General Fit TalkGeneral Discussion on the Honda Fit/Jazz.
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Hey guys/gals, newbie here. On the waiting list for an 09 Fit. Currently driving an 06 4Runner that the future-wife is getting. After we marry Sept. 6th we'll be selling her RAV-4 for a Fit since I had a blast test driving a 5MT Sport. The cost of gas is killing me since I drive 150-200+ miles per business with my job as an independent surgical instrument & equipment sales rep and the Fit is obviously sips gas compared to my current V8.
Has anyone been able to do any light towing with their Fit? I race motocross & Hare Scrambles across the Southeast on weekends and am out at practice tracks a couple times per week as well. The bike only weighs around 220lbs. I could build a very lightweight single-rail trailer to haul the bike with if it's possible for the Fit to handle it.
Below is a pic of my 4-Runner with a 3-rail trailer that I built:
Last edited by ProMed; 05-16-2008 at 05:23 PM.
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Welcome fellow MX racer! I also race MX, i ride a 2007 CRF 250R!
Anyway yeah i thought about towing my bike with my Fit when i bought it, then once i started modding i nixed the idea since i dropped my car and other mods like that. Im sure with a stock Fit thats not lowered you will be able to two one bike with a light trailer. I always see a 1st gen xB towing 3 full size 450's at a local track, i asked him how it worked out and he said it was no problem for little engine. So im sure it will be fine!
You might want to consider NOT lowering the Fit if you plan to tow with it. I occasionally tow a wood chipper that has highway wheels/lights, weighs 500 lbs. To improve the ride and get rid of the little, anemic, stock rear shocks, I replaced them with Monroe Air Shocks. The height adjustment provided by the air shocks also helps with towing (with a machine like a wood chipper, you can't adjust the tongue weight as you can with a utility/motorcycle trailer).
Test drive the 5AT too, its really nice to drive and im sure it would be better for towing, less stress on the clutch and what not. In my owners manual i couldnt find anything about not towing, so maybe they just want you to use your best judgement? lol With how well this thing pulls itself, an extra few hundred pounds shouldnt hurt much honestly
__________________ "We have only one future and it will be made of our dreams, if we have the courage to challenge convention" - Soichiro Honda
Location: Villa Hills, Kentucky, United States of America
Posts: 31
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About Towing
I used to work at Honda as a matter of fact, and it is not recamended<----can't spell) to tow anything but 4 extra asses. Pulling that dirt bike behind the 4-R No, No, No. Reason why, the breaks wouldn't slow you down in time, ( the one's on the fit ) and the little bit of over extended weight on the back will cause you to sway side to side. Plus, the bike will be like a big sail and will cause you to make adjustments in the steering, and yes, you will rip through tires (back) in no time flat. Not a very plained idea. And where do you plain on putting the Hitch?
Last edited by knowdirt; 05-16-2008 at 08:41 PM.
Reason: farted
I have never looked under a Fit myself to see, but if there wasn't I doubt hitch companies would be making them specifically for the Fit. Also, since manxman above said he has done some towing with the Fit it sounds more than possible.
It doesn't look like I would even need to do any fender trimming in the rear? Please correct me if wrong.
A lot of us already have the "Hidden Hitch" on our Fits, and etrailer.com also sells at least two other brands of hitches FOR THE FIT. No trimming of bumper or anything else. Use the "Search" button.
Location: Villa Hills, Kentucky, United States of America
Posts: 31
Rep Power: 0
Very interesting info I am getting. I would like to look into this a little bit more. I am not trying to argue, I am just trying to help. I mean, honestly, if you all want to tow with the fit, thats cool, but from just what I was told, by the Service Manger, and by the other Tech's, I really wouldn't.
You do have to use good judgment and extra care, but you have to do that anyway even using a pickup as the towing vehicle. With a car as light as the Fit, the serious issues are tongue weight, total trailer weight, and trailer balance. Don't tow with more than one passenger and no heavy loads in the back of the car (huge ice chests, etc.). I suggest don't exceed 600 lbs. total trailer weight, and put 60% of the weight forward of the trailer axle. Your hitch will have a tongue weight limit warning printed on it. With weight unbalanced toward the rear, you get a "tail wagging the dog" instability. Plan on twice the usual stopping distance, and use slow acceleration from stops.
Driving with a trailer makes the Fit a completely different car and you won't like the difference that a trailer causes. But if you are careful, you won't break the car unless you use the trailer every day and try to push the car past the limits of the trailer.
The hitch makes excellent bumper armor against parking lot or curb-parking idiots.
I towed my riding lawn mower on a light Tractor Supply trailer ($300 or so) with my Fit about 5 miles over back roads without serious difficulty; HOWEVER, my fit is equipped with the Monroe AirLifts MA811 ( see that new design for rear on Fits postings, lots of good stuff including photos) and that was before getting rear discs. And I had 350# of stuff in the trunk to boot. Without the AirLifts I would not tow those bikes on a trailer. And even with the AirLifts that is maximum I would tow with a Fit ! Short distance then. Thats what you get with 30 mpg and current safety regs.
And certainly nothing with a frontal area greater than your bikes. The Fit just isn't beefy enough to tow much of anything. And thats the truth.
Good luck selling the 4runner; around here they are for sale everywhere - and not selling even if its Toyota. You think that's bad? Try selling a Suburban or Expedition. They are buried in cement.
Good luck selling the 4runner; around here they are for sale everywhere - and not selling even if its Toyota. You think that's bad? Try selling a Suburban or Expedition. They are buried in cement.
Thanks to you and everyone else for the towing tips!
I'm not selling the 4Runner, the future-wife's RAV-4 is getting the ax and she will be driving the 4Runner. I get the Fit!
I've been thinking about a trailer hitch as well. I owned a 1998 Chevy Metro 1.0 liter 3cyl. I used to tow a 100lb mini bass boat on a snowmobile trailer (flat 6X8 with wood floor). The metro is the weakest and cheapest you will find out there and it did ok. You just had to plan your trip. Avoid large hills if you can. Keep the speeds down, dont use 5th gear. I also would never use the AC when I'd tow. The fit seems like a sports car in comparison to the metro so I dont see why it would be an issue as long as you dont have a trailer that is taller than the car. I also wouldnt go over 500lb's on a light trailer.
Towing w/ a Fit??
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