How much weight can I tow with my Saturn Ion?

Question

I am renting a 4 x 8-foot trailer (empty weight 680 lbs) from U-Haul to pull behind my 2006 Saturn Ion. I have 850 lbs of stuff to put into it. U-haul folks assure me this is fine. Saturn folks tell me no more than 1500 lbs (1300 is preferable) can be towed by my car. Has anyone done this or have any wisdom for me? Thanks. BTW, I will be taking I-10 from Florida to AZ up to Utah on I-15.

Answer 1

Hey, man. Go with what the Saturn folks tell you. They built the thing. Are you fishing to find an answer that you want? Be very careful. U-Haul rents trailers and don't care if you bust an axel or flip the whole rig or not.

Good luck. My 1992 Saturn was sold with 126,000 miles showing and at last report was still running! Good car when used for what it was designed for. It's no F150, but it's not even a truck. Are you hauling a boat or pots, pans, jeans, and t-shirts. Don't matter. A pound is a pound. To bring the total down to a weight you're comfortable with, ship the difference by UPS.

Answer 2

Drive as smooth as possible, take the long way to avoid hills. Even the flat part of Texas climbs quite a bit from east to west so watch your temps and your tranny. I overloaded a focus by a decent margin but made up for it by not filling the tank and driving really smoothly. Watch out for bumps and expansion joints as they will shock the driveline. You should be fine, the 1500/1300 numbers are based on the possibility that you will be doing that often, if you only do one trip like this it should be okay. If you want to tow stuff often then get a transmission fluid cooler and an oil cooler, or a different vehicle.

Answer 3

There's a difference of being ABLE to tow 1500 lbs, than towing from FL to Utah towing 1500 lbs! You will never make it believe me, I've towed plenty of trailers near my trucks limit and it's a constant strain. Not only will you wear out your auto, you also will wear yourself out. Do yourself a favor, rent 1500 lbs of weight first, and try it out, you will thank me (your welcome).

By the way, I don't know of any U-Haul trailers being equipped with load equalizers. You will have a lot of tongue weight which will raise the front of your auto. It will get very exciting for you when you're being over-taken by tractor-trailer rigs going 75 when you're going 50!

Answer 4

You are beyond your 1500 lbs limit take the trailer weight then 850 lbs your things then take the wind drag that means you are way over.Rent a small truck and tow dolly's to put the car on it will be cheaper than replacing motor or transmission or both.The car was not meant to pull a trailer don't need to do this.

Answer 5

The owner's Manual will tell you for sure as well as going to www.trailerlife.com and viewing the tow ratings there for your year vehicle. They have ratings for all vehicles in a certain year in pdf files. That way you know for sure. Problem is the frame on those as if you overload it then the hitch will actually tear from the frame or overstress it. Might not be a problem, but your's is a lightweight vehicle not designed to tow a lot of weight. Better safe than sorry so check those tow ratings as listed above and be sure.

Answer 6

U Haul Trailer Weight

Answer 7

What's the average weight of 1 pedestrian?

Answer 8

What does your owners manual say? You should be okay. Just don't over heat the tranny or engine, keep it at a study speed. I would make sure my engine and transmission oils are good, check the coolant. Tire pressures should be check periodically.

Answer 9

your good to go man.. just make sure that if at ANY time.. your transmission slips during a long drive or it snags or doesnt shift.. slow way down and let it cool.. because weight is a HUGE strain on the tranny.. but, thats a worst case scenario.. your good to go