Yaris Towing 1000 lbs?

[gboezio]

I'm Canadian and I bought my 2008 sedan Yaris new at the dealership, at the time the hitchs available were far from satisfying, one would bolt trough sheetmetal and extend to the tow hooks, while crawling under the car I saw the 3 M10 inserts on each side, I have mocked up cardboard templates and cut then in 1/4 inch steel plate. Then I cut my BMW hitch and welded it to death to the two plates, It bolted right up with 6 x M10 dipped in red loctite.

My 10 years old homebuilt 4,5 x 9 x 4 high trailer weight is about 400 lbs, it's balanced to zero so to add tongue weight I must move the load forward until I get about 50 lbs on the tongue or less if there is a lot of weight on the trunk.
I have done it all from light weight to overweight, I have abused the drivetrain, hitch, body and trailer but I have never abused the brakes so I don't know if they would overheat, I prefer to let this to others since I feel that I have made enough research.

My regular towing is trailer + quad, about 800 lbs, sportbike to the track 900 lbs, quad + camping gear 1100 lbs over about 5000 km on about 105 000 km total, I'm still waiting on something to break, no slack or bearing noise in the tranny, I have changed twice the oil with synthetic and filtered it, nothing. That said I'm convinced that if it was an automatic it would have overheated and broke down for the same driving, if the automatic clutches start to slip on a sustained pull, the trans go down quickly.

Here's my rules :
Plan ahead, as little clutch as needed, I coast to traffic lights and engage the clutch rolling.
Use the brakes to slow down not to avoid kids and other cars.
For common sense sake when you know that your braking is impaired and risk is present: slow down, this way you will stop even faster than a car alone going at the permitted speed.
When going downhill, blip the throttle and downshift in a lower gear, I'm barely braking and I keep my brakes cold all the time in case of an emergency.
Never forget that the trailer is driven by the rear wheels of the car, the more weight on them the more stable the trailer will be, same goes for the tongue length, the longer, the more control you have on the trailer, attach the load so it wont shift to the rear of the trailer and suddenly unload the rear wheels, add the panic braking from having the trailer swerving and you are looking for a disaster. If the trailer feels unstable, slowly stop, move some load in the trunk or weight forward on the trailer, you will feel a world of difference.
Try to center the weight in the middle of the trailer not to the far ends, this add to the stability because even if the trailer is properly balanced, it have more rotation inertia.
Dont't loose traction, never WOT the first gear, the traction loss sends very bad shocks on the front end and will destroy almost everything.

I had 2 BRP Spiders that were going to 70-80 on single lane and about 100 on double for an hour at Baie St-Paul I decided to pass them uphill, I have held the engine in second gear WOT at 6000RPM for about 10 minutes and there is no way to break this thing or overheat it.

On a logging road I have pulled over 2000 lbs of wood, at 70 km/h the trailer would become unstable, by moving 3 big logs in the trunk the unstable speed became 90 km/h
Do half this and you will never have a problem.
Trailer center axle to center ball 105", track 2" wider than my car, CoG 1" before axle center, if someone need to build a stable trailer.
Yes I drove semi trucks for over 1,5 million kms without the slightest incident.
Yes, my next car will be heavier, but now the Yaris is simply the best all around car ever, 6l/100km 95% of time, 8 to 10 l/100km when I need it.
If you don't feel safe towing, don't tow

[D&D]

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Great post! Thanks for chiming in with your experiences!
Got any pics of those loads?

I pulled my trailer again this past weekend. We had 4 adults and 3 small dogs in the car, and a whole living room full of furniture in my 4x8 trailer (a 500-600 lb payload). My sister was one of the passengers and was all "are you sure your car can handle this?". She had no idea what our little Yari could do!

[gboezio]

Originally Posted by D&D

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Great post! Thanks for chiming in with your experiences!
Got any pics of those loads?

I pulled my trailer again this past weekend. We had 4 adults and 3 small dogs in the car, and a whole living room full of furniture in my 4x8 trailer (a 500-600 lb payload). My sister was one of the passengers and was all "are you sure your car can handle this?". She had no idea what our little Yari could do!

Nice, My trailer is quite big and people keep asking me for help when moving and I'm always there for help, two row of furnitures mattress in the middle, I ask friends to put clothes in garbage bags and I stuff it between the furnitures so they won't scratch each other. I moved at least 5 times with this trailer and I moved about 20 friends the last 10 years. As you said this is no biggie for the Yaris.

On a side note if I was building cars, I would rate the car way less than it can handle to avoid lawsuits, at some point one will manage to launch one downhill, of course loaded by an idiot and driven by an idiot, then they will all turn to the builder and ask why can't we recover from a 360° with a trailer or why the brakes can't bring a 1200 lbs trailer from 140 km/h to 0 downhill without setting brakes on fire ??
That little video with the camper is right on, hey can't climb a hill, let's get a good swing !!




The hitch pictures are 2008 car and trailer are now

[CTScott]

Awesome job with that DIY hitch!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by gboezio

My regular towing is trailer + quad, about 800 lbs, sportbike to the track 900 lbs, quad + camping gear 1100 lbs over about 5000 km on about 105 000 km total, I'm still waiting on something to break, no slack or bearing noise in the tranny, I have changed twice the oil with synthetic and filtered it, nothing. That said I'm convinced that if it was an automatic it would have overheated and broke down for the same driving, if the automatic clutches start to slip on a sustained pull, the trans go down quickly.

I know, different things work for different people in different situations, but .

[CB Spoolmak]

This is my favourite thread on this forum by far! Here are my ?s:

gboezio: The templates are mirror image for right/left side or different because of the exhaust? 1 1/4" hitch or 2"?

Anyone here used the T-One plug&play trailer wiring harness available from etrailerdotcom? It says it fits the sedan only? I am thinking the sedan tail lights are different from the hatch,hence different connectors?

[yaris814]

Originally Posted by CB Spoolmak

Anyone here used the T-One plug&play trailer wiring harness available from etrailerdotcom? It says it fits the sedan only? I am thinking the sedan tail lights are different from the hatch,hence different connectors?

According to the Q&A section of that page, it says that the wiring connectors for hatchback and sedan are indeed different.

[CB Spoolmak]

Originally Posted by gboezio

Can anyone confirm the thread size of the weld nuts (frame rail) in the pic (2008 Yaris sedan). I bought m10x1.0 & they're too big, so I tried a fine thread m8 I had & it's too small. Would these weld nuts be m10x1.25? Or maybe m9?

[gboezio]

I think they are M10 x 1,5.
As for mirror image, I have made them separately, but yes beside a hole on the right side, I'll check tomorow to see the exact reason.

[CB Spoolmak]

Originally Posted by CB Spoolmak

Can anyone confirm the thread size of the weld nuts (frame rail) in the pic (2008 Yaris sedan). I bought m10x1.0 & they're too big, so I tried a fine thread m8 I had & it's too small. Would these weld nuts be m10x1.25? Or maybe m9?

Just to confirm,the bolts required are in fact M10 X 1.25 x 25mm long. I picked them up @ my local Lordco. Thank you gboezio for the pics & info!

[gboezio]

No problems, so thread pitch was 1,25, it's been a while.
The hole on the right side was to clear the exhaust mount, I really suggest to make cardboard templates, they work awesome, if you use it for the holes you may use something harder.

[CB Spoolmak]

My Car: 2007 Yaris Sedan, 22000 original kms (senior couple trade in), mint save for the crappy undercoat some genius @ a dealership applied. This should be my ride for the next 10+ years unless I win the lottery.

Wiring harness: T One harness for Yaris sedans, plug & play except for a hot wire that connects to the battery.

My quandry: running that hot wire inside the car along the drivers side w/the factory harness means removing interior trim pieces to get to the factory harness path. Or running the wire out a trunk grommet & along the bottom of the car. Judging by how my Yaris is built,wires go inside the car until they reach their destination. My OCD & my gut tells me I should run the wire inside too.

My concern: If the amount of time it took me to remove the hard plastic threshold from the trunk latch area is any indication (two external pushpins, easy, EIGHT hidden death grip plastic fingers/pins) , I will be running out of swear words before I get the first interior piece out. I have stared @ the interior section of the service manual (microimage link) & am unsure how much interior I will have to remove along the driver side to get to the harness. I have removed the two fuzzy trunk liner pieces ( 5 push pins each, EASY) & I can see the wiring harness disappearing into the forward cabin on the drivers side. I have looked through a few interior/audio threads & saw a few pics w/all the interior out which I don't want to do if at all possible.

My time frame: I have all winter, my yaris is on blocks in the garage. I can take my time to do it right, no excuses!

My frame of reference: Last car I removed interior pieces from (everything but the head liner & dash) was a Datsun 240Z in the eighties. Lots of exposed pushpins or phillips screw heads w/a few hidden alignment pins holding everything in, barely.

My questions: Is the wiring harness just behind the carpeting along the inside of the door jam?

If I remove the front & rear driver side door sill plates (7 & 9 deathgrip clips!) can I get the carpet back to access the harness enough to fish the wire through or will I need to remove more plastic like the wheel well cover next to the back seat and the pillar cover directly below the front shoulder belt.

There seems to be interior differences between the hatch & sedan. My sedan has full plastic trim around the rear seat support frame adding complexity to removing the seat. Can I get the those rear side trim/wheel well pieces out without removing the rear seat?

When the factory manual says something like "disengage" (LOL) the panel pins/clips they mean sliding a putty knife or screwdriver under an edge & work painfully slowly to get the first pin/finger to pop & try not to destroy the panel in a fit of impatient rage because all the little plastic fingers/pins don't want to let go, correct?

This should be a poll: outside, path of least resistance, git er half arsed done, or inside, path of sorrows, but I will be able to sleep @ night because it makes sense to do it this way?

If you are still reading, Thanks in advance for all input!

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by CB Spoolmak

This should be a poll: outside, path of least resistance, git er half arsed done, or inside, path of sorrows, but I will be able to sleep @ night because it makes sense to do it this way?

There is nothing wrong with running the wire along the underside. This has always been the way I've dealt with the power wire and never any issues. I usually chase it along the brake lines secured with zip ties.

Certainly not an issue to keep you awake at night. There are many more aspects of life reserved for that.

[Ronald Schmittburg]

To whom it conerns:

Concerning those who have towed with their Yaris. I'm thinking about towing 900 lbs worth of equipment (this includes the entire trailer setup) with my Toyota Yaris hatchback. It has a manual transmission. The trailer will have electric brakes and the tongue weight will be no more than 50 lbs. I drive like a granny (with all due respect), this being that I don't step on the gas or stomp on the brakes. I slowly go forward and cautiously slow down. I plan on regularly traveling across town with my 900 lbs worth of landscape equipment to do lawn jobs (perhaps 15-20 jobs per week). Does anyone have inpute concerning the matter?

Sincerely,
Ronald

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Ronald Schmittburg

To whom it conerns:

Concerning those who have towed with their Yaris. I'm thinking about towing 900 lbs worth of equipment (this includes the entire trailer setup) with my Toyota Yaris hatchback. It has a manual transmission. The trailer will have electric brakes and the tongue weight will be no more than 50 lbs. I drive like a granny (with all due respect), this being that I don't step on the gas or stomp on the brakes. I slowly go forward and cautiously slow down. I plan on regularly traveling across town with my 900 lbs worth of landscape equipment to do lawn jobs (perhaps 15-20 jobs per week). Does anyone have inpute concerning the matter?

Sincerely,
Ronald

Sounds like the ideal setup! Just take it easy on the clutch and you should be good to go!

[BIGTAZ351]

Well my 5/60000 mile warranty is now gone 2.5 years in.

My next mod on the list? A Curt Trailer hitch, screw the anti-tow Nazis!

[Bluevitz-rs]

Originally Posted by BIGTAZ351

... screw the anti-tow Nazis!

Amen sister!

[agent00ry]

haha, I took the southern route (no Rockies, i'm not that crazy :P). but I was driving through the Shenandoah park in Virginia (we're talking steep grades and tight bends) and I was able to keep up with traffic with no issues. as a followup still no issues on my car and I still keep the trailer for towing my motorcycle and when friend's need a tow (towed up to the size of a harley so I'm pulling heavier 600lbs stuff) zero issues and I'm still on the second set of brakes after 150,000 mi . Yaris FTW :)