Towing With Prius?

I remember the owner's manual mentioning this. I will try and find the page numbers.

 

tow hitches are installed on lots of Priu's and most are used for other than towing trailers. The Prius has a load capacity of about 800Lbs, people, luggage, fuel, etc. If the trailer you tow weighs 150 lbs and the load you put in it is 450 lbs that equals 600Lbs. and if you weigh 175 lbs that leaves you 50lbs for fuel, at about 7.5 Lbs per gallon you can carry about 6.5 gallons. That said if you burn out the MG2 and you car has a trailer hitch on it I'm sure your going to be in for a rough time trying to get warranty. If the water pump goes or a wiper motor burns out I don't think the trailer hitch will have anything to do about it. So why would Toyota care one way or the other. That said you change the mounting bolts to studs and take the hitch off when not in use. Mount the tow/hold down hooks back on and most dealers would never find the difference. Stud for the simple reason that screwing the bolts in and out eventually wears out the threads whereas studs you just change them. I personally have never towed more than about 200 lbs in my 125lb trailer on my home made hitch thats now in the basement. Lots of people tow with the Prius no one will admit to it here but they do on YG.

 

I think you could successfully tow an inflatable raft through the city (high speed would increase drag).

I'm very curious to see if towing specs for Hylander are the same as the ICElander.

Nate

 

You MUST not tow anything with your Prius. Do NOT. It isn't good with a Prius. I have the Coastal Tech's hitch installed on my Prius and it is specifically only for bike carriers and things like it. It has something to do with ruining the Hybrid System. It says driectly on the page as follows:
Quote taken from Coastal E Tech's Receiver Hitch site.

 

the weight of a trailer wouldnt be the same as cargo weight. and why would you tow something anyway??

i wouldnt tow something with a corolla, so shy with a Prius?... although i did know this guy who towed a bike trailer with his car. i have no idea how heavy the trailer was, but i do remember him saying that the trailer was a modified model that was made for the Honda goldwing motorcycle.

well, he had problems with the car (it was a civic) i think it was because the trailer was too heavy, he didnt think so... who knows?

 

ya I keep all this in mind when I'm towing my trailer.

 

cargo can be up to 845 lbs... that would be 4 rather hefty adults. although i could easily see a normal family with luggage reaching that weight.

once i had me, my sis, and 3 teenage girls who were going to band camp about 65 miles away. they all had instruments, back packs, and an overnight bag (90 % of what they were carrying was makeup and portable music however!!)

the car didnt ride like it was full at all. the power was still excellent. i could feel it just a little on some corners but i think that had to do with the fact that we got a little lost and consequently were in a bit of a hurry towards the end of the trip.

but i estimated our total weight at close to 700 lbs.

 

put 700 lbs in the back of a Prius verses 10% tounge weight of a 400Lb. trailer =40 lbs and the 35 lbs the hitch weighs is 75 lbs additional on the rear suspension. Whats the difference a bit of rolling resistance for the trailer tires, 700 lb internal load is more abusive to the car than a 400 lb. load in a 150 lb. trailer any day of the week.

 

I think this is the point most people miss. You aren't carrying most of the weight of the trailer and it's load in the car or on the suspension, that's why trailers have axels You need to subtract the tongue weight from the total load capacity and adjust for the extra drag but I don't know what damage you do to a car when the manual says "not intended for towing" if you are reasonable.

 

Brian, that is called "Legally covering your butt". If eCoastal said, "Go ahead and tow, Toyota doesn't know squat" and you damaged your car somehow, even if it had nothing to do with eCoastal's hitch, you might sue them.

 

you gotta understand I'm a grumpy old man and very few if any go with me. They go with the wife in her Prius. That way I can virtually do anything I want, short of getting arrested.

 

You got one of those "used fish" in the back seat! I am sorry I could not resist the straight line. :lol:

 

your not going to turn into a problem are you?

 

SOME PEOPLE!!!

just cant take em anywhere!!

 

We do expect someone who slaps a trailer on the back will adjust the interior load capacity appropriately Heck, you can exceed the max load capacity with people only. Five 170 pound people will hit it.

 

I've always wondered why they just don't list a CGVW rating in the owners manual. That way you'd understand what the weight limit for the car, trailer, passangers, baggage, and fuel is, just like they do for airplanes. Exclude the weight and balance computations. Other than the tounge weight has to be 10-12% of the trailer weight for safe towing.

 

Regarding trailers:

I will soon be moving from TX to SC and need to tow my electric car that doesn't have the range for such a trip. Now that I have a Prius, do you think I can reasonably do so?

So far, U-Haul's vehicle trailer (with all 4 wheels off the ground, needed for longer distance moves) requires a Class 3 hitch. I think the Coastal one is Class 2. SO I might be screwed right there.

But if I can locate someone who will weld a Class 3 onto my Prius, and assuming I try to minimize tongue weight as much as possible (since my electric car is short so I can shift it around on the trailer), and I drive like a grandma (to avoid over-straining the drive system,) would I and the Prius be fine or is this just nuts?