Tercel Towing Capacity?

[marlinh]

That hitch looks like the ones I have seen on old Tercel bumpers. Are you building the bumper yourself or getting someone else to do it for you? Only reason I am asking is that Glet71 wants to do the same mod on his car and he was asking me about good local welders. Also, I have an old rotten bumper here with a hitch on it. I can post a picture of it if you want.

[HomeSkool]

Id be happy to see a photo! My friend who is a welder is going to help me. Not sure if he would want to make more or not, its a weird bumper and I'm worried that its going to be hard to make look good with the part that wraps around the body on the side.

[lannvouivre]

The reason for it being "universal" is that it's not uncommon for cars to have the same platform and therefor share a lot of their framework. The cars that share the hitch are probably on the same platform.

[xirdneh]

looks like a good hitch to me. i have seen similar ones on a few of the tercels i have messed with.
one had clothes hanger wire tack welded to the nuts so they could be fished into the inside of the bumper
that was a handy idea

[Gottolovem]

one had clothes hanger wire tack welded to the nuts so they could be fished into the inside of the bumper
that was a handy idea

Hahaha I love it

[jimcrazy]

heres some pics of hitch and wiring conveter, when stops raining I will that some pics of the one I made from sq tubing bolting it to the tow hooks

[jimcrazy]

pics

[jimcrazy]

pic

[Petros]

I would not tow much unless I did the brake up grade I outline over in the Repair Guide section. The factory brakes are too flimsy even for a lightly loaded Tercel, they over heat and warp real easy.

Even with the brake upgrade I would go real easy on it, you would not want to damage that transmission. Very light trailers only.

[HomeSkool]

Sorry for the late reply!
Thanks so much for the photos! This makes a ton of sense!
I'm going to order my kit asap!
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond in such detail!

[Mark]

Here's a link to my recent saga installing a trailer hitch:viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11403

[kamiphloj]

I have not towed with my Terc. There are a lot of things to consider.Rear coil springs are pretty soft. The clutch.And,as has been mentioned,brakes.Rear axle bearings ,while adequate,are not over-engineered.
Here is something else to consider.I forget the name of the maneuver,but there is a little sideways nudge police officers or stock car racers might deliver the the rear bumper of a car in front of them to spin them out..Think of the trailer driving the rear wheels to the outside of a turn,which translates to oversteer.Even suddenly getting off the throttle in a turn could get squirrely.
Think of scenarios like a downhill switchback on a washboard road or dodging a deer where the inertia of the trailer will try to drive the rear end of the car to the outside of a turn and forward..And,of course,if you are braking without trailer brakes,the effect is increased.

[irowiki]

Pit maneuver!