Towing with a smart

I posted a picture of the trailer hitch I made and the trailer I tow with two kayaks. Works great. Handles like a dream. I can feel the extra load on the brakes but don't think it is enough to be an issue. Trailer and kayaks probably weigh between 300-350lbs.

Also, for any of you who haven't heard, smarts can be flat towed now behind RV's with the blessing of the factory. They use the two threaded holes in the front frame and have to add a penetration through the bumper for the left side attachment.

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Permalink Reply by Jamessmart on July 29, 2008 at 10:16pm: Tell me more about the trailer hitch. I would like to get a small tent trailer, I have seen some that weigh very little and are designed for motorcycles so should work for the smart. Live on East coast of Canada.
James; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on July 30, 2008 at 3:27am: Smart can Two all you want.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on July 30, 2008 at 3:29am: Technical date
Trailing load 400 kg (440kg)*/ (880 lbs (970 lbs)*)
Nose weight 40 kg (88 lbs)
D factor 2.831 (3.04)*
Maximum allowable total weight of the trailer 440 kg (480kg)*/ (970 lbs (1,058 lbs)*)
Height of ball coupling 410 mm
( )* Values checked; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on July 30, 2008 at 3:38am: Smart Camper; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Ettl on July 30, 2008 at 12:38pm: Andy,
check this website, www.smartcaruniverse.com. He has a better looking hitch than the one you have pictured, but it is $500 or so. I wanted one removable, so kept mine outside the bumper, and it cost me about $65 to make. The car tows a trailer well which was the point of the discussion, although I don't know about towing twice as much weight, especially in the mountains. Might work but I don't have that experience. My purpose is to tow kayaks to a lake about 5 miles from my house, and to make Home Depot runs for stuff that won't fit in the car. Good luck.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew A Ziminski on July 30, 2008 at 4:40pm: Mike,

I purchased a 1-1/4" reciever and figured I could/can weld it to the frame, but I'll probably melt the bumper. Do you have a photo of how you made yours?

TTYL
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Permalink Reply by Mike Ettl on July 31, 2008 at 12:03pm: Matthew,
The key piece is a stepped collar I turned on a lathe. The hole in the center is .750 for the tow hook. The outer dia is .975 for a distance of .813, then ramps out to 1.225 over a short distance of about 1/8 inch. The total length of the collar is 2.375, so the larger dia is about 1.43 inches. I then scarfed a raduis in 1 1/4 tubing to fit the larger dia of the collar. This tube must be on a slight angle outward from the car since the bumper is not flat from hole to hole. I made a wood guage so that my receiver would mount 5/16 from the plastic bumper. I then welded shaped plate to the top and bottom of the receiver, fitted everything up to the car and then bolted the receiver to the two arms with Grade 8 3/8" bolts with nyloc nuts, two on each side. This was to allow some assembly flexibility so the tow hooks could line up. Finally, I tack welded a 3/4 washer to the car side of the hook eye using the collar to ensure a flat seating surface. When screwed into the car, the smaller dia of the collar fits through the hole in the bumper and seats on the metal frame. The washer and the collar length allow the hitch arm to become tight at the same time the tow hook seats. I give the tow hook a little extra tweek with a bar to be sure it is loaded. This thing works great, is easy to take on and off, and leaves nothing on the car when removed.

For wiring you can tap into the taillight plug wires as follows, and just drape the wire through the weatherstrip at the bottom of the tailgate when needed. Brown wire is ground. Blue/green stripe is Rt Brk/Turn. Green/lt blue stripe is Rt Tail. Yellow/red is backup (not needed). Blue/white stripe is Lt Brk/Turn. Brown/lt blue is Lt tail. It doesn't matter whether you use the Rt or Lt Tail wire for your source for the trailer. My trailer has one light at each rear corner. That additional electrical load is no problem for the flasher or the car wiring. The car wire is small, so I wouldn't want to put a huge current draw on it by multiple trailer lights or high resistance connections, like corroded bulb sockets.

There is a photo of the hitch in my stuff. Let me know if you need more. Also, I am not going to make hitches for others due to liability, but expect to be contacted if someone wants to start producing my design for commercial use.

Finally, I bought two tow hooks from Smart at $22 each. I think I saw some guy in Florida had bolts with that unusual thread on them. I am comfortable the hooks are strong. Make sure the bolt material is equally good if you use them. I don't intend to tow more than 500# and don't think the performance of the car would be acceptable on the freeway in the hills of northern California with more. The hitch is way more than capable of that load.
Regards,
Mike; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Scott Mankewitz on August 13, 2008 at 11:36pm: Mike,

Are you making these to sell? I would be very interested in the hitch. I want to bring my bikes with me when I travel and this looks like the best thing out there.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Ettl on August 14, 2008 at 11:15am: Scott,
Thanks for the compliment. It works very well for both trailers and bikes. Unfortunately, I am not planning to make these for sale, since the financial liability in these days where everybody wants to sue for anything that makes them unhappy, is just not worth the risk. If you know someone with a metal lathe and someone who is a good welder, you can make this yourself. Let me know if you want more details.
Mike; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by FIATman on January 2, 2009 at 10:54pm: I searched around after reading about pricey hitches and trailers from Europe and found www.curtmfg.com makes a hitch in the U.S. to fit the Smart for around $150. Check around and you might find it cheaper. As for trailers I found a picture of a Smart towing a Lees-ure Lite trailer. Check www.leesurelite.com for info. The Curt hitch has the standard square tube receiver which allows you to use after market racks of all types too.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Ettl on January 3, 2009 at 1:48pm: Interesting product, but it must hang really low. Probably won't drag with no overhang behind the wheels but backing into a parking place perpendicular to the curb might be restricted. I still like the looks of mine better.; ▶ Reply to This