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Towing

by badandy, August 16, 2005


  • 55 posts

Anyone on this board ever tow with their Corolla? Any thoughts or comments on this would be great

I got a little 40" x 49" mini trailer w/8" wheels that is rated for 900lbs for my Corolla. Bought a Class 1 hitch for cheap and put much use into the little car, as I was moving out of state.

Most come with DOt approved lighting - but you have to provide a way to run them. Some come with a simple adapter that hooks the car's wiring to the trailer. Depending on state and local laws - you might need a safety chain and/or load equalizing bars. Brakes are pretty optional for most Class 1 stuff - usually you don't see them until you step up to the larger trailers.

If you plan to tow - make sure that brakes are in good working condition, use engine braking to reduce chance of brake fade or switch to a heavy duty brake material, tires are good shape - might want to add more air (helps with temperature control, sidewall stiffness, and increases load), with autos - transmission cooler would be nice to have - if not, then drive with O/D off - helps keep the transmission gear hunting down, don't load all the trailer weight next to front - try and set it up for a 60/40 load (just a little front bias) - will help with vehicle control in winds and braking. Then it is a good idea to change the transmission fluid right after the tow - especially if you had the car loaded down pretty good for a lengthy trip.

Last time I did this - had the trailer packed, trunk was full, roof rack loaded down, and back seat completely stuffed. Tires were plumped up to 50PSI and O/D was off - averaged about 14MPG over 400 or so odd miles. Corolla is not the ideal towing platform - but can do it, with the right equipment - perfect for the infrequent towing events taht pop up unexpectally.

I use my roof rack more than anything else (Yakima) - bikes, boards, building materials, odd shaped items, desk, sofas, etc. - but that trailer did save me some headaches and binds on more than a few occasions - paid for itself the first day I used it. Might use it to pick up a spare project car this month.

I bought my 01 Used and it had a tow hitch on it.The guy used it for lawn mover transportation purposes... I was worried about transmission but it has still been running strong after about 10k miles of towing by that guy....

I paid to have the tow hitch removed because it looked like the car is being abused if it has a tow hitch on it.... just psychological... something in my mind.

If an SUV has it, I don't mind.... just my mind.

friendly_jacek

If you have AT, cooler is a must. I would not exceed 1000-1500 lbs since the car is only 2500 lbs or so.

I believe the weight limit is 5,000lbs on our 01's so unless the previous owner towed 5 mowers on a 1 ton trailer which I doubt he did then you'll be fine.

friendly_jacek

I believe the weight limit is 5,000lbs on our 01's so unless the previous owner towed 5 mowers on a 1 ton trailer which I doubt he did then you'll be fine.

You must be kidding me, to tow 5000 lbs you need a big truck or SUV. Here, in US, Corolla is rated 1500lbs (with trailer brakes). I know that cars in Europe and Australia are allowed to tow more, but probably not 5000 lbs.

 

 

I spoke of total car weight limit, not tow limit.

Yes, I towed a utility trailer (600-800lbs) often with a 400lb motorcycle and once with 2 400lb motorcycles. The later probably had a total towed weight of right around or jsut over the 1500lb limit.

I had a 5 speed manual and it actually did pretty well. With one motorcycle I still got 30-32mpg and could crusie even up most hills at 70-80mph without downshifting.

Wiht the second bike, I could still crusie up to 80mph in 5th, but any grade over say 3% forced me inot 4th or even 3rd to maintain 80mph. My mileage dropped to 22 mpg with 2 bikes.

I think it would do well with a 1500lb (fully loaded) pop-up camper, 2 jet skis and one full size motorcycle or 2 dirt bikes.

The brakes were adequate and it was very stable and as long as you kept at least 100-200 lbs of tongue weight. As mentioned above, using engine braking really helps.

I think a manual transmission car can tow much better and more reliably than an automatic. I'd actually be more willing to tow 1500lbs with that Corolla than with the 5 speed automatic Accord I have now.

Cherry:

You were towing with a Corolla at 80 MPH? Do you have a death wish or something? I wouldn't tow a 1500 lb. trailer at 80 MPH even if I were pulling it with a GMC Sierra 2500 with the DuraMax diesel and a towing package! There are way too many crazy drivers out there, and one of the biggest mistakes they all make is towing stuff way too fast! What absolute madness!

Cherry:

You were towing with a Corolla at 80 MPH? Do you have a death wish or something? I wouldn't tow a 1500 lb. trailer at 80 MPH even if I were pulling it with a GMC Sierra 2500 with the DuraMax diesel and a towing package! There are way too many crazy drivers out there, and one of the biggest mistakes they all make is towing stuff way too fast! What absolute madness!

I typically went 70 to save gas. But 80 was no problem for passing. I had at least 150lbs or more tongue weight. Straight line stability was actually better than with no trailer.

 

Remember at freeway speeds, if you can see it soon enough to stop, you can probably swerve around it. If you you have to swerve very fast, you weren't paying enough attention... or you are probably better off hitting it rather than losing control of the car.

And finally yes... I probably do have a little bit of a deather wish. I was towing 400lb motorcycles than make 100HP to a racetrack where I planned to ride then at speeds approaching 150mph on the striaghts and 90mph through turns while dragging a knee on the pavement.... wearing only a padded leather suit, boots, gloves, back protector and a FF helmet. Sounds insane, but it's a he** of a rush.

You bring up another good point. I know the stoppign distance and manuverability on a unloaded Corolla is better than a full size truck. But when a Corolla is towing 1500lbs (it's max) and a full size truck is towing 5000lbs (typical max), which stops and manuvers better? I put my money on the Corolla.

Cherry:

I don't consider your fast motorbike riding on a racetrack to be an attempt to kill yourself. You are doing high-performance driving on a place where it is intended to be done safely, with no public access. Towing excessive loads at excessive speeds with a Corolla on public access roads is another story. You probably WILL kill yourself doing that, but sadly, you'll also kill someone else who just wanted to get where he or she was going safely.

Im with larry on this one. usually I see full size trucks towing at 60-65mph in the slow lane with a speed limit of 70mph. I cant imagine seeing a corolla wiz by me at 80mph towing a trailer...hilarious looking but not good. default_laugh

Cherry:

You were towing with a Corolla at 80 MPH?  Do you have a death wish or something?  I wouldn't tow a 1500 lb. trailer at 80 MPH even if I were pulling it with a GMC Sierra 2500 with the DuraMax diesel and a towing package!  There are way too many crazy drivers out there, and one of the biggest mistakes they all make is towing stuff way too fast! What absolute madness!

I typically went 70 to save gas. But 80 was no problem for passing. I had at least 150lbs or more tongue weight. Straight line stability was actually better than with no trailer.

 

Remember at freeway speeds, if you can see it soon enough to stop, you can probably swerve around it. If you you have to swerve very fast, you weren't paying enough attention... or you are probably better off hitting it rather than losing control of the car.

And finally yes... I probably do have a little bit of a deather wish. I was towing 400lb motorcycles than make 100HP to a racetrack where I planned to ride then at speeds approaching 150mph on the striaghts and 90mph through turns while dragging a knee on the pavement.... wearing only a padded leather suit, boots, gloves, back protector and a FF helmet. Sounds insane, but it's a he** of a rush.

You bring up another good point. I know the stoppign distance and manuverability on a unloaded Corolla is better than a full size truck. But when a Corolla is towing 1500lbs (it's max) and a full size truck is towing 5000lbs (typical max), which stops and manuvers better? I put my money on the Corolla.

Well.. we will all know what happened to Cherry if he/she disappears in the near or far future...... default_biggrin

 

 

Even with a 1500lb trailer, a Corolla still weighs less than a Minivan or SUV. Like I said, most of the time, I just went 70mph.

Going 65 on most interstates is dangerous because you are now going slower than the flow of traffic and ALL vehicles on the road must pass you including trucks. That crates traffic back ups and frustrated drivers.

I usually travel the speed limit +/- 5 MPH on the interstate highways. I keep to the right lane to the greatest extent possible, as long as I have an adequate following distance between myself and the vehicle immediately ahead of me. If I do not have adequate following distance, then I get in the left lane, if possible, and overtake that vehicle at my own pace. Now, I realize, that even though at this point I am technically exceeding the speed limit by a couple of MPH, I am still within the "tolerance" for speed enforcement. However, the traffic behind me ALWAYS wants to go faster. You know what? That's THEIR problem. If I am travelling at or above the posted speed LIMIT, and they want to exceed the posted SPEED LIMIT and the "tolerance factor," then I am under no legal or moral obligation to "enable" this behaviour. I'll get back in the right lane as soon as it is safe to do so, but not until I have passed whichever vehicle I was overtaking at my own speed.

One thing I won't do is "block" the left lane by travelling exactly as fast as another vehicle in the right lane which is abreast of me at the time. If the vehicle I want to pass decides to speed up and keep pace with me, then HE has caused the "rolling road block," not me. I will attempt to return to the right lane by slowing down an MPH or 2 and just let the other idiot take the lead, which is probably the only time in his miserable life when he gets to do so.

The impatient, fuel-wasting idiots in their beheamouth SUV's and phallic-symbol sports cars who want to exceed the posted SPEED LIMIT by 20 or more MPH and get stuck behind me obeying the law and driving in a safe manner can simply let their blood pressure rise to the point where their head explodes. BTW, all day yesterday, I saw the Delaware State Police out in force giving those types their just desserts. The vehicles pulled over were invariably pickup trucks, SUV's sports cars, and Boy/Girl Racer rice rides (invariably Civics) and one Corolla S. No Corolla LE's or CE's.

The public highways are intended for safe public transportation, not venting the frustrations of little boys who want to prove to the world what a wasteful and dangerous moron they can be.

friendly_jacek

Here we go again, larry is loosing it again and calling people morons (administrator, please take notice).

Larry is a red neck and should be ignored.

However, everyone is jumping on Cherry for no good reasons.

While I do not tow with Corolla, I tow with Subaru and a passanger car makes a very stable towing package. Subaru is heavier by 700 lbs and has AWD and more heavy duty drivetrain but my boat is heavier (2500lbs with trailer). I did go as fast as 70-75mph with perfect stability.

80mph is on a high side but duable. People with problems with towing are either totally ignorant about safe driving, have too little tongue weight, go too fast in corners, of make emergency braking with no brakes on the trailer. Driving a tall SUV prone to rollover does not help either.

It would be helpful if only people with towing experience contributed to this discussion. Please note that tractor trailers (18-wheelers) regularly go 80mph and are safe most of the time.

We don't need inferiority complex venting from larry here.

Thank you.



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