increased by a bit. Leave extra room between you and the car in front of you. If you're towing a busy interstate or thruway, that means you're going to be forced to be the jerk going 60 in a 65.

4. I was able to find an answer to your question about launching. There's a thread over at car talk about something similar; in that case, the person has been launching a 16' glastron. here

5. Don't turn the car off when you're launching

You'll notice on the cartalk thread that there's mention that towing with a civic voids the warranty (on models older than yours, so who knows if Honda changed their mind.)

Also, automatic transmission is supposed to be better for towing than manual. (I dunno why.)

For what it's worth, I think some of the claims of danger danger danger tend to exaggerate how dangerous it really is. Quite honestly, I don't think you'd have much trouble pulling a little seadoo out of the water with it, although I've never launched with a smaller car. However, in my launching experience, I've had trouble getting traction pulling the boat out when there was a lot of seaweed laying on the launching ramp. I've since learned to clean that off before backing down.

edit: I launch with a dodge grand caravan, not a truck or big SUV, not that a grand caravan isn't a big vehicle though. And, yes, I've gotten funny looks when towing with the grand caravan before... A pop up camper nearly as big as the caravan, with an aluminum boat upside down on the pop up camper, 3 bikes bungied to the boat, and 2 kayaks on top of the caravan. I felt like Chevy Chase in Vacation driving that thing. It looks funny, but the added weight of the boat and bikes is pretty meaningless; the aluminum boat weighs maybe 125 pounds.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Also, automatic transmission is supposed to be better for towing than manual. (I dunno why.)

The built-in slip of the torque converter is helpful when towing. Also, most manual transmissions aren't set up with a strong enough pressure plate to allow really heavy towing without having the clutch slip.

To the OP:

The hitch rating does not determine what the car can tow.

Honda's official word for tow rating on the newer Civics is "Not Recommended". In other words, Honda does not consider _any_ towing to be safe with the current Civics. Older Civics have a maximum towing capacity of 1,000 pounds (of which, 100 pounds can be on the tongue).

Your SeaDoo will be well over the car's recommended towing capacity in either case. Do not tow it with a Civic.

ZV