Upgrading 05 Rolla suspension for towing?

[jupiterhenry]

Hey everybody,

I'm Jupiter, I sometimes use my 2005 Corolla to tow a small trailer, and I want to upgrade the suspension to improve towing performance. When I connect the trailer, the rear end of the rolla gets pushed way down...not rubbing, but close. I want to stiffen the suspension, but I'm running into some questions:

1) Is it worth it for me to get a set of stiff lowering springs? Sure the car would drop an inch or so closer to the point of rubbing (which is what I'm trying to avoid), but maybe the stiffer springs would actually prevent the car from getting pushed down so far by the trailer? What are the stiffest springs I can get with the minimum drop?

2) If I get stiffer springs, what else will I need to do to keep the car running well and to avoid any future issues? Given that I'm asking so much from my rolla, should I get coilovers, upgrade the struts, shocks, what do you think? I don't care about how comfortable the ride is, I just want the car to handle the trailer, last long and perform OK when the trailer is disconnected.

3) Anyone ever hear of a lift kit for a rolla?

4) Anything else I should be considering? I'm already in the process of upgrading the brake rotors, pads and the tires.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Jupiter Henry

[JasonA]

What type of trailer is it? Sounds like you've got too much tongue weight. The trailer should be weighted slightly forward, but not by much. If you're putting the back of your Corolla on the ground by hitching up, I think you should look at the trailer/load first.

[jupiterhenry]

Good point - maybe what I need to do is just a major load reorganization. But let's say I rearrange the load to the point that it's just barely forward, and the rolla is still sagging; how can I upgrade the suspension?

Ideally, I'd like to be able to drive with 3 other people in the car while towing the trailer, which will put a lot of stress on the suspension, even when the load is perfectly balanced.

Thanks!

[JasonA]

You'll be overloaded if you do that. Seriously, you've got major legal issues if you're running around overloaded and get into an accident. You could get slapped with negligence, and left to fend for yourself in a lawsuit. My parents are full-time RVers and have attended countless towing/trailering seminars at all the RV rallies they go to. It's not something to mess around with.

But aside from that, with a balanced load, you won't have more than a hundred pounds of tongue weight on the car (or less). Unless you have a broken spring or something, the car won't sit on the ground. You should easily be able to pick up the front of the trailer by yourself. Get into the open trunk and see how much the car sits down after that. It shouldn't go down any more with the trailer on it. If so, the load still isn't balanced, or the trailer's tongue is just too heavy for the car.

But forget about carrying all those passengers as well. It just won't happen (not legally anyway). You may need a larger vehicle.

[jupiterhenry]

Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds, I'm not rolling around endangering the public...but you make a good point. I'm gonna reorganize the inside of my trailer so the weight is balanced right every time, and as you point out, that shouldn't be enough to slam the rear end of the rolla.

Thanks for the input - smarter and cheaper than beefing up my suspension.

Cheers

[JasonA]

Originally Posted by jupiterhenry

Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds, I'm not rolling around endangering the public...but you make a good point.

No, I'm sure not, but the law knows no grey area. Most folks don't realize (I never did) that any good lawyer will make you weight your vehicle and trailer, and at that point, you're out on your own in terms of legal protection. It wouldn't be a fun process.

Originally Posted by jupiterhenry

I'm gonna reorganize the inside of my trailer so the weight is balanced right every time, and as you point out, that shouldn't be enough to slam the rear end of the rolla.

Yeah, adjust the load so that the trailer is fairly balanced. You want a BIT of the weight just forward of the trailer's axle (just slightly front heavy) to add some stability to the whole thing (if it's rear heavy, it'll tend to yaw back and forth).

And do study your owner's manual carefully to see what you CAN tow. The towing limit is often quoted with no other passengers in the vehicle. If the tow limit is, say, 1000 pounds, you probably need to reduce that if you're carrying 3 other people. It's the GVWR, or Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, you're concerned about. That'll be printed on the tire pressure placard found in your driver side door jamb. On my Corolla, it's 3585 pounds. That means that the total weight of my vehicle, passengers, fuel, luggage, trailer, etc, cannot weigh more than 3585 pounds. I know the curb weight is around 2500. I weigh 230 myself. Add some fuel and a passenger, and it's an even 3000 pounds. That leaves only 585 pounds for my trailer. I couldn't even pull my jet ski with the Corolla...not even with NO passengers in it (not legally anyway).

Figure the curb weight of your car to be around 2500 pounds. Figure out how much you weigh, and how much your passengers weigh, and figure out how much "extra" you have available, after you compare that to your GVWR printed on your tire decal. Vehicles (and especially small ones) are generally designed to be "maxed out" when the maximum number of passengers are aboard, leaving little extra capacity for a trailer.