It was easy and saved in the 60k range on a class B make sure what you buy is on the admissible list from transport Canada.
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Trailers, Campers and RVs…
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
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My 6x12 isn't very heavy but is a barn door to pull. I think that will be your biggest issue. A small weight distribution hitch might work for the rav to take any weight off the rear and put it on all 4 wheels.
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I agree. I'm more worried about the transmission than the weight. I've pulled a lot of stuff using pickups and it is surprising that a double enclosed snowmobile trailer makes the truck work harder than tandem axle dump box that weighs many times more. The weight you feel when going or stopping but the drag from the enclosed trailer never lets up.
On that note, keep the width down and increase length if you can and drag will be almost unchanged but interior space increased (be careful with tongue weight as it will be easier to squish the rav with more space in front of the axle).
Just towed this with the Volt 1000km to pickup our new Spyder and it didn’t break a sweat. But the volt really has proven itself to be a seriously surprising tow car.
I agree with everybody else that wind resistance is going to be your biggest enemy. Needless to say, I have lots of towing experience and will wholeheartedly agree that an empty “broadside of the barn” style trailer is going to pull harder than something that might weigh many times as much, but has a low wind profile.
What’s the “official” tow rating on the rav4? I’m not really familiar with them? It doesn’t have a CVT transmission or anything does it?
Wow. Good for Toyota. Most manufacturers are pricks and rate everything below the biggest at zero or 1000. CRV has been zero tow rating for decades. Honda wants you in a Pilot or ridgeline to tow a utility trailer.
Zero concerns, then, especially with the eight speed.
Your key to making it fuel economy friendly will be driving at exactly 100kph or less.
I wouldn’t worry about the weight distributing hitch, an enclosed trailer with a single motorcycle is still going to be considerably under the point where I would bother with that unless you were talking a big tandem axle enclosed that holes, four or six bikes or something.
Does anyone make a teardrop pop up toy hauler thing? Teardrop when towing but then raise the ends to get a rectangle for hanging out inside with some headroom. You could use folded metal sides but tarp would probably be good enough and a lot easier.
Aside from a snowmobile trailer, the closest thing I've seen that could be adapted this way is Trailers but they are really pricey.
There are also things like this, but that doesn't help with the headroom unless it's a pop-up: CUSTOM MOTO CARRIER
Interesting. Thanks. Not the approach I was looking for but it is another option to allow less wind resistance (less frontal area) while still being accessible. I want a tapered tail to allow the air to come back in nicely instead of a giant vacuum. Hell, even a light duty version of the system they stick on tractor trailers may work with a tapered tent that pops out for highway runs. It will improve fuel efficiency but more importantly will ease the load on the tow vehicle so it doesn't burn up.
Yeah, I've got a subcompact car and it's fine with an open trailer, but due to the drag there's nothing enclosed that I would ever want to pull with it except those half-height U-Haul ones. A hard-sided popup/telescoping version of one of those would be perfect, but I haven't found anything like that off the shelf. I've occasionally thought about building a foamie as an experiment
double check owners manual, on my journey it mentioned something about a max frontal surface area which i think resulted in an 5x5(height) max that i could do. im sure its more of a recomendation, and V nose will be nicer. other than that you are leaning on GVWR, and trailer brake for 2500lb and over (should really consider it when you are at 2000lb towing).
That's cool that a manufacturer provides info on frontal area as it is really important.
It would be interesting to see real data on V-nose vs flat. Both have the vacuum behind. I suspect V-nose may not be a noticeable improvement. It is marketing at its worst (supported by placebo and consumers that don't understand aero drag). Hell, V-nose may be worse than flat if it allows the air to collapse behind tow vehicle and then has to expand it again. Flat nose and short tongue may cut down on tow vehicle drag.
V nose is not any better than flat the back is always the issue not the front.
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you have a trail edition? Sweet.
But it's OK to put 30 sheets of drywall on the roof and five hefty installers inside.
Re the fuel economy, a lot depends on how many tow kilometers get chalked up a year. If you only tow 100 Kms a year and pay a 10 liter / 100 km premium on the tow it's another 100 liters on the gas bill @ $1.50 = $150.
It's a different deal if the engine or tranny grenade as did the tranny on my brother's GM Transport. He was towing a popup and I suspect he used overdrive instead of the tow setting.
The other thought is braking which at that load shouldn't be a problem. Braking in a corner is different but a Rav 4 doesn't have a long rear overhang to give the trailer leverage.
I don't tow enough miles for fuel to be the big issue for me. I'm more concerned about the trans/diff blowing up. Running with a parachute is no joke. Just constant pressure and it never lets up.
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