July 11-14/2014 Elio Event In Portland

[tazairforce]

I did ask about towing and was told they will not say no but they will not take responsibility. This is apparently in line with what Harley Davidson says. So we do so at our own risk. There has been some detailed discussion of the subject in other threads here that you might want to read. The Timeout you are thinking of may actually be too heavy to be safe to tow. I believe the suggested weight by experienced towers was either 1/4 or 1/3 the weight of the Elio. Goofyone is one of the very experienced voices on this subject because he does a lot of towing related to his business. Z

For what it maybe worth. My maiden voyage towing a full size Time Out camper with the Wing, loaded to 500(+)#s,
camping gear, clothes, cooler and purchases from the PX, etc., from Chatt. south on I-75 in a pouring rain was Scary (Terrifying). I had put as much heavy stuff as I could on the Wing, back seat, trunk, bags to get as much weight on the bike as I could to provide better braking and control. The bike, with me, was maybe 1200+ pounds. I was pushing near 50% of tow vehicle weight. It was Sunday morning, not much traffic, tried to stay away from what little traffic there was, behind the faster and ahead of the slower. After a while I settled down and began to enjoy the ride. Made it back home Alive, with out any problem. 'If it don't kill you, it just make you stronger'
I think the secrete to towing a trailer with anything is start slow and stop slow, just make SURE you keep the trailer Behind you.
After that experience, deductive reasoning leads me to believe that a 1200 Elio, with 3 wheels, would be capable of safely towing a trailer up to 500#s, with the right mind set.
Having said all that I Will Tow a trailer with my Elio, still looking for a Mini Mate.

'If you don't Tow you don't Know'

 

[eddie66]

For what it maybe worth. My maiden voyage towing a full size Time Out camper with the Wing, loaded to 500(+)#s,
camping gear, clothes, cooler and purchases from the PX, etc., from Chatt. south on I-75 in a pouring rain was Scary (Terrifying). I had put as much heavy stuff as I could on the Wing, back seat, trunk, bags to get as much weight on the bike as I could to provide better braking and control. The bike, with me, was maybe 1200+ pounds. I was pushing near 50% of tow vehicle weight. It was Sunday morning, not much traffic, tried to stay away from what little traffic there was, behind the faster and ahead of the slower. After a while I settled down and began to enjoy the ride. Made it back home Alive, with out any problem. 'If it don't kill you, it just make you stronger'
I think the secrete to towing a trailer with anything is start slow and stop slow, just make SURE you keep the trailer Behind you.
After that experience, deductive reasoning leads me to believe that a 1200 Elio, with 3 wheels, would be capable of safely towing a trailer up to 500#s, with the right mind set.
Having said all that I Will Tow a trailer with my Elio, still looking for a Mini Mate.

'If you don't Tow you don't Know'

Remembering back when I was towing my 22' Holiday Rambler trailer with my old style 76 Ford Bronco Down I 25 on ice. Coming back from an Elk hunt up in Wyoming, Colorado border. That little Bronco with that big 302 Engine had plenty of power, but on ice you got religion every time a semi passed by.

 

[Ty]

1250/3=416.66 lbs. holding that rear tire down... I'd be very careful towing much weight at all with the Elio. Think of a panic stop... weight shifts forward and can take a car with a 1' center of gravity at the counterpoint of it's wheel base (This means that 50% of the weight is on the front tires and 50% is on the back tires and that the balance point top to bottom is 1' above the ground.) from having that 50/50 balance to 60/40. That means that your Elio is now at full deceleration and 870# are on the front tires and 580#s are on the back tire (assuming 200#s of people/stuff in the car). Now, in that same scenario, imagine the back tire being pushed by a 500# trailer. It seems that with almost any speed and slightly off of a straight line will make that trailer push you right into a slide.

Now, I would almost bet that the Elio will start out with about 70% of it's mass on the front tires which means that back tire, at full panic, would be carrying around 348#s... And that isn't the safest thing to have a trailer hooked to.

I'd still pull a little trailer but I'd be careful about it.

Yes, I didn't count trailer tongue weight because I couldn't figure an easy way to calculate the effect when stopping. The trailer wouldn't have brakes, most likely. I imagine the trailer would apply a lifting force to the rear as it pushed against the raising rear of the Elio but I'm not sure how much.

 

[GreatDanes]

I went ahead and got down on the floor at the Portland event. [Broken External Image]

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

Person in drivers seat... hmm, I wonder what this does? ** releases parking brake

 

[GreatDanes]

hopefully, I can bench press it off of my melon

 

[Dustoff]

I went ahead and got down on the floor at the Portland event. [Broken External Image]

The "car"nivorous Elio.

 

[GreatDanes]

maybe we can develop the "Venus Fly Trap" outer coating with a "hybrid" power plant... increasing fuel efficiency, solving the Security post, AND reducing prison populations!

 

[Daryl M]

I'm sorry it has taken so long to post these pictures, no excuses.
First, some observations. I like the looks, even better than the P3. They actually made all of the changes they told me about last year, and I think it was mostly an improvement. But...
I can no longer sit upright in the rear seat, there just isn't enough head room. With my wife sitting in the front seat my knees are just about in my chin. I could handle this for a 10-15 minute ride, but not much longer.
My wife was very uncomfortable in the rear seat, mostly because of the required leg angle with knees higher than one's waist.
If the rear hatch won't open to where the lid is nearly vertical it will be difficult to load grocery bags into it.

For reference, I am 6'2" and 230#. My wife is 5'4" and 160#.

Here are driver's view pictures. Camera was held against my face, between my eyes when I took these.
These are followed by pictures of the front suspension which someone wanted.

# # #

 

[goofyone]

...I can no longer sit upright in the rear seat, there just isn't enough head room. With my wife sitting in the front seat my knees are just about in my chin. I could handle this for a 10-15 minute ride, but not much longer.
My wife was very uncomfortable in the rear seat, mostly because of the required leg angle with knees higher than one's waist.
...

Thanks for the pictures. You will be glad to hear that EM has already told us that on the P5/E0 the roofline is being raised back to where it was on the P3 as they are fully aware of the rear headroom issue.