I just received an e-mail from www.hitch-web.com that they now have a professionally manufactured hitch available for the xB. It is made by Curt manufacturing and costs $222 including shipping. It also has a limited lifetime warranty.

 

coool

http://www.hitch-web.com/vhitch.asp?...036#CURT%20MFG.

 

i put this in the xB section.

 

What in the hell can you tow with an xB? I know I have trouble accelerating when I have more than two people in the car.

 

I wouldn't try towing any thing more than a bike rack with a couple of bikes on a hitch.

I would never tow more than 300lbs in a xB. The manual says no towing.

 

That's kinda funny... the manual says not to tow, yet some company made a hitch for it. You know someone out there is going to find this product and try to tow something other than bicycles with it. I made a device that holds my bike on the inside (with one seat down). I would never keep my bike on the outside (I paid too much for it!).

 

Great, now that I have my center exit, I can't install a hitch!

 

i 2nd that

esp going up hills

 

I saw a Box in SF yesterday with a hitch on it. Looked perfectly normal. I couldn't get to them to ask about it, tho.

I think it would pull a Jetski or Dirtbike, as long as people are careful. The payload capacity is 980 lbs. Just don't fill the cab and the trailer too...

 

*sigh* not the same debate again.
:?
The Scion xA and xB are built from the exact same drive train as the Toyota Echo.
The Toyota Echo is rated at towing 700 kg ( 1543.5 lbs ) or the equivalent
of a motorcycle trailer, jet ski, or very small pop-up camper.

The only reason why they don't advertise the towing capacity here in the US
is because Americans have a very bad habit of overdoing everything and suing
everybody when they don’t get their way. The last thing they need is some moron
to overload his xB by trying to pull a 28’ boat and burning up his car, then suing
Toyota (and winning) because he found some legal loophole.

People in the UK have been driving and towing stuff
with small cars for many years.

So... yes, you can tow with a Scion.
:D

Sources for towing capacity:
http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.new_specs?vehicle_code=20021029.09:05:23&sort_type=&current_rec=6&make_name=TOYOTA&model_name=ECHO

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/cars/n...s/vehicle.html

http://www.racq.com.au/03_car/review...ho3door_00.htm

 

"the hitch says 2k pounds! I tried it and my tranny makes funny smells now"

I'd not have a problem using it for bikes or a box, or even a small traler to get 1-2 pieces of plywood.

 

it seems cool if u wanna tow a sea-doo or the like.

 

If I used my xB for its towing capacity, I'd have to say to myself, "If I can afford (insert something that needs to be towed), I can afford a vehicle built for towing." I wouldn't tow anything that needed to be towed with an xB, an xA, or an Echo. I wouldn't feel comfortable towing with a vehicle that barely handles human cargo. I owned a Ford Ranger before I bought an xB, and it was a 3.0 liter with an automatic (which did turn out to be one of the crappiest transmissions of its time, mechanics told me how many they'd worked on), and it was used to tow a jet ski for a short period. I had to rebuild that transmission twice (in less than 8 years, 90,000 miles total). I also drove a Chrysler minivan for a period of time, and I wouldn't tow with that either. I know I may have had bad experiences/vehicles, but I do not believe the engineers that built a 1.5 liter, 4 cylinder, front wheel drive vehicle ever thought about it towing anything.

 

Somebody should build a custom cargo trailer that mimicks the rear half of an xB

 

That looks like a very good design. Perfect for a bike rack. Note that this is a very low hitch so you need to be careful of dips and curbs. More detail:
http://www.hitch-web.com/hwpdf.asp?t...5gt8788%3E4tdm

 

If you read their literature it has a big warning "Do Not Exceed Vehicle Manufacturer's Recommended Towing Limit"
The recommended towing limit for the xB is 0. :?

Sounds like a cover your butt legal thing that comes with the towing bar.

So if you leave your trans on the ground towing something forget suing them or Toyota. Use at your own risk.

 

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
If my old metro could pull a jet ski all over texas (some trips over 8 hours), put the ski in the water, pull it out of the water, and never have a single problem, then the xB can.

You should have no issues pulling a jet ski, one street bike (maybe two dirt bikes) or a small pop-up camper (which I'm actually planning on).

Just remember, you have to include the weight of the trailer in with the towing. So if you have a 490lbs street bike and a 350lbs trailer then you are pulling 840lbs.

Also, if you have an auto, you might want to look into a tranny cooler.

 

Ya know, looking at the pic, no one asked, where does it exit?

That would be my biggest issue, which shop would you trust to cut your body panels? Also, what are you going to use to cap the hole when hitch isn't in the reciever?

Might be time to look at a plate relocation. Smooth out the hatch, locate the plate in the bumper, hinge the plate.

 

From the looks of the picture and the installation instructions that I received from them it exits under the back panel.

Mark44