Trucks yea.

[FuzzyDunlop]

What is "possible" and what is "safe" are two distinctly different things.

yeaaa, try controlling that when slamming on your brakes in an emergency. If that trailer were to get even a minor bit of sway then the back end of that prius would be flopping all over the place.
Deathwish.

 

[Yuriman]

With the light cars I recommend no more than 2/3 the cars weight for a safe trailer weight. In Europe they go nuts and tow 2x the car weight. Always use trailer brakes above 1200 pounds. Most state law requires it above 3000 pounds but those laws are based around a typical 5000 pound pickup for a tow vehicle.
By my safe rule of thumb that equals about 1400 for your insight?
I will tow up to 1400 behind my TDI beetle, but it is substantially heavier and more powerful than a typical gas compact.

Aye, and I personally stay well below that, because my trailer doesn't have brakes. I strongly prefer to stay under 800lbs, but have pulled ~1,100 before.

On the topic of power, the G1 Insight can put down about 150ft-lbs of torque at <2000rpm with a chip, or ~110 stock, which is actually rather high for a car that weighs only 1800lbs.

Anyway, I'm just trying to be controversial. I have the day off and I thought I'd rile some people up on the internet.

 

[jlee]

Aye, and I personally stay well below that, because my trailer doesn't have brakes. I strongly prefer to stay under 800lbs, but have pulled ~1,100 before.

On the topic of power, the G1 Insight can put down about 150ft-lbs of torque at <2000rpm with a chip, or ~110 stock, which is actually rather high for a car that weighs only 1800lbs.

Anyway, I'm just trying to be controversial. I have the day off and I thought I'd rile some people up on the internet.

My MR2 puts down 345 wheel torque, but that doesn't mean it'll tow better than my GX470 (which is rated for 6500lbs towing, and makes less flywheel torque than the MR2 has at the wheels). Power isn't the biggest issue for towing.

 

[skyking]

pft. My diesel *HAD* 155 ft lb @ 1500. No dyno sheet for the current condition but is close to double now 😛

 

[herm0016]

It was a little over the payload cap of my truck, but I do have air springs that I leveled the truck with and only went about 3 miles.

 

[Yuriman]

My MR2 puts down 345 wheel torque, but that doesn't mean it'll tow better than my GX470 (which is rated for 6500lbs).

Right. I'm just thinking about the 90's Civics and Corollas which were in the range of 90-110 ft-lbs, and had tow ratings of ~1000. Power is not an issue.

 

[Yuriman]

It was a little over the payload cap of my truck, but I do have air springs that I leveled the truck with and only went about 3 miles.

And this is another factor. It's one thing to pull outside of your vehicle's rating going through the Rocky Mountains at 90mph, and quite another to do it in a residential area at <40mph. Ratings are generally somewhat conservative, and what's safe is going to be context sensitive.

 

[skyking]

truly. I read about idiots towing too much too fast no extra room etc.
There was one post on tdiclub in the towing section where a guy was towing another TDI on a tow dolly and casually mentioned bumping into another car because they stopped too quick. WTF? Seriously f-ed up. I'd never tow my own weight on a brakeless or a surge tow dolly.

 

[jlee]

truly. I read about idiots towing too much too fast no extra room etc.
There was one post on tdiclub in the towing section where a guy was towing another TDI on a tow dolly and casually mentioned bumping into another car because they stopped too quick. WTF? Seriously f-ed up. I'd never tow my own weight on a brakeless or a surge tow dolly.

"They stopped too quick" translates to "I couldn't stop fast enough." 😀

 

[Yuriman]

"They stopped too quick" translates to "I couldn't stop fast enough." 😀

Which translates to "I was way too close to them considering what I was pulling, I'm a _______ who rides people's bumpers with a trailer."

 

[JulesMaximus]

Have you ever towed something heavy enough where you were getting pushed around by the trailer? Because that's exactly what'd happen in that case.

I've towed a 3500lb minivan with a 4300lb Ford F150 single cab short bed using a tow dolly (no trailer brakes).

 

[skyking]

I've towed a 3500lb minivan with a 4300lb Ford F150 single cab short bed using a tow dolly (no trailer brakes).

and it was not a good feeling, I bet.

 

[jlee]

I've towed a 3500lb minivan with a 4300lb Ford F150 single cab short bed using a tow dolly (no trailer brakes).

That's well within the tow rating of an F150, which has truck suspension and truck brakes. 🙂

Now try towing it (actually don't) with a Corolla and see how that works out. 😛

 

[skyking]

I'm not liking those numbers at all with no brakes. that would be one hell of a ball up if you had a panic stop.

 

[jlee]

I'm not liking those numbers at all with no brakes. that would be one hell of a ball up if you had a panic stop.

Yuuup.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Truck would be nice, but I just buy those little 40ish pound bags of topsoil when I need them and stick em in the back of the subaru, the most I ever needed was 20 bags, stuck em all in the back and had no issues.

That said, when I bought a new water heater, I did need to rent a truck, because it was taller than the old one. But renting a truck at Menards or home depot is like 20 bucks.

 

[JulesMaximus]

That's well within the tow rating of an F150, which has truck suspension and truck brakes. 🙂

Now try towing it (actually don't) with a Corolla and see how that works out. 😛

I've also towed a Dodge Colt with a Ford Tempo or a Dodge Aries using an A frame tow bar and a hitch that was clamped onto the bumper of the Tempo. 😛

 

[Meghan54]

I've also towed a Dodge Colt with a Ford Tempo or a Dodge Aries using an A frame tow bar and a hitch that was clamped onto the bumper of the Tempo. 😛

While that was almost as silly, that's nowhere near what towing a trailer is....the tow vehicle is not supporting any weight except the tow bar's weight.

It is tugging it along, true, but it's not supporting any of the towed vehicle's weight. Completely different situation with a trailer.



Jlee.....what year is your GX? Enjoy it?

 

[jlee]

While that was almost as silly, that's nowhere near what towing a trailer is....the tow vehicle is not supporting any weight except the tow bar's weight.

It is tugging it along, true, but it's not supporting any of the towed vehicle's weight. Completely different situation with a trailer.



Jlee.....what year is your GX? Enjoy it?

'07 (Sport w/KDSS). I love it.

 

[mizzou]

careful with loading too much dirt in there...pickups typically can only handle around 1,500-2,000lbs maximum payload.

1 yard of dirt is typically weighs more then that.

 

[JulesMaximus]

While that was almost as silly, that's nowhere near what towing a trailer is....the tow vehicle is not supporting any weight except the tow bar's weight.

It is tugging it along, true, but it's not supporting any of the towed vehicle's weight. Completely different situation with a trailer.



Jlee.....what year is your GX? Enjoy it?

I'll tell you this, that combo was particularly butt clenching when braking hard to avoid a car that decided last minute to stop for a light that had just turned yellow and even worse on snow covered roads. The tow vehicle just follows and the drive vehicle is the only one with brakes.

Fun times! 😀

 

[herm0016]

careful with loading too much dirt in there...pickups typically can only handle around 1,500-2,000lbs maximum payload.

1 yard of dirt is typically weighs more then that.

I got a little over a yard at about 2200 lbs. I was at or just over the gvw. I know the load rating of my tire and air spring setups as well. Perfectly safe for a short distance.