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Old 04-27-2009, 01:49 PM   #1
fmicle
 
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Towing a trailer, anyone?

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
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Old 04-27-2009, 01:52 PM   #2
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a member by the name of Poorsha has one, PM him for details. As far as thoughts go, I wouldn't do it.
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Old 04-27-2009, 01:53 PM   #3
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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.
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Old 04-27-2009, 03:19 PM   #4
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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.
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Old 04-27-2009, 06:58 PM   #5
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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
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Old 04-27-2009, 07:28 PM   #6
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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
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Old 04-27-2009, 07:40 PM   #7
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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.
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Old 04-27-2009, 08:01 PM   #8
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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!
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Old 04-27-2009, 09:29 PM   #9
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I don't recommend if you have an AT.

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Old 04-27-2009, 10:03 PM   #10
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I thought about it too....

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.
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Old 04-27-2009, 10:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supmet View Post
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!
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Old 04-27-2009, 10:13 PM   #12
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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.
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Old 04-27-2009, 11:56 PM   #13
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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!
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Old 04-28-2009, 12:02 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandieri View Post
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!
any pic from the underbody? I'd like to see how it's set up.
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Old 04-28-2009, 04:40 AM   #15
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As a side-note, the 700lbs figure is for a 'dead axle' trailer that's just a cargo bin on two wheels with brake-lights on the back.

If you root through the Euro-specs enough for other vehicles with the same engine, you'll find that it's okay to go up to about 1000kg if you have a full braking system on the trailer but that's basically impossible to find in that weight class without getting something fully custom fabricated by a dedicated trailer shop. It'd be the limit of a Class-1 hitch (2000lbs) though, but again if and only if you have a trailer that does it's own braking.
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Old 04-28-2009, 08:54 AM   #16
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If you’re looking for a supper light trailer you might want to search for talers made to tow behind a motor cycle. I have seen a few Yaris’s pulling them but have never talked to the people doing it to see how it travels with the car.
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Old 04-28-2009, 01:47 PM   #17
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Yes you can

I have been towing with my small trailer. I use it around town and as far as 200miles. No problems. Just keep a couple of canadian dollars and the car thinks it is a canadian model, so it can tow.
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Old 04-28-2009, 02:15 PM   #18
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This issue comes up ever few months. Personally I feel that a small trailer under the 700 pound limit would be ok. However having been involved in 2 personal injury lawsuits in my life (one as a plaintive and the other has a defendant) I wouldn’t put anything past the insurance companies or lawyers if you were involved in an accident while towing.
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