Scamp 13 Towing with 2016 Prius

[Mike Magee]

Another factor, the Prius' light suspension will let the car jiggle more from the trailer tongue's up/down movement during travel. Might not give an improved ride, although a weight distribution hitch could smooth it out.

[lisantica]

I'm probably going to stick with the Sprinter as the tow vehicle.
Up in Idyllwild now, the climb was easy.

[revrblue]

Just checked on the Pruis towing spec and it is ONLY for the EUROPEAN PRUIS not the us version. So I would stay with the Sprinter for towing as the pruis will not last.

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by revrblue

Just checked on the Pruis towing spec and it is ONLY for the EUROPEAN PRUIS not the us version. So I would stay with the Sprinter for towing as the pruis will not last.

You are correct, I should have read that closer about being Euro only. Shucks!
I'll keep towing with the Sprinter.

[Jon in AZ]

"Caravan" in the linked write-up is a clue, although the writer was US-based and seemed to imply the rating applied to North American models, too. Sounds like the Euro Prius has a special software mode for towing, and I'm guessing that software flash is not available here.

Having driven a standard issue Prius through the mountains, I'd say it works pretty hard already. Before I get to the top of a long grade, the battery is tapped out and the drone of the little engine working unassisted is annoying. Regenerative braking is nice coming down the other side, but it's raucous, too.

But hey... wouldn't it be cool to have regenerative braking to charge my trailer's battery pack? Dream on...

[steve dunham]

Our local auto repair shop has had a Prius sitting in their storage lot for over 2 months . According to the shop owner , the Prius was used to tow a small utility trailer . The engine in the Prius is locked up and Toyota says it will cost between $8K to $10K to repair .
Since the Prius is not rated for towing , the repair is not covered under warranty . This maybe total BS but that's the story I was given.

Towing a 2000 lb Scamp with a Prius seems like too much of a risk IMHO

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

Some quick trivia. For those unfamiliar, the Pontiac (for some other time) Vibe was a sister/cousin to the Toyota Matrix, two similar cars produced by NUMMI, a joint venture of GM and Toyota in Pleasanton, CA. outside San Francisco. Prior to those models, they produced the Chevy/GEO Prism there and a version of the Corolla. I believe the drive trains and designs were mostly Toyota. In my opinion, that factory produced some great sub compacts.

I am pretty sure they now produce Teslas there. No relation.

The cost of developing new vehicles means it makes sense to put more than one car on the same platform. I think the Highlander, Camry, and some Lexus (?) share the same platform. Until very recently VW sold a vehicle in Europe that shared the Sprinter body, but used a VW engine. I've heard VW builds 5 vehicles on the VW Beetle platform. The Audi TT, and a small Audi sedan (A4?) are several. The Golf and Jetta? maybe the others. I've heard Mercedes shares an SUV platform with Nissan, I think. Obviously Sprinters were thinly disguised as Dodges and still Freightliners, a Mercedes subsidiary. The newest Dodge vans are a Fiat product. I don't know where they are made.

No doubt I am mistaken here somewhere. I welcome corrections and additions.

I remember that Prizm! Half Toyota and half Chevrolet... We used to call it the Toyolet!

[lisantica]

Originally Posted by floyd

We used to call it the Toyolet!

Too funny, pronounced "toyo-lay"

[floyd]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Our local auto repair shop has had a Prius sitting in their storage lot for over 2 months . According to the shop owner , the Prius was used to tow a small utility trailer . The engine in the Prius is locked up and Toyota says it will cost between $8K to $10K to repair .
Since the Prius is not rated for towing , the repair is not covered under warranty . This maybe total BS but that's the story I was given.

Towing a 2000 lb Scamp with a Prius seems like too much of a risk IMHO

It probably is... especially that 10K for the engine!

But then maybe not, when they wanted $1200 to change a knock sensor on my son's Scion.

Question is, who could prove that a "bicycle rack receiver" was ever used for towing anything!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by floyd

It probably is... especially that 10K for the engine!

But then maybe not, when they wanted $1200 to change a knock sensor on my son's Scion.

Question is, who could prove that a "bicycle rack receiver" was ever used for towing anything!

Again "What I was told" . Toyota did try replacing the batteries but that did not solve the problem.
The vehicle broke down when on the road while towing .
As of this morning the vehicle is still sitting in the same spot in the back lot of the repair shop.
It's not my vehicle so it's not my problem , I only asked the shop owner out of curiosity . Usually you don't see a fairly new car parked at a repair shop for months on end.

[Ed Harris]

Well just to pour a little more data on the fire here,my Sprinter is also a T1N like yours but it is also a 118" Short Roof version.
They share the drivetrain and I get 27-30 usually towing or not.

This sort of implies that the added weight and air drag of your larger van also drop your efficiency which I suppose is obvious really.

I also had a 2005 Prius last year that I found with under 5k actual miles on it and so mainly out of curiosity I bought it and tried to love it.
It is an impressive vehicle to say the least and I was a pretty consistent one to condemn them before actually having one but in the end I just could not deal with the lack of space and sold it for profit.

That said there was often barely enough power to move the car alone when running on the gas motor and I would think it not practical to tow with for my needs.

I think that given the immense practical advantages of the Sprinter as a Tow Vehicle I would just embrace it,and I have.
I love mine and don't plan to stop driving it until death do we part.

I do mostly tow with a pickup truck too though?

[Joe Romas]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

As it is, you'd probably want to keep it under 50 mph... maybe under 45.

Now, if you had one of these....
Little Guy Worldwide
Attachment 110670

Or maybe off the side of the road broken down

[SilverGhost]

My Golf would avg 51-52 mpg not towing and 28-32 mpg towing. 17' Egg and usually about 55-60mph.

Higher starting MPG numbers typically mean much larger drop when towing.

Jason

PS: Prius does offer the interesting option of powering your Scamp at camp, much like some people have powered their homes during blackouts.

[emersunrose]

I wouldn't try it. I'm told that RMPs are the most important thing when pulling a trailer and a hybrid isn't set up for high RMPs. I've seen someone who pulls a 13ft Scamp with a Mini Cooper but that engine can produce the RPMs needed. Here they are: https://youtu.be/9uhgPvkWCZk

I love my Prius but we purchased a 6 cylinder van to pull our 16 ft Scamp. Even though it's automatic it can be "down shifted" to a gear that can pull the trailer up a hill. Hubby just drove it from CA to WA through a few sets of mountains without issue.

[k corbin]

Video from Toyota UK of the new Prius with towing a trailer in the UK Lake District which has a lot of hilly terrain. In the responses to the video Toyota UK stated that the trailer they are towing weighed 1,433 lbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQZgj_VpqKk

[emersunrose]

https://priuschat.com/threads/how-mu...railer.105944/

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by k corbin

Video from Toyota UK of the new Prius with towing a trailer in the UK Lake District which has a lot of hilly terrain. In the responses to the video Toyota UK stated that the trailer they are towing weighed 1,433 lbs.

Interesting video but the hills shown were no more than a little rise in the roadway. Wonder how the Prius would fair pulling that over the Rockies or a visit to San Francisco streets for example . It's a good commuter car but towing....why?

[the_fixer]

How is it that the rest of the world seems to manage towing with your average small car while everyone in the good ol US OF A needs a full size diesel pickup to to tow anything over the size of grande latte from Starbucks? Silly nanny state.

[emersunrose]

Originally Posted by the_fixer

How is it that the rest of the world seems to manage towing with your average small car while everyone in the good ol US OF A needs a full size diesel pickup to to tow anything over the size of grande latte from Starbucks? Silly nanny state.

Is your comment meant to be taken literally? It seems like an exaggeration meant to be kinda funny. We pull our 16ft Scamp with a 6-cylinder Sienna. Elsa & Baron pull their 13ft Scamp with a Mini Cooper. Most people pulling FBTTs use a regular-size vehicle. The question that is being asked in this thread is about using a 4-cylinder hybrid.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by the_fixer

How is it that the rest of the world seems to manage towing with your average small car while everyone in the good ol US OF A needs a full size diesel pickup to to tow anything over the size of grande latte from Starbucks? Silly nanny state.

The rest of the world just hasn't caught up to us yet but don't worry they will. The Chinese can copy anything.

I have never been to Starbucks , never had a grande latte
and never traveled to the State of Nanny so the analogy
escapes me.