'09 Vibe; The Incredible Towing Machine!

[beemerphile1]

Hello all, I just got back from a ten day vacation with my Vibe, and wife.I was very impressed with the performance of my base Vibe pulling a 2,000+/-pound Aliner folding camping trailer. 1.8L engine and 4 speed automatic.We traveled 1,927.8 miles and over 95% of that was towing.Total fuel cost; $246.60Total fuel used; 92 gallonsAverage fuel consumption; 21 MPG.If I towed my big trailer with my full size van it would have used $645.83 worth of gasoline for the same trip!I found 70 MPH to be the best speed for the power-band of the car. At that speed in 4th gear the RPM were around 3,000. An automatic downshift to 3rd on a hill would increase the RPM to 4,200 which is a sweet spot for engine torque. Towing at 65 MPH wasn't bad but the lower RPM and power was noticeable. Towing at 55 to 60 MPH really didn't work well because the RPM in fourth was too low, on a few occasions it shifted all the way down to second gear when using cruise control. In those lower speed limit areas I needed to take a more involved approach to driving by leaving the cruise off and manually shifting.We went through the Appalachian mountains twice on I77 and all in all the experience towing with the Vibe was quite pleasant. I am very impressed with the car's performance on this first trip!

[truepath]

That is impressive performance. What trailer hitch are you using? I just installed a Curt hitch yesterday to tow my motorcycle hauling trailer which weighs about 700 pounds.

[beemerphile1]

Quote, originally posted by truepath »That is impressive performance. What trailer hitch are you using? I just installed a Curt hitch yesterday to tow my motorcycle hauling trailer which weighs about 700 pounds.I have a Curt 12228 rated for;250 pounds tongue weight2,500 pounds trailer weight

[ned23]

I just got back from a similar trip from Ohio to Virginia. We pulled a 1060 lb. teardop + about 600 lbs of gear + people. I have the 2.4L / 5-spd Auto. In 4th gear @ 60mph we also managed about 21 mpg. The 2.4 barely blinked at the load. I could accelerate uphill in the mountains on I-77 with the traiiler in tow.

[808 Vibes]

Cool Nicely color-coordinated, all!

[treilly123]

Hi Tim,This is an old thread so I hope you see this. I am looking at an Aliner Sport Weekender right now to pull with my '07 Vibe (5-speed manual, 1.8L). How has it gone for you? What is involved in using the trailer's electric brakes? Was a hitch shop able to fix everything up for you to tow? Any extra stuff needed?Thanks, from a towing newbie!Theresa

[beemerphile1]

I didn't go to a hitch shop, I did everything myself.I wired for trailer brakes using a Drawtite brake controller that I already had. I had a difficult time deciding where to mount the brake controller because of the crowded cockpit area. I ended up mounting the controller on the side of the console just ahead of the driver's seat. I can't see the readout easily but the manual control is within easy reach and the controller is otherwise out of the way. It is a simple timer based controller but works fine with the small brakes on the Aliner.When doing the wiring for the trailer lights and brakes I also ran an 8 gauge charge line to maintain the trailer battery. The trailer lighting circuit and charge line are controlled by a 30 amp automatic resetting circuit breaker and 30 amp relay to prevent accidental discharge of the Vibe's battery while running the refrigerator on 12 volt.I discovered that my trailer has a tongue weight of 280 pounds so I have to be conscious of how I load the trailer to keep the tongue weight below the 250 pound limit of the hitch. My Aliner Sport is not the Weekender model. By looking at the floor plan I think the Weekender will have less tongue weight.My combination tows great as I said in the earlier post. I think the earlier 1.8L has a bit less power than the second generation but someone else may have more knowledge on that.

[minet]

beemerphile1

can you tell me about wiring for your brake controller?

[beemerphile1]

beemerphile1

can you tell me about wiring for your brake controller?

What would you like to know?

[minet]

how did you wire it?
did you have to run a lead to the back from the controller?

i have put in many controllers in trucks ,, but there is alwasy a harness under dash to work with..

how tricky was the install?
thanks

[thebarber]

Pretty sure mine just taps into the brake and reverse lights...had mine installed at uhaul

[beemerphile1]

how did you wire it?
did you have to run a lead to the back from the controller...how tricky was the install?

It wasn't complicated but you have nothing to work with from the factory.

*You need an adequate power supply. I tapped into the fuse box under the hood. Use an auto reset circuit breaker at the power source.
*You need to tap the brake light wire for a signal. Do that just above the brake pedal. You want the wire that is hot only when the pedal is depressed. Use an Ancor type self-stripping quick connector rather than cutting the wire.
*You need a ground connection. Under the dash near the brake controller is easiest.
*You then need to run the brake supply wire from the controller to the trailer connector. You need a heavy gauge (12g minimum) for the wire from controller to connector.
*You should use a seven pin Bargman type trailer connector.

If you read the instructions with the controller it should be relatively easy.

Since you are doing all that I would also suggest running a power/charge line back to the trailer connector. That way you will also be charging the trailer battery while driving. Use 10 gauge wire at a minimum to reduce voltage drop.

I always use an auto reset circuit breaker to protect the controller power supply. The trailer charge line can use a fuse if you wish.