That is cool. Sent me off on a surfing session to check out the details. Seems a little heavy for a Prius. I tow a 900 lb sailboat/trailer combination with my CRV and feel like I'm pushing it a little. The Go is 850 unloaded and you know you are going to load it with gear and supplies. Still, I like it.
Manual says it's not recommended, but it doesn't say "do not" do it. Any good lawyer would tell you the wording in the manual is not the end of the discussion. You might say Toyota included that wording in the manual because they felt the demographics of the typical Prius owner would show that Prius owners as a group on average lack the knowledge and skills necessary to drive a vehicle while towing. If it were a strict command, the manual would also say your warranty would be void if you tow, but it doesn't say that either. In the meantime, this guy looks like he's having fun:
I agree. He was lucky the ramp was very flat and barely wet. The ramps I use are very steep, slippery, and you have to submerge rear tires in water many times. You basically have to have 4WD, or the whole rig will go in the water. I've seen RWD trucks struggle in boat slips. However, I used to use AWD Subaru with no problems. I would never ever use Prius for that. I agree Corolla stands a better chance.
I know someone who pulls a motorcycle on a trailer with a Prius. His transmission has already had to be repaired! I will NEVER use my Prius to pull a trailer!
If you want to read between the lines and tow, go right ahead. I see it as a good way to toast the HSD tranny. Two motors sitting in a small tub of fluid with no external cooler. It may not kill it once or twice, but the excessive temp will damage the winding sooner or later.
Yap, you can take any AT car, slap heavy duty cooler and ATF temp gauge and you have a nice towing rig. I did that with subaru and it pulled 3500 lbs boat+trailer combo with no problems. AWD was also great on boat ramps too, except for low suspension limiting how much you can back up into water. You can't do that with Prius. The tranny will overheat and die.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you guys on saying that you probably shouldn't tow with a Prius, but I do have a question. Driving a Prius down the interstate (without trailer) at 80 mph for a long time probably puts it under a continuous heavy load as well correct? Couldn't this be harmful long term?
I don't think so. The ICE is at low load even at 80 mph. Maintaining speed takes less energy than getting to speed. The highest loads come from accelerating from 0 on an incline.
