Not a bad idea to just get a trailer with a HL, the HL is a pretty competent tow'er as long as you don't get up right at the limit. Given you said that a utility trailer, that shouldn't be an issue. Having said that, here's my opinion of the car towing (edit: I got long winded :lol
I actually just got back yesterday from a 2500 mile trip over the last 2.5 weeks (well 2 trips, one 1.5k and one 1k) towing this trailer (7x16 cargo trailer):
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Having pulled that through some pretty bad storm yesterday in Illinois and Missouri, I can say a few things on how the HL handles high loads. Oh and to put it in perspective, its loaded over the stock HL ratings. It weights ~5500-5800lb, and I had originally put the tongue weight at 500lb (I use a scale to load it correctly), but it swayed bad so I pulled over and reloaded it to 600lb on the tongue. I also had 5 people in the car and a trunk full of suitcases/printer/paperwork. I was at or over the GCWR of ~11,000lb.
Power
The HL has the power, for the most part. I was only going 60-65mph on the interstate. I kept it in S4, though it spent probably 50% of the time shifting into 3rd and going WOT to maintain speed. Any SLIGHT hill it shifted to 3rd, but was able to maintain speed. It would shift to 3rd even on flat ground when the wind picked up (I was driving in 20-25mph wind, enough to hamper things). Merging onto the interstates at WOT were fast enough to be safe, but still by no means quick.
Transmission Temps
The transmission can and will get hot. If your loading it high, its gonna get toasty. I've installed a 2nd cooler to supplement the OEM cooler that's included in the tow package. On the first trip I never saw temps above 240F, however on the 2nd trip in heavy wind and when it was sitting in 3rd gear a lot, it got up around 250-260F, way hotter than I'd like to see.
I saw temps around 230F before I added my 2nd cooler, however the trailer was also 2,000lb lighter and less weight in the car itself. I'm pretty sure the OEM cooler is adequate for most cases, but when the car is pushed it will get hot in a hurry.
Chassis
Well this is one gripe of mine. The wheelbase is too short for large trailers like I pulled. Any wind would make it sway and the HL can easily be pushed around. However, if the trailer is smaller or if its not a high aero drag one, it won't be a problem.
Suspension
To put it mildly, the rear springs suck. They are not meant to handle large static weights. If you drop a high tongue weight on the car, it will compress...a lot. I've replaced my rear springs with 20% stiffer than OEM ones and have also added foam inserts into the springs to further stiffen them. Even with all of that, with 600lb tongue weights, a trunk full of gear, and 5 people, they were bottomed. I could stand on the hitch and the car might drop .5". Though having said that at no time did I feel it was unsafe due to how the suspension handled. It never rocked/bounced hard while I was towing it (though those foam inserts act like a progressive bump stop when in full compression, helped a TON). Point is this is no truck, and the springs won't act like a truck.
Brakes
If you have proper working trailer brakes, your fine. That trailer has brakes on both axles, and I can say, they were needed badly. Without working trailer brakes and if the load gets high, I can tell you, the HL brakes (or should I say traction when your slamming on the brakes) are nowhere near sufficient. I've towed that trailer in the past with less cargo (~3500-4000lb) without working trailer brakes (wiring in the trailer was damage, didn't find out till I left on a 500 mile trip), I nearly slammed into the back of a minivan that cut me off because I couldn't stop the car...lets just say ABS didn't like me.
Random note to anybody who reads this: don't cut off a car towing a trailer, its one of my biggest pet peeves and it drives me insane when people do it to me. Its stupid and dangerous instead of waiting the extra 10 seconds to just get behind me.
Traction
Well this will get into an argument of FWD vs AWD. I have FWD and desperately wish I had AWD.
On dry land:
If the car is pitched due to high tongue weight, front wheel traction is limited. If you floor it, your gonna spin, period. I never had issues steering though. Having said that, going uphill at highway speeds at WOT, torque steer is an issue. Its hard to keep the car going perfectly straight without slightly swaying due to it being FWD and putting all that power down.
In rain:
Downright scary. Your not going to hydroplane easily due to the extra weight of the trailer, but steering/acceleration is a major issue. I had a HARD time accelerating from a stop unless I creeped in heavy rain. I would simply spin the tires. I was worried about the ability to turn, but that never became an issue, it was mainly traction. Plus stopping distance sucks with that much weight, I did have the ABS kick in a few times when the trailer brakes locked up in the rain coming to a stop. But again a lot of this can be fixed by having an AWD model.
Mileage:
Really really sucks. I average 8-9mpg towing at 60-65mph. I did get a 7mpg tank on one or two tanks. Also, you only really have 15-16 gallons of "usable" gas in the tank. You'll have the car telling you your empty. So you have a small distance per tank. Can be an issue when going to middle of nowhere Kansas and you have to plan gas stations so you don't run out....Did I mention mileage sucks? :lol: Towing smaller trailers I usually get 12-13mpg.
Also, if your trailer is wide enough and you towing far enough, I'd suggest towing mirrors. Made my life much easier.
Remember all of this is based on a what I'd call a "worst case scenario" for towing with a HL. I'd be the first to suggest not pulling this kind of load with a HL. But I figured I'd give my impression from doing it so people could get an idea of the bad end of the rating spectrum. Towing a light utility trailer will be nowhere like this. So keep it all in perspective :thumbsup:
