Question:
I own a 1996 Toyota Corolla dx
sedan with a 4cl engine . I really wanted to buy a small tent trailer
and was wondering if my car would tow it ok i'll be traveling to New
Hampshire from Rhode Island it's about 300 miles 1 way up some steep
hills.
Answer:
-You didn't say what kind of transmission the car has, that's very
important sometimes... Autos are a little better than sticks, I"ve
heard.
You can probably do anything with enough care and time, there are
lots of variables here. Tent trailers weigh from a few hundred up
to over a ton, how steep are the hills? HOw fast do you want to go.
If you get a really ultra-light tent ( some are even towable with
motorcycles) you can probably do it.
-Check in the car's owners manual to see if you can find out what
its towing capacity is or ask a local Toyota dealer. You then find
out how much small tent trailers weight and base your decision
on that.
-Please don't rush into this. Take your time. Check out the newsgroups
alt.rv.pop-up-trailers and rec.outdoors.camping -- lurk around for a
while, search the archives at deja.com, and then ask some questions.
Learn the tow rating of your car from a Toyota dealer or the company.
Consider adding aftermarket stuff to improve towing performance --
particularly a cooler for the automatic transmission. Your car might
turn out to not even be capable of towing anything substantial. If it
CAN tow anything, you will probably be limited to a really ultra light
tent trailer. Depending on your finances and what you want to camp in,
you might want to consider a more capable tow vehicle. A minivan WITH
tow package will work very well with a small pop up camper. Many people
prefer full size vans, SUV's, or trucks as tow vehicles, but these are
overkill unless you plan to tow something larger, such as a full size
travel trailer or maybe a pop up camper with 12 ft. long bed and a slide
out dinette.
Don't spend any money on a trailer or tow vehicle until AFTER you've
done enough research to know what is possible, what is advisable, and
what is asking for trouble. You can tow just about anything with just
about anything on level ground, but how safely??? Many, many, MANY
people have gotten stung by some salesperson saying "Sure, you can
easily tow that with THAT" and then learning that they had trouble
climbing or descending any hill more substantial than a speed bump.
Rule of thumb: Don't tow anything heavier (FULLY LOADED!) than 75% of
the tow rating of your tow vehicle. (I'd say 50% or less on steep
grades at 8,000 ft. altitude -- I learned about this first hand last
year!!!) "Dry weights" of RV's tend to be underestimated, and do not
include such things as A/C's, refrigerators, furnaces, optional spare
tires, extra windows/skylights, and maybe even some cabinets! Then
you've got to add the weight of the fresh water in the tank, propane,
and all your stuff such as food, clothes, camping gear, furniture, etc.,
etc. All these things can easily add 500 lbs or more to even a small
trailer.
