Towing with an Aveo

[NYChevoo]

As a Surburban owner also the thought of you fellas out there towing with an Aveo scares the heck out of me! I know some of you do, and some of you have in the past. I don't know why.

[northguest47]

so heres some pics of my aluminum trailer 'been building in my little spare time.. just gotta jerry wire it and take it out for a rip. you like?? i've pretty meticulously documented this project because if it works as well as i 'think', itll be a nice tracking trailer.

[xintersecty]

Hey Northguest47 you got any kinda shocks on that trailer? How did you weld it? Looks like a MIG operation? Love your work.

[northguest47]

no shocks, xintersecty, just the flexi-ride torsion axles.. i realize i didnt really capture a good pick of them.. but they are minimal. it was a tough choice to go with the 930lb ones instead of heavier rating.. but my reasoning is they would be too stiff otherwise. i bet a few heavy tows wont hurt them anyway. they have adjustable spline mounts too so one can dial in the ride height. this trailer was welded with a Miller MIG setup on 240 volts on a household panel. as you can see the rims and rubber match my car so when i get a flat the spares are right there..

[Vikin]

I have a 2010 Chevy Aveo5 Hatchback. Is it possible to tow a 4'x8' trailer from U-Haul, the smallest aluminum box trailer they have. Going to be going around 3000 miles.

[northguest47]

Vikin, is it an auto or manual? You'll have to get a weight on the trailer first, if they don't know just take a household scale there and weigh it yourself, both wheels (which should more or less match) and the tongue. Then a reasonable estimate on how much cargo you could pull can be made. Its really hard to find (truly) light trailers - they may say 'ultra' and 'feather' and whatnot but most in my opinion are grossly heavy. Thats why I just decided to fab my own.. keep us posted anyway if you are serious about doing this.

[northguest47]

Here's an example of something to try to tow with an Aveo

[northguest47]

Here's the example of what I did tow with the Aveo. All 4500kms (2750 miles) of it. Through 3 mountain passes that required light use of 3rd gear. I'll just throw in for thought that this trailer weighed 1376lbs overloaded with cargo, and all-in the little sparky was pulling about a ton of extra weight in cargo and trailer. A ton. And it could still do 65mph with no strong headwinds. Couldn't have been done without the mods, especially the 55 series tires for added (wheel) torque, and the airbags on the rear suspension which were dialed in to 17psi, thats why theres no squat.
Just puttin' it on the record Aveo friends of the little eee tecke two. Not givin' up on it folks, not even close :

[xintersecty]

You know that is some seriously good welding and workmanship there. Great job
northguest47

[old_biker]

just had to see what everyone had to say on towing relative light items. not got my Aveo yet, & me & wife had a discussion on putting a tow hitch on it thanks to this weekend. but what we would be hauling would be very unusual, his weekend the east coast got a major snow storm, I got 18 inches, well thank goodness power didn't go off, as we keep our generator at our other home, both are rural, & when I expect problems I bring generator here, but have no where to put it. & just leave it outside in the yard. this time I was working too much & couldnt go after it & my wife cant pick it up to load in my truck, so I figure I can put small axle with leaf spring to bolt or weld to generator with lights, legally not a trailer it is equipment, so I dont have title it. she could pull it, just cant pick it up by herself. figure under 300 lbs, 45 miles between homes. not interested in buying second generator, just to leave outside. plus to maintain