09 Panel

Towing a short tongue small trailer takes as much skill as towing a much larger trailer since backing it up is a challenge. First thing to remember is that when backing up the trailer is very easy to jack knife so you need to backup slowly and make very small corrections. Second avoid backing up if possible. Seriously, try to park where you can pull straight through to exit.

wagoneer

My bad... Hey, I was stationed in Bremerton for a couple of years. I was on the Carl Vinson in the early 90's. I used to take drives through the Olympic mountains on weekends

Tikker

Wagoneer........

I was born and raised in Bremerton.....it's a small world.
I moved out to Port Orchard area (South Kitsap County) in '92.

2006blkcobaltss/sc

bringing a kinda dead post back to life as i just towed about a week ago with my moms hhr lt.

trailer is a doo little cargo master 6 x 12 trailer...
specs on trailer is
box size 6' x 12'
over all length 15'6"
over all width 92"
over all height 95 3/4"
interior length 12'6"
interior width 68 3/4"
interior height 73"
platform height 16 3/4"
hitch ball size 2"
hitch ball height 18 1/4"
rear door height 66 1/2"
rear door width 61 1/2"
approx. hitch wt. 120 lbs
approx. empth wt. 1320 lbs
g.v.w.r 2990 lbs
plug type 4-way flat

towed with a battery in front of trailer.
towed with a bobcat zero turn approx wt. 840 lbs

road's towed on hwy 70 to hwy 47 to hwy 44 to moms friends house gets 12 mpg when trailer fully loaded.

when trailer not fully loaded i get about 22 mpg

no trailer at all i get about 28-32 mpg

only reason im towing with my moms hhr is cause im trying to get my 99 e-150 done being painted.

now i will admit the hhr did pull it kinda great only problem is the mpg and max speed being about 70 mph but when pulling a trailer i try to only do 55 - 65 tops

only down fall on the hhr towing the trailer is the fact it puts a major strain on engine and transmission temp 205 - 225 tops on strain going up hill.

rpms on good 60 mph was 2500 highest was 70 at about 5500 on full accel up hill

but im not planning on towing much longer with the hhr im going back to the e-150 soon

2006blkcobaltss/sc

my normal setup with trailer is

battery in front

vinyl cutter in front strapped with metal to floor

makeshift desk and cut station on left side

vinyl on other side

weight fully loaded about 1700 lbs trailer and all equipment

Tikker

Curious, what is empth weight? By the description of the trailer it sounds like that is the trailer weight, than you're already over the towing suggested maxes of the HHR.
Specs say not to tow the 1,000# max more than 1,000 miles per year.....just gives some insight into what the trans will accept and the brakes, of course.
I've had very good luck with the utility trailer I've been towing, but it is 1/2 the size of what you're using and appears to be about 1/3 the weight.
No intent to preach, I just think you're taking a risk for a bad outcome.

2006blkcobaltss/sc

its supposed to be empty weight sorry for a mis type.

i know your not trying to preach

i have seen trannys blow in a 07 f350 turbo diesel only pulling a 1500 lbs trailer

im not some punk kid that does not know how to drive and i know that the hhr isnt ment to pull over a certin weight but i dont have another vehicle untill i get the paint done on my 99 e150 that is going to be the actual tow vehicle

i do have a utility trailer also but i cannot use it for my business

and as for how many miles i have towed with the hhr ive onl towed 300 miles max with it and i do not tow with the hhr much at all only time i move the trailer is going to wentzville for there flea market which from my house is only 25 miles every sunday but i have not took it there yet. i do not speed with the trailer on like i stated i normally drive about 55-65 max.

but i understand any and all risks most of the road's i travel are little to no grade flat roads i know how to tow with a vehicle i used to have a 04 f150 that i towed with alot till gas prices went high and i sold all my toys and bought my cobalt.

but i do not tow it for long periods often just once in a great blue moon man but thank you for your imput im not a speed demon the car is a auto that is towing and im not planning on useing it much longer

twistrman

just put my hitch on today. went smoothly.Won't be towing with it, didn't get the electrical wiring for it or anything, mainly just to carry a bike rack.

Tikker

twistrman,
Did you get the "hidden hitch" and install yourself? I ask because of the process they use to get the mounting bolts into the frame openings was quite impressive, in my opinion. I assume other manufacturers probably use the same method.

haggisforme

On my HHR the muffler? needed to be dropped to put on my hitch. I have been towing a small trailer for several years with no problems. Less than 1K lbs though. I had someone install mine, and I think it's a hidden hitch.