Honda Car Forum

Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
Civic ?

<jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com...
> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
> Civic ?

Anything is possible <g>. Stopping is the most crucial matter to consider,
though.

--
Brian

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

A member of Cauce Canada

www.cauce.ca

<jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com...
> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
> Civic ?


an friend of mine used an old Civic hatchback to tow a trailer and its
associated glider just about every weekend for years...

Brian Smith wrote:
> <jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
> news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com...
>> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
>> Civic ?
>
> Anything is possible <g>. Stopping is the most crucial matter to
> consider, though.

Yeah, the rotors are a weak point of the design.....

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 17:36:50 -0700, "Khee Mao"
<yousuckbigbad_buddhadaddy@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
><jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
>news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com.. .
>> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
>> Civic ?
>
>
>an friend of mine used an old Civic hatchback to tow a trailer and its
>associated glider just about every weekend for years...
>
Thanks for the input people,.though I'm talking maybe 1200 pounds
total package. Boat , trailer, gear. Who might be installin the hitch
and how's that done?

<nospamjwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
news:j6an809gcpnjplkpoq5i46ht2jd2vccams@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 17:36:50 -0700, "Khee Mao"
> <yousuckbigbad_buddhadaddy@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >
> ><jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
> >news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com.. .
> >> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
> >> Civic ?
> >
> >
> >an friend of mine used an old Civic hatchback to tow a trailer and its
> >associated glider just about every weekend for years...
> >
> Thanks for the input people,.though I'm talking maybe 1200 pounds
> total package. Boat , trailer, gear. Who might be installin the hitch
> and how's that done?


I've had U-Haul install a hitch for me before...


I'll e-mail my friend to get an idea of how much weight his trailer/glider
were and get back to you....

<nospamjwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
news:j6an809gcpnjplkpoq5i46ht2jd2vccams@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 17:36:50 -0700, "Khee Mao"
> <yousuckbigbad_buddhadaddy@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >
> ><jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
> >news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com.. .
> >> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
> >> Civic ?
> >
> >
> >an friend of mine used an old Civic hatchback to tow a trailer and its
> >associated glider just about every weekend for years...
> >
> Thanks for the input people,.though I'm talking maybe 1200 pounds
> total package. Boat , trailer, gear. Who might be installin the hitch
> and how's that done?


here's my friend's reply, hope this is helpful:

"Towing with a Civic. It depends on which one you have. Mine had the 1.5
liter engine with the 5 speed manual, and was rated to tow 1200 lbs. I
snagged about 1800 lbs. to it's ass and took off. Now, one thing you have
to understand is that it wouldn't accelerate, it just gathered speed. It
was stable, it just didn't have any power. I used to get out on I-77 and
just hold it to the floor, and it never complained or barfed. Just kept
going! I got 35mpg pulling that trailer too! Just don't get in a hurry.
Hills were a challenge too. I only did it because my neighbor was pulling
his ski boat to the lake with the same car, so I said why not.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 17:40:04 -0700, "Khee Mao"
<yousuckbigbad_buddhadaddy@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
><nospamjwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
>news:j6an809gcpnjplkpoq5i46ht2jd2vccams@4ax.com.. .
>> On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 17:36:50 -0700, "Khee Mao"
>> <yousuckbigbad_buddhadaddy@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> ><jwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
>> >news:lpaf80p0mnq4nhkuvkf23npg06mmv33hs5@4ax.com.. .
>> >> Is it possible/ feasible to be towing a light boat and trailer with a
>> >> Civic ?
>> >
>> >
>> >an friend of mine used an old Civic hatchback to tow a trailer and its
>> >associated glider just about every weekend for years...
>> >
>> Thanks for the input people,.though I'm talking maybe 1200 pounds
>> total package. Boat , trailer, gear. Who might be installin the hitch
>> and how's that done?
>
>
>here's my friend's reply, hope this is helpful:
>
>"Towing with a Civic. It depends on which one you have. Mine had the 1.5
>liter engine with the 5 speed manual, and was rated to tow 1200 lbs. I
>snagged about 1800 lbs. to it's ass and took off. Now, one thing you have
>to understand is that it wouldn't accelerate, it just gathered speed. It
>was stable, it just didn't have any power. I used to get out on I-77 and
>just hold it to the floor, and it never complained or barfed. Just kept
>going! I got 35mpg pulling that trailer too! Just don't get in a hurry.
>Hills were a challenge too. I only did it because my neighbor was pulling
>his ski boat to the lake with the same car, so I said why not.
>

Thanks Khee, .... I have an 03' EX Civic automatic, with the V-TEC
engine. I would think that it would pull something weighing possibly
1200 lbs.,....within reason. Thanks for your input.

<nospamjwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
news:dgo190tru4kn0o5f6gi75d3161054pdesp@4ax.com...

>
> Thanks Khee, .... I have an 03' EX Civic automatic, with the V-TEC
> engine. I would think that it would pull something weighing possibly
> 1200 lbs.,....within reason. Thanks for your input.


no problem...the only other thing I can think to add to this thread is the
consideration for a transmission cooler if you plan to do either a lot of
towing or even a few long distance tows...better safe than sorry, especially
with an automatic...

Khee Mao wrote:
>
> <nospamjwelsh@covad.net> wrote in message
> news:dgo190tru4kn0o5f6gi75d3161054pdesp@4ax.com...
>
> >
> > Thanks Khee, .... I have an 03' EX Civic automatic, with the V-TEC
> > engine. I would think that it would pull something weighing possibly
> > 1200 lbs.,....within reason. Thanks for your input.
>
> no problem...the only other thing I can think to add to this thread is
> the consideration for a transmission cooler if you plan to do either a
> lot of towing or even a few long distance tows...better safe than sorry,
> especially with an automatic...

Many of Honda's automatics, e.g., Accord and Prelude models, shipped with
ATF coolers from the factory. I believe that the '03 Civic also has this
feature. Check for ATF lines (hoses) going from the auto tranny to the
bottom of the radiator. You should find 2 as in this diagram
http://tinyurl.com/2z9dr.

Eric