I had Uhaul intall a trailer hitch on my Trax LT and it's 2000 lbs. I was told a Uhaul trailer 5x8 would be all that I can tow. Hope that helps.

 

I can't see any tow capacity on the Trax website, so i'm at a bit of a loss. I'm sure it can tow, but it doesn't seem like something that Chevy is promoting it as a super tow-capable vehicle.

What are you planning on towing?

 

What exactly do you plan on towing with your trax and how often?

 

I really just my hitch installed for a bicycle rack. I don't plan on doing any towing but it is nice. I have looked online and haven't found anything with Chevy stating any towing weight. I do beleive that it will be very minimum and that's why they aren't discussing it as it's not a selling feature.

 

It indeed will be very minimal.
Probably limited to very small trailers, PWC's and the like, anything around that sort of weight range.

 

You might have better luck using a bike rack than attaching a trailer.

 

tell him something he doesn't already know...

I really just my hitch installed for a bicycle rack. I don't plan on doing any towing but it is nice. I have looked online and haven't found anything with Chevy stating any towing weight. I do beleive that it will be very minimum and that's why they aren't discussing it as it's not a selling feature.

 

1500 lbs

The dealer told us the trax can tow 1500 lbs.

 

The dealer told us the trax can tow 1500 lbs.

I found 500 KG, which coverts to just over 1000 LBS.

 

Hi hijacker,

After looking into the owner's manual for the new 2015 Trax, I do see that the vehicle is neither designed nor intended to tow a trailer. I was unable to find information on the previous model years, however.

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

The TRAX is not intended to tow anything. It's not rated for towing.

 

Are 2 PWC's with a trailer light enough to be safe to tow? Under 1500 LBS?

 

2 PWC's will weight anywhere from 1400 to 1600 lbs. I don't see why the Trax wouldn't be able to tow that no problem..

 

I wonder if a bolt on tow hitch kit would be available to order from the dealer. Or if I could get a hitch pre-installed from the factory? Anyone know if this is possible? It would be used for light towing such as a PWC..

 

The TRAX is not intended to be used for towing a trailer.

 

Unless you live in Europe then it’s fine

 

Many vehicles are not intended to be used as a towing vehicle but like any vehicle, they can be modified to work. If the Trax can tow 1,500 lbs its shouldn't be a strain on the Trax to install a tow hitch and use to for my convenience to pull my PWC's to the ocean on the weekends I'm basically killing to birds with one stone lol

 

I don't know. I mean, it doesn't look like it's designed to tow anything behind it, being as small as it is, and how affordable it is as well might mean that it's made with cheaper parts in some areas. If they don't have any towing limit anywhere, even with the help of Chevrolet Customer Care in the thread, it might be best to err on the side of caution so as not to damage your vehicle and find alternatives for anything you want to tow with it .

 

In Europe, they will attach a tow hitch to almost anything, I have seen cars smaller than ours trailering. In Europe they have other engine sizes for the Trax, a 1.8 Diesel, and a 1.2 as well. I myself during the warranty period would not tow but that's because I have seen the Rear Brakes on a Trax, and they are small. For future reference, be careful when you come to do the Brakes, the Trax mixes and matches from several vehicles, such as Cruze, for Front, and Sonic in the rear, if you have Drums then that's another vehicle. I did both Front and Rear, pads and Rotors on our 2013 at 60k, the Fronts still had 30 percent but the rears were nearly done. Also the Trax does not use the Top hat design for the Rear Discs, they use the screw in an screw out parking brake, so you will need the 'Cube'

 

I've found that towing ratings/ability has nothing to do with size, or brakes, or anything technical really. It's simply a liability issue, especially for US vehicles. US vehicle owners towing anything is a major liability and headache for the manufacturers, so it's just easier for them print "towing not recommended". My Yaris, the manual states eaxctly:

Towing capacity (except for Canada):

Toyota does not recommend towing

a trailer with your vehicle. Your ve-
hicle is not designed for trailer towing.

Towing capacity (for Canada):

318 kg (700 lb.)

Figure that one out... same exact vehicle, but 2 different countries... Toyota doesn't want the headaches of US owners trying to sue them when they inevitably screw something up and blame the manufacturer. The Yaris towing capacity is even higher in the UK owners manual, for the same exact car.

Chevrolet's UK website states the following for the 2014 Trax with a 1.4L Turbo:

Towing capacity braked 1200 kg
Towing capacity unbraked 500 kg

Once again, exact same vehicle, exact same engine, but Chevrolet doesn't want to deal with sue happy Americans blaming them for the owners own mistakes when it comes to towing improperly... Holden states the 2014 Trax LTZ (1.4 Turbo) towing capacity is the same as the UK model, 1200kg braked.

etrailer sells several hitches for the Trax: http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2014_Chevrolet_Trax.htm

 

Article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/it-isnt-just-trucks-and-suvs-that-have-to-be-used-for-towing/article23686902/

 

Great Article, Chief. An old head once said, its not the go, its the slow. Here in Ontario, you see so many Citiots towing with their ford ranger or chrysler minivan a large trailer and none of them have the proper mirrors on the vehicle. Note in the article, they spoke of trailer brakes, in Ontario, you do don't have to have trailer brakes unless the GVWR on the trailer is over 1500kg. So most people would not bother, most of them would rather hook on to a double wide enclosed snowmobile trailer and blithely sail down the middle lane and cut off others.

 

towing

I personally had a hitch installed on mine and of coure uhaul never said anything. They said oh yes you are fine to tow a 5x10 trailer but nothing bigger. My friend and I hooked up his 5x10 not too heavy but the back end sank almost down to the tires. It looked like we just hooked a semi to it. I assume a big issue is the springs and suspension on the trax aren't built for towing. But as we all know the cheaper an auto manufacturer can find the better.... asses lol

 

I personally had a hitch installed on mine and of coure uhaul never said anything. They said oh yes you are fine to tow a 5x10 trailer but nothing bigger. My friend and I hooked up his 5x10 not too heavy but the back end sank almost down to the tires. It looked like we just hooked a semi to it. I assume a big issue is the springs and suspension on the trax aren't built for towing. But as we all know the cheaper an auto manufacturer can find the better.... asses lol

It's not the suspension... The Trax outside of N.A. is rated to tow 1100 lbs unbraked...

 

Were you trying to tow one of those two wheeled trailers?

 

I once put a hitch on my 2007 Honda Fit. I only used the hitch for a bike rack, but I did tow with it a few times. The issue I had was not the towing, but rather the weight of the hitch itself. I got the hitch from etrailer.com and I bolted it on in about 20 minutes with the help of a friend to hold it up while I turned the bolts. After having the hitch on my Fit for 7 years it eventually compressed the rear suspension so that the car looked like it always sat lower on the rear wheels. I think the weight of the hitch itself was too much over time. The suspension of the little Fit just couldn't take it. I ordered the GM approved "Accessory Mount Hitch" for my new Trax online. My hope is that because it is not "for towing" it will be lighter than a towing hitch. When it gets here I will share some pictures.

 

I started a new spin off thread to this topic that only deals with the "non-towing" hitch in case anyone is interested here: http://www.traxforum.com/forum/289-...hevy-trax-general-discussion/3377-trax-accessory-carrier-mount-hitch-video.html

 

I still wonder if it could handle the tiny little trailer that I normally pull behind my motorcycle. The tongue weight is 30 lbs and the loaded trailer is 280 lbs.

 

Flyinfool, that sounds an awful lot like the Liesur-lite trailer I used to pull with a cavalier. You should be just fine with that.

I think the trouble with towing and the Trax is the engine relies on turbo for power. So either you're keeping the rev's low and have no power, or the turbo is kicking in more often and running longer. I don't know if that's good, bad or indifferent for the engine, but for sure it would beat the heck out of your mileage.

Also it's a light vehicle, and it wouldn't take too much to overload it.

That being said, I did install a hitch on mine, and am shopping for a small utility trailer. But I'm only thinking of using it for small loads of building material (dozen studs and a few sheets of drywall. ish), dump runs, maybe moving my motorbike, if I have to. (500 lb mid-sized cruiser). But the bike is made for ridin' not trailerin'

 

I am looking at it as the tong weight is equal to a suitcase in the back and the 280 is not much more than the weight of one person my size. This a 4 passenger 4 door car so I would think it should be able to carry 4 people worth of weight. I am just thinking the tiny trailer for behind the Trax.

If I need to tow the bike I have my Silverado for that, my bike is just over 900 lbs and is almost 9 feet long, and needs a good size (read heavy) trailer to carry it.

 

Doesn't quite work that way.... the weight is on your hitch which is behind the rear wheels, so the effect is heavier. And the mass of the trailer is back further, so it's effect on you is exaggerated (leverage).

The big issue with towing / weight limits, is what happens when the trailer moves. Hits a pot hole, speed bump, blows a tire... can your vehicle maintain control with that mass back there doing silly things.

But like I said, with they trailer size you're looking at, no worries at all.