Hello,

First of all, let me say I know very little about cars, so I apologize if this is very basic information! I have a 2015 Fit with a manual transmission. I am moving from the east coast to the west coast -- so it is a far drive that will involve driving through remote areas and deserts and so on, meaning I need longterm reliability. I have too much stuff for the Fit, and hiring movers for that distance is insane, plus the amount of stuff I have isn't *huge* -- it could probably fit in a normal sized mini van.

I am just starting to look into a hitch and renting or buying a trailer. I have seen this is possible, but want to get a full breakdown on what I need. I am willing to pay extra for added reliability: I do not know how to work on cars and will be driving alone, so I really do not want to run into any issues. So:

What hitch should I get? How much will it cost to have someone install it for me, since I absolutely cannot do it myself?

What about a trailer? What is the biggest trailer that I can use reliably, meaning there is very very little chance that anything bad could happen or it could overload the car.

Do I need to upgrade my suspension? If so, how much would this cost for parts and install?

Do I need any type of transmission cooling if I am using a manual car? How much would this cost?

My other options are: tow the Fit (not that comfortable with this, especially since I will have to park and stay at hotels and it sounds unwieldy), rent a Uhaul and ship my car to California (seems annoying and very expensive to ship + gas), drive my car and mail as much of my stuff to California as I can (also expensive and very annoying to do all of that shipment).

Let me know if you have any other ideas -- I am open to whatever the best option is.

Thanks everyone!

 

I work on my daughter's fit (came here and saw your thread).

Get a moving van (van sized), and a tow dolly. Then you're not responsible for any breakdown issues with the van, you can lock it up, put stuff in the Fit if you have overflow.


You're going to have to cross mountains...do you REALLY want a small/lightweight car like a Fit pulling (and wearing your clutch, etc) any weight in a trailer?

 

Thanks for the reply!

Will the clutch wear be an issue if I am using manual? (I genuinely do not know, I know nothing about cars, but I drive a manual).

I am worried about 1. the cost of renting a van being much higher and 2. my ability to drive a van while towing the Fit. This seems very difficult for me... is it quite easy?

 

Like said above. You better off towing your Fit across the USA versus towing with your Fit across the USA. These cars don't handle huge loads. And even towing a full trailer is pushing its limits for that kind of mileage. Especially on a high mileage chassis from the start. And its always going to be much easier and cheaper to get a rental versus rebuilding your whole car to make that move. And hoping after the fact that it makes it over with no issues.

If you have to install a hitch call U-Haul. They give out free quotes for a hitch install, and you will also need trailer light wiring installed as well. Don't forget about your brakes , tires, and cooling system also. They will all need to be in good working order at the minimum to handle such a load and distance.

 

You can definitely tow a relatively light load over long distances with your Fit. There are many posts here about people doing just that, which you should read.

As I've said on other posts about towing with a Fit, I would be relatively comfortable pulling 800-1000 lbs (including trailer weight), properly loaded, behind my Fit. I would be very cautious while doing this and even more defensive around all the other insane drivers on the road.

I grew up on a farm and have been pulling trailers with tractors and trucks since long before I could legally drive. I've pulled >20,000 lbs loads and a 40+ ft long camper. If you have little or no experience pulling a trailer you might not want to learn on a cross-country drive with a small, low power (and more importantly, low weight) car after spending a decent chunk of money to get a hitch installed, buy a trailer, etc. Let's say you do all that only to realize on the first day that you're not comfortable and don't think you can do it. What then?

Along the same lines, if you're worried about driving a U-haul pulling your Fit on a dolly, you're probably not prepared to pull a trailer with your Fit. The U-haul truck, assuming proper servicing, is engineered to start (and stop!) with a heavy load for days at a time. Your Fit is not and has a total payload capacity of around 850 lbs, including you, fuel, and cargo.

I'm not telling you that you shouldn't do it, I'm just saying that you need to honestly assess your (driving/repair/etc) capabilities and risk tolerance. I would definitely recommend that you don't try to "learn on the job" if you've never pulled a trailer before. It takes practice and awareness of your surroundings, both on the highway and also when negotiating turns, lane changes, parking lots, etc. Regarding practice, you can do a short-term U-haul rental for a low amount (something like $25 + fees + refuel). It might be worth it to feel what it's like to drive the larger vehicle, although it will be unloaded.

U-haul sells and installs hitches, and can generally do it while you wait. In a big city there will be other retailers who do the same.

Clutch wear will occur when starting with a load, as you'll have to slip the clutch more than normal to get moving, especially on a slope. Assuming you're using proper gears on the highway, you shouldn't experience abnormal clutch wear once you're moving. You most likely won't be using 5th gear while pulling a trailer, and once you're in hills you'll be in 3rd or even 2nd gear in the slow lane. You'll also use lower gears and engine braking on downhills to preserve your brakes.

Transmission cooling - I think this is more of an issue with automatic transmissions.

Max trailer size - small and light. Maybe 3x5 or 4x8 foot floor, and hopefully under 200 lbs. You mentioned that your stuff would fit in a mini-van. How much weight? If you're talking a couple hundred lbs then it's more manageable with a Fit, assuming relatively low volume. At some locations U-haul rents small aerodynamic trailers which should pull well behind a Fit. Make sure you understand load distribution and tongue weight on any purchased or rented trailer.

Trailer cost - higher if you have some sort of brakes on the trailer. You also have to account for the cost of wiring your Fit to run lights on the trailer.

Suspension - there are Fit drivers who pull small trailers regularly who have added air bags to their rear suspension. I don't think it's terribly expensive, but I have no direct experience.

Parking (Fit + trailer or U-haul + Fit) - you quickly learn to plan ahead in parking lots, gas stations, etc. If you're not comfortable backing up you figure out ways to do pull-through parking.

Options:
1) Figure out your true comfort level pulling a trailer with your Fit or driving a rented cargo vehicle (U-haul or similar).
2) Figure out cost of buying/installing hitch on your Fit and buying or renting a trailer.
3) Figure out cost of renting a cargo vehicle + car dolly from U-haul or similar. I believe you used to be able to rent a normal (i.e., 1/2 ton) pickup truck and car dolly from U-haul, but the last time I inquired about that they said they only rented dollies with the mid-size (15 ft) and larger moving vans.
4) Figure out cost of selling some of your stuff and buying new when you get to your destination.
5) Compare costs and account for your safety and stress level under different scenarios.

 

Alternate possibility: PODs type moving 'cubes' If you can fit your stuff into a small van, you could probably use one of those. Then just drive your Fit (and yourself and a bit of stuff until the Pod gets there). Probably the safest for you due to the lack of experience.

The only good news (if I recall correctly) is that moving TO the W. Coast is often cheaper than moving OUT of the W coast (since the demand is a lot higher for the latter) when you're renting things.

 

This is hugely informative -- thank you so much for the detailed reply. After thinking about it in more detail, I think that there are a few large items I was planning on taking with me that I will end up foregoing and either mailing or just trying to sell and replace. This will let me take the Fit alone and also allow me to go on a longer road trip through Montana on the way, which I have always wanted to do. Thank you!

 

I have looked into this but wasn't able to find anything super reliable. Do you have any ideas how to find something like this?

 

I used to work in Montana and it's certainly a sight to see if you have the chance: grasslands, badlands, mountains, rivers, wildlife,... Note that if you're from the east coast you will probably underestimate the scale of western states. Driving completely across Montana can easily take a full day, even if you don't really stop to look around.

If you're looking for more information on the PODS recommended by bmwe30nut, go straight to the source.
https://www.pods.com/

I completely forgot about that option but it might be a good one for you depending on cost.

 

I second the PODS idea.

But I'll throw in my hitch set up (2019 EX Manual), just for the heck of it.
Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver (C11406)
Curt T-Connector Wiring Harness (C56395)
I got everything from etrailer.com and installed everything myself.
I did not need to cut any wires, and I routed the power through the interior and tapped off the fuse panel using a pigtail and a separate 10A fuse.
This gives you just 4-pin connector (Left, Right, Marker, Ground), so nothing fancy. Brake is Left+Right.

I occasionally pull a utility trailer (250lbs unloaded) for carrying BIG, but NOT heavy stuff, LOCALLY.
Would I do long distances with this setup? Well, if my life depended on it, I'd do almost anything, but that's not really a useful info (LOL).
Basically, not really. I'd do it EMPTY just to move the trailer somewhere far away.

Manual is better suited for this sort thing than CVT. They all say "CVT is efficient," but that's not actually true.
CVT is better at keeping the ENGINE at its peak efficiency point, but CVT itself isn't very efficient.
CVT takes huge amount of fluid, and we hear of them overheating all the time when driven hard.

Manual is extremely efficient, because once in gear and connected, it's just a small number of gears mashing.

Again, I'm for the PODS type idea. That way, you can enjoy the drive more.

 

I tow regularly up to 1000 lbs without any changes in the car, which is GK5 sport 6MT. I don't see any problems even in long distance driving in long run. There is of course negative effect to fuel consumption and increased brake wear.

 

I would suggest considering a roof rack and some sort of large bag strapped to the top. The roof rack is nice because you can use it for other things afterwards or sell it off more easily than a hitch. Take things that would be really expensive to ship and mail the rest. Also you could consider asking if your employer covers moving costs some companies will.

 

You can't put much weight on the Fit's roof. The metal is paper thin and dents extremely easy. In fact I have seen empty roof racks dent the roof pillars on these vehicles.

 

Me personally, do NOT like roof racks, *especially* when it wasn't part of the car from the factory.
For example, most Subaru's come with rails from factory. Even then, I wouldn't use them, but it's better than adding it after-market.
I did have after-market roof racks back in the days, so I'm not a complete newbie, but that was 2+ decades ago.
After discovering hitches, I never looked back. I added hitch to almost everything I've owned since then, with the only exception being a BRZ.
I've even replaced the rear springs on one (Impreza), so it can handle higher load.

For light loads, like bicycles, using the hitch takes no extra time. And you don't have to worry about destroying bikes going into places (e.g. garages). No, I never did that, but came close once.
For a trailer, yeah, it's a bit more involved, but I just love the benefits, such as extremely low loading floor, and surprisingly low impact on aerodynamics.

 

Wow that's really surprising. I would have thought that the roof pillars would be strong enough to protect against a roll over but one can't argue against personal experience. It might explain why I don't see many Fits around here with a rack. I definitely wouldn't load the car up with anything heavy on top. Don't want to be tippy or have to lift heavy things over my head.

 

I have considered this if I need additional space, but I think that it would be much cheaper to take anything I could fit in a roof box and mail it, since a full roof box set up would cost around $1,000

 

Pods ended up being way too expensive -- it works, but for around $4,000. I think that mailing my stuff is going to end up being my best bet, I think I can do it for an easy 1.5k, and have friends at my destination that can receive and store my stuff. Not ideal and a bit weird, but why not.

I am in the east coast now, but I grew up in Texas, so I am familiar with extremely long and desolate drives! I am going to spend the next few months planning the trip and finding some nice locations. This will be in early October, so I am looking forward to the nice chill early fall weather. Anything specific you can recommend in Montana?

 

FitAnotherWay - the crash structure isn't the same thing as the surface of the car. A loaded roof rack isn't going to damage the crash structure, it's going to damage the body.

As far as putting a load on the roof, the Fit is already known for being a bit of a sail in high cross winds. I wouldn't want to add to that. Maybe something low profile like skis or snowboards, but I personally wouldn't put a bike on the roof and definitely not a cargo box or bag.

Sightseeing in Montana all comes down to time and what you like. Very generally, in the east and north you've got grasslands, in the southeast badlands, in the center the MIssouri River bluffs and badlands, and in the southwest and west mountains. October is a great time to hit the national parks (Yellowstone and Glacier) because of low crowds, but you run a pretty high risk of bad weather, especially at elevation. Even in September there was snow most nights when I was there. If you check out a road map you'll see that there are basically four E -> W routes, assuming you want to stay on the highway. You'll have the most services on the interstate and small towns on the others.