Hey let’s get hitched!

Here's a pic of my Prius towing my 16 ft. aluminum riverboat with a 50 HP outboard engine. Notice that most of the weight of the boat & engine are over the trailor axle. I've had no problems, but I will state that I am blessed in that I don't have to travel too far or too fast with this setup to get to the boat launch; and don't have to fight heavy traffic either. I would say this about the maximum that I would feel safe pulling.

[attachmentid=6601]

 

I delayed buying a Prius for two years while I fretted over the towing issue and finally decided last week to buy the damn car and find out about the limits. So I bought a 2005, ordered a hitch, and now want to know what the realities are. Toyota makes it very clear that “towing is not recommended†and “the Prius is not designed for towing;†but it also says, in the maintenance guide, to “tighten nuts and bolts on chassis†every five thousand miles if “driving while towing.â€

It seems to me there are three questions: 1) What is the towing capacity; 2) Why is towing not recommended; and 3) What might happen is something is towed based on standard measures of towing limits (e.g., vehicle to trailer ratios, tongue weight, etc). Assuming that the total weight of the trailer (and load) is less than half that of the Prius, and the tongue weight is 10% of the trailer weight, and acknowledging that sudden stops will cause the tongue weight onto the rear and lift weight off the front (drive) wheels of the Prius, what is the danger?

My real interest is very specific. I’m building an electric boat, estimate the finished weight will be about 800 lbs, and would like to know if the Prius can safely tow it on highways, and/or safely launch it? If I have a single axel trailer with brakes with a gross vehicle weight of 1200 lbs, can this be trailer as safely as the slightly heavier boat I've been hauling behind my Accord Wagon. I’m prepared for a “no†on this one, but I’d like to understand exactly why.

As for launching, it seems to me this is a different situation. Even if the Prius shouldn’t be used for trailering long distances at highway speeds, it seems to me the perfect launch vehicle because it’s got all the torque of the electric motor over the front wheels. Any thoughts?
Thanks. Marc

 

There have been quite a few threads on towing.

Here are several on trailers that discuss weight and have links to other Priuschat threads on towing:

Towing with an '04-'05

Conquering the great outdoors.

Teardrop trailer

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Curt @ Aug 19 2006, 06:06 PM) [snapback]306041[/snapback]</div>

Hi Curt. I bought a Curt.

(just wanted to say that!)

But seriously, the hitch is made by Curt, and was puchased at Hitch-Web.com. Curt has even redesigned them now so they don't melt your car. Bonus.

 

Newbie here,,, I hope I am doing this right, sorry if not.

If you are even considering towing a small trailer with you prius, you should look at these. http://www.sportsrig.com/

We have one that we use behind our VW westfalia and it is great. You don't even know it is there.

We are anxiously awaiting out 07 option 5!

Icarus

PS there is a picure of this trailer (from Darrel) in this thread June 27, 2007. Way cool! I haven't towed mine behind the Prius, but once I get the hitch,,,

Icarus

 

This is as good a thread as any for my (first ever!) question: The manual ('07) says not only not to tow, but not to use a hitch for carrying bikes, wheelchairs etc. Does anyone have good logic for that? I believe the holes the available hitches bolt to are the tie downs for oceanic transport -- they should be strong enough...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(essaunders @ Jun 1 2007, 05:17 PM) [snapback]453588[/snapback]</div>

I am new to this group and are in my final stages of making my decision on buying a 2007 Prius with package 6 the all leather. The hitch is a very big factor. I have a 5 x 8 utility trailer that I presently tow behind my 2003 Honda Odessey. I love my Odessey, but the gas mileage is just to low, the reason for my decision for going with the Prius.

True Toyota said trailer hitch is not rated so not available. I also found the Curt hitch for the Prius which bolts right up to nuts already provide under the car. Only a very small modification to a facia panel is necessary. My concern is whether we would be voiding warrenty. Of course Toyota will see the trailer hitch on the vehicle. Could they say, "you have voided your warrenty by installing a trailer hitch"???

Any experience out there with dealers saying anything about warrenty?

Thanks for any comments about this.

Richard

 

If a modification does not affect a warranty problem they cannot deny you warrany coverage. For example, if your air conditioning stops working under warrenty and you have a hitch they cannot refuse to cover the air conditioning under warranty.

I would expect potential arguments on things like brakes and lights (wiring for lights and trailer brakes), perhaps transmission, (dealer may assume overheating due to towing), suspension components (dealer assumes heavier loads)...

But your relationship with the service advisor can also affect how a dealership will respond to any questionable warranty issues as well.

I had three fuel pumps in one of my vehicles replaced under warranty as modifications I made would not affect the ability of the fule pump to function normally.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jun 13 2007, 08:46 AM) [snapback]460890[/snapback]</div>

our hitch doesn't even have any wiring.... so they can't very well claim brakes or lights for it! (it's strictly for use with a bike rack!)

 

Folks, this is pretty clearly outlined in the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act. Toyota would have to show that adding a hitch is what caused the particular problem for which you are looking for the warranty to cover.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jun 13 2007, 01:51 PM) [snapback]460985[/snapback]</div>

You said it better and more efficiently than I did...

 

Thanks, very much for your replies. I was pretty certain of that, but it is nice to be able to come to a group of fine people with Prius's who are willing to share their experiences. Since my last post, I have ordered my Prius. Was told Wednesday thet I am 5th on the list. Hope that means I will have my Prius very soon, hopefully within a week.

Has anyone installed the hitch themselves? If so what did you do about the electrical hookup. Is it easy to find the correct wires to tap into? Like the weldnuts that are provided in the subframe, are there any provisions for adding the wiring for the trailer?

Thanks,

Richard

 

Finally in the club.

 

Boy, that trailer is pretty damn cool!

I am getting the Curt hitch in the next day or two, ordered from etrailer.com for I think $128, best price I found. They give 99c shipping if you order 150 so wasn't a bad deal at all.

 

I want to add a hitch to carry bikes. I've found etrailer.com at the 129 (150?) price. Uhaul has a hitch for 120 (155 installed). Does anyone know who makes the uhaul hitch? Is the exhaust (still?) a problem with uhaul?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(essaunders @ Jun 28 2007, 11:13 AM) [snapback]469386[/snapback]</div>

I believe it is also curt, but uhaul couldn't answer for me for 100% if it iwas the new style or not.

 

Just a word of caution, the folks at etrailer.com are very nice and always friendly, however they don't seem so speedy on shipping as an FYI.

I placed my order on June 14 and still haven't recieved it. They claim it shipped yesterday, even though tracking information doesn't state that.

 

They must have been on back order, when I ordered mine it took 5 days to receive it. 1 day sooner than the tracking said the first time I chked it.
It is a good quality hitch.

 

I ordered the Uhaul hitch in May and installed it myself last month. I plan to do a detailed write-up when I get a chance.

Here is a picture of the Uhaul 24743 hitch for the Prius. You can see the part number on the label on the left. The Curt part number 11468 is also on the label. It's the same hitch and it's the new design.

The picture shows me preparing to remove all the stickers.

The hitch comes with eight bolts for four holes and I only used two of them. The supplied bolts are too long for the driver side flange. I reused the original bolts for the driver side.

Mike
[attachmentid=9388]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ Jul 28 2006, 05:36 PM) [snapback]294016[/snapback]</div>

I am suggesting it! I'm moving from TX to SC in a couple months and need to tow my 2700 lb electric car (since it doesn't have the range to go that far!) I wanted to find a way to get a Class 3 hitch installed on my Prius then rent an auto trailer, then situate the electric car on it so tongue weight is minimized. (The car is short.)

If that's too heavy, I could move some or all of the batteries (67lbs each, 938 lbs total) into the Prius' cabin.

Or what about towing the electric car with all wheels on the ground? (I'm hesitant to do this because it'll wear the tires out.)

What do you think?