Pulling my Little Guy Teardrop Camper

many people do both, i think it's more the lawyers than the engineers. have you got a pic of your new camper?

 

what was the battery and transaxle temp during the trip?
the higher the temp, the shorter component life.

 

Remember that whatever towing load is allowed in the manual, will get hauled over over 7% grades above 10,000 feet elevation on I-70 in Colorado on hot summer days. The engineering needed to handle that is different than what is needed for a flat road.

 

thats what i'm always thinking of. mostly flat around here. to go camping though, sometimes takes you through the mountains, not colorado though!

 

IIRC, the GWVR for the G3 includes an 800# cargo rating, pax included.

This is a very diminutive rating.
My thinking is that the nation of Japan isn't flat, and the Prius doesn't have particularly strong brakes for a car its size.
Add the CVT and regenerative braking and that's probably the reason for the low SWAG......and remember.
It is a SWAG. (Scientific Wild-A$$ Guess)

CVTs aren't breaking in this car, and the brakes are holding together fairly well too (and the G3 has 4w disc brakes.)

So....I'm thinking that you can tow probably about a 1600# load (especially a teardrop shaped one) without breaking the car or endangering the citizenry as long as you remember that you're operating outside the normal envelope for this car and take appropriate measures.

For me this would include things like additional brake inspections and a Scangauge (%^$#@! Toyota didn't even put a coolant temp gauge in this car! ) as well as remembering that handling and performance is going to be a little different.

Remember.....
As smart as I like to think that I am?
MY answer isn't even a SWAG.

It's one of many WAGs.
Current Value: $0.02

 

I put a hitch on mine and did same, light loads on flat and level for a year or so with a folding trailer from harbor freight. Then Son graduated from College and me 200 lb + him 150 + dog 75 + trailer 150 + his books etc. 1800 = 2375 lbs.
All loaded and distributed over axels and not aerodynamically, headed 233 miles, from Fullerton to Fresno making a climb up the Tejón Pass,4144 ft elevation. The car had 255,000 miles on it and had never let me down I intended to load it up and the start throwing away everything that didn't fit but everything came together and on test drive on the way to freeway every thing seemed great. Once on freeway I set cruise control at 55 and let the car do the driving, again I thought I'd pull over after a couple off ramps and throw stuff out. The battery stabilized above half charge after getting on the freeway so I just continued. No problem occurred though I was cautious not to push the battery maintaining about 52 up the steep grade left me two bars in the battery at the top thanks to cruise control and following the trucks.
I did have the dread red triangle and get my new battery 1000 miles later at 265,000. Maybe it was related?
I think the engine and drive can handle it fine though fluids need to be kept fresh and clean. I do wish ther was a screen that would display some real gauges for fluid / battery temps. And air shocks for the rear struts


iPhone ?

 

IMHO, the stunt did overheat and kill the battery that was weak from age anyhow. There was a post some time ago about driving at 100 MPH that killed battery that was weak. IMHO, towing with prius is not unlike driving maximum speeds. Weak link will fail in such circumstances.

 

I think you are driving the correct way, with low speed; and 80 to 100 LBS tongue weight should be OK.

Question; How much weight is the Teardrop trailer + any load?
Question: Does the Teardrop trailer has electric brakes?