Hey I used to have a 98 EK and sold it because I was going to be picking up a track only sportbike this coming winter and was going to get a pickup so I didnt need a trailer...well with gas prices being as ridiculous as they are right now I thought I should get another EK since it was great MPG wise.

Anyone pulling a trailer with their EK? Im thinking of getting a small small utility trailer that can fit two bikes and another EK, probably wouldnt ever weight more than 2000lbs anyone pulling anything with their EK?

 

I'm curious about this as well. I want to get a hitch to tow a small trailer with my bike on it.

 

well seeing as the civics are made for fuel mileage, and have a underpowered motor, doesnt have the right gearing, or the structural integrity for towing, i would advise against pulling. 2000 lbs is alot for a car with a rating of around 1000 lbs in the cab. towing adds alot of extra stresses to the car. for example you wouldnt pull a big 5th wheel camper with a halfton truck. yes it may pull it, but for how long? how long till you are going to need a new transmittion, and rear end, letalone the stress on the suspention and frame that werent made for such a wieght.

 

i had a neighbor before i moved that had a stock dx hatch and since he traveled alot with selling insurance and stuff like that he always rented those uhaul trailers about 4'x6' and packed it up and left for about 2-3 days..if he can do it..you can do it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris Cann &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hey I used to have a 98 EK and sold it because I was going to be picking up a track only sportbike this coming winter and was going to get a pickup so I didnt need a trailer...well with gas prices being as ridiculous as they are right now I thought I should get another EK since it was great MPG wise.

Anyone pulling a trailer with their EK? Im thinking of getting a small small utility trailer that can fit two bikes and another EK, probably wouldnt ever weight more than 2000lbs anyone pulling anything with their EK?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I seen it done in my area. Some guy in a small EG hatch put a tow hook and trailer two jet ski.

 

Get a b20 with a gsr tranny and you would be able to tow more. However fwd cars were not made to tow and it is harder to handle than a rwd car/truck.

 

With that much weight you will end up taking too much weight off the front wheels, especially if you have too much weight on the tonge of the trailer (forward of the trailer axle). Since you need weight on the front for steering, it is a bad idea. Also you will see more tire wear and decreased milage unless you get harder springs - the increased suspension movement will alter your toe settings beyond what specs call for.

A while ago I pulled my 95 EX on a dolly with a newer Ranger 'Edge'. Even that wasn't pleasant - the only thing it could handle well was braking. I really wouldn't feel safe doing it in a fwd Honda. Either make friends with a truck owner, or get a dumpy old Ford or something and make it as reliable as you can make it. Insure it as a low-milage second vehicle. Otherwise buy a decent, fuel-efficient v6 car or truck.

 

I just barely took off the hitch setup from my ek honestly it was just for looks/fun and because tow hitches are the new rice. My buddy still has one on his ek and he tows a 3x3 trailer and a pit bike . I would look for a two place cycle only trailer to save weight, and you would only be looking at towing like 1300lbs with the two bikes. I think you could do it and it would look awesome. Maybe even airbags in the back to help with the load.


Modified by gmcawd at 5:22 AM 5/28/2008


Modified by gmcawd at 5:22 AM 5/28/2008

 

as said before, just get a old ford or chevy truck. GET SOMETHING THAT WAS MADE FOR TOWING. instead of trying to tow with something that wasnt intended for towing. if your going to pull a trailer, you will need to upgrade brakes, suspention and chassis to handle the extra strains of towing. there is a reason why pickups have a thick heavy frame, and most still run leafsprings. hondas are a unibody car, they arent made to tow. they are made to get the most mpg that they can in an econo package. even the honda pickup, i dont like how thats unibody. unibody's have been proven to not hold up to the stresses of towing. it may not be alot of weight, but its wieght that the car wasnt made for. if you cant afford to buy a pickup then have a friend with one pull it. i HATE when people like you pull things with cars that arent ment for it. and when you cant stop, or turn properly, and handle the extra wieght, and cause a wreck, thats even worse. ive pulled alot more trailers then you probably have, i worked on a farm for quite a few years. my last job pulling a small dumpbox with a 08 2500 chevy, i watched the temp gauge raise up on the tranny pretty high. yes the pickup had the power to pull it, but i didnt like how it pulled it. for that trailer with the kind of load it had, i would of wanted a 1 ton truck, with a diesel. something that was made to pull that weight. so get yourself something that can handle what you want to do. get an old pickup, drive to the track or whereever you need to go, then home, then drive your honda the rest of the week. dont risk the lives of others on the road because you are to cheap, to dumb, to go buy the proper equipment.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frickr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hondas are a unibody car, they arent made to tow.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So your saying that unibody's arn't meant to tow right? Siennas, Rav4's, Highlander's are unibody's and Toyota makes factory tow hitches for them. I know that the millions that Toyota spends on research and development doesn't equate to farm hand experiences but....

 

you'll def. need a LS or B20 to pull that much weight bro, get a used truck and call it a day.

 

check this link out and think again...hahaha it's pretty funny...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAfZ1N56qjY

 

Would be much better to just rent a truck......

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hard_boiled_EG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check this link out and think again...hahaha it's pretty funny...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAfZ1N56qjY</TD></TR></TABLE>



retards, can't go up a hill.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bmoua &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you'll def. need a LS or B20 to pull that much weight bro, get a used truck and call it a day. </TD></TR></TABLE>

agreed

 

Not 2,000 lbs but it works.

ROKKEN LIKE DOKKEN!!!!!!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by girlsaremean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

So your saying that unibody's arn't meant to tow right? Siennas, Rav4's, Highlander's are unibody's and Toyota makes factory tow hitches for them. I know that the millions that Toyota spends on research and development doesn't equate to farm hand experiences but....</TD></TR></TABLE>

ive seen toyota frames bent all to hell, so no, i wouldnt trust them. and that was a full framed toyota. go look at a chevy ford or dodge pickup, you will see that the frames are quarter inch thick steel. your telling me that some spotwelded unibody is going to be as strong? i think not. yes you may get away with pulling a small trailer once a week, but in the long haul they wont hold up near as well. ive pulled a light utility trailer with maybe a thousand pounds on it, with a jeep and when breaking that trailer would push the jeep all over the road to where it was almost unpredictable trying to stop, let alone fast. thats from it being short wheelbased. now on a little civic, with 2000 lbs behind you, those brakes arent going to be able to handle it. you could have all the power in the world, but if you cant stop it, its not safe. you nieve people from the city, that think a little car can do anything are just flat wrong. hondas are good for some things, pulling an f'in trailer isnt one of them. its just flat out not safe! you can damn near max out the load rating on your car from people sitting in it. and when your pulling a trailer thats almost as much as yoru car, you are gonna have problems, if you have to stop for something quick, you might as well just drive it into a tree and save yourself the time

go get yourself a pickup. your honda is going to get maybe 10 if your lucky with the wind behind you. so your not gonna save saving any in the long run on gas. and also the added wear and tear on your car, look at a new transmittion, new motor, new axles, new tires, and damage to the rear of your car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by girlsaremean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not 2,000 lbs but it works.

ROKKEN LIKE DOKKEN!!!!!!!!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I need to pull. Only a slightly bigger bike. What hitch are you using?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bmoua &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">get a used truck and call it a day. </TD></TR></TABLE>
10x

if your using the civic for gasmilage, your throwing that right out the window once you start towing with it

 

In Europe there was a factory optional tow hitch and harness package for 6th gen Civics. So Honda was okay with them towing at least a little bit.

I have no idea what the limit was though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frickr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

go get yourself a pickup. your honda is going to get maybe 10 if your lucky with the wind behind you. so your not gonna save saving any in the long run on gas. and also the added wear and tear on your car, look at a new transmittion, new motor, new axles, new tires, and damage to the rear of your car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

can you sight examples of why this is so horrible? i have worked installing trailer hitches for 6yrs on hundreds of different cars.

there is engineering to the design of all hitches, and they take into account max vehicle payload and such.

there is no basis on fact to say that a small car can't tow small loads when its done on a regular basis without problems.

now how many times have you seen a pickup going down the road with a trailer obviously overloaded? more times than i can count myself.

 

I tow a Jet ski on a regular with my Accord. I also tow my motorcycle occasionally. I get 27.5MPG when I tow, so thats still decent to be towing compared to a truck. I would recommend that the Accord can stand up sufficiently for occasional towing that I use it for with 1 motorcycle. I dont have experience with 2, so I dont know if it would. I know I am safe towing up to 1,000LBS.

Check out these treads I have about towing.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1977607
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1977723

 

you can get a class 1 hitch for a civic.

class 1 = up to 2000 lbs gross trailer weight, up to 200 lbs tongue weight.

google "civic hitch" they are available for &lt;$80 from many places.

 

my friend also has an an accord but a 1991 and he used to our lil crx around all the time. idk about his gas milage but no dambage was ever done

 

anythings possible