Quote:
Originally Posted by texas
crazy question I know.. But has anyone towed a popup camper or trailer with the Fit? I am interested in this...
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I have a vintage 1969 Appleby pop-up camper that is quite minimalist and probably weighs 300 lbs plus or minus. I tow it with my 1983 VW pickup and would not hesitate to tow it with the Fit. I had a 950 lb small Coleman Colonial pop-up from the early 80's, a pretty basic model, and small by today's standards. I towed it with my mid-90's VW Golf, a car that I deem to be slightly heavier and more tow-worthy than our Fit. A car the size of the Golf was/is too small to tow the Coleman safely. There was a huge impact on handling, braking, etc while towing the camper. I'm pretty adventurous as far as vehicles go, and not a stickler for tow ratings, etc, but after towing my Coleman from Cedar Rapids, IA to Kansas City with the Golf I came to the realization that this was just plain unsafe. Even if the Coleman would have had electric brakes, which it did not, it was still too heavy and unwieldy for a car of the Golf's size, IMHO. Also, as a side note, starting from a stop in the Golf with 1k weight behind me was quite hard on the clutch. My auto Fit would probably handle that better, but acceleration would be dismal to say the least. Can't even imagine pulling hills in either car with a 1,000 pound trailer, my wife and I, and luggage, especially on the downhill side.
The Golf was a LOT torquier than my Fit is, and a heavier car in cross-winds, etc. So I would rate the Fit as less suitable for towing anything remotely substantial than my Golf. I would not even dream of towing a near 1k lb pop up with our Fit Sport. Would it physically move it? Sure. Would it be safe? No way. Not in my opinion. If you had to engage in anything remotely resembling an accident avoidance maneuver, or panic stop, the Golf and the Fit would be way out of their league with that near 1,000 pound camper. I can't even imagine towing that Coleman at highway speeds with my Fit for any distance. Anyway, I sold the Coleman purely because I came to the grudging realization that I needed a heavier tow vehicle to safely and securely tow a 1k lb trailer not to mention a couple of us in the car and gear. I was not willing to drive the kind of vehicle as a daily driver that would have been necessary to tow this properly the few times a year I'd use it. So, Coleman went bye-bye, and the Appleby stayed. I'll tow it with the Fit with no reservations. A 300 pound trailer with 1-200 pounds of gear is a totally different towing experience behind a small econo car with a small engine than a trailer twice the size and weight. No comparison.
I would advise anyone thinking about towing a camper with a Fit to seek out an old vintage Appleby or similar ( vintage tiny 50's-60's basic popup ) or to get a heavier tow vehicle if you need fancier accomodations.
Keep in mind that towing is mainly about what you can stop quickly, not what ultimate weight you can move in a straight line.
Anyway, not specifically answering your question, I know, but thought maybe my experience with small car towing might be useful in some way to you. If I had to, off the top of my head I'd say the 500 pound range of trailer plus the people in the car plus some gear in the car and or trailer would be all I would think a person could safely tow with a Fit for any kind of distance.
Might look into a teardrop trailer, which a Fit could tow OK, I'd think.
Just my 2c