csmonte

I have a hitch that was installed for my basket rack, and for a bike rack.

I've been thinking about getting a really small light trailer, like the one at Harbor Freight its a 4x8ft. Thought of pulling my 4 wheeler.

Anyone done this?

__________________

RevolutionAutomotive

iTrader: (1)

I think there was a thread earlier today about someone doing this very thing and shredding their transmission.. Apart from the xB not being rated to tow anything.. I would not suggest it.. The most I'd feel safe towing is a motorcycle trailer.. Like this.. http://timeouttrailers.org/zephyr.aspx

jeremydoc

iTrader: (11)

yeah, i definately read that thread earlier about some dude messing up his xD i think it was. he downshifted from 4th to 3rd and his transmission blew up. had to get 2 tow trucks to tow his car and what he was towing already. damn, that really sucks. i would suggest not towing anything with scions. i dont think scions were built to be lugging anything around.

jnaval

ROT: If it doesn't come with a hitch, forget about towing.

1GreeKtC

iTrader: (3)

I tow my trailer house ~5,000lbs. Not that bad, it does affect my MPG though.

Best of luck.

1GreeKtC

iTrader: (3)

^joke.

breauxseph

I tow my motor home with my 1st gen xB all the time. So you should be more than fine.

P.S. Make sure you post pics of the carnage that occurs.

buickid

There have been at least 3 threads that comprehensively covered this subject before. I think the general consensus is, do it at your own risk (of voiding warranty and breaking things), and keep it light. Remember the Scion is rated to carry 800lbs, which includes drivers, passenger, and their cargo.

Creeden

Search is your friend...

It has been discussed extensively...basically yes you can, but your car can hate you for it. Most of it is how you drive if you do tow, but this car is not made for it...period. See search results below...it is all explained in the post.

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...ghlight=towing

There were more...but not as relevant...

Gsauce

Just throwing it out there, my dealer specifically pointed out in the manual that the xB is not meant for towing ANYTHING and it is not recommended. I'm assuming they get alot of problems with it

papo

im pretty sure on the first or second page of the manual it says "DO NOT USE VEHICLE TO TOW."

csmonte

well thanks for the replies. You never know, some times people tow all kinds of crap with all kinds of cars, and you don't hear about much. Others I guess like this one is plagued with many bad stories, enough to get me off this idea. I'll stick to the cargo basket on back and a bike rack then. Lots of cars don't come with a hitch, equinox, saturn vue's. and I'm sure much more. They can handle it, but they are much bigger too. Just about every manual says don't tow, its to cover there as$ I'm sure. But our scions are pretty small, and pretty weak really, that's why I was concerned. I love the car for getting around and I love having our basket now that we have it. But I noticed the front getting lighter (and drove different) when filled the car for a weekend trip and had a few things on the basket, so I would imagine that a 4 wheeler would make it feel pretty bad.
thanks again for the feedback.

mcbrew

Yeah... xB's are weak... you need an xD to do any real towing:

mcbrew

By the way, that post about the xD with a messed up trans was most likely phony.

buickid

I hope to god that house trailer has brakes lol

mcbrew

It does not... but it only weighs about 1,200 pounds, so it is not really necessary. If I ever have to replace the axle, I will upgrade to electric brakes. The frontal area is so big that ir almost acts as an always-on air brake!

XBinRochester

This thing would look great in absolutely Red!

RichBinAZ

According to the handbook hidden in your glovebox you shouldn't even have a bike rack on this car Bad, Bad driver... no biscuit!!!

So realizing this was a bunch of lawyerease put in the book to get out of doing actual testing, which keeps the cost of the car down, I was a bad boy and did it anyway.

I pump the rear tires to 35 when towing


If it was a problem U-haul would not allow the rental - like with the Ford Explorer. Yes really!!!



Towed all this (950 lb trailer and a few 100 lbs of apartment filling furniture) from Mesa AZ 1200feet to Flagstaff 7000 feet without problem.

Just slow down, don't thrash the engine going up the hills and use the tranny to help slow you on downhill sections, so you don't melt the brakes. Take corners slowly and stretch the braking distance out. It normally takes 1/2 tank of gas going up the hill and 1/4 tank coming back. With the trailer it took an extra 1/4 tank each way.

$20 per day trailer rental is really cost effective. It would be nice if the trailer had surge brakes, but they don't at this size. The tutorial U-haul provides about towing is worth the read.

With the kids at college then moving out of the house, I foresee a lot of towing in my future

mcbrew

I have towed Uhaul trailers a few times. The last two times, I got horrible service from them, and decided to buy my own little trailer. For about $300 I got a 4x8 trailer at Harbor Freight. I added sides, a tongue box, and some tie-downs to it. I have put over 5,000 miles on that trailer in the last year and a half.

About Uhaul... I think they should use some sort of "frequent customer" program where you fill out paperwork ONCE and then you can just stop by and pick up a trailer without the hassle of waiting in line and going through all of that mess. Also, it is cheaper to rent the trailer from their website than it is to walk in the store and rent it. One time I got hassled because the online price was "too low". Another thing to keep in mind is that they often want to charge you for two days, even if you only want it for one.



Here's the trailer I got from Harbor Freight:



That Coke machine weighs almost 850 pounds!

RichBinAZ

If anyone wants to sin and put a tow hitch on their xB Mk2, I did document what I did here.

Remember, this is very, very bad and is forbidden by the owners manual. You assume all responsibility and risk if you follow these guidelines.

Sorry if this is a duplicate post but my memory is bad. The good thing is, it isn't getting any better.

I have taken a look after towing at the frame rails under the back end and they show no signs of buckling or pulling away.

Just don't exceed the hitch rating of 2000 lbs - but at that weight, drive even slower. So for the original poster, no you can't tow a car.

__________________