Im lowered on TRD springs but they are fine with the rubber spacers for the springs that i have mentioned above!

 

The first trailer I towed was a heavy ___ uhaul rental. It was an open 5x8 trailer. With my go-kart (250) pounds and kart stand (75 pounds) the total weight was probably about 1300. The xb did it but it was definitely heavy and when the wind blew it could get a little scary.

I would not recommend towing more than 1000 pounds regularly just from my personal experience. The new trailer i bought it like 250 pounds and totals around 500 when its loaded. I barely even feel it, and I'm sure theres no way it's hurting anything.

 

i tow this trailer:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...&Special=false

with my 2004 Honda VFR loaded in it all the time. no issues whatsoever.

i don't plan on ever towing anything heavier, but when i get around to doing some suspension work, i plan on installing a set of these:

http://www.autoanything.com/suspensi...0A2635079.aspx

i had a set on my 04 GTO that i used to help it hook up at the drag strip, but they're true intention is to help when towing heavier loads. they work great because you can deflate them when not needed and not have your ride quality suffer.

Mike

PS - mine's a manual

 

If anyone is interested, I have this hitch with lock and trailer light adapter plug for sale in Richmond, va. obo 75 bucks. Never towed anything, just carried around a few thousand miles, never installed light adapter.

 

i run a dj company and tow my dj equipment with my auto 08 xb, with no problems. i try to keep the load light though, and am thinking about installing a tranny cooler for piece of mind.

my equipment with trailer prob weighs around 1000 lbs. i have a "yuppie wagon" for a trailer. a very light weight enclosed trailer. I have towed my equipment for 4 hours one way without any problems. just kept the speed around 65.

just use common sense towing, knowing that your XB does not have ***** to tow anything real heavy.

 

Please be cautious with your hitch tongue weight/towing capacities! Just because a hitch has class related ratings does NOT mean your vehicle is capable to max the hitches rating. I have towed with many vehicles over the years, I don't claim to be an expert speaking either. Consider the advice from your owners manual (not a qoute, just from memory) your vehicle is not recommended for towing OR bicycle carriers. If I shouldn't put my bike rack on it, should I load to tongue weight or towing capacity? I don't think so. I carry my bikes and tow my trailer, and feel for the vehicles "attitude" while doing same. Aside from the braking issues tranny/motor stress is important too. I typically never tow a heavier load in the overdrive or top gear of my vehicles. Using the platform/wheelchair as an example I would never do that, but to tow that weight would be fine.

 

jobdesigns, Toyota does not rate any of their cars for towing in the US. The reason is that Americans are lawsuit-happy. They don't want anything falling off the back of a car (bike rack, trailer, etc.) that could cause damage or injury that they might be liable for. If you look at the same cars in other countries, they are rated to tow. For instance, the xD manual says the same thing about not towing anything... but in England, they rate it to tow 1,900 pounds. Frivolous lawsuits basically don't happen in the UK.

In Europe, they'd be hard pressed to sell a small car that isn't rated to tow. When I was in the Czech Republic a few months ago, I counted the trailer hitches and one out of every four cars on average had a trailer hitch. Their hitches are for trailers only, not bike racks. I saw many people towing small trailers with subcompact cars... including ones with 1.1 to 1.4 liter engines (less than 100hp).

In the US, people think they need a truck to tow a 1,000 pound trailer... and the car companies don't want them to know otherwise! I tow all the time with my xD. The heaviest load I had was about 1,600 pounds. That was an enclosed 4x8 Uhaul trailer filled with furniture and books. It towed this load with no problems. Braking wasn't an issue. I had to downshift to 4th a few times on long uphill grades... but that was in the hills in PA.

It is perfectly legal to tow, so long as you have the right equipment and watch your state's laws regarding brakes. In Maryland, a trailer doesn't need brakes unless it is over 3,000 pounds (which is more than I'd tow with my xD, anyway). It is also perfectly safe to tow up to the hitch's rating. Just keep in mind the leverage that a cargo rack or bike rack puts on the hitch. If your tongue rating is 300 pounds, you can have a trailer with a 250 pound tongue rating and you're okay... however, if you have a scooter rack that weighs 50 pounds and a 200 pound scooter, you may be over the limit because of the amount of leverage with the scooter a foot or more behind the receiver.

I don't know for sure about the xB, but if you have open springs on the back, you can install AirLift1000 bags in them. I used them on my VW Golf for towing and they were awesome. You inflate them when you need them and deflate them when you don't. In my opinion, they work a lot better than those rubber spring helpers. They're only about $75 for a set. I haven't installed them on the xD because the TRD springs don't compress much.

 

Jesse, I agree with much of what you say. I have towed large boats with a small pickup truck. What I did was put the vehicle in 4 wheel low and not lock the front hubs to get a lower gear ratio. I tend towards a cautious attitude when dealing with a vehicle i'm making payments on.(with no backup!) I don't completely agree with your assessment based on the hitch rating. Just because a hitch can support a load does not mean the vehicle structurally can. I'm reminded of the time my brother pulled a motor out of his car with a perfectly rated winch. Unfortunately, the hook wasn't rated so well...poor BMW. I don't post this to dispute you, just to point out my conservative assessment. BTW. Congrats on the Just Married! Best of luck to you and yours!

 

I just tried to install my curtis hitch on my 010 xb... very disappointed. It's too close to the bumper skirt and pushes up against it just a bit. i don't want the hitch rubbing the bumper and rubbing off paint. i went and bought some washers to use as spacers to drop it down a bit, but the bolts are too short that came with it.

i'll be calling them in the morning to see if they'll send me longer bolts. very disappointed. if it was about 1/4" lower, it would be perfect.

 

Thanks, and just found out I'm gonna be a dad in 6.5 months!

Oh, and I understand what you are saying about the ratings... but like I said, Toyota does rate these cars for towing... just not in the U.S. of A.

As far as hitches go, I've always been a fan of Curt brand. The best thing to do is download the installation instructions for all the hitches available for your car/truck and see how they bolt up. You might see one brand that uses 3/8" bolts that are torqued to 75 foot pounds and another brand that uses 1/2" bolts that are torqued to 130 foot pounds. One brand might use four bolts, while the other uses six. It's pretty easy to tell which ones are better designed.

The last thing most people have to worry about is their engine. With an automatic trans, it is best to install a trans cooler. They are cheap and pretty easy to install. Of course, keep up with oil and trans fluid changes... and use good quality stuff (as you should, anyway). I use all synthetic fluids and have oil analysis done at certain intervals.

 

How did the XB do pulling your sailboat out of the water? I have a pair of skis and just scooped up a trailer package, but I am unsure on this bad boy pulling them out of the water. Though they arent much more than 4 grown guys going up the ramp on the box weight wise.

 

It actually does very well. If its an auto be careful with how much it downshifts. Other than that have some fun!!!