Towing

[Godofbiscuits]

I will be towing a 4x8 trailer packed with the majority of my belongings from Orange County, CA to Seattle, WA and wanted to hear from others on this forum who also tow with their Corollas. I have a 2008 with manual transmission so won't need a cooler but might need a clutch (not to mention brakes) when I'm done. This will be a one time tow with the trailer only being used to hauling lumber after this, which I've done many time but only a couple hundred pounds at a time. I estimate my tools and equipment will come to around 1000-1200 pounds. The Corollas towing capacity says 1500 but a few hundred pounds less should make for a safer trip. There will be some mountains involved (Grapevine and Shastas) so I want to know if there are others on here who tow and what kind of advice you can give me.

Please only respond if you actually tow with your corolla

Thanks

[wylee]

I'm not familiar with the mountains you mention but just you're better off than most since you have the 5 speed; if you have long steep downgrades, just slow down, use a lower gear, and don't ride the brakes.

In general, drive a little slower, increase your following distance to 3 seconds, and be ready for crosswinds. The Corolla seems to be more susceptible to sway than most other vehicles I've towed with.

As far as the clutch...unless you have a bunch of starts on hills, towing will have very little impact on clutch wear. The Corolla has a low enough first gear so slipping the clutch is not necessary.

Probably the single most important thing to remember when towing with any small vehicle with a relatively soft suspension is SMOOTH inputs. A sudden lane change at 70mph could easily put you into a wobble/sway that you would not enjoy.