Towing w/ a Honda Civic

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rtpassini

Chief Petty Officer
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Nov 27, 2008
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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

as someone who has modified honda's let me tell you right now. DONT DO IT. lol
even with a bigger engine, you shouldnt be doing this.
your tires most likely are not rated for it. Same with the suspension.
even though it says towing capacity is rated at that, not only will your clutch feel some damage, so will your motor
 
cdnfthree2

cdnfthree2

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Yep fibrglass is heavy. Placing that weight on the rear of a small car (especially a front wheel drive car) is bad news. Listen to what your hearing now in this thread PLEASE. Not what the hitch salesman, car dealer, or even owner's manual mght tell you. No matter how you look at it, a well used tow vehicle is in order. They are cheap right now. You might even be able to trade. Not being mean, but a civic with that or any other motor cannot handle any tongue weight other than that of say a shopping cart safely. I've seen the rear ends of civics almost touching the ground from just a few passengers. You don't have the frame, the suspension, the brakes, the radiator, nor the power to do this safely. OR TRANSMISSION

My old Ford Windstar 3.3, and my old Dodge 1500 V6 both had halfway decent frames, but neither made good tow vehicles. Even back when I had a lighter boat. Both of these have higher ratings than the Civic. The pull is going to be tough anjd the braking is going to be tougher. Don't! Happy New Year
 
J

jayard78

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Ok I have seen the light. I am going to be watching for a cheap truck to buy just to tow the boat. Hopefully I can find something worthwhile for 500 bucks or so. Any idea what the smallest truck would be able to do this. Im thinking a junky nissan or toyota.
 
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JorgeE

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Mar 21, 2008
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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Jay,
Brings back memories of me towing my dad's 19' Bayliner with a 1985 Celebrity V6 (front wheel drive). OK on the road, OK launching, OK re-trailering...
Pulling up the ramp... that was another story
...why am I not moving, and why is the car's front end sliding sideways? OK, one helper sitting on hood... still sliding sideways... two helpers sitting on hood... OK, still sliding sideways some, but now we're making progres up the ramp... where's the smoke coming from... oh, yeah, tires!
We made it, but it was interesting. Wish someone had been taping/filming the spectacle!
I think you're making the right decision.
Jorge
 
pteal28377

pteal28377

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Dec 17, 2008
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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

This is not the first Honda pulling a boat I have seen Still dont think it is a great idea. We have installed many hitch on small cars so people can pull boats or trailers. The best I think was when we installed a hitch on a 2004 BMW 325i drop top. The guy wanted to pull his trailer 6x14 dual axle from Fay NC to Manassas Va. Needless to say we told him not a good idea but he wanted it anyhow. By the way he didn't make it. Just keep in mind If you want to pull find something buy a small truck or SUV.
 
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reybec

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

back in the late 80s i used to tow a 15 ft fibreglass half cabin with a 86 Ford Meteor (same as a Mazda 323) 1.6l carby with a 5 speed.
i did this for almost 2 years and the only problem i ever had was on ramps that had an excess of sand on them but even then it was never a major issue.
since getting rid of that car however i have always used 6 cylinder rear wheel drive cars.
 
Mark_VTfisherman

Mark_VTfisherman

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

JorgeE said:
...towing my dad's 19' Bayliner with a 1985 Celebrity V6 (front wheel drive). OK on the road, OK launching, OK re-trailering...
Pulling up the ramp...
Click to expand...

Someone also alluded to the clutch. I tow a 14' MFG Niagara with a 2000 Saturn LS, 5-speed, front-wheel drive, 2.2 4-banger. Does fine, but the gentle power needed on gravel ramps makes me ride the clutch way too much. I know I am paying a price eventually with a premature clutch change. I wouldn't tow with that car if it were an automatic due to replacement cost, BTW

Even in the OK weight range for your car, little fuel efficient standard tranny cars like mine and yours have a way-tall transmission gear- that's what makes me have to ride the clutch to pull out of ramps. I think the Civic is too little a car for the boat you mention.

But you've already been tow-ed that :)
 
F14CRAZY

F14CRAZY

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

I'm thinking that's too much for a Civic.

Not saying it can't tow. My dad has a '92 four door and he often pulls a 4'x4' utility trailer but we're talking maybe 500 lbs max. I can pick up the trailer myself and a 40-50 gal water heater (we're plumbers) doesn't weigh much. Has had my Kawasaki 650SX on it but thats only about 300 lbs.
 
180shabah

180shabah

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R

rtpassini

Chief Petty Officer
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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

model to model wont matter. the cars are nearly EXACTLY the same.

in fact i would use the "EX" model over most. A little more HP and TQ. and more importantly, bigger brakes.
 
I

Incorrigible

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Maybe this will help with your question about ramps (just remember, they're usually wet)

On more than one occasion, I've put my SUBURBAN into four-wheel drive LOW to keep from spinning and slipping when pulling out at ramps.
 
mphy98

mphy98

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

my rule of thumb is if what you are towing, out weighs what you are driving, never do it. even if the trailer has good brakes, not a good idea. have you ever seen a trailer overtake the tow vehicle? I saw just that on our last trip to Canada, a large boat, small truck, went past us in our motor home going the opposite way, his speed high. I watched his boat overtake him, it was a horrible accident that didn't need to happen.
 
T

Titanium48

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Mark_VTfisherman said:
Someone also alluded to the clutch. I tow a 14' MFG Niagara with a 2000 Saturn LS, 5-speed, front-wheel drive, 2.2 4-banger. Does fine, but the gentle power needed on gravel ramps makes me ride the clutch way too much. I know I am paying a price eventually with a premature clutch change. I wouldn't tow with that car if it were an automatic due to replacement cost, BTW

Even in the OK weight range for your car, little fuel efficient standard tranny cars like mine and yours have a way-tall transmission gear- that's what makes me have to ride the clutch to pull out of ramps. I think the Civic is too little a car for the boat you mention.

But you've already been tow-ed that :)
Click to expand...

That's a lot like my setup, except that my Saturn is a slightly smaller SL2. I try my best to avoid steep ramps because of the clutch issue and I wouldn't even try to use a gravel launch. It works well otherwise though. My boat is about 1600 lbs fully loaded (2/3 of the weight of the car) and I installed trailer brakes immediately after buying the boat. I had to brake hard on downhill grade once last summer and had no problems with stability or stopping power.

Over at a Saturn forum someone claims claims to have put 100,000 km on his SL2 towing 2000+ lb trailers and says "I've been driving trucks with heavy trailers, tractor trailers, dump trucks towing trailers, etc. and as far as handling and braking this is one of the easiest, most enjoyable to drive combinations I've driven"

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28412
http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108115
 
NYBo

NYBo

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Years ago, a friend of mine used to tow his 14' HydraSports bass boat (about 1200# with motor and trailer) with his '81 Toyota Tercel 5-speed and 68 HP. The car had tiny tires, 12" rims, IIRC. To top it off, he would also put his 17' Grumman square stern canoe on the roof, and load up the car with luggage and fishing equipment. He took this rig from the NYC metropolitan area up to Maine on a number of occasions.

I ended up buying both the car AND the bass boat from him, but I never towed with the Tercel. The Tercel finally lost its original clutch at around 140K miles.

All that being said, I agree with the majority: a better tow vehicle is in order. Glad you came to the same conclusion.
 
S

Saskatoon2005

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Re: Towing w/ a Honda Civic

Here is my suggestion, I believe that if you are only concerned about the "ramp" hauling issue, then I would put on a winch or extra long winding strap, so you don't have to put the car as far down the ramp and you can hook up the winch and then pull the boat to the trailer instead of bringing the car to the boat. Bring a good large chunk of carpet to put down to reduce friction burn on the boat. hope this helps...

Patrick
 
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