I need some advice and thoughts on the following potential towing setup. I am heading to Wyoming in a couple of weeks and would like to take my Arctic Cat 400 with me. The dilemma is that at this time, I won't be able to take my truck. I am considering putting a hitch on my wife's '08 Honda Civic and pulling the atv on a 5x8 trailer. The capacities will be right at the max and maybe a little bit over for the towing capacities. Anyway what are your thoughts? FYI, the car is a manual transmission. Thanks,

toe

 

It is my understanding that the rated towing capacities are under stated and the vehicles can handle more. That said, if you are only slightly exceeding it, you should be fine. I would keep an eye out for overheating issues if anything, but I'm sure that honda can handle an AC400! LOL! The only concern might be "how" it tows, so try it out beforehand close to town and make sure it travels okay (ie swaying). Other than that I would just have a hard time waiting to get my atv dirty in Wyoming! Have fun!

 

Sure hope those 12" brakes can stop what you're towing.... It's not always about what you can PULL, sometimes it's about what you can STOP!!!!

 

The civic might do it,but they aren't really intended to tow.

Any chance you can borrow a bigger vehicle?

 

back in 1987 right after I graduated high school (of course i was broke) I use to pull my buddies 4 trax 400 cc (i think) and my 250 R honda 3 wheeler with a dodge omni (one of them box kind) boy it was a dog...but it worked logged alot of miles on that car...wasnt great but worked.

for a once trip that honda will work just take it easy and watch the engine temp. and give yourself time to stop.


hoyt

 

I realize this reply is too late and hope you had a great trip.

But one comment I would make is totally different from all the others. If you are concerned about the capability of the Honda, I would check into the cost of renting ATV's in Wyoming. It might be cheaper than a $3,000 tranny overhaul or jackknifing the rig because of brake or weight issues.

 

Just for kicks I'll chime in, maybe someone else in teh same situation will get a laugh. In my youth, which is a considerably LONG time ago, I used to race dirt bikes and flat track all over the midwest circuit. I had managed to get my hands on the first Elsinore 250 in Norhtern Illinois when they first came out, and a first class ride deserved a first class trailer. So I found me an enclosed snomobile trailer, had it lettered, looked real nice. Big thing. 101 wide, 12 ft long. Fully insulated, panelled, wind out windows etc. In short, it was a toyhauler prior to anyone knowing what a toy hauler was. Also note that this was before alluminum, and it weighed a ton. Now the scary part. ALl I had to tow with was a 73 Pinto. The trailer was much larger than the car. It took 5 miles to get up to 60 MPH in a tail wind going down hill. Stopping? Forget it. The trailer drove me, not the other way around. Long story short, I found myself at night going 60 MPH and I see this little sign with RR BUMP on it. Well, I know that I cannot stop, so the old racer's logic kicked in. When in trouble hit the gas. You can imagine my surprise when out of the darkness pops up a Rail road crossing with a bump that had to be 10 ft tall. Now picture this in your minds... a dark green pinto pulling a monster trailer 10 ft in the air, all wheels including the trailer doing their best Dukes of Hazard impression minus the rebel horn... and you have a good picture. The landing was full of sparks, broken axles, blown tires etc. To say that I learned a lesson that day just doesn't do it justice.
The point I want to make is just in hearing what you are doing, all I can say is think long and hard about it. Stopping, handling etc are compromised.. so that means your safety is compromised as well. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably do it again to make the next race, but that was then, and I am a lot smarter now. Be careful