BYYB Forums

Greetings Andrew,

This one's for you.



This Smart car is smaller than your Echo, but your Echo probably still wins on the grounds that the Echo is a smaller percentage of the length of the boat being towed.

hehe

Cheers,
Tom

Love it!  I didn't think there were any hitches available for the Smart.

I have been wondering if there was a way my Toyota Camrie could tow my boat and trailer.  Your pictures are encouraging.  I am primarily concerned about how towing the weight of the boat and trailer would effect the transmission.  The Camrie is an automatic and doesn't have a transmission fluid cooler like bigger vehicles designed with towing as an option do.  U-Haul makes a good hitch for the Camrie and claims you don't need a transmission cooler but recommends you only tow their smaller trailers.  I Have a 1996 S10 Blazer for towing around town but I may want to head to Minnesota, or some messabout about that distance, and the 18 mpg the blazer gets makes me thinking that the Camrie, at 34 mpg, would be a better road car.  It is smaller but more comfortable inside.  I have cloting problems and the sitting position of the camerie is a lot closer to the "no sitting with legs down" mandate from the medics.

HI Terry, I have a Camry also and have asked the local dealer about the ability to tow a small boat. After looking up the specs  they have told me that as long as the total weight of the boat and trailer does not exceed 2000# the car should handle very well. Also, and very important, do not exceed 200# on the tongue to car hitch. Also that the hitch should bolt on where the lifting rings are. The ones located under the rear bumper. I got my hitch from an online store called " trailer hitches unlimited". I think that is right, cant find the reciept right now. It cost about $ 150.00 including the shipping costs. Note, It fit like a charm... The more info you have the better I always say. Take care

(08-26-2009, 11:49 AM)Terry Peterson link Wrote: [ -> ]I have been wondering if there was a way my Toyota Camrie could tow my boat and trailer.  Your pictures are encouraging.  I am primarily concerned about how towing the weight of the boat and trailer would effect the transmission.  The Camrie is an automatic and doesn't have a transmission fluid cooler like bigger vehicles designed with towing as an option do.  U-Haul makes a good hitch for the Camrie and claims you don't need a transmission cooler but recommends you only tow their smaller trailers.  I Have a 1996 S10 Blazer for towing around town but I may want to head to Minnesota, or some messabout about that distance, and the 18 mpg the blazer gets makes me thinking that the Camrie, at 34 mpg, would be a better road car.  It is smaller but more comfortable inside.  I have cloting problems and the sitting position of the camerie is a lot closer to the "no sitting with legs down" mandate from the medics.

To check your "actual" trailering capacity, check the door post of your car.  There will be a GAVR number listed which is the total weight that your car should ever be responsible for.  On mine, it is also split between the front and rear axle.

I took my Echo over a set of weigh scales and came up with the fact that I had a bit over 350kG (around 800lbs) of capacity left which I'm guessing is a bit less than the Weekender and trailer.  It "does" tell me though that I can't load up the car with 4 people and camping equipment and still be under though.  According to the owner's manual it's rated to tow 750lbs

The Echo did fine with my son (110lbs) and me (a lot more) and the boat.  We certainly noticed the drag when driving and I had to down-shift for some hills but overall it worked fine.

An automatic transmission will, by it's nature heat up a bit so keep your speed down.  Fortunately, that transmission will also make things easier at the ramp as you won't have to pop the clutch a higher rpm to get the torque to retrieve.

I don't know what would be involved in putting a sensor on the transmission to keep an eye on it, but hills and hot temperatures might not be your friend.

Great info guys.  Once again the BYYB comes through.  This forum and group are amazing.  Thanks!

Greetings,

After I posted the above ridiculous picture, I started wondering just how much was the towing capacity of a Smart car, and I found this little gem …

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts...-chart.htm

Read the sections on …

•  How Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Works
•  How Gross Axle Weight Rating Works
•  How Gross Combined Weight Rating Works

… and then go looking for your vehicle in the table.

The page for the Smart car lists no towing capability, no GAWR, and no GCWR, but it does list a maximum payload for the vehicle of 463 pounds.  I would guess that the pictured trailer, boat, and any size driver would be exceeding 463 pounds, and that the only really good use for a trailer hitch on a Smart car would be to mount a bicycle rack.

But … if you lived just a mile or two from the beach … and there were no hills … and nobody was looking … and you stay away from rush hour …  and your life insurance is all paid up … and you drive real slow … and you have previously cut a hole in the floor so that you can do the Fred Flintstone bit with the feet ... well, then maybe …

Cheers,
Tom

According to the charts, on the site linked, most years a Camry has 1000 pounds towing.  For our year Camry, 2006, there is no capacity listed which leads me to think it is not built to handle it.  It was only an idea.  A small pickup, if I could find a comfortable one, or a blazer type vehicle that gets better mileage, might be a better choice.  More storage for a trip.  The riding position thing really is the rub though.  I guess when I get to the time I feel like towing a boat cross country I will have to go sit in a dozen or so candidates.

I've found in recent years that a lot of manufacturers have lowered the acceptable tow rating or removed it all together.  I suspect that was to more to protect themselves from lawsuits rather than any issue with the vehicles.

I notice in the same list that the Yaris (which is identical to my Echo) has no rating either.  Talking to my dealer though, they assured me they could get a hitch for it and that I'd have the same capacity as the Echo.

I remember I had a Chev Cavelier that was rated as being able to tow 2000lbs back in 1989 with a little 4cyl.  The core issue isn't so much if the vehicle can get the load moving, it's one of will it be able to stop it, that and if your insurance will cover you in case of problems.  That's one reason why I always go with a dealer installed hitch.

Andrew has hit the nail properly. A Smart car has enough engine to pull a small trailer. But the squirrels get their toes caught in the big revolving wheel when trying to stop the extra weight, so trailering isn't recommended.

Capacity is much more suspension and brake related then engine output. There is an element of chassis strength too, but not so much as the brakes and springs.