Hitch, Trailer, and Towing Discussion

AA wrote:

That's pretty dumb, imo. I'd send it back. My Hidden Hitch does not require any bumper trimming. No clearance problems with the draw bar or the hitch. I've been pulling with no trouble for a couple weeks now.

Thanks "AA" ,

It's not really something I can return. (Ebay, again!!)

I'll figure something out. I'll try some duct tape?

AA, what's your max towing capacity? My dad has wanted to go camping for a long time, but our VUE's towing limit is just 1,000 lbs. Barely enough for a pop-up camper. I was thinking that if your riv can pull some decent payloads, I might see if my dad wants to try it out. Keep in mind, I have a stock '95 except for a K&N panel filter.

1000 lbs is our rated capacity. I'm sure I could pull more, but I don't really need to. Because of the low-end torque our cars have, we could pull 2-3k lbs, but I wouldn't try it.

Alright, I won't take any chances. Thanks.

AA wrote:

1000 lbs is our rated capacity. I'm sure I could pull more, but I don't really need to. Because of the low-end torque our cars have, we could pull 2-3k lbs, but I wouldn't try it.

i like to drive my riv............. not let it sit................... if it drove right now i'd be driving it END of RANT............... By the way

AA I WANT A PIC OF YOUR RIV WITH A TRAILER ON IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will do, but I'm waiting till the new trailer gets here. The one I've been using was a loan.

AA wrote:

Will do, but I'm waiting till the new trailer gets here. The one I've been using was a loan.

does the NEW trailer have matching rims and paint??

Lol, I don't see that happening. I haven't found the one I want, all I know is, I have a $300 budget - craigslist FTW.

AA wrote:

Lol, I don't see that happening. I haven't found the one I want, all I know is, I have a $300 budget - craigslist FTW.

ouch....... good luck finding a sexy trailer with that.... BUT on another note how is this HOUSE building project going

Very well. I'm getting pretty good at hanging drywall and nailing trim. I will be installing two garage door openers this weekend. Then building a fence, then gutters... I see light in the tunnel.

Sexy was never a part of the trailer equation. I know it's going to be ugly, so I'm having fun with it!

Hey AA, Yeah it's me again.

I've got just one more question for you on this subject. It's about the lighting wiring for the trailer. Did you ward-wire yours in, or is there an adapter like a "T" connector that we can buy for that effect?

I bought a 4-pin connector like this:



And yes, I did hard wire it to my tail light wiring.

AA wrote:

I bought a 4-pin connector like this:



And yes, I did hard wire it to my tail light wiring.

Thanks man. Over and out.

Aaron,
How much weight do you tow on average or Max. with the Riv.?
I thought about setting it up to pull a small utility trailer locally until I had early trans problems.
Now with all money currently allocated to future mod's I don't even want to think about another trans rebuild, not yet anyway.
Maybe, if I end up putting too much torque to the front wheels, but we'll see.

I really haven't done a lot of towing yet. I just got this trailer as a Christmas present for myself. It's pretty light at about 350 lbs, but I've pulled a 500+ lb trailer loaded with 500 lb of cargo in the past. That met the rated 1000 lb tow capacity limit, but I know I could do 1200-1500 lb if careful. Mods do help the car tow more. The added torque is great. Modding the PCM TCC & shift settings is very nice.

They say don't tow in OD, and also don't tow without a trans cooler. I think this is because OD in most cars & trucks requires so much torque to pull the extra weight that the transmission has to hunt for gears, so it does a lot of shifting in and out of 3rd, 4th, and more TCC lock/unlocking. This can build up heat (bad).

So, the remedy is to tow in 3rd gear, which also builds up heat, but apparently this is desirable to using OD for some reason. Whether you use OD or not, the extra heat requires a trans cooler if you'll be hauling really big loads over long distances.

With our cars, we have to worry about increased knock in OD when towing. The TCC locks, and the extra load makes our engines ping. For this reason, running in 3rd will lesson the load and KR. What I've done is tune the PCM to unlock the TCC at a much lower threshold than stock. At the slightest indication of a hill, the TC unlocks and it goes into 4th gear, which seems perfect for pulling light to medium loads. The engine doesn't spin as fast as in 3rd, so better fuel economy and less heat.

I always scan to monitor KR and trans temp. On my trip home yesterday, I saw 1.5º KR max, and trans temps stayed under 190ºF for the first 100 miles. It was 196ºF when I arrived home. Ambient temp was 68ºF. For reference, I can see around 210ºF trans temp on the hottest summer days - without a trailer.

If I had to tow 1000 lbs more than 100 miles on a hot day, I would get a trans cooler. Any less weight, shorter distance, or during winter, I probably wouldn't worry about it.

Those of you pulling trailers or who have mounted transmission coolers - on the Riv, where do you mount a cooler? in front of the radiator on the brace? behind front crossmember?

Albertj

IMO, any cooler should be mounted in front of the AC condensor where it will get clean air.

Man, I have one of those hide a hitches on my Riv. Not bad for small hauls. BTW, AA. If you have either a Sutherlands or a Home Depot nearby. They have small trailers starting at 400-600 bucks!

Got mine for $500 with finished floor, walls, and ramp gate + free, hitch & ball, mounting hardware.

AA,
Did you get an enclosed trailer.
Sounds like it, "finished floor, walls and ramp door.'

Nah, it's a landscaping trailer, like this one, uses steel mesh for floor and ramp. I'm working on some wooden rails to add on the the welded steel walls:



I said finished because some of these trailers come as frames that you need to build on to. Guess it's not really "finished", but good enough for what I want. My object was to keep weight down so I can haul more.

How did you get so cheap, was it used?

AA wrote:

I received my Hidden Hitch model 90022 on Friday, installed today. I've seen these things on other vehicles, and I always see the damn white lettering "Hidden Hitch" under the car. It's so bold, it's not hidden! Well the one I have isn't like that. It's practically invisible! A few notes:

I know you posted this long ago.

Just peel the Hidden Hitch sticker off.

I hadn't looked into it yet, but I am glad to hear they do make a hitch for our Rivs.
Since my Son now has the Park Ave., I don't have a handy vehicle to pull our little utility trailer with.

Though, I will work on convincing the wife to let me put the hitch on her Saturn first.

Rickw wrote:

How did you get so cheap, was it used?

I found it at a hardware store in the hills of western KY. $500 wasn't really cheap, but fair for a new trailer that can tow 1600 lbs (all I need).

Quote :

Just peel the Hidden Hitch sticker off.

I was saying some Hidden Hitches for other vehicles had visible stickers. Mine is hidden, can't see it at all from behind.

I've got a 5' x 8' Enclosed all aluminum trailer that I used to pull with a Blazer I had.
Haven't been able to use the trailer since giving the truck to my brother in another state.
Anyway I think it would be too much to pull this with the Riv, so I might have to sell it and get a landscape trailer similar to what you got.
I only need it for the trips to the Home store and occasionally moving a motorcycle. I think the enclosed trailer would just provide too much wind resistance for the Riv to be comfortable.