I just received an e-mail from www.hitch-web.com that they now have a professionally manufactured hitch available for the xB. It is made by Curt manufacturing and costs $222 including shipping. It also has a limited lifetime warranty.

coool

http://www.hitch-web.com/vhitch.asp?CLID=1&DRID=5&MD=xB&C=&MK=Scion&Y=2004&MDID=1374&YID=86&CID=3&MKID=65&OID=8&SMID=1&BBID=236&BPID=6&VID=28036#CURT%20MFG.

http://www.hitch-web.com/hwimage.asp?tgs=3azyitz5626oqankw%2Fjz51%3B%3E%3B%2Enoj

i put this in the xB section.

What in the hell can you tow with an xB? I know I have trouble accelerating when I have more than two people in the car.

What in the hell can you tow with an xB? I know I have trouble accelerating when I have more than two people in the car.

I wouldn't try towing any thing more than a bike rack with a couple of bikes on a hitch.

I would never tow more than 300lbs in a xB. The manual says no towing.

That's kinda funny... the manual says not to tow, yet some company made a hitch for it. You know someone out there is going to find this product and try to tow something other than bicycles with it. I made a device that holds my bike on the inside (with one seat down). I would never keep my bike on the outside (I paid too much for it!).

Great, now that I have my center exit, I can't install a hitch!

What in the hell can you tow with an xB? I know I have trouble accelerating when I have more than two people in the car.

i 2nd that

esp going up hills

I saw a Box in SF yesterday with a hitch on it. Looked perfectly normal. I couldn't get to them to ask about it, tho.

I think it would pull a Jetski or Dirtbike, as long as people are careful. The payload capacity is 980 lbs. Just don't fill the cab and the trailer too...

What in the hell can you tow with an xB? I know I have trouble accelerating when I have more than two people in the car.

*sigh* not the same debate again.
:?
The Scion xA and xB are built from the exact same drive train as the Toyota Echo.
The Toyota Echo is rated at towing 700 kg ( 1543.5 lbs ) or the equivalent
of a motorcycle trailer, jet ski, or very small pop-up camper.

The only reason why they don't advertise the towing capacity here in the US
is because Americans have a very bad habit of overdoing everything and suing
everybody when they don’t get their way. The last thing they need is some moron
to overload his xB by trying to pull a 28’ boat and burning up his car, then suing
Toyota (and winning) because he found some legal loophole.

People in the UK have been driving and towing stuff
with small cars for many years.

So... yes, you can tow with a Scion.
:D

Sources for towing capacity:
http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.new_specs?vehicle_code=20021029.09:05:23&sort_type=&current_rec=6&make_name=TOYOTA&model_name=ECHO

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/cars/new/ID_TOYECHSP3R15CN6/ists_click/src_news/vehicle.html

http://www.racq.com.au/03_car/reviews_new/toyota_echo3door_00.htm

"the hitch says 2k pounds! I tried it and my tranny makes funny smells now" :)

I'd not have a problem using it for bikes or a box, or even a small traler to get 1-2 pieces of plywood.

it seems cool if u wanna tow a sea-doo or the like.

If I used my xB for its towing capacity, I'd have to say to myself, "If I can afford (insert something that needs to be towed), I can afford a vehicle built for towing." I wouldn't tow anything that needed to be towed with an xB, an xA, or an Echo. I wouldn't feel comfortable towing with a vehicle that barely handles human cargo. I owned a Ford Ranger before I bought an xB, and it was a 3.0 liter with an automatic (which did turn out to be one of the crappiest transmissions of its time, mechanics told me how many they'd worked on), and it was used to tow a jet ski for a short period. I had to rebuild that transmission twice (in less than 8 years, 90,000 miles total). I also drove a Chrysler minivan for a period of time, and I wouldn't tow with that either. I know I may have had bad experiences/vehicles, but I do not believe the engineers that built a 1.5 liter, 4 cylinder, front wheel drive vehicle ever thought about it towing anything.

Somebody should build a custom cargo trailer that mimicks the rear half of an xB

:P

http://johndupre.net/xBtrailer.jpg

That looks like a very good design. Perfect for a bike rack. Note that this is a very low hitch so you need to be careful of dips and curbs. More detail:
http://www.hitch-web.com/hwpdf.asp?tgs=3azyitz5626jscz5gt8788%3E4tdm

That looks like a very good design. Perfect for a bike rack. Note that this is a very low hitch so you need to be careful of dips and curbs. More detail:
http://www.hitch-web.com/hwpdf.asp?tgs=3azyitz5626jscz5gt8788%3E4tdm

If you read their literature it has a big warning "Do Not Exceed Vehicle Manufacturer's Recommended Towing Limit"
The recommended towing limit for the xB is 0. :?

Sounds like a cover your butt legal thing that comes with the towing bar.

So if you leave your trans on the ground towing something forget suing them or Toyota. Use at your own risk.

If you read their literature it has a big warning "Do Not Exceed Vehicle Manufacturer's Recommended Towing Limit"
The recommended towing limit for the xB is 0. :?



:lol:

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
If my old metro could pull a jet ski all over texas (some trips over 8 hours), put the ski in the water, pull it out of the water, and never have a single problem, then the xB can.

You should have no issues pulling a jet ski, one street bike (maybe two dirt bikes) or a small pop-up camper (which I'm actually planning on).

Just remember, you have to include the weight of the trailer in with the towing. So if you have a 490lbs street bike and a 350lbs trailer then you are pulling 840lbs.

Also, if you have an auto, you might want to look into a tranny cooler.

Ya know, looking at the pic, no one asked, where does it exit?

That would be my biggest issue, which shop would you trust to cut your body panels? Also, what are you going to use to cap the hole when hitch isn't in the reciever?

Might be time to look at a plate relocation. Smooth out the hatch, locate the plate in the bumper, hinge the plate. :)

From the looks of the picture and the installation instructions that I received from them it exits under the back panel.

Mark44

From the looks of the picture and the installation instructions that I received from them it exits under the back panel.

Mark44

That would make it pretty low to the ground. The reciever is going to be, probably, around 2 inches tall. It'll be sitting almost on the ground.

I have a custom-made hitch that is in similar location.
On extreme dips I can scrape it if I do not slow down.
Also, if I back into a parking space with stop curbs it
will not clear. It is something to be aware of but not
a significant problem at all. The lousy turning radius
of the xB is a greater annoyance. Mine has a skid plate
so it just glides if that happens. I would recommend
you add somethiing similar if you get this hitch.

It should only be used for light duty. There is nothing
wrong with light trailering and bike racks. As rallyxb
said, this is same as an Echo. Because of the necessity
of cutting the plastic bumper or mounting in unusually
low position, of course they are going to say you can't
tow with the xB. It is assumed we are all above average
to have chosen the xB so we should also be able to figure
out what works. Light towing works. Pulling your household
goods through the Rockies won't.

Do a search on "hitch" here, it has all been hashed out.
If you want to see the approximate positioning of this
hitch look at my pictures (http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23923&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=25) (of a different hitch).

I checked the rear bumper ground clearance today, it's about 9 inches so the hitch should be fine.
Yet another reason to buy xB?

If I used my xB for its towing capacity, I'd have to say to myself, "If I can afford (insert something that needs to be towed), I can afford a vehicle built for towing." I wouldn't tow anything that needed to be towed with an xB, an xA, or an Echo. I wouldn't feel comfortable towing with a vehicle that barely handles human cargo.

i just got a free dirt bike and on a limited budget, getting a hitch/receiver for the xB would seem to be very cost effective to haul it with. I don't have money to buy a truck or another car to tow my dirt bike. I believe if i'm the only passenger and i'm towing 500 pounds, it should be fine. Keep distance and drive smoothly.

Another advantage to a trailer hitch is people will park as close to you. That is an old trick I learned a long time ago by a car guy.

Another advantage to a trailer hitch is people will park as close to you. That is an old trick I learned a long time ago by a car guy.

Do you mean people will "not" park as close to you?

I keep my hitch on all the time for that same reason. In fact I have a custom made hitch insert that is tall and padded to keep the parking lot idiots from smacking into the rear bumper. Especially the ignorant truck and SUV jerks who try to over-ride the rear bumper.
:evil:

This helps a ton, I've been considering ditching my crap milage S-10 and moving to a box as well as keeping the xA. I've got a Polaris predator 500 quad. It weighs about 425 with all the fluids. Plus a trailer, about 150lbs, plus gear and gas total weight would end up being around 700lbs plus me 260lbs. You think a B could tow all that crap 325 miles (5% grade uphill) and not blow up or should I thyink about getting a turbo at the same time. Most of the time I'd only be towing the quad like 10 miles each way. but if I needed to take a dune trip I might be screwed. any ideas if it has been done.

This helps a ton, I've been considering ditching my crap milage S-10 and moving to a box as well as keeping the xA. I've got a Polaris predator 500 quad. It weighs about 425 with all the fluids. Plus a trailer, about 150lbs, plus gear and gas total weight would end up being around 700lbs plus me 260lbs. You think a B could tow all that crap 325 miles (5% grade uphill) and not blow up or should I thyink about getting a turbo at the same time. Most of the time I'd only be towing the quad like 10 miles each way. but if I needed to take a dune trip I might be screwed. any ideas if it has been done.

You should have no trouble towing your Quad so long as you calculate the total combined weights (which you did). Also keep in mind that the car will be much slower to respond so don't beat the heck out of it expecting normal performance. Yes your gas millage will suffer and the car will be slower (like any tow vehicle) but, if a guy in a 3 cyl Geo Metro can tow a jet ski, then an xB can tow a Quad. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

Ok so i received this hitch from hitch source for 155 shipped.

Now i just got done installing it. It took me about 45 minutes. I had to take out the stock exhaust tip (had to use a hammer and flathead) to be able to install the hitch. Used a zip tie for the passenger side fascia clip and that was that.

The hitch hangs real low. i have 5 inches of ground clearance. But good buy. Next is the wiring.

Ok so i received this hitch from hitch source for 155 shipped.

Now i just got done installing it. It took me about 45 minutes. I had to take out the stock exhaust tip (had to use a hammer and flathead) to be able to install the hitch. Used a zip tie for the passenger side fascia clip and that was that.

The hitch hangs real low. i have 5 inches of ground clearance. But good buy. Next is the wiring.

It's a shame that it hangs low, but good job on the install!
With my home built one I had to cut a hole in the rear ground effects
for the hitch to pass through. But hey... it still works!
8)

bah... if people in the 60's hauled around things with their little beetles with barely 50 horsepower... come on. :)

Here's a pic of it installed.

http://www.scionlife.com/gallery/data/500/hitch1.jpg

Is there anyway you can post a pic. of the underside of you xB with the hitch installed? I have non-stock exhaust, and want to see if it will clear or not.

Thanks
MattB

The hitch installs right above the exhaust outlet pipe. From what pictures i've seen of the underside of some xb's with aftermarket exhausts, it will clear it . I'll take a picture of the underside for you to see.

The most you can probably tow would be some bikes or a jet ski...I wouldn't expect anything else to be pulled with the xB. Also, for parking you can always add the clear bumper coating, or put parking sensors in the bumpers.

This helps a ton, I've been considering ditching my crap milage S-10 and moving to a box as well as keeping the xA. I've got a Polaris predator 500 quad. It weighs about 425 with all the fluids. Plus a trailer, about 150lbs, plus gear and gas total weight would end up being around 700lbs plus me 260lbs. You think a B could tow all that crap 325 miles (5% grade uphill) and not blow up or should I thyink about getting a turbo at the same time. Most of the time I'd only be towing the quad like 10 miles each way. but if I needed to take a dune trip I might be screwed. any ideas if it has been done.

I think your S-10 would be much better suited for towing your quad than an xB would. Keep it around for towing on the weekends. That's what I do with my truck.

Somebody on here had planned on producing a hidden hitch for an xB. I've searched for it but haven't located it yet.

BTW, Here's an interesting link to see what can be pulled by SMALL vehicles:

http://www.quicksilvertrailers.com/

i dont get why youd want a hitch with an xB

Why not? I enjoy camping and wish to pull a small trailer with me. Did uou look at the link I posted? They tow them with motorcycles. Are you saying the Scion is not up to the task? I already know about the warranty issues.

i dont get why youd want a hitch with an xB

Somebody on here had planned on producing a hidden hitch for an xB. I've searched for it but haven't located it yet.

BTW, Here's an interesting link to see what can be pulled by SMALL vehicles:

http://www.quicksilvertrailers.com/

those are sick but ugly , that and the lead to the trailor is soo far. it extends the trailor length by like two or three feet unneccessarily

From the ScionLife web-site: "...the xB was first introduced to America... sharing a 108hp 1.5L VVT-i engine (1NZ-FE) with the Scion xA and Toyota Echo..."

According to the "Toyota Australia" website, our cousin the Toyota Echo with the same (1NZ-FE) engine is rated at:

Towing capacity - with trailer brakes 700kg
Without trailer brakes 350kg

That's about 1540 lbs.

Source:
http://echo.toyota.com.au/TWR/vehicle/specifications/select/0,4220,982_42_175,00.html
http://echo.toyota.com.au

8)

That's kinda funny... the manual says not to tow, yet some company made a hitch for it. You know someone out there is going to find this product and try to tow something other than bicycles with it. I made a device that holds my bike on the inside (with one seat down). I would never keep my bike on the outside (I paid too much for it!).

:rofl: :rofl: pretty much for "OFF ROAD USE ONLY" :rofl: :rofl:

I have been following this thread closly because I am considering the purchase of an '06 xB.

My trade in, or possible direct sale, is a 2003 MINI Cooper with a trailer hitch that I use to tow a Teardrop trailer that weighs 650# dry and about 750# when loaded to travel. I plan on towing this same trailer with my xB if I go through with the buy.

ALL of the arguments that I have read here were included in a thread(s) on the MINI Forums. You could do a cut and past between this Forum and the MINIs and not loose any continuity of thought. There is the "the manual says" school and then there are those of use that want to tow our toys responsibly. The manual protects Scion/Toyota (or MINI/BMW) as the case may be; it also protects that portion of the buying public that has no common sense concerning towing.

Thanks to all who have posted before me for the great information and I also thank those of the "manual" school for their concern (misplace in my opinion but I still thank them).

TOWING INFO UPDATE:
:!:
All the people who say the xB is "not recommended for towing" blah, blah, blah... please go away. Everyone else who can actually "think outside the box" and wants to expand the functionality of our cars, read on...

DISCLAIMER:
Yes we all know that Toyota states that the xB is not recommended for towing and you can void your warrantee. So... tow at your own risk.

The fact is that the xA, xB and Toyota Echo all use the exact same engine.
The Toyota Echo (at Toyota Australia) is rated to tow 700 kilograms (about 1543 lbs)

However in my previous post, I forgot to take into account the weight differences of the vehicles:
:idea:
WEIGHTS:
Toyota echo, 4 door automatic (Australia)
Curb Weight: 985 kg (2,171 lbs)

Scion xB, automatic
Curb weight: 1112 kg (2450 lbs)
Towing Capacity: ???

Vehicle weight difference: 127 kg (279 lbs)

That only leaves the xB with a theoretical maximum towing capacity of 573 kg (1264 lbs) and I'm guessing the hitch weight is the same at about 100 lbs.

So I guess if you stuck to 1000 lbs max towing limit (minus a full car load of people) the xB should be able to safely tow without damaging itself. That's about as much as a small: motorcycle, jet ski, ultra light pop-up camper, or small tear drop trailer. Also, be sure to take in to account not only the weight of the object, but the trailer as well. This still leaves the issue of a how to hook up trailer lights, but I think someone makes a towing wiring harness for the Echo somewhere.

As for me, I'll just continue to use my trailer hitch for my bike rack.

8)

I'm interested in building a small teardop trailer to tow behind my xB. Could I get the dimensions etc of yours? I'd like to build mine to weigh about that much. Any other information, pictures, construction materials etc. would be most helpful.

I have been following this thread closly because I am considering the purchase of an '06 xB.

My trade in, or possible direct sale, is a 2003 MINI Cooper with a trailer hitch that I use to tow a Teardrop trailer that weighs 650# dry and about 750# when loaded to travel. I plan on towing this same trailer with my xB if I go through with the buy.

ALL of the arguments that I have read here were included in a thread(s) on the MINI Forums. You could do a cut and past between this Forum and the MINIs and not loose any continuity of thought. There is the "the manual says" school and then there are those of use that want to tow our toys responsibly. The manual protects Scion/Toyota (or MINI/BMW) as the case may be; it also protects that portion of the buying public that has no common sense concerning towing.

Thanks to all who have posted before me for the great information and I also thank those of the "manual" school for their concern (misplace in my opinion but I still thank them).

I'd like to revisit this topic in a year and get feedback from people who have towed different items with an xB.
That might help decide the question.

This question keeps popping up. I pull a small sailboat with my xb using the xB. The boat weighs less than 300 lbs, with the trailer about 200 lbs. My 5 speed pulls this load with no problems. In fact, you can hardly tell it's back there. The curt hitch is one of the best engineered units I have ever seen(no, I don't work for them). If they want to sponsor me.... I will post some pictures, as I am travelling about 40 miles to race this weekend.

I'm interested in building a small teardop trailer to tow behind my xB. Could I get the dimensions etc of yours? I'd like to build mine to weigh about that much. Any other information, pictures, construction materials etc. would be most helpful.

Thishttp://www.mikenchell.com/forums/ will take you to a Teardrop Forum that has a section on building, design, gallery pictures etc. I had mine built but most of the Forum members are builders - you can get more information than I could ever tell you from the site. Mine is traditional 4x4x8' but witout a galley (reduced the weight) because of what I wanted and how I use it. Search on edlfrey to see my posts and a pic of the trailer as an Avatar.

Here are some pics and underside pics of my hitch set up ... I'm the one in SF with the Curtis Hitch ..

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/Trikkonceptz/Misc%20Parts/P1010034.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/Trikkonceptz/Misc%20Parts/P1010032.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/Trikkonceptz/Misc%20Parts/P1010031.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/Trikkonceptz/Misc%20Parts/P1010030.jpg

I have since lowered the truck on the Tein springs and still no problems ... PM me for details. BTW the limit for my box was towing my 1959 Impala, it pulled it fine, stopping it was a task, it wasn't the brakes either it is the fact that the Impala weighs 6000 pounds. No trailer, just straight bumper bar to hitch.

What in the hell can you tow with an xB? I know I have trouble accelerating when I have more than two people in the car.


put them in the towed trailer, then?

http://img289.echo.cx/img289/8269/radioflyer8dz.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)


:rofl:


joke aside, this is a great thread! I'm reading and learning. thanks to the doers out there

I'd like to revisit this topic in a year and get feedback from people who have towed different items with an xB.
That might help decide the question.

I have been successfully towing my 2003 YZ125 plus gear 700 miles a month for a year now. :clap: The only thing I've hurt is myself on the motocross bike. I bought my xB on May 7th of last year. I built the hitch and installed it about two weeks after that and have been towing regularly ever since. I still get 32 mpg pulling my bike and gear. It's great!

I have a customer who wants this hitch. He wants to mount a rear mounted bike rack. I am wondering who has this reciever and what you have to say about the install and quality.

thanks.

I had this hitch on my box just for a bike rack. Install was good, had to pry on one side cause the holes where about a 1/4 inch from matching up. For using the rack it was pretty good, i found that when i went into a steep driveway straight on the end of the rack would drag, so i had to go on a little angle. Not sure if it was my rack being long ( it was a saris four bike one) or it the box was to low. After i lowered the box there was no way i could use it anymore.
So i would say use it if you are going to keep the ride height stock, if you want to lower it go with a roof rack.

I installed the Curt hitch over a year ago. I use it to tow a Hobie Cat (250lbs) and can't really tell it's back there. I also use it for a bike rack. Had no fit problems with my custom exhaust. Remember that the receiver is 1.25", so a heavier teardrop may need a 2" receiver.

The ongoing hitch discussion:

Check some of these out.

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48530&highlight=
http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=67741&highlight=
http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=55862&highlight=
http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23923&highlight=
http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=69284&highlight=

I've been towing my quad with the curt hitch/HF trailer combo for a couple of years.

A custom exhaust can get in the way on installation and we had to lengthen the holes on the hitch as well.

I had a tall ball hitch custom made to compensate for the low attachment and TRD springs.

It works great!!