Checking to see if any of these cars could effectively haul a cat/trailer. This will be a disassembled cat, so the width of the trailer will be around 7 feet, not the 8'6" like the "normal" cat trailers.

I guestimate the trailer, cat, and equipment will be around 900-1000 lbs. max.

Here's the choices:

Chevy Aveo - 103hp - 107 ft. lbs. torque
Kia Rio - 110hp - 107 ft. lbs. torque
Toyota Yaris - 106hp - 103 ft. lbs. torque
Honda Fit - 109hp - 105 ft. lbs. torque

I don't expect to have any great acceleration or fuel economy, but it would appear there is enough horsepower to haul something like this..

Are there any other considerations for these vehicles? Enhanced engine/transmission cooling? Bigger brakes? Nitrous? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

A-Cat with trailx trailer no problem.

N20 with a galvanzied trailer... hmmmm...

is 1 horse power really the equivalent of 1 horses strength?

Centerfold boy,

By "trailex" trailer, are you referring to an aluminum type trailer?

It's for a T boat. WOrking on building something, so I guess I have flexibility in materials and design.

From Wikipedia... I learn something every day..

[color:"blue"]The term "horsepower" was coined by the engineer James Watt (1736 to 1819) in 1782 while working in the performance of steam engines. This occurred while using a mine pony to lift coal out of a coal mine. He conceived the idea of defining the power exerted by these animals to accomplish this work. He found that, on the average, a mine pony could pull (lift by means of a pulley) 22,000 foot-pounds per minute. Rather than call this "pony" power, he increased these test results by 50 percent, and called it horsepower i.e. 33,000 foot-pounds of work per minute [/color]

yes, they should work. No reason they shouldn't. think about having 4 other 250lb dudes in the cars, the car would still be ok, right?

Correct, aluminum type.

Horsepower is only one factor to consider when selecting a vehicle for towing. I think a vehicles weight, breaks, transmission, etc. also needs to be considered. If I were to try to tow my N20 and galvanized trailer behind a small car with sufficient horsepower, I may end up with the "tail wagging the dog" the first time I tried to stop of go around a corner.

That's kind of what I was thinking, although I doubt seriously that four 250lb dudes could fit in these little shoeboxes.

Most people call these cars "speedbumps" around here. $4.00 gas? nobody cares around here. Ferraris only get 9 mpg anyway. Bentlys get about 12. What do Escalades get?

JW was telling me there is a guy in CA that uses a Mini Cooper to drag his boat around. I can't remember if it is a T or an A.

Mike Dobbs have hauled his Tornado on an alu tilt trailer behind a Morris Mini. He did not mention any trouble.

We trailed our Tornado extensively with lots of gear behind a Ford Focus station wagon with a 1.6litre engine. No worries, just a bit slow going uphill.

Just watch out for local regulations on how much you can tow with a small car. There might be some legalese there.

T on a tilt trailer, Mike Dobbs I think. He had a pic on here at 1 time

I tow a H16 on an oversized galvanized trailer (combined weight about 720 lbs without gear) with my Maza Protege without any problems. The cars you listed here are a bit smaller, but if you check the European specifications for these cars you can get a better idea for the true towing capacity (the US specs will tell you not to tow anything, even for my 2.0 liter Protege5). I looked up the Yaris, and the listed towing capacity for the 87hp model is 550 kg without trailer brakes, so about 1200 lbs.....so you should be fine.

how many mpg's does this get?

I don't think there would be many hills where I intend to travel. Good to know the Ford Focus could do it.

Don't intend to have a tilt trailer, either. Too much windage.

I think the Mini Cooper might have more horsepower than the "compacts" I list, but at least there are those out there who have experience with this, so I know it's possible.

As for regulations, I am only aware of FL DOT rule that requires any trailer with more than one axle (or over a certain weight) has to have trailer brakes on EACH WHEEL.

Not many trailer mfg. companies do this, which leaves the buyer in violation of DOT.

Yes, I've received a "reminder" of this little detail from a "friendly public servant" a while back.

you meant gpm, right?

Thanks Arie. I see you're just up the road from me in Ft. Myers. Any chance you'd be free to sail once in a while?
Where do you usually float that H16?

I have heard that installing a trailer hitch on some small cars will void the warranty. Better check the fine print!

Just checked and the steepest trailering we did with the Tornado behind Focus was 10% climbs. Speed limit was 80km/h and we could follow the traffic by gearing down.
Towing a tilt trailer is usually murder for the mpg if you go long/fast <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> By breaking the Tornado down we could tow the hulls in the wake behind the car, but the mast poking up and forward over the car still made for some drag.
I find driving a largish car is much more comfortable when driving on highways for 6-xx hours. But money is what decides in the end.

Mike trailered his T from Calif to FL, but not behind the Mini and not in tilt mode (I think). He should be able to share some good information next time he checks in here.

Get one that's out of warranty :-)