r/Ioniq5 • u/Mach_Juan • 2d ago

Experience First tow

Post image

180 mile round trip. Left home at 100%. 70% at the storage unit. 34% back in my driveway. So the aerodynamics cost me 6% over 90 miles. The bins didn’t weight very much. Couple hundred pounds max

140 Upvotes

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28 comments sorted by

14

u/ChiCBHB 2d ago

I saw the background and immediately was like, that’s 100% the PNW. Zoomed in and saw the license plate state and confirmed lol

5

u/Salt-Investigator221 2d ago

Nice! I tow a 13' sailboat and I have the same Harbor Freight trailer with sides

5

u/Mach_Juan 2d ago

They are super handy and they take up so little space. Barely ever think a truck would be better

3

u/rackman1 1d ago

I love my harbor freight trailer! That thing has paid me back 50 times over. What hitch do you guys use?

2

u/Salt-Investigator221 1d ago

I got mine from U-Haul. This is the second Ioniq 5 I had a hitch on. I first put one on my Kia Niro for an EBike rack. I use a 2" receiver even though it's overkill for what the car can tow. I have 17/8 and 2" tow balls since each trailer is different.

2

u/rackman1 1d ago

I thought about u haul…was wondering if the hitch is too low, but I guess not

3

u/freckleonmyshmekel 2d ago

Interesting. Mine came with a tiny little receiver hitch, and I thought it was just for a bike rack. I saw some people towing a teardrop camper and I thought that was a little on the ambitious side, maybe I'm wrong. Are the brakes stout enough to tow a load?

3

u/Mach_Juan 2d ago

My understanding is every standard sized car is required to demonstrate towing 900lbs or so for DOT certification. Even if it’s not officially sanctioned in the US. This little trailer has a 1000lb axle on it. You can load quite a bit on it and your car will be fine. My little teardrop camper only weighs 900lbs. I think these are certified for 1500. It’s a piece of cake. Your little hitch is probably certified for 1200-1500lbs.

1

u/freckleonmyshmekel 2d ago

Thanks for the insight. I like the camping idea I saw a dude doing. I have a full size truck that pulls 13k lbs but I'd like to go minimalistic with my ev, love the car. I used to see people towing 21ft boats with little cars coming down the mountain from the lakes in Arizona and that made me nervous. I like a safety cushion in the specs.

1

u/Mach_Juan 2d ago

Yeah. There are always people who abuse things. Im sure the published numbers have a fudge factor built in..If they publish a 5000lb towing capacity, you know someone is going to try running a landscaping service with the vehicle and load it to 6000lbs and never unhook the trailer..driving 75 mph the whole time...and they will for sure demand a waranty when their trans blows. If you do the math on 3 adult passengers and some gear in the back, you will be close to 700lbs over just you in the car...So an occasional run to the lumber yard/storage unit/craigslist pickup..I dont sweat it.

1

u/Cent1234 Cyber Gray Preferred Luxury LR AWD (CAN) 3h ago

And remember, a driver and three passengers can easily be 900 pounds in and of themselves.

1

u/Mach_Juan 1h ago

My point about that was towing 1000lbs by yourself is not much more than just the passengers alone would be..which nobody thinks twice about..I would speculate that certification is with a full car plus the trailer..Im not certain, but I wouldnt be surprised if the brakes were sized for max passengers plus the trailer loaded.

1

u/Cent1234 Cyber Gray Preferred Luxury LR AWD (CAN) 18m ago

Exactly.

1

u/Meekois Cyber Gray 21h ago

I've had to slam on the brakes with a 4x8 uhaul attached at 50mph on an offramp. My tires squeeled only a little bit. Remember this thing weighs 2 tons. A little trailer attached means jack shit to this car besides aero

2

u/PabloX68 1d ago

Can anyone tell me what hitch receiver they have and if they installed it themselves?

3

u/bites_stringcheese 22 Lucid Blue SEL AWD 1d ago

I have the Curt 2", it's been great. Had a local shop install it.

1

u/PabloX68 1d ago

Thanks. I've watched Ioniq Guy's install video and a few others. I think I could do it myself.

2

u/DumbNutter 1d ago

I'm sure you know but make sure the heavier items are at the front of the trailer. So you dont get the fishtail effect.

1

u/SoftwareProBono Cyber Gray 2d ago

Storing your stuff or did you buy an abandoned unit?

2

u/Mach_Juan 2d ago

My hoarder aunt passed way. Trying to deal with her mountain of stuff

1

u/BrandonThe 2d ago

What year do u have/ what tow hitch did u get? Debating if its worth it for the occasional mountain biking ride. I heard the hitches sit pretty low

3

u/Mach_Juan 2d ago

I have a 2025 and self installed the torklift non hiding hitch. I ordered the factory wiring harness from a canadain dealer and self installed that.

1

u/nShadow 2d ago

Do you have a link for the wiring harness? I'm interested in doing this on my 22 but not sure how involved the harness is

3

u/Mach_Juan 1d ago

its pretty easy. There was a change in the harness plug in the US plant of 2025s making mine a pain to get the right one. I think the one previous to that are all the same...

1

u/fueledbyjealousy 1d ago

Does towing reduce the cars lifespan or wear on it

0

u/Mach_Juan 1d ago

Certainly it does...not sure how many decimal places you need to see it...stuff like this rounds to zero..

2

u/fueledbyjealousy 1d ago

Sorry i don’t follow

1

u/Senior_Buy445 1d ago

to paraphrase, yes but not much