Who's Towing with a Honda Fit?

[sgtbowe]

I've read what's available by searching and checked out Fit forums as well. I'm comfortable with the idea of using our Fit to tow a teardrop. Yes I know the manual says not to. We are still deciding what teardrop to buy so...I am curious if any of you are currently towing with a Fit and what type/size/weight teardrop you are towing? With/without brakes? Any other info you'd like to share? Thanks!

[angib]

The same body is rated in Europe to tow 1000 lb unbraked and 2200 lb braked, but I believe the nose/hitch weight is limited to 110 lb.

I'm not saying that this means a US-spec car can tow this, but it does show the body is plenty strong enough to fix a hitch to.

[sgtbowe]

Yeah, I've already got a hitch and have towed 1,000 lbs before without much effort. But, I've never towed a teardrop and am looking for specifics if anyone has them.

[GuitarPhotog]

Be very careful with a "no tow" rated car like that. The lack of towing rating indicates that the engine and or transmission lack the necessary extra cooling to handle the load. Be extremely careful when towing uphill in hot weather running the Air Conditioning. My 1000 lb tow rated Subaru Forester will overheat quickly (even with extra engine and transmission cooling) when towing up long hills in ~100 F ambient temps when I have to run the A/C.

On a trip in 2010, the ambient was 112 F and I had to run the A/C just to survive in the car. On the flat Nevada desert I simply could not exceed about 55 MPH tow speed without overheating.

Modern small car engines operate at higher engine temps to achieve higher gas mileage, leaving less headroom for the added drag of a trailer or the combination of trailer and A/C.

As an example, I cannot tow my teardrop from Auburn CA over Donner Summit (1500 ft to 7000 ft in 75 or so miles) on a hot day while running the A/C. I end up driving about 25 mph in 2nd gear dodging and diving around the huge semi trucks on the road. Very uncomfortable driving.

As always YMMV

<Chas>

[sgtbowe]

GuitarPhotog, It's only rated as a "no tow" in the US. People use the Jazz (identical overseas car) to tow all the time. I don't plan to overload excessively and will keep within the vehicle's limits. I drive slow when I tow. I also have a manual transmission so cooling is less of an issue. Like I said, I already tow. I'm not concerned with "can it do it or not." I'm really just looking for details from someone who IS towing with a Fit or something similarly powered/geared. Thanks for the info though.

[eamarquardt]

We have a 2007 Honda Fit. I would hesitate to tow any trailer that has no brakes. Heed the comments on overheating the engine. I''ve seen manual gearboxes run hot so it might pay to monitor the temperature of the tranny. I put thermocouples on the cooling lines on my Ford Windstar and monitored the temps for a bit. I was surprised to learn (when not towing) that the fluid coming out of the radiator/cooler was hotter than the fluid exiting the transmission. Adding a air cooled cooler before the radiator did nothing. I should have added it AFTER the radiator loop. Live and learn.

One trick to increase the efficiency of the cooling system when absolutely required it to run the cabin heater full out. My son, after refusing to listen to my sage advice, limped from LA to Las Vegas doing just that. Then, again failing to listen to my sage advice and my "opinion" that the fan clutch plays no part in cooling at hwy speeds when Pep Boys said the problem was the fan clutch in his S10, he limped from Las Vegas to some town in Utah by, again, running the heater full out. He then replaced the radiator which solved the problem. He'd never had made it as far as he did w/o running the heater. He now listens a bit more.

Cheers,

Gus

[sgtbowe]

Eamarquardt,

Do you tow a teardrop with your Fit? Any info about that would be great!

[eamarquardt]

Nope. I HATE the car (other than it gets over 36 mpg on the highway). I find the steering doesn't track well, the gas and brakes are overly sensitive and touchy, it rides like a hobby horse, and due to my frazzled nerves it causes me considerable pain in a short time when I drive it or ride in it. We were given the car and it's currently a spare. My wife's car is approaching 300K miles and when it dies and we abandon the carcass on the side of the road, it will become her daily driver. It's a 2007 and it only has 27K miles on it (most of em put on by people we've loaned it to). I must admit though, it is a simple car and very easy to work on as the engine is so small that there is plenty of room around it to get to things.

Cheers,

Gus

[sgtbowe]

LOL! That puts us in very separate mindsets from the start. I love our Fit! Mine is an '09 so is an updated version though I'm not sure about actual differences beside the body. Ours tracks like it's on rails and I've driven thousands of miles on sportbikes so anything less than hypersensitive brakes seem "squishy" to me.

[eamarquardt]

LOL! That puts us in very separate mindsets from the start. I love our Fit! Mine is an '09 so is an updated version though I'm not sure about actual differences beside the body. Ours tracks like it's on rails and I've driven thousands of miles on sportbikes so anything less than hypersensitive brakes seem "squishy" to me.

Different strokes for different folks. Perhaps they've tweaked the steering, brakes, and gas a bit over the years. I enjoy my Traverse. Pretty quiet, reasonably smooth, tows 5200# but gets about half the mileage of the Fit. I drive it as little as possible so I stretch what I get done when I do drive it.

I have a Honda 200 that I converted to street legal. I like riding to the hardware store on sunny days. I avoid streets where the speed limit is more than 25mph as I don't like the vibrations and wind buffet and being in close proximity to cars going fast enough to squash me in the blink of an eye. It's my spare set of wheels.

As long as you don't push it and have brakes on your trailer I'm sure you'll be fine.

Cheers,

Gus

[eggsalad]

I'm not towing with a Fit. However, I am towing with a 2005 Scion xB, which has about the same power and weight as a Fit.

As the xB is out of warranty, I can tow a trailer if I want to.

(Note: Some manufacturers, notably Nissan, will void your warranty if there's a hitch on the car. Even if you only used it to mount a 50lb bike rack!)

Here's how I did it:

Take the GVWR of your car. It's usually found on the tire pressure decal. Subtract the actual weight of the car, found in the owner's manual or online. Then subtract the weight of the passengers and cargo. Whatever is left is what you can tow. Since my camper is likely under 500lb. (haven't weighed it yet) I have plenty or room between the GVWR and my actual total weight.

[sgtbowe]

Eggsalad,

Wouldn't the difference in GVWR vs actual weight only apply to the weight inside the vehicle? So basically, tongue weight? That's kind of the point of towing a trailer in many cases (think trucks with skidsteers behind them). Although if you're staying withing that number you would certainly be safe.

[eamarquardt]

Eggsalad,

Wouldn't the difference in GVWR vs actual weight only apply to the weight inside the vehicle? So basically, tongue weight? That's kind of the point of towing a trailer in many cases (think trucks with skidsteers behind them). Although if you're staying withing that number you would certainly be safe.

Regardless whether the weight is borne by the axles of your vehicle, your vehicle has to move it and stop it.

I also think the numbers are probably conservative to some degree but it only costs about $300 for electric trailer brakes, a controller, and the components needed to make it all work. Cheap insurance.

Cheers,

Gus

[jonnyo]

in the usa...people's mentality is: anything less than a pick up truck 1 ton v8 diesel is unacceptable for towing


In canada, go ahead....a honda fit is a very decent tow vehicle if you have good driving habits....use proper judgement and slow down a little.

[JohnnyG]

My 07 Kia Rio is very small and tows my teardrop nicely. I have the manual transmission- no problems. I think my teardrop weighs in the 700+ pound range.