would this be too much weight for my car? [Merged 5-7] hitch towing trailer

[FlyinRyan151]

right now I plan on selling my 95 RS with a few mods to get a 1st gen GSX or GST. My question is, is it possible to tow a small trailer for my dirtbike with one? The max weight of the trailer and bike combined would be around 500 pounds at most. My only other option is to buy a truck which would be really lame.

 

[Morphius]

Check here in this post, as there are a few pics from sometime ago.


http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88378&highlight=towing

 

[BlackRaptor]

Can the GST tow? and if so how much
Gas is so spendy i'm thinking about selling my Z71 truck and replacing it with a Audi TT 225 quattro. that way i have 4X4 in the car and it's really good on gas.

But i have ATV's so i would still need to pull those around i saw a RS towing two ATV's yesterday but that seems like a lot for our lttle cars.

 

[shaunman1979]

I have alot of experience having my car towed, but never towing. My Bro. did that for a while in a VW Fox. If that thing can pull ATVs I think anything can... well depending on the size of the trailer.

 

[blackbyrd]

My buddy has some late 90's civic i believe, he welded on a hitch and tows his little boat to the dock. it isn't that big 10ft? maybe more, has a little honda motor on it too! haha. come on a fwd 4dr pos civic towed at least a few hundred pounds. how much can your atv wiegh? I've driven in it with the boat and its' really not that bad as far as how it is when its not there..Still though, how were you going to mount the hitch, how low is you car? i hope its not that low..
Or why not tow it with your quattro?
And dont trucks have 18 wheels, making it the other 14 wheels haha

 

[BlackRaptor]

ATV is a race machine so it's about 450lb light trailer is what 250lb?

So it's not a lot of weight but still heavy.

Not really sure it's ether that or finish making this Eclpise beautiful it's got a JDM motor and soon a rebuilt tranny and paint and sell it and get a used truck for towing and the Audi for every day driving. Just can't stand the thought of giving up my car. but for the kind of driving i'll need to do i just don't know if i trust it.

Quattro isn't made for towing and it's an expensive sports car. I would say thats going to take to towing worse then the Eclpise.



But as far as towing goes looks like my GST won't cut it. hmmmm

 

[Alienwrkshp6866]

I dont see why it wouldnt work. My dad used to tow my gti when i broke down and he had a little zx2 escort.

 

[wret]

This isn't the hangout. Please answer only you have knowlege or experience in towing with an eclipse or other FWD.

 

[fourreGsixty3]

I havn't towed with my FWD TSi, and never will, but this kid was driving a laser, and towing one of those 10'x4' trailers from U-Haul, and I went and talked to him to see if there was anything in it, and both the trailer, and car was packed full, cause he was moving. He didnt have any trouble stopping, or getting going from a stop. So i would figure you could trailer your quad. Kind of off topic, but what kind of quad do you have?

Dustin

 

[BlackRaptor]

Thanks for the info guys.
Seems like i could tow with it but would be kind of a waste to have a towing GST.
The Quad is a Polaris Predator 500 and a Honda CR250 moto bike.

I edited my last post i'll put the other stuff in the hang out.

 

[Defiant]

Can the GST tow? and if so how much

None, per DSM. Refer to post #5.

 

[Stapl3]

As much as you think defiant is trying to be witty, he's 100% right. Page 140.

 

[weith1111]

I'm sure you can put a hitch on there with little trouble. When I go to Autocrosses and other events there are Miatas and such carrying small trailers with their extra sets of wheels with slicks & tooks, and I'm sure they're not supposed to tow anything either.

So I say just go for it

Please think about the safety/legalities of this as well. Sure you can tow something with a DSM. I can tow a 20ft trailer with a Geo Metro or an effing tricycle, but what do you think will happen if I get into an accident? Is it safe? NO. Is it legal? NO.

If you are going to tow something make sure it is safe for you and your vehicle, AND the rest of us driving on the road with you. All I need is for some toolbag to being towing a frigging boat with his Eclipse and wreck into me so I can get that awesome check from my insurance company for $1200...you know, the value of my car, to State Farm.

 

[dr1665]

As much as you think defiant is trying to be witty, he's 100% right. Page 140.

Defiant is right. DSMs are not designed to tow anything. At the same time, my 97 2GNT, weighing in at just under 3000lbs with half a tank of gas, full interior, and me in it, has been towed no fewer than twice by a buddy with a 90 GS-T with only minor bolt-ons. He got me back to the fort for repairs and saved me a couple $150+ tows, but that 4G63 was working to lug my 2G's ass across town.

Can it be done? Yes.
Is it designed to be done? No.
Should it be done? Only in dire emergencies, imo.

 

[Kevin Jewer]

I personally don't see the problem. There are MANY DSMs that pull tire trailers, probably about 500 lbs, to and from road race and autox events. They usually consist of a Harbor Freight 4' trailer with 4 wheels/tires, a tool box, gas jugs, and whatever else deemed necessary.

Of course Mitsu is going to say the car is not designed to tow, it's a sports car, and they have to say that to limit thier liability. The statement made has nothing to do with wether or not the car can actually tow. The trick is to know a thing or two about trailering, and to get a hitch that properly attaches to the car, and to take it easy. Same rules that apply to towing with trucks it would seem.

I towed the 2g and other cars with my CTD dually for some time, so I have some general experience, but not with towing with a DSM specifically. However, I fully intend to pull a tire trailer with the EVO next year. I don't see a problem if it's done correctly. IMO, YMMV.

 

[mavisky]

I know many a dsm that tows an extra set of tires to the track with them along with tools in the hatch. But a quad may be a bit much depending on the weight of it.

 

[m1nd64m3]

My neighbor has a gst spyder that he uses to tow a wave runner. I dont think he has ever had any problems related to towing it.

 

[Black Venom]

"right now I plan on selling my 95 RS with a few mods to get a 1st gen GSX or GST. My question is, is it possible to tow a small trailer for my dirtbike with one? The max weight of the trailer and bike combined would be around 500 pounds at most. My only other option is to buy a truck which would be really lame."

The very first post is asking if a 1g can tow. Uhaul sells Hitches for atleast the 1g AWD, I didn't look at the FWD. They also allow 1g's to tow their small trailer that supposedly has a base weight of 780lbs.

If it is illegal to tow with a 1g AWD, which is a DSM I suggest someone report Uhaul.

 

[slipstream808]

The issues with towing are:

It puts you higher in RPM's to get the power you need to tow something. On a stock car, you'd ###### end up boosting a lot and Mitsubishi decided that this wasnt' a good thing to be doing. And it isn't because it puts unncecessary wear and tear on the car. You might be OK with a car with a bigger turbo in this case where you aren't getting boost til higher RPM's. But then again, would you need that boost to tow whatever it is? IMO, if you need to boost it to tow it, then you shoudn't tow it.

The clutch might be worn out by excessive slipping as you try and tow something.

The brakes might not be capable of slowing you down as effectively needed. Or in the case of an emergency... it just might be REALLY bad to have 500lbs pushing you from the rear. The brakes weren't designed for it.

Now that's from a manufacturer's perspective. The car really wasn't designed for it, and me, unless I was in an emergency, I woudldn't tow with it. But in practice, yes people have done it with DSM's.

Good luck if you decide to go for it!

 

[Kevin Jewer]

Does all of that still apply if I pick up a 500 pound chick at the bar? Or pack 3 more 200 pounders in my EVO like I do daily? My clutch and everything take it just fine. We're not talking about towing cars or anything here, after all.

 

[weith1111]

Does all of that still apply if I pick up a 500 pound chick at the bar? Or pack 3 more 200 pounders in my EVO like I do daily? My clutch and everything take it just fine. We're not talking about towing cars or anything here, after all.

As long as you wedge her in the passenger seat or tie her to the roof it'll be fine. Pulling her on a trailer is a different story. A sudden shift in weight as she reaches for the bag of doritos could cause you to lose control.

 

[wret]

I have hauled about 1000 lb. in the car for several hundred miles with no ill effects. A few hundred pounds on a balanced trailer cannot be any worse.

 

[deejay21]

First off, let me put out this disclaimer:

I AM NOT TRYING TO TOW ANYTHING!!!

Basically I just moved to Colorado and am interested in installing a hitch (hidden preferably) to hold a hitch-mounted bike rack as well as swap out with a hitch-mounted snowboard rack. We've got a bike rack, but I don't like it mounted to the back with the straps. As far as the snowboard rack goes, some friends have suggested that there are racks made for convertibles, but I haven't found any yet. I just figure that the hitch rack would work great when we need it, and when we don't it wouldn't be a PITA to take on/off (and look better as well).

Sooo.......

1) Any hitch that can mount to the Spyder?
2) Any convertible-specific snowboard holders?

Again, not towing anything like trailers or anything. Thanks, and

 

[Defiant]

Most U-Haul shops do lots of hitches, and the installations.
I've seen recievers on many DSMs, despite what you know the Owner's Manuals say.

 

[97EagleTalon2nr]

Hmm not sure but i sold my 16" Konigs to a guy in East TN with a GS Spyder he hauled a jetski with his i beleve? maybe hes on this board.

 

[talonracn49]

I had a 1995 with a hitch -- hauled my motorcycle from charlotte to west palm beach and back.

No overheating, no problems.

I towed jetskis and lawn equipment too. Why the worry with towing?