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Thread: Towing a trailer with the Mirage?

  1. #31
    Senior Member DonkeyPal's Avatar
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    Years ago, I pulled a 13' fiberglass travel trailer behind my 77 VW bus, with an 18' aluminum canoe tied on top of the bus and the bus loaded for a 2-week vacation. Still got about 20 mpg (close to its hwy rating), but top speed on flat ground was 55 mph and more like 45 going up hills. The combination was actually more stable in side winds than the bus was by itself.

    I also pulled a 4x8 flatbed trailer, often very heavily loaded, behind a Saturn SL1 sedan several times. The car didn't have any special rear suspension, so you had to know how to balance a trailer when loading it, so the tongue weight didn't get too heavy. I never had much trouble, if the load wasn't tall enough to add much wind resistance.

    I have loaded the interior of my 2015 Mirage heavily only one time, and the amount of additional acceleration and braking time, and the amount of dip I got going over bumps, together were enough to make me not very optimist about the Mirage as a trailer towing vehicle. But having seen some of the tiny, light weight trailers people have posted pictures in this thread, and seeing them being used to tow rather small, light weight loads, I can imagine it might make more sense to carry those things on a trailer than trying to put the same weight or bulk either inside of or on top of a Mirage.

    I might look into those air springs described above, simply to give my Mirage more capability with interior loads, but I doubt I'd ever consider putting any sort of hitch on my Mirage. I have bigger vehicles expressly for hauling big loads (like 40 bales of hay at one time). If I had beefy enough ramps, I could probably put the Mirage inside the back of my little Chevy box truck. The Mirage is for little loads, the truck is for big loads.


    Last edited by DonkeyPal; 04-30-2019 at 11:00 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 automatic: 43.0 mpg (US) ... 18.3 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.7 mpg (Imp)


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  3. #32
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    I could see the Mirage doing okay with harbor freights little 4x4 aluminum trailer it's only 165lbs.

    For real weight I have my Tundra which is rated for 10,200lbs....or five mirages lol.

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  5. #33
    Senior Member DonkeyPal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pryme View Post
    I could see the Mirage doing okay with harbor freights little 4x4 aluminum trailer it's only 165lbs.

    . . .
    Yeah, for some kinds of loads, putting them on that kind of trailer, might put less strain on a Mirage than putting the same weight on the back seats.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 automatic: 43.0 mpg (US) ... 18.3 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.7 mpg (Imp)


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  7. #34
    Thoraxe the Impaler LetItMarinate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DonkeyPal View Post
    Years ago, I pulled a 13' fiberglass travel trailer behind my 77 VW bus, with an 18' aluminum canoe tied on top of the bus and the bus loaded for a 2-week vacation. Still got about 20 mpg (close to its hwy rating), but top speed on flat ground was 55 mph and more like 45 going up hills. The combination was actually more stable in side winds than the bus was by itself.

    I also pulled a 4x8 flatbed trailer, often very heavily loaded, behind a Saturn SL1 sedan several times. The car didn't have any special rear suspension, so you had to know how to balance a trailer when loading it, so the tongue weight didn't get too heavy. I never had much trouble, if the load wasn't tall enough to add much wind resistance.

    I have loaded the interior of my 2015 Mirage heavily only one time, and the amount of additional acceleration and braking time, and the amount of dip I got going over bumps, together were enough to make me not very optimist about the Mirage as a trailer towing vehicle. But having seen some of the tiny, light weight trailers people have posted pictures in this thread, and seeing them being used to tow rather small, light weight loads, I can imagine it might make more sense to carry those things on a trailer than trying to put the same weight or bulk either inside of or on top of a Mirage.

    I might look into those air springs described above, simply to give my Mirage more capability with interior loads, but I doubt I'd ever consider putting any sort of hitch on my Mirage. I have bigger vehicles expressly for hauling big loads (like 40 bales of hay at one time). If I had beefy enough ramps, I could probably put the Mirage inside the back of my little Chevy box truck. The Mirage is for little loads, the truck is for big loads.
    If you do put the mirage in the back of the box truck take a picture!
    Shake and bake baby

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    @donkeypal Careful with Amazon if you get the air lift kit. they sent me the wrong one and I didn't notice that the part number was 2 digits off until I tried to install them and they were too big. It was a hassle getting them sent back and I'm still waiting for a refund so I can buy the right ones. I called Airlift before I realized the problem to talk with them (I thought the problem had been a repackaging mistake) and they were super friendly and offered to help determine the most suitable kit for the mirage so I could exchange them.
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  11. #36
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    Towed this $250 Rodeo 12 miles from North to South Portland, never faster than 40 mph. Scoot did much better than I thought. People stared and commented, I'm glad that it's done though.
    (blank signature)

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    Towing a u-haul with 2014 Mirage CVT

    I have a 2014 mirage ES with cvt and have towed a trailer a few times this summer. Things worked out well and I'd like to share my experience. This is not an endorsement of the mirage's capability to tow or a recommendation that you do it. Nor is it an invitation for your judgement or scolding- I know there are strong opinions out there, particularly regarding towing with the CVT.

    Equipment used:
    - Curt class I trailer hitch receiver
    - Curt custom wiring harness
    - CVTz50 app to monitor the cvt temperature
    - Veepeak Mini WiFi OBD II Scanner to connect the phone to the car's computer

    Relevant things I did in preparation:
    - changed CVT fluid (Car is at about 100,000 km)
    - changed front brake pads and rear brake shoes

    The first thing I towed was probably about 1,000 lbs- a 4x8 harbor freight trailer with stuff in it. I was planning to use it to move across the country but didn't in the end due to a bunch of reasons.
    Name:  IMG_8265.jpg
Views: 953
Size:  98.5 KB

    The longest I've towed was about 2 hours, of mixed highway, hills, and gravel road driving. It was a 4x8 uhaul trailer weighing about 900 lbs empty carrying a queen size pull-out couch for a total of probably about 1050 lbs.
    Name:  IMG_9385.jpg
Views: 957
Size:  97.5 KB

    What was it like?
    Acceleration and Deceleration: It took a little longer to get up to speed and more effort to stop. I think it would be fair to say that driving on flat ground felt a little like driving a little bit uphill and braking felt like going on a slight downhill. But all in all, I had no trouble merging on the highway, even on a slight incline. It helped getting started from a standstill to be in put the gear selector in "B" mode to prevent the CVT from shifting into the upper range too early. This was especially the case when I tried starting on a steep uphill incline from a standstill. It shook and complained for the first couple of seconds and really needed the B mode to get moving but it was fine- albeit probably shortening the life of the transmission some.
    Handling: It felt pretty stable, even at highway speeds. I never exceeded 65 mph and tried to keep it to 60. The whole combination is a little bit rattly on bad pavement especially when empty.
    Fuel consumption: Normally I get something in the range of 5.7 l/100km (41mpg) but towing the trailer on a hilly highway, it was about about 8.8 l/100km (27 mpg)
    CVT Temperature. Many people say the world will end if you tow with a cvt mirage because their uncle said it's too flimsy etc. and they all seem to agree that the failure mode will be overheating. I monitored the temperature with the CVTz50 app to try to understand what happens a little more and to know to pull over and rest the transmission if it looked like it was getting too hot. The mirage's thermostat is set at 90C, meaning that when it only makes an effort to cool down when it exceeds this temperature. The car itself would also start flashing a warning at 137C, so I regarded that as an absolute upper limit you should not exceed, especially since other cars seem to display a warning at a lower temperature. I had planned to pull over and rest the car if it exceeded 120 but it never did. An hour into the two hour highway trip with hills and highways, I saw it mostly stay between 89C and 103C. There was a moment after a long climb when it hit 110, but then it quickly dropped back down to the typical range within a minute or so. For reference, the outside temperature was about 23C that day (73F). On the same drive without a trailer, the CVT temperature tends to stay between about 88 and 95C.

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  15. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by tunagate111 View Post
    I have a 2014 mirage ES with cvt and have towed a trailer a few times this summer. Things worked out well and I'd like to share my experience. This is not an endorsement of the mirage's capability to tow or a recommendation that you do it. Nor is it an invitation for your judgement or scolding- I know there are strong opinions out there, particularly regarding towing with the CVT.

    Equipment used:
    - Curt class I trailer hitch receiver
    - Curt custom wiring harness
    - CVTz50 app to monitor the cvt temperature
    - Veepeak Mini WiFi OBD II Scanner to connect the phone to the car's computer

    Relevant things I did in preparation:
    - changed CVT fluid (Car is at about 100,000 km)
    - changed front brake pads and rear brake shoes

    The first thing I towed was probably about 1,000 lbs- a 4x8 harbor freight trailer with stuff in it. I was planning to use it to move across the country but didn't in the end due to a bunch of reasons.
    Name:  IMG_8265.jpg
Views: 953
Size:  98.5 KB

    The longest I've towed was about 2 hours, of mixed highway, hills, and gravel road driving. It was a 4x8 uhaul trailer weighing about 900 lbs empty carrying a queen size pull-out couch for a total of probably about 1050 lbs.
    Name:  IMG_9385.jpg
Views: 957
Size:  97.5 KB

    What was it like?
    Acceleration and Deceleration: It took a little longer to get up to speed and more effort to stop. I think it would be fair to say that driving on flat ground felt a little like driving a little bit uphill and braking felt like going on a slight downhill. But all in all, I had no trouble merging on the highway, even on a slight incline. It helped getting started from a standstill to be in put the gear selector in "B" mode to prevent the CVT from shifting into the upper range too early. This was especially the case when I tried starting on a steep uphill incline from a standstill. It shook and complained for the first couple of seconds and really needed the B mode to get moving but it was fine- albeit probably shortening the life of the transmission some.
    Handling: It felt pretty stable, even at highway speeds. I never exceeded 65 mph and tried to keep it to 60. The whole combination is a little bit rattly on bad pavement especially when empty.
    Fuel consumption: Normally I get something in the range of 5.7 l/100km (41mpg) but towing the trailer on a hilly highway, it was about about 8.8 l/100km (27 mpg)
    CVT Temperature. Many people say the world will end if you tow with a cvt mirage because their uncle said it's too flimsy etc. and they all seem to agree that the failure mode will be overheating. I monitored the temperature with the CVTz50 app to try to understand what happens a little more and to know to pull over and rest the transmission if it looked like it was getting too hot. The mirage's thermostat is set at 90C, meaning that when it only makes an effort to cool down when it exceeds this temperature. The car itself would also start flashing a warning at 137C, so I regarded that as an absolute upper limit you should not exceed, especially since other cars seem to display a warning at a lower temperature. I had planned to pull over and rest the car if it exceeded 120 but it never did. An hour into the two hour highway trip with hills and highways, I saw it mostly stay between 89C and 103C. There was a moment after a long climb when it hit 110, but then it quickly dropped back down to the typical range within a minute or so. For reference, the outside temperature was about 23C that day (73F). On the same drive without a trailer, the CVT temperature tends to stay between about 88 and 95C.
    Welcome!

    I won't cry if you tow. Seems like you did well.

    I'd like to try towing my side by side around with my Mirage sometime. But I don't have a small trailer. Or hitch. Or ambition.

    Is it safe to say you are from the Canada?
    Mirage videos:

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


  16. #39
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    From my few minutes in the Canada, it sort of looks like the Canada.

    tunagate111 - Your CVT and whole car could have exploded (and still could) at ANY second.

    Did you see this thread? https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...r-pickup-truck

    You and I produced very similar results on my latest post in there, towing my ATV.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


  17. #40
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    @Fummins Thanks! I'm from Canada but now live in Vermont. The upper picture in Portland OR and the second in Burlington VT.



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