Towing The Elio / Towing With The Elio

[Stugotz]

Unfortunately due to handling and liability issues it does not look like we will be getting official rear mounting and/or towing support. Just like many small cars and most motorcycles these features will be provided by the aftermarket and will be installed and used at our own risk.

Officially sanctioned mounting points will be provided on the roof. We will be able to peel back the black rubber roof trim strips and underneath will be mounting hard points with one side also providing electrical connections.

Darn, Looks like I will need to go to the back up plan.

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[Rickb]

I appreciate your incite. I think it is safe to say, anything that "can" be done safely can also be royally screwed up! We already know that any vehicle towing any type of trailer, handles differently and requires extra attention and care. The same goes for a pickup truck bed. Empty or full...you drive it differently. I am personally willing to design and test a one wheeled trailer for my personal use. I may get it done and come to the conclusion that you are right. Weather it is a success or a failure, I will gladly post the results.

I like the single wheeled trailer. I researched single wheeled trailers and apparently it's a special vertical hitch design that allows for the trailer to bank with the cycle.
Does that mean a single wheeled trailer may have issues if pulled behind the Elio with a standard ball hitch? The manufacturer should have a definitive answer before building and testing. That's providing we get an after market hitch.

 

[outsydthebox]

......Does that mean a single wheeled trailer may have issues if pulled behind the Elio with a standard ball hitch? .

You could not pull a single wheel trailer with a standard "ball type hitch."...the trailer would fall over. But a fixed "universal joint" allows the trailer to stay upright thru dips and turns.
.......Oh yea, you're the one who posted this pic!

 

[CheeseheadEarl]

Ok sorry to sound pessimistic (especially on something I really like the looks of) but I don't think a single wheel trailer is such a good idea after all. The problem is roll control. The Elio has none in the back. In a turn the twisting moment of a single wheel trailer is going all the way through the frame to fall upon the outboard front wheel and try to lift the inboard wheel. Neither of which is something you want to happen. A single wheel trailer towed by a 2 wheel motorcycle banks with the bike so no sideload or twisting is encountered. Looks like a small 2 wheel trailer is still the best all round choice.

I'm with ya. Somewhere in the last 45 pages of this thread, I've said the same thing, as a matter of fact.

The pothole obsessed on this site can either stretch the trailer axle out to match the front track, or - perish the thought - back off a little from the car in front so they have time to react.

 

[Dusty921]

I'm in no way trying to say an Elio can't tow such a trailer .... after 10+ years of working in RV sales I've seen way too many folks towing with vehicles that aren't designed for that purpose .... in all cases there is a mechanical price to pay for doing so .... that is not to say instant failure or destruction .... our 2011 Chevy has a trailer tow rating of 9,700 pounds but its gearing is designed for mileage .... running solo on an interstate she consistently delivers 20+ mpg ....with the 10' trailer hauling a GEM car that drops to 11 - 12 mpg on interstates , trailer only 12-13 mpg on interstate highways .... with our daughter's camper 9-10 mpg

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if/when we get an Elio we will most likely tow some type of small trailer for weekend or longer outings .... I really like the single wheel examples given .... until we get folks out there towing and report back the results we won't know how they perform

Jim

I'd be real careful of the "inexpensive" steel, dual 8" wheel, trailers. These trailers loaded improperly can take a Ford Ranger for a nasty ride. With only 1/3 of the weight on the single rear wheel, and a trailer, that empty, already weighs half what the Elio does, it wouldn't take much to turn that combination into a 60 mph deadly game of 'crack the whip', especially without a rear seat passenger and any imbalance in loading. Blow one of these baloney skin tires and forget it. GET REAL FOLKS, this is a recipe for disaster and not the fault of the Elio design. I have towed literally all types of trailers, from boats to multiple race cars, since I was 16 (50yrs) and have had a scary moment or two. I tow, every day, an 8.5' x 6.5' x 22' enclosed "shop" trailer behind my 2000 Dodge ext cab 8' bed truck. combined weight of well over 14,000 pounds, so I have a little knowledge on the subject. Don't make headlines for Elio like this!! Besides, we'd like to have you around for a while!
btw; I get 12+ mpg, get a Dodge next time.

 

[goofyone]

There is a lot we will be discovering about trailer towing with the Elio so we will all just have to work together to see what works and what doesn't. We will definitely had to tread carefully and always remember that overloading trailers and vehicles and/or improperly securing and balancing the load on a trailer will cause problems in any vehicle. These issues will likely be magnified in a very lightweight vehicle with three wheels so anyone who decides to use a trailer of any type will have to be very cautious of what they do.

I happen to run a business which builds trailer mounted solar power systems and maintaining proper weight distribution and tongue weight is something we are constantly aware of when designing and building our systems. Try properly distributing the weight of 1000+ lbs of lead acid batteries and several hundred pounds of solar panels in a trailer some time as shifting those batteries just a few inches can make a huge difference in the overall balance of the trailer and in tongue weight.

 

[Dusty921]

Unfortunately due to handling and liability issues it does not look like we will be getting official rear mounting and/or towing support. Just like many small cars and most motorcycles these features will be provided by the aftermarket and will be installed and used at our own risk.

Officially sanctioned mounting points will be provided on the roof. We will be able to peel back the black rubber roof trim strips and underneath will be mounting hard points with one side also providing electrical connections.

I completely agree with EM on this one, I personally would be VERY careful with the dynamics of towing anything behind the ELIO. Scarry at best! Hence, my reply to JEBAR.

 

[JEBar]

I'd be real careful of the "inexpensive" steel, dual 8" wheel, trailers.

btw; I get 12+ mpg, get a Dodge next time.

understood on 8" tires .... we spend the summer in South Dakota, and a few weeks ago we left on the weekend that Sturgis was breaking up .... we drop down on I29 to KC and then take I70 to St Louis .... we never cease to be amazed at the number of bikes we see .... this year we saw two different rigs on the side of the road, one with 2 bikes and one with 4 bikes on single axle trailers that had blown what looked to be an 8 - 12" tire (its hard to tell exactly at 60+ mph ) .... both the boat and GEM car trailers that we tow have 15" Maxxis 8008 tires, I have no desire to spend time changing a tire on the shoulder of an interstate

as to Dodge, , that ain't gonna happen

Jim

 

[JEBar]

I completely agree with EM on this one, I personally would be VERY careful with the dynamics of towing anything behind the ELIO. Scarry at best! Hence, my reply to JEBAR.

to make it clear, I'm not encouraging anyone to tow anything behind anything .... my statement was that there are folks out there towing various trailers with vehicles that weren't designed for it .... that is a fact, pure and simple ..... I still think the jury is still out and will be out until folks doing so put enough real world miles and come back to report what they experience .... with people out there looking for an excuse to take companies and individuals to court in hope of making money, I can't name a single product that doesn't come with statements of liability from company lawyers .... the statement from EM is the only one their lawyers can allow to be made

Jim

 

[Michael Beltrone]

I was thinking it might be cool if someone made a trailer like they do for motorcylces so you could actually take the Elio on trips. What do you all think?