Why Cant i tow with a mirage

[M-88]

Here is a couple of legit questions. Are you going to be the only person camping in it? Are you going to be doing any off site camping where there is no facilities, only a place to park the pop up?

It will be a mix . The main reason I am getting it is I dont like tenting. I don't want anything fancy but a teardrop wouldn't be right either ... too small. When I go on jeep trips that last a few days it will work perfect for myself and my spare parts. I like the state campgrounds and even a bit of boondocking ... I don't plan on hooking up to power

[91cavgt]

It will be a mix . The main reason I am getting it is I dont like tenting. I don't want anything fancy but a teardrop wouldn't be right either ... too small. When I go on jeep trips that last a few days it will work perfect for myself and my spare parts. I like the state campgrounds and even a bit of boondocking ... I don't plan on hooking up to power

Ok, there are 2 things to keep in mind then.

1. Every person you add in the car will decrease the towing potential. Let's say you have 200 pounds worth of people, well now you only have 800 pounds of gear that you could load without going over your 2k pound limit.

2. Every gallon of water that you bring with you weighs 8 pounds. Most small pop up campers have on board water tanks that range from 12-20 gallons. If that is filled up, which you would need for boondocking, then you are looking at 96 to 160 pounds, just in water alone. If you brought say a 200 pound person with you and filled the water tank then now you are looking at only around 600 additional pounds of gear that you can bring. See how quickly it adds up?


Now what is the weight of the spare parts that you would be bringing? See my point?

[M-88]

The Jeep can tow 5000 pounds so that won't be overloaded. There's definitely a few hundred pounds of cargo for off roading trips. But that's just going to a campground.

If it was more than just one person coming along with me - it would be two vehicles and the other one could carry the extra stuff anyway. But the Focus weighs 2600 pounds. I think the Focus will handle it fine. Something lighter may take issue.

[M-88]

Focus towed it quite well. I think something lighter and less powered would struggle. It was only 800 pounds and small enough that it wasn't much wider than the Focus. Empty, it was getting 34 MPG at 50MPH and 32MPG at 65 ... towing the trailer.

[Littlestan]

So I'm thinking about picking up a 6' x 10' or 12' single axle trailer, like this:



These typically weigh around 1,000lbs. They also typically come with electric brakes. Hypothetically,
in addition to upgrading the weak suspension (new springs, rear torsion bar, etc.) as well as having the
electric brakes on the trailer which are capable of stopping both the trailer AND the car, would
this be safe to tow with?

Assume total trailer weight never exceeds 1400lbs, tongue weight never exceeds 100lbs, and the brake
controller is optimally setup to brake the entire weight of the trailer without needing the vehicle brakes
to help it.

[db1980]

I didnt read all the way back, but there is no way you want to pull that with a Mirage, if that is what you are asking. I pulled a tiny 4x6 trailer with a scooter on it, and felt like I was pushing it a bit. Power and stopping wasn't an issue, but the Mirage is a LIGHT car and does not do well with extra momentum pushing it around from the rear. My TOTAL weight trailer and scooter was approx 500lbs. If you are going to want to pull that trailer, I hope it is with a different vehicle.

[Littlestan]

Hey db1980!,

Thanks for the quick reply. I should say I have no experience in towing anything whatsoever and so any
further questions I have are borne completely from ignorance.

That being said, if the trailer has active brakes hooked to a brake controller inside the Mirage, isn't
it correct to say there wouldn't be any weight pushing away at it from behind? Does your trailer
have electric brakes as well?

Cheers, thanks.

[db1980]

Hey db1980!,

Thanks for the quick reply. I should say I have no experience in towing anything whatsoever and so any
further questions I have are borne completely from ignorance.

That being said, if the trailer has active brakes hooked to a brake controller inside the Mirage, isn't
it correct to say there wouldn't be any weight pushing away at it from behind? Does your trailer
have electric brakes as well?

Cheers, thanks.

Well, that might mitigate it when you are pressing the brake, but hills, bumps, curves etc are going to cause all that weight to be flinging the car around both front to back and side to side in situations that don't necessarily involve stopping. I would really advise against it. Not saying you wouldn't be able to move it, but I would not want to be doing more than like 30mph with that thing behind me. Just not particularly safe. Also mine was pretty squatty with barely any tongue weight. I know you said upgraded suspension pieces, but I just think that is way too much of a trailer for this car either way. . Just find a bigger beater car with a bit more mass to move that thing around. Just my opinion but it is coming from someone who has actually pulled a trailer long distance with the Mirage.

[inuvik]

So I'm thinking about picking up a 6' x 10' or 12' single axle trailer, like this:



These typically weigh around 1,000lbs. They also typically come with electric brakes. Hypothetically,
in addition to upgrading the weak suspension (new springs, rear torsion bar, etc.) as well as having the
electric brakes on the trailer which are capable of stopping both the trailer AND the car, would
this be safe to tow with?

Assume total trailer weight never exceeds 1400lbs, tongue weight never exceeds 100lbs, and the brake
controller is optimally setup to brake the entire weight of the trailer without needing the vehicle brakes
to help it.

That is a definite no with the Mirage. Even if it had electric brakes the mass of the trailer would spell disaster. If you need to tow, find something that has the weight, horsepower and stability to tow it.

[Littlestan]

Thanks again for the input guys, it's appreciated.

Found some interesting tidbits about towing with a Yaris (nearly equivalent GVW with the Mirage):

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/200...ng-conspiracy/

Taking the authors point about legalities and liabilities that vary from country to country, how
can the exact same vehicle go from no towing whatsoever (USA), to 700lbs unbraked (Canada),
to 2315lbs braked (UK)?

That's a 1:1 towing weight ratio that is deemed completely safe and legal in the UK.