Anybody tow a trailer with their Clarity PHEV?

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Heino

Heino

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I know some folks have gone the route to install a trailer hitch on their Clarity for a bike rack, but how many folks here also tow a tear-drop or pop-up trailer?

Curious to see how the Clarity would handle towing 1,500lbs or less. I'm itching for a tear-drop trailer which is normally around 600lbs.
 
Heino said:
I know some folks have gone the route to install a trailer hitch on their Clarity for a bike rack, but how many folks here also tow a tear-drop or pop-up trailer?

Curious to see how the Clarity would handle towing 1,500lbs or less. I'm itching for a tear-drop trailer which is normally around 600lbs.
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Page 375 of the owner's manual...
towing.webp
 
Of course, Honda would say this... yet every tiny car sold in Europe has a trailer hitch, and Europeans pull trailers. So, my Honda Clarity with 212 HP cannot pull anything?

That’s kinda hard to believe...
 
Well, why not be the first?

There is no towing capacity provided by Honda for the car.

There is no Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating, which would indicate the maximum permissible weight for the vehicle and a trailer.

Towing a trailer may void your warranty.

Can the car do it? Your guess is as good as mine. My 23hp riding lawn mower can tow a trailer. It is rated to do so and I do it on private property.

Can the electric motors and the gerbil powered engine handle towing an additional 600-1200lbs? Will the brakes be able to stop the load? Are you going to install a harness and install trailer brakes? Is the teardrop trailer equipped with brakes?

Believe it or not, the car isn’t rated to tow. If you want to tow a trailer you should have done your due diligence and purchased a vehicle that is rated and approved by the manufacturer to tow a trailer.
 
Heino said:
Of course, Honda would say this... yet every tiny car sold in Europe has a trailer hitch, and Europeans pull trailers. So, my Honda Clarity with 212 HP cannot pull anything?

That’s kinda hard to believe...
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Honda doesn't say this about every vehicle they make - only this one - so maybe they have their reasons. Every tiny car in Europe doesn't have a 500 lb. battery pack between its rear wheels - nor do they have extraordinarily complex multi-link suspension systems just to manage that weight. https://tiremeetsroad.com/2019/09/1...nda-clarity-engineering-packaging-excellence/
 
I would guess that anyone that has towed a trailer would not be interested in mentioning it on this forum... but I would also love to know.

At my last New York State inspection, the inspector asked me how it worked for towing, since I have a trailer hitch installed. I have only used it for a back rack.

If there was an easy way to install trailer wiring, I would have it installed by now. I just went past 67K miles, with no extended warrantee: I am on my own now
 
Kerbe said:
Honda doesn't say this about every vehicle they make - only this one - so maybe they have their reasons. Every tiny car in Europe doesn't have a 500 lb. battery pack between its rear wheels - nor do they have extraordinarily complex multi-link suspension systems just to manage that weight. https://tiremeetsroad.com/2019/09/1...nda-clarity-engineering-packaging-excellence/
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Ok, fair enough! I was starting to look into the feasibility of a hitch... You got me convinced to not even try ;)


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Inside EVs
 
Landshark said:
Well, why not be the first?

There is no towing capacity provided by Honda for the car.

Believe it or not, the car isn’t rated to tow. If you want to tow a trailer you should have done your due diligence and purchased a vehicle that is rated and approved by the manufacturer to tow a trailer.
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I like to live on the edge... and honestly, towing was not something I had in mind at the time of purchase.

There are many small trailers like tear drops at around 600lbs. - which I believe the Clarity can handle. I may give it a go... first I gotta get that pesky tough hitch installed. I appreciate your comments... now I am determined more than ever to make this happen. :)
 
A real world answer that I read. Clarity owner put a hitch on for a bike rack and was uncomfortable enough with the low ground clearance to get an adapter to put the rack higher up. A loaded Clarity has a little over 4" ground clearance.
 
Danks said:
A real world answer that I read. Clarity owner put a hitch on for a bike rack and was uncomfortable enough with the low ground clearance to get an adapter to put the rack higher up. A loaded Clarity has a little over 4" ground clearance.
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The bottom of the hitch is at 9”. That won’t cause issues with ground clearance. Caution will be required when transitioning from a parking lot or driveway onto a street with a bike rack, or similar rack extending from the vehicle.
 

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U-Haul rents bolt-on trailer hitches that can be installed on any car, or at least any that they will fit.

It amazes me that there is this attitude, perhaps it's not too strong to say a consensus, on EV forums these days that you can't use a car to tow unless it's officially tow-rated by the manufacturer. Heck, my dad probably installed a trailer hitch on every sedan he ever owned; even his classic VW Beetle, altho I would definitely not recommend that!

Large motorcycles can and do tow small trailers. Heck, they even make very light trailers that can be towed by a bicycle! This idea that ordinary cars can't tow... it's just not rational. But do be smart about it. Don't try to tow a trailer that weighs, let's say, more than half the weight of the vehicle, unless your car is is tow-rated. Look up and follow safety instructions regarding towing, if you're not familiar with doing so. Driving while towing requires some special care and special cautions; don't try to drive as if you weren't towing a trailer.

Towing will void the warranty? Well, that's certainly an exaggeration. If the car maker's service shop determines that damage was done to your car because you used it to tow despite a lack of tow rating, then they may refuse to fix that particular damage. But towing won't void the entire warranty for the car, even if the car's manual claims it will. There are laws regulating that sort of thing, so they can't void the entire warranty just for that.
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Use common sense and you'd be fine IMO. I would NOT do a teardrop but think someone would absolutely be fine with small jetski on trailer, kayak trailer etc. The issue isn't just weight, its also wind drag.
 
JFon101231 said:
Use common sense and you'd be fine IMO. I would NOT do a teardrop but think someone would absolutely be fine with small jetski on trailer, kayak trailer etc. The issue isn't just weight, its also wind drag.
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One would not use a Clarity to tow, if one possessed common sense.
 
To each their own. If an Accord can do it, sorry I don't believe that a Clarity can't, it could be listed that way for myriad of reasons including impact to mpg rating. Especially when the weight of both my 2 examples can be easily exceeded with 4 obese passengers and luggage and no one would bat an eye. I'm not suggesting hauling 2000 lbs... If they prohibited roof racks (maybe they are lol) would you not run one either?
 
I had a 2007 Honda Fit. The manual said the same about not recommended and voiding warranty. However, I purchased a hitch for it. I purchased a 4 x 8 trailer from Harbor Freight. I moved my 1800 sq ft house 30 miles away, to my new one, with the Fit and trailer. Zero issues.

I had a trailer hitch on a CRX that I owned. I moved 180 miles away with it and a small U-Haul trailer.

I had a hitch on a 1999 CR-V. I towed the above-mentioned CRX from western Kentucky to Washington D.C. and back.

I have a hitch on my 2006 Acura TSX. I used it with the HF trailer to move from TN to NC (500 miles one-way) and back over the course of a year. Again, zero issues.

Since I have the TSX, a 2014 Pilot, and we have a GMC 2500 pickup, I don't have a need for a hitch on the Clarity; however, I wouldn't hesitate to put one on it if that was what I wanted/needed.

If you research, you'll find that there are many autos in the US that are not rated to tow anything (Fit, included -- it's call Jazz in Europe) but it is rated to tow in Europe and other parts of the world.

Maybe we just have the most over-protected, lawyer-based place in the modern world?

It's really sad that people have to be told not to do stupid stuff -- like drinking disinfectants, etc. There are warning labels on everything because we've become a society where people do things that are, well, rather stupid. Most Darwin awards are extremely justified. Use some common sense. A small trailer probably won't be an issue. Towing a 3000 pound car on a 2000 pound trailer is probably asking for a Darwin award.

If you want to put a hitch on your Clarity, go for it. eTrailer sells them: https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2018_Honda_Clarity.htm wiring adapters, too.

Disclaimer: My opinion does not represent Honda, Acura, or any other affiliates. My opinion is mine, and my own. My experiences are not recommended to others. I do not advise doing anything that would make a lawyer smile and/or drool.
 
It’s not what we believe, it’s what we know.

We know, from the owners manual, that the Clarity is not designed to tow a trailer. We could speculate for an eternity as to why.

Given this information, suggesting that it would be fine, or ok, or safe to tow a certain type of trailer that weighed 600 lbs, is an example of using ignorance as a guide when offering advice.

Sure, you could put 4, 300lb people in the car and head off to the buffet. The weight would exceed the GVWR of the vehicle. That may stress the suspension components, particularly on the return trip. We know the GVWR for the vehicle, so a responsible owner would attempt to operate the vehicle below that weight.

What you don’t seem to understand, is the difference between a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and a Gross Combined Weight Rating.
 
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