Towing The Elio / Towing With The Elio

[JEBar]

What I have read you can pull the Elio on all three wheels, as I plan to pull one behind an RV.

we travel 6 - 7 months a year in our 5er and my bet is when you roll into a CG with an Elio in tow, you will have folks all over it .... it will be interesting to see how they are able to mount the tow bar .... at the Elio's weight, no brake control should be needed

Jim

 

[JEBar]

very nice finds .... it was interesting to see how they attached the hitch frame to the bike in the picture of the zm1800rtrailer

Jim

without seeing how the body attaches and the space available, I can't tell for sure ... but in looking at pictures below of an Elio frame and at the way the trailer hitch is attached to the bike, I can see how something like this might work .... this method has no connection to the rear tire's suspension and uniformly divides any pressure to both sides of the Elio's frame

Jim

Jim

 

[goofyone]

without seeing how the body attaches and the space available, I can't tell for sure ... but in looking at pictures below of an Elio frame and at the way the trailer hitch is attached to the bike, I can see how something like this might work .... this method has no connection to the rear tire's suspension and uniformly divides any pressure to both sides of the Elio's frame

JimView attachment 2493View attachment 2494 View attachment 2495

Jim

FYI... These are some nice views of the completed P4 chassis and the rear end should be pretty close to what we see in the production vehicle.
[Broken External Image]

I agree that it should not be too difficult to design and mount a hitch in a way that distributes the load appropriately while also avoiding any interference with the rear tire and suspension assembly.
As the tail lights are immediately above this location making a simple pass through wiring harness for brake and turn signal functions should not be very difficult. Hitch kits will also either have to include a replacement rear skirt or require cutting the existing fender skirt below the license plate to allow the hitch and wiring to pass through. None of this is exactly difficult and aftermarket hitch companies are used to most of this with the exception of the fender skirt issue however making a mold of the current rear skirt and modifying it to a allow a hitch to pass through should be fairly straightforward.

 

[JEBar]

do you have any pictures of the vehicle's front frame .... I'm trying to picture how to attach the fittings needed in order for it to be towed behind a motorhome

Jim

 

[goofyone]

do you have any pictures of the vehicle's front frame .... I'm trying to picture how to attach the fittings needed in order for it to be towed behind a motorhome

Jim

I know EM has said they will definitely include provisions for being towed as they are well aware of this vehicles great potential in terms of the motorhome dinghy market however I have not yet read exactly what these provisions will be.
I also do not remember seeing any great photos of the naked front end but these are what I can find that show at least a little bit of this part of the vehicle:

 

[JEBar]

thanks, the pictures help .... I believe plates can be attached to the bottom of the front box tube and slots cut in the screen shown below .... I'm unsure if bracing will have to be added to the front box tube, Elio's designers will have to figure that one out .... without additional braces, as a pure guess I tend to believe the additional parts would add 5 +/- lbs to the vehicle and shouldn't add any measurable degree of wind resistance .... it certainly appears to be doable

Jim

 

[Rickb]

Don't laugh at my curious and mechanically ignorant question: Would it be feasible to connect the Elio's more solid, narrow rear end to a self centering tow bar behind the RV essentially flat towing the Elio backwards. Keep in mind I have little mechanical knowledge with no plans to ever flat tow the Elio. O.K. go ahead and laugh!

 

[JEBar]

while most anything is possible, I don't recall ever seeing a vehicle towed way .... I don't know if you would have to lock the steering

Jim

 

[Jay3wheel]

A light weight trailer (1200 lb. Elio) sounds a lot safer to me.

 

[goofyone]

A light weight trailer (1200 lb. Elio) sounds a lot safer to me.

Behind an RV flat tow vs trailer is really a matter of preference as from the drivers seat they will tow about the same. The third option is dolly towing however I doubt that would be recommended with the Elio due to the swingarm setup which is not designed to be stressed in that fashion.

The big advantage to flat tow is easier and much faster vehicle hookup and disconnect. You also don't have to maintain the trailer or worry about where to store it both at home and when on the road as many RV sites are not long enough for both a full length RV and a trailer long enough to accommodate an Elio.

The advantages to towing a trailer are potentially additional storage capabilities and backing up is much easier along with reduced wear on the vehicle.