It was 40F today, I decided to take my trailer out for its maiden voyage. I drove a total of 80 miles on the trailer, mainly on the highway at 65-70mph. Let me just say the car performed PERFECT, all the worries I had was premature. The car had plenty of power to tow, it had no abnormal noise under accel or decel. All the problems I had was mostly with the Harbor Freight trailer rather than the car. I now feel a lot better about using the trailer more. I did discover a few things that you guys probably should know about.
#1 The rear view and side mirror are basically useless. I just hope you don't have to drive it in traffic as the a$$ on the Z is too big and you can't see the end of the trailer with the side mirrors. There is nothing you can do to fix it short of getting a different car......
#2 Gas mileage remain pretty much the same, maybe 1mpg drop at the most.
#3 Backing up that short trailer is a complete nightmare. I had better luck lifting the trailer and turning it myself than to use the car. For one you can't see out the back. Two short trailer is just annoying. I am going to have to get a winch to carry the trailer back up my driveway and into my garage.
#4 If you use a conventional hitch adapter, the ball will probably sit a little bit lower than the trailer. You might need to get a straight hitch adapter or get some spacers for the ball in order to bring the trailer higher.
#5 60-70mph is no problem at all, no odd noises or wind buffering like you get with the bike carriers.
Shot at 2012-02-04
Shot at 2012-02-04