Towing The Elio / Towing With The Elio

[grampi]

This one is not as nice as some I have seen however imagine something along these lines nicely painted to match or contrast the Elio. That would not look too bad at all.

I guess if a person is THAT concerned over how the trailer looks, they can spend the big $$$ to get one that is nicer looking....personally, I couldn't care less what the trailer LOOKS like, all I care about is function, and this trailer should do any function I need a trailer to do...

 

[grampi]

True I never towed, but having 250lbs in the backseat in-between the wheels seems like it would be safer than pulling along 250 behind, have no idea of the physics, but i do know as per other posts when you were to put 250 on the rear seat of a rice burner(rear seat up in the air) that too would have a detrimental effect (raise center of gravity), perhaps one of our fellow members ( engineers) could describe it better than I-- hey I know whatever I post won't change minds, but just wanted to put it out there, I wish us all the luck in driving our Elios, which will require as much diligence as bike riding- especially gawkers for the first year at least. Enjoy!!

Pulling a 300 lb trailer (total trailer weight loaded) behind an Elio will be a non-issue. Look at the allowable towing limits for any vehicle...my Corolla for example is rated (per the owner's manual) to tow 1500 lbs. That's more than half of the car's total vehicle weight. 300 lbs behind an Elio would be less than 1/4 of the Elio's total weight, which means the driver would barely even know it's there...

 

[JEBar]

http://www.piggybacker.com/Piggybacker/PiggyBacker_Cargo_Trailer.html

I like the torsion suspension and would like to take a look at the frame

 

[outsydthebox]

I love all of the pictures and ideas. Interesting to read the different "reasons" you all have for the type of trailer you would pull...or none at all. It also shows the wide range of personalities and experience in this group.
Ones who are concerned with "absolute safety" wont be pulling a trailer anyway...or camping out in a tent or sleeping on the ground, either .
And, as someone here said, "if you don't tow, you don't know."
Those of you interested in the Harbor freight trailer need to read the reviews (on HF site) from those who have bought them. Those folks have been good about sharing the "mods" that can transform them from "good" to "great" little trailers. *Upping the tires from 8" to 12" is often done.
I really like the "one wheel trailer" concept but, like Goofy1 plan to make one myself. There are several "roof-top" boxes that are about 2' wide that should "draft" real good. I am thinking that a "mountain bike" shock absorber will work good for such a light load. Enough rambling for now.

 

[Rickb]

I found the ultimate way to travel with my Elio and not worry about towing. If Jerome see this it's likely to become the official Elio Team's Tour vehicle.

 

[Bert]

Old truckers trick.

Pack the trailer wheel bearings with normal bearing grease. I use the white lithium grease.
Then, fill the dust cap with motor honey and reinstall it. Any brand motor honey, I tend to grab the STP brand.
The motor honey will keep your bearings cooler by far, as well as smoother running and less chance of water getting in.
One warning. If you do this with existing bearings and grease, you "might" have the seal leak. Simple cure, replace them.

 

[Ty]

You-all forget it's an "&", ya leave the "&", take the other car/truck and go touring -people travel the world with a backpack! It's similar to the blind bus driver syndrome, Visually impaired kids grow up thinking they can be/do anything, until someone "smacks them with reality that it can't/won't happen". Here too the same principal, and don't use the milage as the justification, we (touring bikers) NEVER let the mpg influence our trips. So take the 15-25mpg beast, let her take whatever, she"needs", the pooch and go, take the harley w/wo trailer and go, there is no doubt that whatever the vehicle, pulling a trailer increases risk.Stop trying to make a silk purse out of a pigs ear. Then again.........................

I agree. But, there may be some people who need to business travel a couple hundred miles who need more room for suits, gear, whatever, who want the Elio to be their only vehicle for those trips. That trunk is SMALL.

 

[Ty]

It's not that the rooftop carriers are that bad, they are just made of that blow-molded black plastic that is flexible. I just don't like it that much. We have a rooftop carrier for the wife's explorer for her summer trips back home but if it was something I had to use more than every once in a while, i'd prefer something a little more substantial... something I wouldn't have to worry about as much parked at a hotel. having the carrier down low in the mud splash area would concern me but if you guys are using it without water intrusion, it can't be too bad for that. When it comes down to it, it is personal preference that pulls from personal style, safety, cost, and availability. I'm not sold on a one wheel design but I liked the suspension and the whole "It doesn't bounce on any road. Ever." tagline. I've seen a couple of small trailers just a bouncing down the road... The Elio will carry about 300-400 lbs on it's back tire and won't take as much bounce to make it lose it's track.

 

[goofyone]

Old truckers trick.

Pack the trailer wheel bearings with normal bearing grease. I use the white lithium grease.
Then, fill the dust cap with motor honey and reinstall it. Any brand motor honey, I tend to grab the STP brand.
The motor honey will keep your bearings cooler by far, as well as smoother running and less chance of water getting in.
One warning. If you do this with existing bearings and grease, you "might" have the seal leak. Simple cure, replace them.

Very good advice!

By the way for everyone who buys a new harbor freight trailer do not even bother with the grease included in the kit as it is terrible stuff so just save yourself the hassle and use quality grease from the beginning. As we are not planning on pulling much weight, and most of us will be upgrading to 12" wheels anyway, running the included bearings in the kit will likely work however these will not be as smooth or last nearly as long as a quality set of bearings so many people may just wish to use better bearings from the very beginning.

I have found www.etrailer.com to be a good online resource for trailer parts and information. They have a good selection and I have visited the site many times just to dig through what they have, look at pictures, and get ideas for whatever I was working on. For my business I ended up using them a good bit and their customer service has been very helpful and they have some very knowledgeable people on staff who have been able to answer some of the more interesting questions I have had for them over time. Their pricing is competitive however not always the cheapest. Shopping around never hurts if you want the lowest prices.

 

[grampi]

Old truckers trick.

Pack the trailer wheel bearings with normal bearing grease. I use the white lithium grease.
Then, fill the dust cap with motor honey and reinstall it. Any brand motor honey, I tend to grab the STP brand.
The motor honey will keep your bearings cooler by far, as well as smoother running and less chance of water getting in.
One warning. If you do this with existing bearings and grease, you "might" have the seal leak. Simple cure, replace them.

Changing the 8" to 12" tires and wheels will keep the bearings cooler as well by slowing down the rotation speed...I usually just pack the bearings with a good synthetic bearing grease and I've never had a problem with trailer bearings...