Prius pulling an RV? What do you pull !!

yes, you "can" but the car is not going to last long and i'm not even talking about safety here.

yes he gave you a ticket for a wrong thing, but yes, he was right, prius is approved for ZERO towing.

 

I don't know if I would have stopped you for towing a garden trailer with a G3, and I concur that you can probably regularly tow light loads with a Prius - IF you know what you're doing. I wasn't there, but usually when an equipment ticket is issued for a marginal item like crossed chains there's at least one jerk in the transaction.
There are jerks on both sides of the badge these days.

Two quick points:
1. Power mode----isn't, or I should say doesn't.
2. 220,000 miles is about the design lifespan of the CVT, although members in this forum advocate regular fluid replacements that might have given you a longer service life-----something you can research in this forum.

I don't like seeing Priuses pulling heavy items, because Darwinism is not very clean or efficient, and many people that beat their chest and say "My Prius can PULL that!!!" aren't interested in trivial things like stopping and turning, and I have to drive on public roads too!

To be fair, the OP does seem to know about trailer brakes and load leveling, but it's important to understand that the Prius was designed with about a 800 pound cargo rating (pax included) and while it's certainly a well engineered car it is rated to to exactly ZERO pounds.

YMMV!

 

Energysaver, are you still pulling with the Hidden Hitch 60263? Since that is a Class 1 with small receiver, have you been monitoring it and where it mounts to your body for signs of distortion? Do you sense any issues with not using a WD system? After much research, I am going to try just airbags with no WD for towing the Alto, but I am still a bit nervous about this since the trailer manufacturer and all dealers recommend WD. I am getting the Torklift Ecohitch, but having it customized with 5" of extra 2" receiver tube pointing foreword. I will be mounting a custom torque arm to this to reach ahead and bolt to the factory central jacking post. This will deal with the bending moments that would stress the otherwise narrow mounting of a Prius hitch receiver. Torklift has warned me that they have had incidents of Prius drivers towing large loads with their hitch, and having their car bodies torn by the hitch. I asked them for more info, but I don't think they will provide it. Once I have my installation complete I will post pictures. By the way, the Torklift receiver for Prius V is almost identical to their standard Prius model, but for the V they are able to add two extra straps that allow them to rate it Class 2.

 

For anyone towing with their Prius, or any other small car, here is a great site I just found to help you choose the best route based on minimizing slopes: flattestroute ( sorry, I would post the whole link but Prischat won't let me?!). Free and easy to use, it provides not only the best route choice, but also easy to understand presentations of the grades you will encounter along the way. If we are going to push the envelope, we should at least do it with eyes wide open and a good plan!

 

Now that I have the minimum number of posts, I can provide the actual link:

Flattest Route

 

Wow torn body huh? They must have pulled well over the 2000lbs limit given then?

 

Nice!! Does the engine run quite enough? Is the inverter just a clamp on unit?

I want to do a roof tent and run power from an inverter one day. While pulling my jet ski.

 

I have towed 2 trailers now...long distance and with load. Be advised the Gen III can do it, but didn't like it...the drive-train was laboring. Also, the mpg dropped to 25 mpg for the first listed below and 22 mpg for the second doing 65 mph on the Interstate. The car life time is about 47-48 mpg.


U-Haul: 4x8 Cargo Trailer Rental


U-Haul: 5x9 Utility Trailer Rental w/Ramp

 

Good to know, but those are fairly heavy trailers empty for a prius.

 

What? You don't have to change the transmission fluid...the book says so... (Just kidding)

For what my opinion's worth...get (or do) a brake flush and PM service too.

Good job!

 

Knowing how "dark" my fluid was @30K miles from just normal driving before I even did occasional less than 1000# combined loads towing I would suggest you drain'n'fill your ATF on the same 10K schedule as your oil if your towing as frequently as it appears you do.

 

30K max on transmission and brake fluid for me. The Prius is not magical...and neither are it's fluids.

 

Last couple summers, I towed a 150lb 4x6 fiberglass trailer. Mainly garden materials, leaves, brushes, and small branches to the compost site. I plan on getting a hitch for my Sienna so she can do the job.