Trailer Hitch Do's and Don't's

[bucket]

i need to pull a trailer,
<1000lbs.
is this going to be a problem?



(large smile)

 

[vett boy]

What does it say in your owners manual ?

 

[Tom Maine]

Hitch

They make a hitch for the Vette, but you have to be careful towing something. 1000 lbs might be a bit much. I am planning on installing one and pulling one of those small motorcycle trailers on my 91 convert. I have seen them on other vettes but none towing anything large.

 

[G Winter]

They make a hitch for the Vette, but you have to be careful towing something. 1000 lbs might be a bit much. I am planning on installing one and pulling one of those small motorcycle trailers on my 91 convert. I have seen them on other vettes but none towing anything large.

Where did you find someone still making a hitch for a C4 ? about 4 yrs ago I looked for one and couldn't find any.
I ended up making my own.
I sent pictures and measurements to spanishvet when he needed one.

1000 lbs seems a little heavy but I do remember someone on CAC at one time pulling a small boat.You are talking less than 1/3 the car weight.

Glenn

 

[Tom Maine]

hitch

I think that you can get one with a 1 1/4 tube hitch from U Haul. I found them there if I remember.

 

[Lucky 3]

Reese makes a corvette hitch. They were a GM C4 option through 1995.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Reese makes a corvette hitch. They were a GM C4 option through 1995.

There was no factory option towing package during any model year of the C4 series.

The only time any Corvette was factory-equipped for towing was 77-81 when RPO ZN1 was available.

I would strongly advise not attempting to tow 1000 lbs with a C4. First, it's unlikely you'll find any aftermarket tow hitch which would be safe for towing that much weight.

The car's rear structure is not robust enough to take the loading, the car's cooling is marginal at best for towing and, if you load the car itself (driver, passenger and cargo) then hook-up the trailer, you'll be way over the car's GVW.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, since it's unlikely a 1000-lb trailer will have brakes, you'll be relying on the the car's brakes to stop the combination and that's really unsafe. The base brakes (ie: non-Z07/non-ZR1) on a 92 were barely adequate for just the car, alone, much less a car at GVW pulling a 1000-lb trailer.

 

[bucket]

They make a hitch for the Vette, but you have to be careful towing something. 1000 lbs might be a bit much. I am planning on installing one and pulling one of those small motorcycle trailers on my 91 convert. I have seen them on other vettes but none towing anything large.

..

doing the math i think the small motorcycle trailer with a motorcycle on it should be just under 100lbs. hence the survey

 

[bucket]

There was no factory option towing package during any model year of the C4 series.

The only time any Corvette was factory-equipped for towing was 77-81 when RPO ZN1 was available.

I would strongly advise not attempting to tow 1000 lbs with a C4. First, it's unlikely you'll find any aftermarket tow hitch which would be safe for towing that much weight.

The car's rear structure is not robust enough to take the loading, the car's cooling is marginal at best for towing and, if you load the car itself (driver, passenger and cargo) then hook-up the trailer, you'll be way over the car's GVW.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, since it's unlikely a 1000-lb trailer will have brakes, you'll be relying on the the car's brakes to stop the combination and that's really unsafe. The base brakes (ie: non-Z07/non-ZR1) on a 92 were barely adequate for just the car, alone, much less a car at GVW pulling a 1000-lb trailer.

......

i think the car is plenty robust....the 4 wheel disk are large and in good shape
the cooling might be a problem but with a cooler operating temp gained through thermostst and fan swith..
and there are several after market hitches available
it's just like everything else
you must be aware of your limitations, especially when trailering...

 

[bucket]

Where did you find someone still making a hitch for a C4 ? about 4 yrs ago I looked for one and couldn't find any.
I ended up making my own.
I sent pictures and measurements to spanishvet when he needed one.

1000 lbs seems a little heavy but I do remember someone on CAC at one time pulling a small boat.You are talking less than 1/3 the car weight.

Glenn

.as you can see, the hitch itself will go up to 2000lbs. so the structural integrity is not compromised..
Corvette Trailer Hitch, Class 1, 1984-1996
...

 

[G Winter]

The hitch may be rated for 2000 lbs but asking the back of the Corvette frame to handle that is asking a lot.
Even 1000 lbs I would never try.
As Hib says , not safe.
The one I made I didn't actually use as a hitch, I used it for a luggage rack.

Glenn

 

[vett boy]

Maybe mount the hitch on front and push the trailer . Anyway it was a long time ago but if I'm not mistaken my owners manual for 87 had a section on winter(snow )driving and I was thinking that there was something about towing was not recommended .Thats why I suggested checking the owners manual .

 

[bucket]

Maybe mount the hitch on front and push the trailer . Anyway it was a long time ago but if I'm not mistaken my owners manual for 87 had a section on winter(snow )driving and I was thinking that there was something about towing was not recommended .Thats why I suggested checking the owners manual .

...ok thanx

 

[Tom Maine]

When I said small motorcycle trailer, I meant the ones that a motorcycle tows, not the trailer to tow a motorcycle. I have pulled one of these with my other car, a 1951 MGTD and it is very lite, loaded it may 500 lbs with a tongue weight of about 20-40 lbs. The vette will handle that with ease.

 

[Hib Halverson]

.as you can see, the hitch itself will go up to 2000lbs. so the structural integrity is not compromised..
Corvette Trailer Hitch, Class 1, 1984-1996
...

Do not assume that since the hitch itself is designed for Class 1 towing that the car's structure in the rear is capable of safely sustaining that load.

Also, don't confuse tongue weight with "towing capacity".

Lastly, if you're going to insist on towing 1000-2000 lbs with the above listed hitch, to set up your towing combination to mitigate some of the danger, make sure the trailer is loaded such that 10-15% of the trailer's gross weight is on the hitch (ie: tongue weight).

The reason this is important is adequate tongue weight prevents the combination from towing in an unstable manner and less likely to get into a "trailer sway" or "whipping" situation. Trailer sway can usually be stopped by slowing down but it also can develop into an uncontrollable "whip" which usually ends in a wreck.

With 100-300 lbs tongue weight, full fuel and two people in the car, the rear suspension will be near bottoming so I'd suggest raising the rear with shorter spring bolts or spacers.

 

[bucket]

it's for pulling a chopper

 

[Hib Halverson]

How much does the scooter weigh?

 

[bucket]

How much does the scooter weigh?

about 500lbs

 

[Hib Halverson]

When you pull the trailer, will you also have two people in the car, full fuel and the cargo area full?

 

[bucket]

When you pull the trailer, will you also have two people in the car, full fuel and the cargo area full?

...

im ok at balancing trailer loads and fabricating hitches, ive done at least a hundred(Shop foreman at a weld fab shop)
but it's the bounce that i am concerned about..
interstate highways are full of dips and bumps and just dont want to drag bottom cruzin 75....
ill just buy a road bike..lol
thanx