I know in the US our owners manual says it will void the warranty.

Do you think the Fit could safely tow a trailer like this?
I am planning for retirement in a few years and my Fit would probably be out of warranty by then anyway. Otherwise I'll use my old Subie Wagon or rent a camper when needed.

Camp-Inn Teardrop Specifications

 

Whoa, those are sweet little trailers. Been looking for something like that.

First glance is you're expecting a lot from the Fit. UK rates their Jazz @ 1000# towing I believe.
Given the listed weights you can be in the range, the Base model looks really nice. Add up all the gear you plan on bringing?

You drive an AT, so towing is going to be a bit hard on the tranny.

Not too long ago someone posted hauling a boat with the Fit. I haul a 4x6 custom utility trailer with no issue. I use it for camping, though not sleeping in but it constantly temps my mind to try it out.

Looking through their FAQ's I see a tongue weight of 130-160# and they recommend mid-sized cars for the 500. That's going to be the clincher, the tongue weight.

I see a road trip north ;-)

 

those are cool. like baby airstreams.

 

Got me looking and found these guys: Little Guy Teardrop Trailers - Home

They offer a slightly lighter and better balanced unit I wouldn't hesitate pulling with my FIT. Tongue weights are 1/2 the other guys because axle is placed farther inboard.

 

Krimson
Those are cool -there is a dealer very close to me, too. Do you think an AT Fit could handle the smallest one?

 

I don't think there would be any problem hauling one of the models weighing under 1000 Lbs. It would be advisable to install a automatic transmission cooler as a precautionary measure since you can't go very far from where you live without going up and down mountains... It's a good thing to have on any car with automatic transmission.... I'm waning one of those to hook to our Forester for some touring up your way on up into the Northwest. I could easily pull it with my Fit on short trips to state parks around this area but I'll have to spring for a generator and A/C unit to use from April through October.

 

Exactly what Coyote says.
I'm positive you can get an AT cooler [mini radiator tranny fluid flows through] for the Fit and that would solve all concerns.

Stiffer rear springs possibly... but I think not as long as you don't overload the tongue weight. Balanced out I would bet you could get the tongue weight gown in the 55# range, and it's all in how the car/trailer are loaded.

I'm not fully sold on the lift-up lid off the rear, but that's the traditional design of them. Google "1947 teardrop trailer images".

I still think interior cabin, like on a small boat. I can see a slightly raised single berth set-up working, even with the lid closed.
Would also want a single door and windows both sides, but that's only me talking...

If you get a price on the 4-wide unit, share.
Keep this thread alive!!

 

Hey those Teardrops look pretty cool. But maybe an Outback or Forester though would be a better set up.

 

So the consensus seems to be that it's "probably" perfectly possible to do.

The only thing I'd notice is you said two "red flag" things in your original post. Your planning on retirement AND the Fit would be past warranty at this point.

So in my opinion the question becomes less, could the Fit handle it? But more, do you want to take the risk however minimal?

Generally I side with use the tool best suited for the job. If you already have an old Subaru wagon and/or the behavior is going to be infrequent enough that renting a camper isn't cost prohibitive? Then even though it's not as exciting to say, I'm going to say, don't risk your past warranty but relatively new Honda Fit...and just use what you already have, or rent what you need for those rare occasions.

 

Probably isn't really the qualifier and retirement certainly isn't a 'red flag' ;-)

I couldn't agree more in siding with the 'best tool suited for the job', however.

In Europe the presence of small trailers is very common for many reasons.
Primarily it's because they are the best tool for the job.
Over here, we dedicate pick-up trucks to the task...


I put this little trailer together specifically to haul camping gear behind my, then new, 91 Eagle Summit [mitsu Mirage] Lee Iacocca was selling.
Though built for seasonal use it has proven itself most handy in numerous ways.

That Summit could not hold the gear the little 3dr Spectrum I had before it could, so the trailer made sense.
Though the Summit was not rated for towing I never had issues - other than practical - hauling it.
Same goes for my FIT.
------------------------------------------------------------
Regarding the little tear-drops.
To understand their appeal you need to think 30yrs or so of employment, life structuring, possibly a pension, certainly a whole lot of free time and the desire to see places 'living on the road'.

Sure, you could rent something, but after investing in a versatile economy vehicle like the Fit it only only expands its usefulness and can give the freedom of travel many desire at a good cost.

Hooking anything behind a car as small as the Fit involves practical considerations, but once understood they need not stand in the way.

Putting together a little trailer like mine takes similar considerations...
If I had designed the bed to be 12" longer it would be a camper today.

I just wasn't thinking far enough ahead______

 

Fitchet- your practical argument for this makes total sense, but another consideration is my Subie has 155k miles, the Fit barely 15K. Mpg is much better on the Fit. For local camping trips your suggestion makes sense, but if I want to cross country, I don't know.

Krimson - Exactly!--I think some of what I want to experience in retirement is that spontaneous "hit the road" mentality I had in my late teens /early twenties when gas was cheap and I had few responsibilities (perhaps a job I couldn't care less whether I lost or not )--so another stab at the free life. Not practical, but more emotional. Of course I would not want to live with the possibility of a car break down which really wasn't much of a forethought back in the day.

 

 

LOL
Got AAA (came with sense of responsibility after having kids & old beater cars)
Knowing what I know now, could never be quite as reckless and "naive" as in my youth..... times have changed and this ole body just can't do what it already done

 

It's all up to you.

The only reason I cited "Retirement" as a red flag...is that for many people once they reach retirement- budgets are stricter.

I agree with everyone that you'd probably be okay towing a tear drop.

But I think when taking risk, you look at the worst case scenario. Once retired, your Fit becomes your newest, concievably most reliable vehicle. You are taking a risk in towing...however minimal it might be. I'd think worst case would be some type of premature transmission wear or problems. I think you have to ask yourself if you take the risk are you willing to accept the possible worst case scenario, however unlikely it might be?

If you are willing to take the chance that perhaps you might experience transmission problems earlier than normal? If that is a cost you can and could absorb? Hitch up and enjoy the ride...

Otherwise you are back at square one, trying to decide which tool fits your needs the best.

Actually? For a Cross Country journey, I think I'd go with the Subaru. It's already "old" and once you get past a certain point? Who cares? If you've maintained it well? 155,000 miles is fine...

Worst case scenario with The Subaru would be it breaks down during the journey...??? I think I'd rather my vehicle that already has 155,000 miles on it breaks down, than my vehicle that only has 15000 BUT it past warranty.

But the choice is yours. There is risk to either choice.

 

Lol KC, Sooznd... So true!!! With aging comes lessons learned and hopefully wiser dispositions... Otherwise the journey was a total waste... just scars with no stories behind them

 

Assuming you can afford to replace the trany if it goes kaput, have AAA and a cell phone, and can make intelligent driving decisions while towing (i.e., not follow too close, stop for really adverse weather, etc), I saw go for it. Worst case is that you'll cook the transmission.

I would recommend more frequent transmission fluid changes though, just to be safer. And the extra cooler is a good idea.

 

Thanks for the great suggestions. At this point it is in the "dream" stage, so may or may not materialize. May end up using the old Subaru if it is still kicking in two years.

 

Wohooo, I might get one of these

 

I don't see why people fuss so much about towing.


There's risk in doing ANYTHING. Just drive slower and leave more room. I could buy a truck and pay two insurances, worry about more maintenance, get terrible gas mileage towing, and have it taking up room in my driveway... Or I could just use my Fit.

I built a camper trailer from scratch a few years ago. It's been sitting outside at a friend's house (he was using it as a guest bedroom ), but I recently picked it up to refinish it. The exterior didn't hold up too great, although it did keep out the weather and the interior is perfect still. The Fit worked great, but was strained on the highway. I didn't get it over 55mph because I didn't want to work the engine too hard.

The camper is about 20' long, the actual interior is roughly (just under) 15' long x 7' high x 7' wide.



Since it's custom built, it's light. The framing is all 1x2s and 1x4s, and the interior and exterior sheathing is 5mm luaun plywood. It has about 50lbs tongue weight and weighs maybe 1000lbs at most. I refurbished the metal frame, built the base and walls separate, then lifted each wall into place by myself (each wall weighs just over 100lbs). After that, I connected the walls to each other and to the base, then filled in sheathing on the outside and inside. If I could do it over again, I would have probably used some sort of metal sheathing on the exterior in addition to paint, but that's ridiculously expensive. I'm under $2000 in on the project and learned a LOT building it.

 

I would agree that the weight is not a problem, but WOW that is a large mass to pull down the road. The wind resistance alone is probably the equivalent of trying to pull 3,000lbs or so down the road! I bet you get some looks towing that rig with the Fit.

-Dustin