The Elio And The Deer

[JP]

Ahhh sooo! I see what you mean, ok so wonkiness would be the only real possible problem then.

I'm no expert but yes. I'm judging based on what I have towed and had in my pickup

 

[JEBar]

when we were at the exhibit in Charlotte a couple of days ago, we noted that every time someone got into the driver's seat, the rear of the Elio would drop 2 - 3 inches .... from whatching that, I can't help but wonder just how much tongue weight the rear suspension of an Elio can handle

Jim

 

[goofyone]

when we were at the exhibit in Charlotte a couple of days ago, we noted that every time someone got into the driver's seat, the rear of the Elio would drop 2 - 3 inches .... from whatching that, I can't help but wonder just how much tongue weight the rear suspension of an Elio can handle

Jim

I considered this while driving home. For those of us considering towing the air adjustable suspension may be a necessary option to help counter this issue.

 

[JEBar]

I considered this while driving home. For those of us considering towing the air adjustable suspension may be a necessary option to help counter this issue.

agree .... folks like us need to go on and waver goodbye to $6,800

Jim

 

[Kronos]

Since the front track of the Elio is as wide as a regular car, if the front doesn't snag, a hitch rack won't snag either. Might cause some wonkiness. A small trailer would be a better option but it was just confirmed from the Charlotte tour towing would void the warranty

I didn't hear that towing would void the warranty That's pretty unfortunate. I understand not being liable for any accidents but voiding the entire 3 year/36,000 mile warranty seems extreme. I do like the idea of attaching a very small trailer for those times when you need to carry just a little bit more. Hrm.

 

[Truett Collins]

I didn't hear that towing would void the warranty That's pretty unfortunate. I understand not being liable for any accidents but voiding the entire 3 year/36,000 mile warranty seems extreme. I do like the idea of attaching a very small trailer for those times when you need to carry just a little bit more. Hrm.

It is not towing the Elio that would void the warranty but towing something with the Elio.... I guess we will go with a roof rack for that little bit more.

 

[JEBar]

I didn't hear that towing would void the warranty That's pretty unfortunate. I understand not being liable for any accidents but voiding the entire 3 year/36,000 mile warranty seems extreme. I do like the idea of attaching a very small trailer for those times when you need to carry just a little bit more. Hrm.

speaking from years spent working in RV sales which may or may not have any relevance, its a common practice for manufactures to reserve the right to decline warranty claims when unauthorized mods are made to their products .... that said, there are some limitations .... example with a camper : if you mount an unauthorized receiver for a trailer hitch on the back bumper, only claims on the parts that were influenced by the mod may be declined .... if the frig goes out that warranty wouldn't be affected .... I can see some issues with modifying the frame of a trike to install a trailer hitch receiver .... there is no question about the manufacture being entitled to decline a warranty claim if some component of the rear frame suffered a failure .... but how about a claim on for a motor or transmission issue ? .... I can see a valid argument that the Trike wasn't designed to tow a trailer being used to decline a claim .... here again, much of this is speculation

Jim

 

[Kronos]

speaking from years spent working in RV sales which may or may not have any relevance, its a common practice for manufactures to reserve the right to decline warranty claims when unauthorized mods are made to their products .... that said, there are some limitations .... example with a camper : if you mount an unauthorized receiver for a trailer hitch on the back bumper, only claims on the parts that were influenced by the mod may be declined .... if the frig goes out that warranty wouldn't be affected .... I can see some issues with modifying the frame of a trike to install a trailer hitch receiver .... there is no question about the manufacture being entitled to decline a warranty claim if some component of the rear frame suffered a failure .... but how about a claim on for a motor or transmission issue ? .... I can see a valid argument that the Trike wasn't designed to tow a trailer being used to decline a claim .... here again, much of this is speculation

Jim

Thanks for the informative reply. I can see how it'd be reasonable to decline a warranty claim for problems potentially caused by towing things with the Elio. Hopefully that would be the case, rather than voiding the entire warranty. I'm not sure how the legal situation would work out either. I figure all of this will be sorted later on.

Sorry I've strayed well off-topic for this thread XD

I suspect deer will pose quite the threat to the little Elio. Any accident for that matter, might be more likely to "total" the vehicle due to the relatively low cost of the Elio and the high cost of labor. :/ On the brighter side, maybe the smaller frontal-area will allow those deer to miss our vehicles slightly easier. (Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch).

In any case I'm going to trust that the Elio will be reasonably safe and achieve that 5-star rating, so I'm not too worried for the occupants in such an accident.

 

[ross]

I considered this while driving home. For those of us considering towing the air adjustable suspension may be a necessary option to help counter this issue.

That's where the adjustable coil over rear shock would come in real handy, cheaper and easier than an air system.

 

[Truett Collins]

Back to the deer......just had a case where a man hit a deer.....he said that he was trying to show his kids the deer that had already crossed the road when the next one jumped right out in front of him.....COME ON PEOPLE where their is one there are more....keep your eyes on the road.....AND BTW buckle you children in, one of his who was standing up in the back seat looking over the back of the front to see the deer was thrown over the seat into the dash and we had to airlift him with a broken collar bone and a concussion.