Towing trailer and glider with a honda civic

A friend of mine has a 2011 Civic and uses it for towing without problems.
This is in the UK.

Chris

At 08:07 28 February 2018, Maxx Ruff wrote:
The Australian VTi Honda Civic is rated
Towing capacity (kg)
trailer with brakes 800
trailer without brakes 500
ball down force 50

That said, I don't recommend using a small car to tow even if it seems
to tow reasonably well.
When things go wrong the trailer overwhelms the car.
In the mid 80s I had to avoid an oncoming car whose driver was dozing.
I got down to about 40KPH as the other car approached and then the
trailer began to jackknife then straighten then roll the car.
Trailer and car a write off, glider was ok, other car snuck past and
disappeared, I got a compressed vertebra.
Ruff

At 05:34 28 February 2018, 2G wrote:
On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 3:09:43 PM UTC-8,

wrote=
:
I have a 2016 honda civic. It=E2=80=99s my only car. Has any one
towed
th=
eir glider and trailer using a small sedan like a civic?

I could not find towing capacity listed as a spec in the Civic's Owner's
Ma=
nual. I found a couple of references that say that the Civic is not
rated
f=
or towing and doing so voids the warranty, such as:

The owners manual clearly states that the Honda Civic is not rated for
towi=
ng. Put on a trailer hitch and kiss your warranty goodbye.

Go to page 395:

"Your vehicle is not designed to tow a trailer. Attempting to do so can
voi=
d your warranties."

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

That said, you can buy tow hitches for the Civic. I recommend
contacting
yo=
ur dealer before proceeding.

Tom

Le mercredi 28 février 2018 00:09:43 UTC+1, a écritÂ*:
I have a 2016 honda civic. It’s my only car. Has any one towed their glider and trailer using a small sedan like a civic?

I towed a Cobra (single axle) trailer with an ASK-21 from Belgium to Gruyère (Switzerland) and back without problems with my 2015 Civic 1600 Diesel. The towing limit is 1400 kg according to the homologation certificate.. Fuel consumption was 6 liter/100 km instead of the usual 5 l/100 km.

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 01:09:43 UTC+2, wrote:
I have a 2016 honda civic. It’s my only car. Has any one towed their glider and trailer using a small sedan like a civic?

Answer to question depends where you live. Europe: no problem at all. US: mother of god that's dangerous, get massive SUV right away.

I'd like to size my tow car for the worst case. Worst case so far was dry pavement ABS shuddering invoking panic stop from 35 mph to 5 mph when a moose appeared one night. Avionic trailer with surge brake and a 2004 Volvo XC70. Stable deacceleration and no collision.

Since then I stopped towing after dark. My appreciation of the risk at the time was hypothetical. There was a sign warning about moose, so I was driving on a deserted road at 35 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Many years ago, I towed my Jantar 1 in its giant steel and wooden trailer behind a 1.6 liter VW Golf. I did it once!

Lessons I learned:

1) Front-wheel drive vehicles are least suited to towing as they have less rear-end weight and suspension that's not always heavy duty.

2) A tow vehicle that's at least as heavy as the trailer

3) Preferably rear-wheel or all-wheel drive

With the above in mind, the Honda Civic has a curb weight of at least 2,500 pounds and plenty of power and should work if you are careful. I would limit your top speed and avoid the steepest routes. As others have noted, Civics and similar-sized vehicles are used for trailer towing in Europe and other parts of the world.

Mike

On Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at 8:09:16 PM UTC+3, Mike the Strike wrote:
Many years ago, I towed my Jantar 1 in its giant steel and wooden trailer behind a 1.6 liter VW Golf. I did it once!

Lessons I learned:

1) Front-wheel drive vehicles are least suited to towing as they have less rear-end weight and suspension that's not always heavy duty.

2) A tow vehicle that's at least as heavy as the trailer

3) Preferably rear-wheel or all-wheel drive

When I started gliding, most people in NZ seemed to be using Ford Falcons or Holden Commodores (whether sedan, station wagon, or ute) for glider towing.

Sometime in the late 90s to early 2000s it suddenly seemed that a lot of people switched to using Subaru Legacy or Outback, or even Impreza/WRX. These cars tow well and stably on the highway, but also are pretty good at getting in and out of various places that people land out. All while using 2/3 the fuel of the Aussie six cylinder cars.

On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 3:09:43 PM UTC-8, wrote:
I have a 2016 honda civic. It’s my only car. Has any one towed their glider and trailer using a small sedan like a civic?

Goes for any towing combo but lower mass vehicles are more susceptible so observe proper weight distribution... 10-20% the total weight on the tongue

http://i.imgur.com/dYz2tCE.gifv

Have been towing with a lot of different European and Asian cars, and all sorts diffferent trailers. Have been towing DG1000 in Cobra trailer behind an 1,6l Toyota Corolla without any issues. Have been towing single seaters behind larger cars with issues.

If you have trouble with your towing is it most likely some old and worn pars on the car that is failing rather than the model of the car. What to check is:
- Suspension on the car, with bad/old suspension is problem around the corner.
- Tow ball load, zero or negative load is not what you want. To much on the ball is not good to. It should be in the range 25-50kg.
- Tire pressure. Add 0.2-0.4bar on the back wheels on the car compare to manufactures recommondation.
- Driving speed. Believe it or not driving to fast will get you in trouble, find put at what speed you car/trailer combination starts to wobble, stay below this speed with margin.

I tow a Libelle in a box trailer with an automatic gearbox equipped 2
litre petrol Ford Focus estate (5 door station wagon) without any issues.

The stiffer rear suspension helps a lot. I have minimal weight on the tow
ball and can tow at up to just under 65mph (100kph) on motorways. Beyond
that stability starts to deteriorate, especially when passing trucks on a
windy day. Towing consumption is 29-30 mph vs 33-34 mpg normally.

The biggest problem, as always, is getting in and out of service stations.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

There were many times he would have 2 or 3 passengers in the Rabbit.
It is doable, but "it depends" on the trailer weight and the terrain you plan to traverse.