So, do you have a small tow vehicle?

[Mightydog]

Everytime I post these I get informed I am insane and a menace on the highway waiting on my turn to die.

That's part of your charm.

[07rascal]

Here is what we have:



2006 2.0L Focus Auto towing the LG Rascal. 136 hp / 133 lbft Torque, 2654 lb curb weight. TD weights about 550 loaded with a 65 lb tongue weight. No problems towing in OD on most terrain. TD is the same width as the body of the car. Get 28-30 mpg towing for the most part. Stable towing at 65 mph.....we don't do the 75 mph towing, why....cause were in no hurry when we are camping!

This pic was taken at "Needles" in the Black Hills of SD last fall. What a great trip that was!

[matthew.carlson]

Jeep Compass 2.4L
Manual Transmission

[jandmz]

Others have already mentioned the Suzuki Sidekick and Vitara. My Geo Tracker is basically the same vehicle. I currently use it to tow a 750 lb vintage Apache popup camper. If I can get around to building a TD, I'm sure it will be able to pull that too. It does pretty well on the prairie, but struggles a bit on the hills. I don't know if I'd venture into the mountains with it.

[Roly Nelson]

Well, Slow, dispite your opinions, which you probably think are totally accurate, wind hasn't slowed my 4 banger Camry down one bit. I have 30,000 miles of TD towing under my belt and get 28 mpg on my trips at 65 mph. Most of us read posts on this site to try to get positive opinions about our strange addiction, and I have feeling you haven't picked up on that yet. I say long live teardrops and tiny trailers, and lets see if we can encourage others to feel the same way. Never-the-less, I still want to see you at the IRG and whomp your Wyoming, down-hill speeder in the Derby race.
Roly~~(just my 2 cents)

[Papi]

Right now my teardrop is no more than a frame with a floor, but I did have a pop up camper and a boat. The boat did just fine behind a `65 Beetle. The pop up was definitely a struggle behind my Nissan Sentra going up hills, but just fine on flat land.

One thing nobody's mentioned is braking. While it is easy to pull a trailer, it does significantly increase the stopping distance. Do a brake test on a deserted road before setting out on an adventure to see how a trailer pulled by a small TV does on a steep hill.

[07rascal]

One thing nobody's mentioned is braking. While it is easy to pull a trailer, it does significantly increase the stopping distance. Do a brake test on a deserted road before setting out on an adventure to see how a trailer pulled by a small TV does on a steep hill.

Any non-braked trailer will "push" the TV a bit. It will be more noticeable with a TV that is light, as with our Focus. Our TD is very light (550 lbs loaded) and we keep the "packing" to a min so as not to add any additional weight that we don't need. So yes, our TD does "push" our Focus when stopping a bit but not an amount that concerns us or is to noticeable. We allow for additional stopping room and we don't follow to close to others anyway, something that we SHOULD do all the time, regardless of whether we are towing or not!

Years ago we towed a 1400lb Pop-up with our 1991 Lumina. That was a heavier car and the PU was un-breaked. That was a case where the PU pushed the car to the point it was not the TV for very long.....1-2 trips!

A parking lot or deserted county road "brake test" is a great idea to get an idea on how the TD will affect stopping.

[canned o minimum]

Yup ! "I" tow my 2005 Little Guy 4wide with my Vuntage 1965 VW Beetle !

The trailer weighs around 785 dry and I put a lotta campin stuff into the trailer.

The VW has a 1776cc motor and a full flow oil cooler system in it.

Mileage is around 23 mpg towin the trailer. I have been known to pass up a fifthwheel trailer or motorhome doin 85mph and givin em a honk and a wave as I motor on by them.

I live in So.Cal. and have taken my TD to Arizona ( Parker, Tucson,Phoenix) as well as Nor.Cal ( Sacramento ) If "I" havr the gas money, there ain't too many places I will NOT travel..

Been pullin the trailer fer 3 years now with the VW...VROOOM !!

[jb]

ok, this is a great topic for me

i'm builidng my teardrop under de 400kg because my car can only tow a 400kg braked caravan.

i driive a citroen burton (i build it myselve from a citroen 2cv)
its has a 4stroke 2 cilinder 602 cc engine with 30 hp (yes its real 30 hp and i didn't forget a number) my car weight is only just 470 kg

[Py0tr]

That sounds like a great idea to me



The last one is possible a bit extreme but what the hell? you only live once

[iSpy]

I do like the tow vehicle to match the trailer.

This is mine .....

[Deryk the Pirate]

Anyone add air lift bags?
http://www.autoanything.com/suspension- ... 76374.aspx

A friend recomended them, and I do notice the back end of my car sits a little lower with the hitch on it, and my car is 9 years old so Im sure it could use a little lift. The price is reasonable compared to putting in air shocks.

[teardrop_focus]

There are a lot of cool combinations posted in this thread!



Brakes! People! Brakes! Good, fresh brake pads and fresh brake fluid will help to keep your brakes' temperatures out of the brake "fade" zone longer on your downhill descents. Have your brake fluid replaced at LEAST every two years.





My tow vehicle is a 2003 Ford Focus PZEV* ZX3, equipped with a 2.3-litre four cyl. that has, with mild engine and exhaust airflow modifications, 155 lb/ft torque (and 155 HP). The car has a curb weight of 2710 lbs.

*Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle

I have fitted the car w/ a Ford Focus factory SVT/ST170 (UK) big brakes kit. I plan to fit electric brakes to my half-teardrop wagon (it is to become a full teardrop). It is unbraked at this point and weighs, fully-loaded, 850 lbs.

Before the extra 300 cc's in engine displacement and before the big brakes, the car had a factory tow capacity rating of 1200 lbs. I wish to keep the finished teardrop loaded weight to no more than 1100 lbs and fit the trailer axle w/ 10" electric brakes. Trailer wheels are 16 X 7, same as what's on the car, and the trailer's tires are also the same size as what's on the car: 205/50-16.

When not towing, I can never break the 30 MPG barrier... The car's engine is a bigger, torquey, thirsty four-cyl saddled w/ the largest exhaust catalyst known to man. When not towing I cruise at 70 - 75+ w/ the air conditioning on: 29.95 MPG is my best to date in 8 yrs.

With the trailer, now, I cruise at 60 MPH (5 mph over the posted legal limit in CA of 55 mph) at get 25.50 MPG.

The trailer tows with an extremely stable attitude and when loading it I strive to acheive between 50 and 75 lbs trailer tongue weight; no more, as it is a front-wheel-drive vehicle and I wish to keep the front axle planted. This is how the europeans tow, with very little tongue weight.

Before whomever wants to starts crying about trailer sway due to no tongue weight: you're barking up the wrong tree! Load your trailer wisely, use good tires and inflate them properly.

I now have over 1700 miles towing with this combination.

Let's go camping!

[zephyr2nv]

I tow my lightweight TD (300lbs) with my 1983 Honda Goldwing. It's 1100cc and runs about 80hp with 65ft/lbs of torque. The trailer is still a work in progress, but I towed it home from my Dad's house over 300km without any major issues.

Headwinds and hills do tend to make the bike work hard, and my fuel mileage went from about 43mpg to around 32mpg. More distance for braking is also a given. I'm looking to upgrade to a newer 6 cylinder Goldwing in the next year or two.



Derek

[doris s.]

I have a Nissan Cube and was thinking of putting a hitch on it to pull our teardrop. It is four cylinder with a CVT tranmission. Was wondering if anyone was pulling their teardrop with a Cube?

Doris