Hey, has anyone out there installed a brake controller in their HHR?

If so, what wire did you tap into on the brake light switch under the dash? There are a lot of wires under there - on the switch - and I am getting a bit concerned I won't be able to determine which one only receives power when the brake pedal is pushed.

I plan on towing a new Coachmen Clipper 806 popup trailer, which is the lightest popup camper on the market today, that I can find, besides the all aluminum Quicksilver ones, but those are too expensive and are very basic.

I know even the Clipper will put me over the towing rating for an HHR, but the trailer has electric brakes so the idea is that will boost my tow capacity a bit - or at least make it safer as I will not be relying completely on the HHR brakes to slow everything down.

The dry hitch weight of the trailer is 111 lbs and the unloaded vehicle weight is 1249 lbs (which includes the tongue weight). In the real world, I expect the tongue weight to be close to 150 lbs and the trailer, with optional equipment and camping gear to be no more than 1500lbs.

I think with the addition of trailer brakes, I "should" be fine.

So, if anyone out there can let me know what the "magic" brake light wire color is, that would be awesome!

Oh, and I have a 2007 HHR LS and it's a manual transmission - I know I shouldn't tow anything, but I either do it anyway or sell the car, but I really like the car.

Thanks.

 

Well being 500 lbs over the limit for towing with any vehicle is somewhat foolhardy, and dangerous too. Not to sound like I'm slamming you, but I have years of towing experience and its always best to play things safe. You might be OK with the addition of trailer brakes, but that's just a might and a very small "might" at that.

I would go to a good RV/trailer dealer and talk to them about what you are trying to do, if they refuse to do the install or even recommend it, please go another route.

One other thing to consider, if you are exceeding the capacity of the tow vehicle and are involved in an accident because of it, you will be legally liable. This liability not only includes the damage to your own vehicle, but also any damages incurred by other parties including injuries and death.

 

thanks 843de, I'm aware of the potential legal risks if I where to get into an accident. My goal would be to drive safe and not get into an accident

I also own a 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring which is rated to tow 750 lbs without trailer brakes and 1500 lbs with trailer brakes - so Hyundai is taking an interesting approach to tow ratings now (with/with out trailer brakes).

Originally the plan was to just tow with the Touring, but I plan to outfit both cars with brake controllers so that I can tow with both. When the two cars are side-by-side, the Touring appears to be smaller and does have a slightly smaller engine - so one would think the HHR could tow whatever the Touring could.

Oh, and if anyone out there knows which wire to use for the brake light switch, feel free to jump in , however I enjoy discussing the tow capacity of the HHR in the mean time.

 

Sorry if it seemed like I was hopping all over you, forgive me if it did. I'm just concerned that you might find yourself in a bad situation someday, trailer brakes or not. Honestly the best places to ask about a brake controller are the dealer or a really good RV center. I haven't seen anything on tapping a brake controller into the wiring on the HHR, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done.

I'm sure Hyundai has their reasons for the split tow ratings on the Elantra, it might have to do with the design of the suspension or the brakes, or both. Chevrolet has its reasons too I'm sure, and you might make a call to them for their take on things.

One thing I do know is that the rule of thumb is to never tow with a vehicle that is not rated for the load to be towed regardless of the braking arrangements. You never want to get into a situation where the "tail wags the dog", even a "little" 1,400-1,500 pound trailer is capable of flinging its tow car around like a toy in the right circumstances.

 

Back when I towed a pop up camper with a Astro and later a Safari, I always had the RV dealer install my brake controllers.

Way to complicated for me to guess, I did look around once though.

I once saw a Ford Escort wagon pulling the same camper I had. Which was about as big a Popup as you could get. Got to the campground and he camped just a couple sites down. Went down and talked to him, but did not say too much about his setup. Obvious after a couple comments he wouldn't "get it" anyway.

 

Keep i mind you will be over weight with total capacity and tongue weight. Your hitch is bolted to sheet metal not to a frame.

 

Everyone comments on the "bolted to sheet metal", I just want to mention that I installed my own hitch and, although it doesn't fasten to steel frame, it does fasten to decently thick metal - I had to enlarge one of the 4 existing holes to fit the bolt in, had to find a 1" drill bit which was a bit of a challenge, and had to "work it" side-to-side to make the hole large enough - and it wasn't easy. Plus, you don't bolt into the "sheet metal", your bolts pass through metal plates that come with the hitch that you feed through to the inside of the "frame/sheet metal". It all seemed to draw tightly together and appears to be very study. I'm 200lbs and have stood on my hitch and jumped around to see what would happen - well the car only moves a bit, but less than you would think, and there is certainly no creaking or cracking anywhere.

My trailer tongue weight would be minimum 50lbs less than that, and I may even plan to store the propane tank and battery inside, over the trailer axle, instead of keeping them mounted near the front, to lighten the tongue weight by about 25 lbs, maybe more.

The plan will be to pick the trailer up with my other car that is rated to tow 1500lbs, but I will test it out with my HHR around my neighborhood, and it all seems secure - venture on a short haul camping trip (less than a 1 hour drive on the highway).

 

FYI, I installed my trailer hitch in Jan 2006. I did a how to back then.

 

Well Hey!!
After all that testing what else is there to say.... except would love to see pics when you get it.

 

Just for the fun of it check to see how much it will cost to get your clutch redone.