trailering

Amazingly they make a trailer hitch for my 2007 VW Rabbit. Do you think this will work? Does it matter what the clearance is from the ground to my hitch? I am only towing a stitch and glue dory (18' LOA). And only about a mile or 2. Any advice?  The trailer i'd get is the Trailex SUT-200-S Single Boat Trailer Kit.


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RE: trailering

Shouldn't be a problem at all. When you buy the hitch they should recommend the ball mount you should use. It may be a riser type that will level out the trailer. And the Trailex trailer will work fine. I've trailered my dory from Florida to Maryland and back at 70 mph on the same trailer with no problems. 

George K

RE: trailering

I just started towing my NE Dory with a 2007 Honda Accord (4 cyl)...Haven't had any problems with clearance.  Everything seems to work really well.  I also am using the 200s

RE: trailering

Shouldn't be any issue.    Doesn't weight much.

RE: trailering

I was at a SUP race earlier this year and saw a mini cooper pulling 8 boards. My buddy asked about it and the owner said, roughly, "Only Americans think you need a big car to tow stuff." I say yours can handle one board.

RE: trailering

I have a Honda Fit sub compact. In the USA the owners manual states that the Fit can not pull a trailer and that it will void my warranty if I do. In Europe The owners manual states that the Fit can pull a trailer up to 1100 lbs. without brakes, or 2100 lbs. with brakes.

I pull a eight place steel kayak trailer with four kayaks. I still get 31 mpg with the trailer. Unless I look in the mirror, I don't even know that it's back there.

A few weeks ago I started pulling a 16 foot Lund fishing boat with my Fit. The boat, motor, and trailer total about 1050 lbs. After about 700 miles of towing, I can tell you that it pulls just fine. I only launch on hard serface boat ramps just to be safe. I still get 28 mpg with the boat in tow.

The only negative is that the Fit has very quick steering and has a very short wheelbase. So over steering at speed with a trailer in tow can get you in trouble.

Obay the speed limit, leave room to stop, and you will be just fine.

RE: trailering

Weight is the issue. Hitchs available for your car may be limited to 1500 or 2000 lbs, but for small wood boats that is plenty. Back in the 50's my dead towed and 18' plywood OB Chris Craft express cruiser with a Studebaker, flat head 6 cyl, 3 on a tree tranny w/overedrive. No problem, and on the flat runs of the Jersey Turnpike he could even drop it in overdrive.

My daughter tows a 14' wood/epoxy catamaran with two 15' 8" wood/epoxy ocean kayaks under the cat, and two 14' SUPs on deck with a Dodge Neon, 4cly auto.

Go for it - 

RE: trailering

Keep in mind that while your engine may be powerful enough to pull that trailer well over the speed limit, the trailer itself may not like being pulled all that fast. WIth only 8 or 12 inch diameter tires, the trailer's wheels have to turn substantially faster than the tow vehilcle's. This translates into higher bearing temperatures, whiich will break down the bearing grease faster, especially if the wheels have gotten into water during launch and retrieval.

So take the approach that the speed limit is a maximum for a clear dry day for cars in good mechanical condition that are not towing anything (which is actually the law in every state that I've lived in) and keep well below the limit while towing even something as light as a CLC boat. Your bearings and tires wil last longer with less repacking.

Laszlo

 

RE: trailering

And to add to what Lazlo said (before another SPAMbot hit here today) be mindful of your vehicle's braking capabilities when towing with small vehicles. Today's ABS systems won't help much with extra weight well behind your rear wheels should you need to stop quickly.

Many years ago (1973) I welded up a hitch to hang off the back of a 4-cyl Homda Civic so I could pull a (steel) boat trailer with the 14' stripper scow I'd built the winter before. It worked well enough, I learned a lot in the doing yet nobody got hurt as a result.

RE: trailering

   Icthioo said, "Does it matter what the clearance is from the ground to my hitch? "

 

On level paved ground, not so much.  On dips, ridges and dirt/snow roads, maybe.  Dragging a hitch is a common thing. YOu can see hitch scars in asphalt paving all the time when there is a strange dip in an intersection.  I recently followed a truck with an insert that had two hitch balls, one was up one was down. I assume the 'up' ball was the most used. The 'down' ball was ground flat. Ground clearance is sometimes important. 

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