Buy a trailer (instead of a pickup truck)

[frankspinz]

I haven't read through all the thread so forgive me if I'm redundant !

It seems we all want a vehicle that will satisfy 100% of our needs. If I need to pull a 5th wheel for my 2 week vacation. I'll buy the big pick-up truck and drive it as a daily driver all year round... Instead, I could drive a Yaris 50 weeks and rent a 7.2litre diesel 8 foot long bed and pull the tailer for my 2 week vacation ... just sayin'

[ajrn]

The link doesn't show tow ratings for any Mercedes...

I put a 2" receiver hitch on the back of my '84 300SD.. As an "emergency" available item..

...another item.

You don't have to insure a trailer-- and even if you have to STORE it, you can save some, versus a truck payment.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by artificer

As an aside: has anyone noticed that American cars don't have fold down seats in the back, while European cars do? My VW's back seat is almost always down...

Oddly enough, I can turn my wife's Grand Caravan into a huge cargo van with only a little planning, or by juggling the kids' car seats around I can drop the seats on one side and have 60% cargo van, 40% passenger. Can't do that in a Routan.

Originally Posted by 1-ev.com

Also, You can rent a trailer when you need it...

Our first hitch was to mount a bike rack on her SUV, because I wasn't going to climb up on the roof to put a bike on. A week after putting the hitch on (before ever using the bike rack) My father called from two states away asking if I could use a couch and a couple other pieces of furniture. So I stopped at U-Haul on the way and everybody's happy.

[Cranky]

Man, lots of stuff here! I read the first 40 posts and well, just have to say that I did the trailer deal for awhile until I pulled a pretty heavy load in my homemade 5x9 trailer and wasted a bearing in my light duty 1974 D100 Dodge slant 6 pickup. It hurt the rear bearing of the transmission (not the tail shaft bushing) and it was noisy in 1st and 2nd but not 3rd so I knew what was happening. After messing with that truck for 5 years, my next truck was a 79 D200 with 318, 410 gears, auto. It was a farm truck with onlly 30k miles and I got it cheap and the ac worked so it was pressed into service. Great truck and did all that I wanted and more but it only got 12 mpg. After several more 3/4 ton and 1 ton gas powered trucks, I finally ended up with a 97 2500 diesel ram. 25mpg on the highway (MT) and 19 in town in stock form. These days I don't drive it all that much but heck, I have it and it's paid for! I've also had several Dakotas but for the most part, they don't get very good gas mileage....at least mine haven't but the one I have now didn't cost me anything and it's used as a 'yard cart' and parts runner and is left outside all the time. I'm surprised it's not rusty lol

[talonts]

Originally Posted by mechman600

I am going to buy one of these next week:
Utility Trailer 4'x8' - Heavy Duty Folding Utility Trailer
$290, so how can I go wrong? It even folds up and stores upright on caster wheels.

The reviews say to expect Chinese in a bad way but with some tinkering it is alright. I plan to pull the motorcycle up to the cabin all summer with the Matrix.

I've been using one of these for 8 years. I have folded it up ONCE. The plastic casters need a very smooth surface to roll on.

The best mod I ever did was from the start - I used diamond-plate aluminum for the floor rather than plywood. It is WELL worth the cost. The other 35x55" HF trailer I bought came with plywood that I painted on all sides, it is 3-4 years newer, and has rotted a huge hole in it. I plan on getting diamond-plate for it as soon as I can scrounge the money for it. You might want to consider bolting down a 4x8 diamond-plate and not cutting it where it folds, to strengthen it. You can always cut it later with a cutoff wheel if you decide you're really going to fold it. If you have access to a welder, I would recommend welding every joint you can. I didn't, and I'm going to have to level it on blocks and possibly tweak it with heavy weights to get it flat again, then weld up everything outside of the fold joint.

I haul either of these with my Prius, have piled in just over a ton into the 4x8 foldable once. Wasn't fun getting it home, but it did just fine. 1000lb loads are routine.


Oh, and watch for the "20% off one item" coupons for HF. I used one when I bought my trailer and saved enough to buy a spare tire and several other accessories.

One good thing about the HF trailer - the replacement parts are DIRT CHEAP. I called in to get some bearings (they are a custom size I couldn't find anywhere) and a new hub, and the prices surprised me. Enough that I ordered extra parts while I was at it just to have them on hand.

[talonts]

Originally Posted by P-hack

got a tow hitch on my prius, and a $300 menards 4x8 trailer. A few people have actually gotten angry at seeing a tow hitch on a prius, strange country this is, doesn't fit their worldview or something, but it is perfect for my occasional hauling/camping purposes.

In the nearly 10 years I've owned Prii, the vast bulk of the questions I have gotten from people have been "Can you really tow with that?" when I leave the ball in the hitch. Normally I remove it so I don't bang my shins up on it, but I've had it on since Dec or so, and have had several Prius owners ask during that time.

[Sean.Heihn]

The best has to be the Yaris manual: Everywhere (Except Canada), no towing; Canada, Toyota doesn't recommend towing, but your vehicle has a 700 lbs tow capacity. In Europe, people tow with Yarii all the time, often well over 700 lbs with no problems.

I should get a hitch for my Yaris. I had one one my Corolla and still have one of those small 4'x4' Harbor Freight trailers.

[richierocket]

Originally Posted by ACEV

Third, invest in the best hitch for your car. Get a load-leveling type if any serious weight will be pulled. Without it, a heavy trailer, especially one with dual axles, will tend to lift up the rear of a car when braking. The car must control the trailer; never the other way around, regardless of speed. And don't forget that tongue weight goes up by a big factor when braking, especially without trailer brakes. Also make sure that load is properly distributed.

ACEV, you made two statements that seem to say the opposite. "Without (load leveling) will tend to lift up the rear of a car when braking." and "tongue weight goes up by a big factor when braking".

More tongue weight will push down the rear of the car, not lift? Any I reading these out of context?

[richierocket]

Great Thread! For many years I have questioned friends and family (not too aggressively or you'll get punched in the face ) about why they need such a big pick-up/SUV. It usually boils down to transporting stuff to the dump, hauling fire wood, a peice of furniture, Home Depot, only a few times a year...for the rest of the year, they are driving around a gas-pig.

One of my friends, after discussing it with him, I realized he was making up for being short, 5' 3" by driving a 4x4 toyota and being high above the traffic. He justified having it because he hauls two truck loads of firewood a year. I suggested getting a smaller car with height adjustable seat and trailer the firewood, so for the remaining 364 days per year, he would get great mileage. It's hard to change cultural norms...

I had been towing with my '98 civic for many years, couchs, washer&dryer, etc. When I used to roadrace motorcycles and do "track days" I towed my bike 1000's of miles to race tracks (see pics). People would be shocked that I towed my bike. I'd tell the people to calm down and think rationally, trailer ~150lbs, bike ~450lbs, plus me, my gear, and toolbox....I'm still under the gross weight of the vechicle! I know it's not exactly the same as all the weight inside the car, but it's not grossly overloaded. I got >32 mpg at 70 mph.

I now have a hitch on my Chevy Sonic for occasional hauling...

[hmiwb]

I bought a small 4x8 trailer 15 years ago when I had to sell my pickup truck. It's been a great investment since I rarely have to actually haul anything. But if I do, I have a way to haul those odd loads and to move my household goods. I've pulled it with numerous small cars over the years without difficulty and it's cheap to keep it registered and ready to go. Maintenance is chiefly limited to keeping the lights working, usually a bad contact with the bulb from oxidation, and keeping air in the tires. Not much trouble for a very handy device. So who needs a pickup unless you actually work out of one?