C5 trailer towing limits

[Daville]

We've just started looking into towing a small lightweight travel trailer with our 50th Anniversary Coupe. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, stories, comments? I'd like something unique looking rather than just a white box on wheels. We currently have a class A motor home with a car trailer. Its big, takes up a lot of space and gets around 7 MPG. Towing something with the 'Vette would be considerably safer, more comfortable, much lower maintenance costs, and should get at least 20MPG. It would have to be bigger than a Teardrop and have a bathroom.
Pueblodave

Okay, I give up! What was I thinking? Silly me. We conveniently took the motor home (31 foot class A) out to the lake for a few days. Gorsh, that thing's as big as a house, and I was thinking of sleeping in a little bitty travel trailer behind the C5? And what is little bitty? From what I've stirred up here, it would be unsafe to tow a roll-away bed with the 'Vette. So I'd say the topic is closed, but do go ahead and read through the posts; there's a lot of good info here. Thanks all.
Boy am I glad I didn't mention my idea of removing the hatch and installing a 5th wheel hitch and converting to diesel power.

 

[Toms007]

Hopefully someone will be along to answer your question Dave.

 

[vett boy]

Other than a trailer designed to haul behind a motorcycle I wouldn't do it .Not even a pop up .I'm willing to bet that the trailer your talking about loaded with belongings ,beer ,food and TP will run over 2000 lbs .Thats way to much .GM does not recommend towing .Somewhere in the archives of this forum there is an extensive tread on the subject. Hope I haven't busted your balloon and ruined a perfectly good fantasy. Good luck and welcome .

 

[leftyvette]

You will lose some major style points with a trailer!!!!!

 

[ness5353]

teardrop camper.....

Little Guy Teardrop Trailers - Home

 

[Hib Halverson]

Towing a trailer that heavy with a C5 vette will not reduce maintence costs. In fact, you'll be severely overloading the car so your maintenance cost will increase.

There is no published figure for GCWR for Corvette and it's GVW is often exceeded even when you have just the car full of fuel, two people and baggage. Add a trailer and you're really over the cars GVW.

Also, with a trailer like that your C5's mileage will decrease significantly.

Do your RV'ing in your coach.

 

[catbert]

There really isn't a good point to properly install the hitch to the chassis. Alloy and balsa are poor mounting points. Anything is possible, but not necessarily advisable. That, and the inherent danger of towing with a short wheelbase car.

 

[njlouc]

If you look in your owner's manual under towing they say "dont even think about it!!".

 

[Daville]

Okay, let's look at some numbers. "ness5353" above, dropped in a website for what seems to be what I'm thinking about: a pretty cool looking reverse teardrop design weighing in at 943 pounds with 120 lbs on the tongue, and overall dims that would proportionately work with the C5. Even the 'Vette mirrors would see past past it. Follow his link above to have a look.
Dave

Little Guy RT Teardrop Camper Trailers are just the right size: as comfortable to sleep in as your own bed, with models available with full and queen size mattresses. Any of the Little Guy RT teardrop camper trailer models are easy to tow - with virtually any vehicle.

Width (Cabin): 62" Length (Cabin): 96" Width (Fender to Fender): 82" Length (Tongue to Bumper): 13'-0" Weight: 940 lbs. Tongue Weight: 120 lbs. (2) Side Sliding 20" x 30" Windows (1) 26" x 32" Rear Entry Door Front End Storage Area: 60" x 12"

and the C5's numbers are:

DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES (inches/millimeters, unless otherwise noted)​

Exterior Dimensions​

Corvette​

Wheelbase​

104.5/2655.5​

Length (overall)​

179.7/4565.6​

Width (overall)​

73.6/1869.6​

Height (overall)​

47.7/1211.5 (hardtop and coupe), 47.8/1214.7 (convertible)​

Tread — front​

62.1/1577.3​

Tread — rear​

62.2/1579.9​

I think there's a dealer here in town. I'll check it out, maybe get a pic of my coupe backed up to it, see how bad the style points would look for "leftyvette" above. Then maybe start a new thread for suggestions on traveling in your 'Vette.
Thanks for your help e-one,
Dave Hill

 

[LLC5]

teardrop camper.....

Little Guy Teardrop Trailers - Home

Wow, I guess there is something more ridiculous than towing a trailer with a vette, to each their own I guess. Hope no one gets hurt in either application.

 

[tim414]

We've just started looking into towing a small lightweight travel trailer with our 50th Anniversary Coupe. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, stories, comments? I'd like something unique looking rather than just a white box on wheels. We currently have a class A motor home with a car trailer. Its big, takes up a lot of space and gets around 7 MPG. Towing something with the 'Vette would be considerably safer, more comfortable, much lower maintenance costs, and should get at least 20MPG. It would have to be bigger than a Teardrop and have a bathroom.
Pueblodave

I've read 2004 (C5) owners manual and 2009 C6 owners manual.....and ya know what :confused ?? It didn't change in five model years ....."DO NOT TOW WITH YOUR CORVETTE" is pretty much what it says....I bet your owners manual probably says that too...!!

 

[6 Shooter]

HEY - You'll need one of these once you get your hitch...

​

Corvette Limited Edition Sport-V LS7 Malibu Boats​

 

[leftyvette]

One of those sold yesterday in the Barrett/Jackson auction in Palm Beach Florida for around $70,000.

 

[6 Shooter]

NOPE - The one that sold yesterday was a GM C5 not a Malibu C6.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Do not tow a 1000 lb trailer with a Corvette. Not only is there a powertrain durability issue, and an issue with the car's rear structure not having a suitable place to attach a hitch but you'll significantly exceed the car's GVW and that just dangerous.

In fact, with two adults, full fuel and the cargo area loaded with what two people typically travel with is usually over the car's useful load and GVW. Add another 200 lbs on the trailer hitch and you're really overloaded.

 

[njlouc]

I suppose anything's possible!!
I took these pix myself at a show in PA last year.

 

[2KinATL]

SUMBEAN? Looks like someone didn't know how to spell when replacing the letters on the trunk.

 

[TheSearcher]

How about pushing one?