Towing with 2008 Honda Civic
My son has a 2008 Honda Civic sedan, and wants to tow an 825 lb Pop Up camper. The Civic manual says it will tow 1000 lbs, and the trailer is under on the hitch weight too. Anyone have any real world ...
Forum Discussion
I tow up to 2,000 pounds with my Fiesta, and it does great, and stays under payload. However, my Fiesta makes peak torque starting at 1700 RPM and stays flat until ~5,500 RPM. The Civic makes hardly any torque at lower RPMs, so towing a trailer you'll be wound out to 3500 RPM on the flats and red-lined on the hills. So... you could probably do it, but I don't think it will be enjoyable. If you have an auto transmission.... watch out. The Hondas only lockup the toque converter in 4th and 5th, and if you're stuck towing in 3rd it'll roast that transmission ASAP. If you have a manual transmission, you're probably fine.
As mentioned, watch your payload and rear axle rating. Your gen Civic has a long rear overhang compared to most cars that size, which mean 200 pounds of hitch weight will put more than 200 pounds on your rear axle.
Finally, how do you know the camper weighs 850 pounds? If that's the published "dry" weight, it probably weighs quite a bit more even before loading it up.
As mentioned, watch your payload and rear axle rating. Your gen Civic has a long rear overhang compared to most cars that size, which mean 200 pounds of hitch weight will put more than 200 pounds on your rear axle.
Finally, how do you know the camper weighs 850 pounds? If that's the published "dry" weight, it probably weighs quite a bit more even before loading it up.
