Towing a Ford Courier Pick Up Bed Behind Prius?

[Angel And The Wolf]

Reasons For Sticking With The Receiver Slide:

[wyatt]

Originally Posted by Angel And The Wolf

The Prius is 68.7 inches wide. The '78 Courier long bed is 63 inches wide, narrow enough, and low enough to hide in the Prius' aero shadow, but the bed is 59.5 inches inside, Just wide enough for a queen mattress.

When the bed is fully opened, I would erect half hoops over the whole thing, and cover it Conestoga style. Any other trailer I can find that will fit the air shadow has wheels and bearings rated for 45 to 55 mph. I built a camp trailer once on a utility trailer, drove it up to 80 mph, and blew out a wheel bearing. The courier is built for the highway.

V shaped front end is good, but make sure the edges are generously rounded if possible. That would be top, sides, and bottom. It makes a difference for air attachment. I've built a couple aero trailers, and a 9" radius worked well (first we tried, based off calculations from Huchos book). Make sure the bed is as close as possible without contacting during a full turn. I'm trying to think what else would be useful to pass on... oh, make sure you allow a 15 or so degree angle so you can enter/exit driveways. Smashing out a rear window is a bad way to find out that 10 degrees wasn't enough. Stromforming the front wedge (top cants back) is good for filling space while allowing additional clearance.
The Prius trailer I built is actually so close to the ball that a gap filler would need to be removable. The one for behind a van was the same way. Basically the back of the coupler was the front of the trailer. Yours would be wider, so maybe you would need to start it further back. Our trailers had maybe 2" clearance on full turns.

[oil pan 4]

I tow with my leaf and it's not rated to tow anything.
But I'm not doing any heavy hauling, just big bulky items.
No where near what the weight of an empty camper would be.
The heaviest thing I have moved is loads of power coop fire wood. But it's less than 2 miles from my house and speed limits were 45mph or less.

[Angel And The Wolf]

Originally Posted by wyatt

.
The Prius trailer I built is actually so close to the ball that a gap filler would need to be removable. The one for behind a van was the same way. Basically the back of the coupler was the front of the trailer. Yours would be wider, so maybe you would need to start it further back. Our trailers had maybe 2" clearance on full turns.

I've decided to give up the Courier bed. Someone told me the weight would overtax the electric motors. I've decided to build on a light weight boat trailer.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/mult...D9D36D848D572D

Did you have any over heating problems on your Prius?

[Angel And The Wolf]

Originally Posted by Angel And The Wolf

I've decided to build on a light weight boat trailer.

It's only 200 lbs, and has an axle that is highway rated. I would only use the part of the trailer that does not include any of the boat required pieces, and build a PVC pipe space frame covered with a light weight skin in the taper profile found in the "GARAGE AND TOOLS" link of this Board. Cargo holding is not as important as boat-tailing, though some light luggage could be accommodated. Tents and such.

[Angel And The Wolf]

The Frame width is 40 inches, though the fenders stick out an additional 7 inches on each side. I might see if I can shorten the axle, and mount it where the tires are inboard of the frame, to keep them from adding frontal area to the trailer.

[ThomCat316]

Not trying to totally shift your build, but are you willing to work in fiberglass and epoxy?

You could build a honeycomb-core trailer in whatever shape you want at a ludicrously light weight for a relatively small cost.

If you're interested, let me know and I'll sketch up a few things.

[Angel And The Wolf]

I have had jobs where I worked in both laid mat (Fibreglass oilfield tanks) and in shot glass (Pick up bed toppers). Would the mold be Styrofoam, or could the honeycomb be bendable into curves? I'm guessing I would still use the trailer as a base. Would not a door into the trailer weaken the box, or would you suggest the box open like a funny car body? Sorry for all the questions, but you've opened up a whole new area to consider.

[ThomCat316]

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers; View topic - "Lite House" Ultralight Monocoque build - 6/25/11

This is a link to the build journal for the trailers that I built. We built two of them because the freight cost for materials was such a large percentage of the total cost of materials. There is a 4 x 10 and 5 x 12, and they are 240 and 350 lb respectively.

If I were to do this particular build again I would introduce a radius along the upper edge of everything. It would save gas. The next project on the list is a 30+ foot 5th wheel travel trailer that will be built to match the truck that will pull it.

[wyatt]

Originally Posted by Angel And The Wolf

I've decided to give up the Courier bed. Someone told me the weight would overtax the electric motors. I've decided to build on a light weight boat trailer.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/mult...D9D36D848D572D

Did you have any over heating problems on your Prius?

Not once have I had an overheating issue, and have pulled a variety of things up to 1000 pounds. Up hills, down hills, cruise set at 70. Fairly aerodynamic though, still maintaining 40+ mpg on all segments. Larger but lighter objects yielded lower 40 mpg numbers at lower 55 mph settings. Your mpg seems to be a good indicator of overheating/stress.
The picture is a 1000 pound loaded down trailer. The Prius was loaded pretty full with lighter stuff. 800 miles in one day, cruise set at 65 and 70 mph. The biggest issue was that the green plastic wrap didn't hold up (for waterproofing), so I had to pull off and remove it. 40+ mpg every segment, including the Tennessee mountains coming up to Nashville.
With a tonneau cover on that truck bed I wouldn't think there would be too big an issue as long as the weight doesn't get out of hand, especially if you have a well aerodynamicized transition from car to trailer (cutting down on trailer drag). Just make sure your MPG can hold around 40 and see how fast you can go.