Toyota hitch for Prius v

I plan the unthinkable -- towing a 4x8 U-haul trailer next week. I figure if BobWilson can tow a plane, I can tow some boxes
A $140 hitch+ball+electric kit* made by Curt is in the mail.
I'll update my post if any problems happen.

*U-haul offered me the ~ equivalent and installation for $340

 

I'm sure you know this, but it is important to respect the tongue load. Both during acceleration/decceleration and at highway speeds (due to aero loads unweighting the trailer.) You probably can do the math yourself, but if you are staying off the highway, the the accel/deccel loads can simply be worked out by moment arms and where the cg height aligns. A nearly balanced trailer when loaded is your friend in this regard. You never want it back heavy though. So is a low cg obviously.

If you are going on the highway, I'd probably opt to have a bit more load (like as much as you can lift yourself) weighing on the hitch from the trailer.

I'm pretty sure the reason you aren't supposed to tow anything is that Toyota is worried about the random person who pays no attention to anything, then destroys the car and wants to have it replaced. A reasonably sharp person who pays attention to basic good sense (like strapping things down!) isn't going to have a problem.

Have fun!

 

I got an email on this back from Torklift tonight. The 2" hitch is 28 lbs and the 1-1/4 is 26 lbs. I personally don't think I'd want something much lighter. On the other hand, the price is not right for some, and that I certainly understand.

 

Update:
The ~ 250 mile drive was uneventful. I did take care to arrange the heavy(er) boxes low and in the middle of the trailer, and I did not try to find the speed limits where the trailer would start to sway.

I averaged 40 mpg for the trip that included going up and over the continental divide. The car never labored or ran the battery down. I'm happy to have the hitch for other purposes, so the move itself cost me a whopping $70.

The only thing I would have done different had I been better informed would be to buy a light kit that installs with click-and-done connectors rather than the Curt #56146 kit which used el-cheapo connectors that cut into the OEM wires and required fiddling to make a connection.

 

I got the Curt 56156 kit and it was plug and play. Worst part was figuring where to stick the controller box. Still on the fence on the hitch, but will most likely spend the extra and get the almost totally hidden 1-1/4" Torklift. Hate the price, love the stealth.

 

The Curt hitch is very unobtrusive; and at least in my opinion is not an eyesore at all.

 

I installed my TorqLift Eco Hitch today. Was a pretty easy job and is very well hidden. They did a nice job on it.

Going to tow my dirt bike with it tomorrow on a 4x6 trailer. Counting my weight, the total of everything will be just below the max cargo capacity, so not expecting any problems.

 

No problem on my first tow. Was about 60 miles each way, about half in town, half rolling 55mph roads through the Ozark Mts. I put in PWR mode for most of the trip. Ran the AC on the way home, as it was in the low 90's yesterday. I reset one of the trip meters for the trip and it indicated 39.4mpg for the trip. Hard to say how accurate that is, but I'm sure its in the ballpark. I make this trip fairly often, so this is going to save me a lot of money over the same trips with my 3/4ton Suburban that gets 13mpg at best!

Anyway, very happy with the hitch. Here's a picture of the setup. I've had a heck of a time getting pictures of this pearl white paint job in the sun, so apologies for the over exposure.

 

Well done.