GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello all. In light of $3 a gallon gas and the prospects for $4 a gallon gas I am now considering taking my '03 Vibe on this summer's family trip instead of our gas guzzling '02 V8 Dodge Dakota. The only problem is that the Vibe can't fit 2 dogs, a child in a car seat, a wife and all of our luggage. I have seen some cool looking fiberglass type trailers but I have been able to locate much information on smaller trailers. If anybody has any suggestions, websites, brand names or personal experience with some smaller trailers please let me know. I did a search on trailers on GenVibe but most of the results had to do with towing capacity, wiring and hitches. Thanks for helping.

By the time you load the Vibe down with all that you might be better off with your Dakota

How long is the planned trip in days and miles? And do you have other uses for a trailer afterwards? If it's mainly for the one trip then renting may make sense - and would give you a better idea of trailer pros/cons if you later decide to buy one. U-Haul has one model that's pretty low-profile and aerodynamic.Another option would be to put the luggage up on the roof rack. We carried a full-size couch up there on a trip across much of the country without any problems (gas mileage did suffer but was still in the low 30s), so a pretty decent amount of luggage up there should work ok. That would also avoid the usual issues with towing a trailer when looking for parking places, backing up in congested areas, etc.

We will probably do about 3000 miles during this summer trip. Most of our trips are road trips so having this trailer for the long term wouldn't be a bad idea. We go up to the mountains quite a bit on the weekend so we could also use it for that. I plan on having our two bikes on the roof so I probably won't have room for the cargo box on top. I'm surprised that more people don't use trailers with economy cars these days.

If it were me, I'd put the two bikes on a rack behind the Vibe (hatch or hitch mount) and free up the roof rack for the other luggage. But that's partly because I really don't like to worry about the limitations you have when towing a trailer (hard to find city street parking, hard to back up, many restaurant lots don't have appropriate space, etc.). I also find the lower bike racks to be more convenient than the rooftop ones.If the trailer is only going to be used for vacation trip luggage carrying, then a design like the U-Haul Sport Trailer would seem good: aerodynamic, locked storage space, fully water/windproof. But for more general uses a small open utility trailer seems more versatile.

I currently have a hitch mount bike rack so I might just end up using the roof option for luggage. I've got to figure out the biggest box I can get on top of the Vibe. I know it only holds 75 pounds but I'm more concerned about the length and getting the hatch open.

I favor the trailer since the center of gravity is changed on the roof top racks and it is my opinion they are not safe. The small ( Bike like) trailer like the U-hale one cost around $1500.00 and up. I checked them out last year when I took the vibe on the family summer trip for the first time. I managed to fit everything in the cabin with a few compromises with the wife LOL, so I did not buy a trailer. I am now looking at a small 4x4 utility trailer on e-bay.

If you get the trailer on eBay let me know. I'd like to know what you went with.