Towing with a car?

[LT72884]

Any one have any good tips on how to tow with your car, thats right not a truck but a car...

i wanna make sure that it can be done with out hurting my 05 nissan altima.

My manual says 1000 pounds MAX and that includes trailer weight. 100 pounds on the tongue MAX

If i stay below those specs i should be fine according to the manual.

What say you??

 

[Saphellae]

My dad used to tow his fishing boat (I think it's 12 foot) with his old car which is now mine.. a 95 toyota corolla, a 4 cylinder.. i guess it depends on what you're towing? If you stay under the manual's limit then you should be perfectly fine. They probably can tow more, but if you tow more you run the risk of damaging your vehicle. Better to stay within the safe range and it should be perfectly fine.

 

[LT72884]

My dad used to tow his fishing boat (I think it's 12 foot) with his old car which is now mine.. a 95 toyota corolla, a 4 cylinder.. i guess it depends on what you're towing?

A 522 pound 4 wheeler and a small 4x8 trailer..,

 

[Andy M.]

More total weight will tax your engine and transmission unduly. More importantly, the brakes' ability to stop the combination of the car and trailer.

Tongue weight over the 100 lb limit will raise the front end of the car, interfering with your ability to accelerate (front wheel drive) and steer.

 

[Saphellae]

You should be fine with that. I've known plenty of people to tow 4 wheelers with their car.

Exactly, Andy. Brake slowly and give yourself LOTS of room to slow down.

 

[LT72884]

More total weight will tax your engine and transmission unduly. More importantly, the brakes' ability to stop the combination of the car and trailer.

Tongue weight over the 100 lb limit will raise the front end of the car, interfering with your ability to accelerate (front wheel drive) and steer.

yeah i kinda figured that,Thanx.. i forgot about the breaks. LOL so im trying to find a trailer with a tongue weight of 25 pounds or so. then add the weight of the quad on it and then take 10% total weight of the trailer and quad to find tongue weight. i want to keep it around 70-80 pounds on the tongue and roughly 800 -850 max pounds

our 1991 nissan 4 cylinder truck towed our trailer all the time and it was 90 pounds on the tongue and i think close to 800 pounds.
BUT the truck has Rwd

 

[Andy M.]

Can you manage to shift the majority of the weight to the rear of the trailer? That should take some of the weight off the tongue.

 

[LT72884]

Can you manage to shift the majority of the weight to the rear of the trailer? That should take some of the weight off the tongue.

LOL not sure since i have not bought the hitch, trailer or quad yet because i want to make sure that my car can do this before i spend 5000$

im going to load the weight over the trailer tires and if i find a good trailer, the tires should be offset and not centered. more to the rear

 

[Nige]

With my jetski trailer (just 2 wheels) I moved the wheels forward slightly to get the optimum weight on the towbar.

I even towed it a few times with the ex's 1000cc Citroen AX with no problems.

If you are worried about the brakes, why not get a braked trailer???

Nige (frequently tows jetskis)

 

[ronjohn55]

Some pretty sound advice here already. Let me throw in a few more things for thought...

If your vehicle doesn't already have a hitch installed, one can be added but it should be done by a reputable place. The reason hitches are mostly on trucks and SUVs is greatly attributable to the words "Body on Frame". Most trucks and SUVs still have these. Most passenger cars are built on a unibody platform now. These can still support a hitch, but it needs to be installed right.

You'll also need to splice in (it should be included with the installation) for wiring for the harness to the trailer.

Also, the vehicle will handle differently. If the rear springs/shocks/struts are getting dicey, replacing those will help vehicle stability tremendously.

Even on a smaller vehicle, if it isn't an excessively large or heavy trailer, there probably won't be a need for additional transmission coolers.

Lastly, while a dealership may be able to offer some advice you probably won't get much from the actual manufacturer other than "We don't recommend making any modifications to the vehicle...". The lawyers make us say that.

It really sounds more complicated than it is. If it's installed properly and you follow a few safety rules, it's no trouble.

 

[LT72884]

Some pretty sound advice here already. Let me throw in a few more things for thought...

If your vehicle doesn't already have a hitch installed, one can be added but it should be done by a reputable place. The reason hitches are mostly on trucks and SUVs is greatly attributable to the words "Body on Frame". Most trucks and SUVs still have these. Most passenger cars are built on a unibody platform now. These can still support a hitch, but it needs to be installed right.

You'll also need to splice in (it should be included with the installation) for wiring for the harness to the trailer.

Also, the vehicle will handle differently. If the rear springs/shocks/struts are getting dicey, replacing those will help vehicle stability tremendously.

Even on a smaller vehicle, if it isn't an excessively large or heavy trailer, there probably won't be a need for additional transmission coolers.

Lastly, while a dealership may be able to offer some advice you probably won't get much from the actual manufacturer other than "We don't recommend making any modifications to the vehicle...". The lawyers make us say that.

It really sounds more complicated than it is. If it's installed properly and you follow a few safety rules, it's no trouble.

My car is a 2500cc motor (2.5L)

U-haul is going to install the hitch for me and i asked them how good they are and he said that it is a professional place that handles all there cars and hitches. He said they are very good at what they do hence why its going to cost me a mere 300$ for the install and the hitch.

The trailer is a 4 foot by 8 foot with single axle.

trying to find one that is between 230 -250 pounds in weight.

For the most part, it will only be towing 45 minutes to 2 hours max.