Towing my tear with a small car ??

[JohnnyG]

No special wire to the battery. All wiring was done back at the tailights. etrailers instructions were good and they had a "how to" video to watch.

[dano]

Johnny, thanks for getting back to me. Nice tear, did you build it yourself?
The wires that I see on etrail has a module and says you must run a wire to the battery. I don't understand why you need a module or battery wire. The car battery should give enough juice?
Anyone else wire with or without battery wire?
I'm looking for the easy way out but just would like to hear others experiences before I buy.
Dano

[terryjones1]

The wires that I see on etrail has a module and says you must run a wire to the battery. I don't understand why you need a module or battery wire. The car battery should give enough juice?
Anyone else wire with or without battery wire?
I'm looking for the easy way out but just would like to hear others experiences before I buy.
Dano

The trailer tail lights and turn signal lights adds to the current requirement for the tow vehicle turn signal lights and tail lights.
The wiring to the tow vehicle tail lights and turn signal lights is insfficient to power the trailer lights & tow vehicle lights.
Too compensate for this, more power is required to run the trailer lights.
That is why there is a wire added from the tow vehicle battery to the module to provide for more power (current).

If you are using the tow vehicle alternator/battery to charge the trailer battery, while driving, you need to have a seperate wire, from tow vehicle battery to the trailer battery.
You need another wire from tow vehicle tail lights module to the trailer.
You need two more wires from the tow vehicle left turn and right turn lights module to the trailer.
You need a ground wire from tow vehicle to the trailer.
As a minimum you need 5 wires from the tow vehicle to the trailer, if you want to charge trailer battery while towing.

[dano]

Thanks Terry,
That makes sense. I don't have a trailer battery just want to plug in my trailer lights on the road the easiest way possible.
Dano

[Colemancooler]

I saw this at the Indian john hill rest area a week ago



the Honda CRV is All Honda civic drive train , I did not see the owner around so I did not get to talk to them

[wired]

2012 Subaru Outback. 2.5L 170HP AWD with a CVT and I get 30-31MPG highway (not towing, of course) but it is rated to tow up to 2700 lbs with trailer brakes and 1000lbs without trailer brakes. Just took it on it's first towing trip to Yosemite and was very pleased with performance and mileage (got 25+ mpg's). I am loving this vehicle more and more every day!

[terryjones1]

2012 Subaru Outback. 2.5L 170HP AWD with a CVT and I get 30-31MPG highway (not towing, of course) but it is rated to tow up to 2700 lbs with trailer brakes and 1000lbs without trailer brakes. Just took it on it's first towing trip to Yosemite and was very pleased with performance and mileage (got 25+ mpg's). I am loving this vehicle more and more every day!

Sounds good!
My gas mileage disappears when I am towing with the Toyota Sienna.

How about changing your avatar to 3 smiling faces!

[wired]

2012 Subaru Outback. 2.5L 170HP AWD with a CVT and I get 30-31MPG highway (not towing, of course) but it is rated to tow up to 2700 lbs with trailer brakes and 1000lbs without trailer brakes. Just took it on it's first towing trip to Yosemite and was very pleased with performance and mileage (got 25+ mpg's). I am loving this vehicle more and more every day!

How about changing your avatar to 3 smiling faces!

Sorry you don't like my avatar...I think it is quite funny but to each his own. I actually tried to change it but the pics I tried to use are always too large and I am not too savvy when it comes to sizing pics. PITA IMHO.

[tgburns]

I have enjoyed reading all the posts about tow vehicles. I tow with a 2002 Ford Escape 6 with 175,000 miles on it. I am looking at replacing the Escape with another vehicle before I take off again. I drove a Tacoma double cab and loved it but didn't love the price. The Escape has been very good to me so drove one of those and wasn't that impressed. Maybe because it was just like what I have and expected more since it was new. I am going to Abq. and will look at the Subaru's because those mileage numbers are very impressive to me. The Escape eats gas when it tows. My teardrop is a bit heavy at 1,300 empty. The info has been very helpful.

[dano]

Today I finally got time to put the hitch on the corolla. I don't have the wires yet but towed it around town just to see if I like it. I did not. I felt like the trailer was going to rip the back end off the car. Every time we went over a speed bump it jerked the car in a big way.
Our truck is old and has a lot of miles on it but I will be towing with it and not the Corolla. I tried, but the hitch will be used to support a bike rack from now on.


Dano

[Roly Nelson]

Todah, my 245 pounder is made of 1/4 inch lauan sides and 1/8 inch roof plywood. The floor is simply a 1 3/8 hollow-core door. The Harbor freight frame weighs 150 lbs and the wood body tips the scale at 95 lbs. The levitating 3x3 is all 1/8 inch plywood, no frame, no wheels, just floats off of the reciever like a cargo carrier and it weighs 85 lbs. The 4 x 8 woody has 1/4 inch sides and roof, cabinets doors and drawers. The floor is 3/8 inch plywood. With a 150 lb HF trailer frame, it weighs about 450 lbs, empty, since all cabinets are also 1/8 inch as well. The Cruze pulls just as well as the Camry did, but gets much better gas mileage.
Roly, the triple TD, So Cal guy.

[TJinPgh]

I have a 03 Pontiac Vibe, which has the exact same drive train as the Toyota Matrix. Essentially a Toyota Corolla.

Tow rating on that is 1000 pounds. But, that also includes the weight of any cargo you might have as well as any passengers you might have as well.

I towed a 500 pound motorcycle on a rental trailer which, I would guess, weighed anywhere from 200-300 pounds.

So, figure at least 700-800 pounds.

Had no problems with it. Didn't seem to strain too much on the hills around here. Knew it was there but no big issues.

I would think the experience with the Corolla would be similar. So, as long as you don't go much above 900 pounds total I would think you'd be fine.

Toyota.com says the Corolla has a 1500 lb towing capacity.

[JenH]

My husband just installed the new hitch (hidden hitch) on our 2010 Corolla and he did not connect to the battery. I'd read several posts that said you needed to do that.. Can someone tell me Why? Jared just hooked it up through the tail lights (no splicing, simply unpluged taillight connector and plugged in a T connector(which was supplied) and plugged in the taillight connector and the hitch light connectors. I argued that everything I read said we needed to go to the battery BUT our wiring harness did not require that nor did it recomend that. It was an easy install.. Good luck.
Jen in Ok

[bobhenry]

The snap fit Tee connectors are a copy of the factory towing connectors and are all you need and or want for most light trailer applications. Electric brakes and full time hot accessories taps may require seperate wiring but for the most part you should have all you need. The newer cars are quite touchy about extra loads and miswiring can lead to $$$repairs so if you find yourself needing other feeds get help if you are unsure. Experimentation can prove costly.

[dano]

On my quest to put a hitch on my Corolla this is what I learned.
Some wiring kits have a module that regulates the electricity. I looked on etrailer and they only sell the one with the module. That means a wire to the battery. I then called the local experts around here and that guy said this.
You need the module because the trailer draws electricity from the battery. The module needs a battery connection.
True or not I don't know. I put a hitch on mine and towed it without lights and didn't like it at all. The trailer hitch will be part of my bike rack and I will tow with my truck. Wish the Corolla worked for me because the gas mileage is way better than on my truck.
My tear is 800 pounds if that matters.

Dano