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Author Topic: Towing a trailer with a car  (Read 3762 times)

Offline wing

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Towing a trailer with a car
« on: July 22, 2013, 11:29:05 am »
Can't be done right?  :rofl:

I must have saw this exact thing 100 times over on sunday, all over Germany.  Autobahn, B roads etc.  I saw cars as small as the vibe / matrix towing trailers this large.
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Offline Fobroader

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2013, 11:52:23 am »
The European towing standards must be different and their trailers must be a hell of a lot lighter. The Jeep Wrangler, for instance, is at most rated to tow 3500lbs here, in Europe, over 7000lbs?!?!?!? I dont get how that worked. Similarly, most vehicles there have a tow rating, here, most cars are strictly verboten to tow. Must be a law thing, Ive seen lots of pics with station wagons with a race car on a car trailer from over there.
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Offline bridgecity

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2013, 11:59:07 am »
I am of the opinion that most unibody vehicles on this side of the pond are rated light due to liability risks and could be rated higher if set up properly.  For instance, the CR-V is rated to tow much more (3500 vs 1500lbs I believe) in Europe. I'm not saying you should be towing 7500lbs with your Jetta, just that a lot of vehicles are more capable than the ratings show.

There is an RV dealership in Ontario that specializes in setting up cars/unibody SUVs for towing.  Custom hitches, etc.  They have videos demonstrating the capabilities of some cars.  Very impressive.

I should mention that RV's in Europe tend to have much lighter tongue weights, which may be part of the equation.  However, I'm not sure how this works, because its been my experience that your tongue weight should be between 10-15% of your trailer weight for stable towing.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2013, 12:09:15 pm by bridgecity »
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Offline quadzilla

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2013, 12:39:50 pm »
When I spent a week in Norway cars easily out numbered CUVs 10-1 when towing and they have some very hilly roads.
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Offline SaskSpecV

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2013, 01:16:34 pm »
Yep, I assume it's a North American liability thing.

Mazda5 in NA - "towing not recommended"
Mazda5 in UK - 600 kg (unbraked), 1200 kg (with trailer brakes).  For either 2.0L gas or 1.6L diesel engine (Compared with 2.5L gas engine in NA).  And of course, Mazda Canada will give absolutely no explanation for the discrepancy (simply reiterate that "Mazda5 is not rated to tow in Canada").

My wife commented on all the BMW 3-series in Germany pulling horse trailers...
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Offline Snowman

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2013, 01:17:45 pm »
Its the insurance companies fault
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Offline bridgecity

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2013, 01:25:32 pm »
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Offline johngenx

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2013, 02:42:17 pm »
I towed a trailer with the HL that was about 300lbs over the rated capacity, and I barely noticed it was there.  It could tow a LOT more.

Can a Matrix tow a big camper up a steep pass without dropping below 130km/h?  No.  We have unrealistic expectations.  We also have too many lawyers.
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Offline tooscoops

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2013, 02:46:51 pm »
the guy i used to deal with to do my hitches and trailer stuff when i was a business manager drove an intrepid... i saw the trailer hitch and asked if he actually used it...

he laughed and showed up later in the day with a +5000lb trailer on it... he used it to deliver trailers to customers. said it could handle it fine, it was just the braking causing him issues... i'm sure he was crawling as well, but still...

here i had figured it was for a bike rack.
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Offline Sir Osis of Liver

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2013, 03:23:57 pm »
For the Outback 3.6R, the tow rating in NA is 1361kg (3000lbs) with trailer brakes. The same car in Europe is rated at 2000kg (4400lbs). The only difference in the models that I could see was the self-leveling air suspension in the Euro version.
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Offline Ex-airbalancer

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2013, 07:21:18 pm »
Quote from: wing on July 22, 2013, 11:29:05 am
Can't be done right?  :rofl:

I must have saw this exact thing 100 times over on sunday, all over Germany.  Autobahn, B roads etc.  I saw cars as small as the vibe / matrix towing trailers this large.
Did it have Dutch plates  ;D
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Offline wing

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2013, 09:06:59 pm »
Ha it is very possible a lot of NL plates were seen that day.

All trailers also had a 100 sticker on the back of them so they were limited to those speeds but still hit up the autobahn no problem.
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Offline blotter

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2013, 02:14:05 pm »
 :think:

it's crazy really...  and totally unfair!!!!


Quote
There is an RV dealership in Ontario that specializes in setting up cars/unibody SUVs for towing.  Custom hitches, etc.  They have videos demonstrating the capabilities of some cars.  Very impressive.


i've seen these adds..
but put all the custom stuff you want,
i do beleive if you have warranty issues (blow tranny) and the dealer / manufacturer finds out you're towing over the rating they won't cover you. 

Again, I remember at a RV Show and the sales guy going on about how i could tow this or that and when i mentioned "but my car can only tow 1,500 lbs"  He'd quickly just say, oh well that's just what they say to be safe.  When i asked if HE would take care of my tranny if i over cook it, he shrugged.   
 ::)


it would be interesting to know why in Europe they have such higher tow ratings though.

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Offline aquadorhj

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #13 on: July 29, 2013, 02:27:15 pm »
Quote from: blotter on July 29, 2013, 02:14:05 pm
:think:

it's crazy really...  and totally unfair!!!!


Quote
There is an RV dealership in Ontario that specializes in setting up cars/unibody SUVs for towing.  Custom hitches, etc.  They have videos demonstrating the capabilities of some cars.  Very impressive.


i've seen these adds..
but put all the custom stuff you want,
i do beleive if you have warranty issues (blow tranny) and the dealer / manufacturer finds out you're towing over the rating they won't cover you. 

Again, I remember at a RV Show and the sales guy going on about how i could tow this or that and when i mentioned "but my car can only tow 1,500 lbs"  He'd quickly just say, oh well that's just what they say to be safe.  When i asked if HE would take care of my tranny if i over cook it, he shrugged.   
 ::)


it would be interesting to know why in Europe they have such higher tow ratings though.

maybe it's parallel to how in EU, some cars have 50~60HP, where as in NA, nothing starts under 110 HP..   we don't stand to endure the slowness that towing will cause.   

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Offline tpl

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2013, 02:34:29 pm »
I wonder if some of the higher tow ratings for cars in Euroland are for models with manual transmissions.   That is that deep in the small print over there that the tow rating is only for a manual car...which we probably never see over here so we get the rating for an automatic.
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Offline Fobroader

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Re: Towing a trailer with a car
« Reply #15 on: July 29, 2013, 03:33:55 pm »
Quote from: tpl on July 29, 2013, 02:34:29 pm
I wonder if some of the higher tow ratings for cars in Euroland are for models with manual transmissions.   That is that deep in the small print over there that the tow rating is only for a manual car...which we probably never see over here so we get the rating for an automatic.

Thats what I think. A cheap, fwd auto will munch itself in no time with the load of a trailer behind it. Plus, theyd have to add tranny coolers, brake controlers and people would have to get used to the idea that they are not going to be able to be the first off of the line at a stoplight.
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