Towing a trailer, anyone?

[fmicle]

Hi,

My little Yaris has been a good work horse over the past 2 years; we've gone on camping trips, ski trips, had chains on it and it worked great. The thing is, my wife likes to cook really good while camping, so we usually bring a lot of stuff :-) Until now, I dealt with that by folding the rear seat. But two months ago we had a baby, so there will be even more stuff to carry in the future, plus I can't fold the rear seat anymore.

So, I was looking at renting the small Sport Trailer from U-Haul to deal with the reduced cargo space. I can't wait to see how it looks like! :-)

My question is, does anyone have any experience towing with the Yaris? Any thoughts, concerns, limitations, etc? I believe I would also have to install an towing harness to have power to the trailer for lighting and stuff, right?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Florin

[KCALB SIRAY]

a member by the name of Poorsha has one, PM him for details. As far as thoughts go, I wouldn't do it.

[supmet]

I wouldn't suggest anything more than a small bicycle trailer. I don't remember off the top of my head, but I think the yaris isn't supposed to tow more than 700 pounds. Even if the smallest U-haul is under 700 pounds loaded, I still wouldn't want to be towing ANYTHING in a yaris with a cross wind.

[justjesus]

Originally Posted by supmet

I wouldn't suggest anything more than a small bicycle trailer. I don't remember off the top of my head, but I think the yaris isn't supposed to tow more than 700 pounds. Even if the smallest U-haul is under 700 pounds loaded, I still wouldn't want to be towing ANYTHING in a yaris with a cross wind.

oh, and that figure (700lbs) is accurate. Nice memory!

[SpaceShot]

I put on a class I hitch bar on and use it with a bike rack and hitch basket. The hitch basket I use for errands around town; recycling center, Home Depot, propane tank refill, and that sort of thing.

You should only carry about 75-100 lbs that way. With a small 1000lb capacity trailer you could do a lot more. Just keep it balanced so the tongue weight is not too much.

I haven't yet found a plug-in type trailer wire harness for the Yaris yet. You might be stuck getting a universal one (with the converter box) and tapping into the wires feeding the drivers side rear tail light.

[toad]

careful when you ask questions here about trailer towing! only discussions about oil viscosity raise more passion than the dreaded 'can i tow with the yaris?'. i'm not going to comment one way or the other, but i find it ironic that some folks will bash someone for even mentioning 'towing' on this forum, however, whatever you want to do to your engine to raise the hp is fair game

[2009Toyotoad]

Originally Posted by toad

careful when you ask questions here about trailer towing! only discussions about oil viscosity raise more passion than the dreaded 'can i tow with the yaris?'. i'm not going to comment one way or the other, but i find it ironic that some folks will bash someone for even mentioning 'towing' on this forum, however, whatever you want to do to your engine to raise the hp is fair game

Towing? That's a little strange because I think the Canadian owners manual actually list a tow rating for the MT model. Why would folks be bashers on the idea? Besides I think the tow rating was high enough to pull a trailered small Jet ski or even a trailered snowmobile.

[360cubes]

I towed 70K of oversized equipment with my Freightliner!

I'd tow with the Yaris. Toyota doesn't recommend towing of course, as the car is small. Europe allows a 700lb towing capacity. I would imagine that this so called 'towing capacity' would decrease when you include driver (240lbs in my case), wife (115lbs in her case), kid and luggage (100lbs). That'd only leave a few hundred pounds that you can tow SAFELY. Keep in mind a hitch and draw bar also add weight (35-45lbs for a class I hitch).

I wouldn't exceed 60mph towing with the Yaris. After some test drives I'm still waiting for the wife to give me the go ahead to order one.... The first thing I'd do would be to install a hitch. If you have an automatic and plan to make weekend trips towing the trailer, you'd be wise to install an aftermarket transmission fluid cooler. If the dealer asks any questions, just say you plan to drive it through the mountains along the east coast and don't want any over heating trouble (or some other excuse so they won't question the towing and therefore possibly void the warranty).

If you don't plan to tow regularly (say, once a month), it might be best to install and then remove the hitch afterward, or at least before you take it into the dealer should you require any work done under warranty.

Alas, THULE makes some AWESOME small trailers that come in at 221lbs and are a mere 4' wide. The smallest can carry up to 1100lbs (too heavy for Yaris at max capacity!). It has skinny P145 tires for the fuel economy conscience and can hold up to 30 cubic feet. It's also aluminum so it won't rust. http://www.thuletrailers.com/fw/main...tml?LayoutID=9

[exit90a]

Originally Posted by 360cubes

The first thing I'd do would be to install a hitch. If you have an automatic and plan to make weekend trips towing the trailer, you'd be wise to install an aftermarket transmission fluid cooler. If the dealer asks any questions, just say you plan to drive it through the mountains along the east coast and don't want any over heating trouble (or some other excuse so they won't question the towing and therefore possibly void the warranty).

The transmission fluid cooler sounds like an easy and affordable bit of insurance for towing. I did a bit of searching but found nothing here or on google. Are these kits universal and where do you get them? Thanks.

[BailOut]

As has been mentioned the Yaris has a tow rating everywhere but in the U.S. owner's manual, and it is good for 70 pounds tongue weight and 700 pounds towing. I use a class 1 hitch and routinely put 2 mountain bikes back there on a bike rack, or snowboards/skis on an adapter that fits over the bike rack. I have also towed a 450 pound snowmobile on a 200 pound trailer across town for an associate and it did just fine. Just keep your speed to no more than 60 MPH, as was mentioned, and you will do fine.

Keep in mind that it tows like anything else does. Just as a truck responds and handles differently when towing, so does the Yaris.

[360cubes]

Not having a brake controller won't help with trailer sway. You'll learn to adjust your driving habits easily enough. When I first learned to drive a semi, I found a new respect for the road and others that I'm forced to share it with!

[GeneW]

I don't recommend if you have an AT.

Gene

[justjesus]

But, per my 2008 Owner's Manual of the Toyota Yaris Hatchback (p.155)

The following doesn't seem to apply to Canadian models.

"Toyota does not recommend towing a trailer with your vehicle. Toyota also does not recommend the installation of a tow hitch or the use of a tow hitch carrier of a wheelchair, scooter, bicycle, etc. Your Toyota is not designed for trailer towing or for the use of tow hitch mounted carriers."

It appears you may tow with a Canadian model. There are a couple of pages (starting p. 156) that give you the specs, how to balance it, some driving tips etc. I'm not about to quote those pages, sorry.

[Astroman]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I don't recommend if you have an AT.

Gene

My AT performed amazing towing, as long as you balance the load. I went over 1,000 miles with over 1,200 lbs total weight (passengers, dogs, gear, trailer) with a old 4x8 utility trailer and in all honesty it drove better (and netted almost 20mpg more) than my '87 Chevy Astro with a 4.3L V6. Just keep the trailer light, but for camping like you mentioned you should be fine.

[WolfWings]

Originally Posted by GeneW

I don't recommend if you have an AT.

Actually, an Automatic Transmission is better at towing for most current cars, including our Yaris. Instead of slipping the clutch under the heavier load, the torque converter just does what it's designed for and multiplies the torque to let you get moving easier. It's also very easy to add an oil cooler to most automatic transmissions, which can almost eliminate the added wear and tear from towing.

For example, you could only get the Metric Tonne towing package for a Jeep Comanche with the AT because it was feasable to hook up a transmission-fluid cooler since the AT fluid was actively pumped like engine oil is, and and the stock AT torque converter could handle the load but the stock MT clutch would burn out.

With that package and a 5th-wheel kit reinforcing the frame? Those things are BEASTLY tow machines though, they have no problem towing a 35-foot 5th-wheel RV in the 16,000lbs range at 65 for hours on end. On a sub-3,500lbs compact pickup truck, mind.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by WolfWings

Actually, an Automatic Transmission is better at towing for most current cars, including our Yaris. Instead of slipping the clutch under the heavier load, the torque converter just does what it's designed for and multiplies the torque to let you get moving easier. It's also very easy to add an oil cooler to most automatic transmissions, which can almost eliminate the added wear and tear from towing.

For example, you could only get the Metric Tonne towing package for a Jeep Comanche with the AT because it was feasable to hook up a transmission-fluid cooler since the AT fluid was actively pumped like engine oil is, and and the stock AT torque converter could handle the load but the stock MT clutch would burn out.

With that package and a 5th-wheel kit reinforcing the frame? Those things are BEASTLY tow machines though, they have no problem towing a 35-foot 5th-wheel RV in the 16,000lbs range at 65 for hours on end. On a sub-3,500lbs compact pickup truck, mind.

I don't doubt that the AT will do a better job at towing than an MT, especially given the "grabbing" I've been hearing about with Yaris clutches.

Can the AT hack it? Cooling isn't quite enough, you also need to modify the AT in SOME CASES to accept higher loads.

Gene

[WeeYari]

This has all been debated in exactly the same manner for a couple of years now. Same facts get quoted, same speculations put forth. What is different between the earlier days and now, is that more people have demonstrated various uses of a hitch. So now we have more real cases to draw upon, instead of just unproven speculation. Lots of us use hitches for carriers. No problems. Quite a few have pulled small trailers. Again, with no reported problems. It really does not make sense that the US and Canadian manuals go in two different directions on this issue.

Here is mine with two of the 3 bikes that I normally haul.

[Grandieri]

I have a 4x8 trailer that I bought from lowes.No problems what so ever towing my trx450.I bought the curt class 1 hitch.Everything works great.I wouldnt tow with the uhaul trailer only because of the huge weight difference.Good luck!