GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So I am planning to buy a house and need to do some renos...It would be real nice to have a car/truck to carry some dry walls and 2x4, etc....My trusty 09 2.4L vibe is the only car I have and dont really want to get a truck.I was wondering if any one try pulling a small utility trailer such as this one: http://www.sportutilitytrailer...C.htmPlease comment! I have no experience pulling anything with a car~

I think you can tow up to 1500 lbs - in the specs?

Yes, I am aware of the 1500lb limit, but probably a good idea to stay under 1000lb IMO...I heard is pretty stressing to the car, what can I do to minimize this?

Transmission cooler might not be a bad idea.

In my signature you can see one trailer that I tow. I also tow a utility trailer with my motorcycle on it. My camper is 1,680 pounds actual scaled weight. My trailer and motorcycle is around 900 pounds.For the use that you mentioned an oil cooler probably is not needed. I have towed the pop up camper in my signature for about 2,000 miles so far. I was towing in March, in cooler weather. Before I tow in warmer weather I will install a tranny cooler. No problems, tows great.

i wouldnt recomend that folding trailer you have linked though. they seem not to be all that great quailty.i recently pulled a 2001 Indian motorcycle with my 2005 1.8L right down the Trans Canada highway (going 110KM/H) for a bout 50 km each way with no problems. Ive also hauled some brick and concrete slabs for our new deck with no issues.youll be fine just keep it shiny side up

Wow, I am presently surprise our vibe is good to towed even a tent trailer!What kind of latch (or whatever that thing is call that you need to install on the vibe to connect to the trailer) do you recommend? Total towing newbe here~

Hidden hitch makes a great towing thingy you can bolt right to the back of your frame and comes with a square draw bar where you attach a ball. (I attached one of these "Hidden Hitches to my Vibe) The hitch has a square receiver that accepts the square draw bar. There are several brands out there, like Curt, U-haul and more. Google is your friend, and you can find out what this stuff looks like how it is attached to the car and what it will do. The other thing you will need is a trailer wiring harness that you will have to connect to your rear lamp... so the trailer can have operating turn signals, break light and running lights. Any auto parts place will have the wiring harness (generic wiring harness will set you back about 28 bucks and will take about 10-15 minutes to install) Follow the instructions on the kit and you will be set to do some trailering.

Quote, originally posted by Vibe2009 »What kind of latch (or whatever that thing is call that you need to install on the vibe to connect to the trailer) do you recommend? You need a hitch receiver. I use the Curt 12228. Look here; http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-...e.htm You also need a wiring kit, you can get one that requires hacking into your harness or use a Vibe specific plug in type. http://www.etrailer.com/t1-2009_Pontiac_Vibe.htm You MUST use a relay type. The factory wiring is NOT heavy enough to supply the trailer. The relay types (either universal or Vibe specific) only use the factory harness for the signal. The power is supplied by a separate wire from the battery.

I installed a receiver hitch a couple of months ago. This is a link to a thread on the subject that you might find helpful.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=40779I have pulled a small utility trailer with the Vibe with no issues. Over the years I have also pulled some fairly large loads with some pretty small cars. The trick is to take it SLOW and realize that the car's performance in all respects is compromised.

Bolt on hitch is good, dont want any welding to my car....This one looks like a perfect fit: http://www.etrailer.com/Traile...97984In terms of wiring harness, I see that Toyota sells a kit for the matrix, anyone try it with the vibe yet? It would be nice to not have to cut any wires.

That would do the trick!

You don't have to cut any wires if you buy one of the wiring harnesses designed for the Vibe. The unfortunate thing though is you have to run a hot wire directly from the battery to the harness since there isn't enough electric power delivered to the tail lights to power the trailer lights on the Vibe. I've put trailer hitches and harnesses on my cars for years and the Vibe is the first one I have had to do this extra wiring on. When it comes down to it though, its not that hard to do, just a little work snaking the wire from the battery to the back of the car.

Editing my question about where I could find the Vibe specific wiring harness for trailer towing (got no answer)... with an observation about Vibe's trailer lighting ability. My son wired in a 4 pole harness into the left rear tail light. He tested it on a U-Haul trailer to bring gear home from school... and it worked well. The Vibe had no difficulty driving all the trailer lights... running lights, brake lights and signal lights. The lights on the trailer were standard incandescent bulbs, and not LEDs. No wire to the battery was used.

Quote, originally posted by Vibe2009 »So I am planning to buy a house and need to do some renos...It would be real nice to have a car/truck to carry some dry walls and 2x4, etc....My trusty 09 2.4L vibe is the only car I have and dont really want to get a truck.I was wondering if any one try pulling a small utility trailer such as this one: Please comment! I have no experience pulling anything with a car~Any luck and what did you decide on?

I ordered the wiring kit #118458 from etrailer.com, which promised plug and play operation, but the plugs were not compatable with my car's wiring (04 Vibe). Would the more expensive unit work better? I plan to visit my local Toyota dealer and ask their advice. I also ordered the Curt hitch, I think # 12234, and the bolts were too large, even with trying to clean the holes with WD-40. The Toyota man suggested slightly smaller bolts, which I will try to find on my next visit to the "city" (live in the wilds of WV). I hope to pull a 13' Burro camper which weighs about 1000 lbs.

Quote, originally posted by beemerphile1 »You need a hitch receiver. I use the Curt 12228. Look here; http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-...e.htm You also need a wiring kit, you can get one that requires hacking into your harness or use a Vibe specific plug in type. http://www.etrailer.com/t1-2009_Pontiac_Vibe.htm You MUST use a relay type. The factory wiring is NOT heavy enough to supply the trailer. The relay types (either universal or Vibe specific) only use the factory harness for the signal. The power is supplied by a separate wire from the battery.I have a 2010 & use the same combo as beemerphile. I tow a decent size jonboat & trailer, about #1100's & a homemade 4'x8' trailer with ease. I DO live in Florida, so few hills.NOTE !! I first tried to save a few $$ & hardwire in the lighting. It worked at first but I started having problems. I was told that on the newer cars, this may damage the onboard computer ! $$$$$ . I then went to the above mentioned " plug & play ", at about $50. Gosh, how much easier to hook up in those cramped rear taillight areas. A battery wire was needed, but it was a snap to run undeneath, you don't need the car on a lift, & hook up. Everything you need is included in the kit .Heavy wire-ties are included, too. . I twisted the wire around a few areas & made SURE it wasn't near exhaust, or an area where it would get rubbed.

I'm just back from a 3,300 km family camping trip with my Vibe hauling the 1,400 lb pop-up, in very hot weather (from Quebec City to Cape May, NJ, with a step in Lake George, NY). The Vibe hauls very well, you'll be able to haul a small trailer without any problems. I do have the 2.4L engine, but the 1.8 L should do the trick anyway. Temp gauge showed 38°C sometimes during the vacation (average being around 33°-34° C) and I have no tranny cooler installed. The Vibe is just a great little car.

wonder how much this weighs...would like to tow something similair if not that...mainly traffic safety supplies such as cones

I finally took the wiring kit to a place that installs hitches, and paid them to install it. It was so easy, just plugs directly into the tail lights, and took about a minute. The instructions were very confusing, and impossible for 3 fairly intelligent people to figure out, and I had read in one of these forums that a vibe owner had to remove the entire side panel. I did this, and it made it easier to get to, but was not necessary. Some posts said that a more expensive harness that also plugs into the battery is needed for the Vibe, and others said that one like I got works just fine. Time will tell....

along these lines, do you that pull trailers with your Vibes use electric brakes? Is it hard to install whatever is needed? I am thinking of getting a lightweight trailer...

The tent trailer that I have has no brakes. My old 05 Sunfire had no problem towing or stopping with it. We'll see how the Vibe does when I take it out!

Quote, originally posted by treilly123 »along these lines, do you that pull trailers with your Vibes use electric brakes? Is it hard to install whatever is needed? I am thinking of getting a lightweight trailer...Yes, my Aliner has brakes and I wired a brake controller. I gave more detail in this thread; http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=40742

Trailer brakes are always a good idea, but if you are only pulling a small utility trailer with little weight (less than 1000 pounds total), I have never felt the need to add the brakes. As usual with a trailer, keep the speed down.