Towing?

My Reatta is as cool as it is impractical sometimes. The other day I see this little Ford Focus pulling a small wood and steel Trailer down the Interstate. It made wonder is such a thing possible with The Reatta. I am not looking to pull much weight at all, less than 500 pounds, including the trailer and not for long distances. Is there a trailer hitch for The Reatta?

Look in the "Reatta Resources" thread. There's a link for a u haul trailer hitch for the Reatta. Probably can't tow a whole lot with it though.

besides the weight of the trailer, the most I want to pull is about 250 pounds or one of those scooters you see below. My new project is the Silver one, named "Bella". Otherwise, I would love to be able to throw my Drums and a few amps in it for the shows I do. My Drums however do fit in the Reatta, but there is only room for me left over. But being able to tow my Scooter in for service would be the ultmate. They also make tralier hitch scooter racks, but I think that might put too much weight on the tounge of the hitch and it wont be as easy or as usefull as a small trailer.

The U-haul is rated at 1250 pounds. But I wonder if there is an official rating on how much the Reatta itself can take?

Look in the "Reatta Resources" thread. There's a link for a u haul trailer hitch for the Reatta. Probably can't tow a whole lot with it though.

i looked through three times and don't see it,

The U-haul is rated at 1250 pounds. But I wonder if there is an official rating on how much the Reatta itself can take?

whats the maximum tounge weight?

Um..err..has anyone bothered to read the Reatta owners manual?

We believe the Reatta was not recommended for towing because there was no reinforcement built into the rear of the car for attachment. Note that the Riviera (same car but longer) is rated for towing.

Reatta marketing probably figured anyone that would buy a Reatta would have another vehicle that could be used for towing or they had enough $$ they could pay to have what they needed delivered.

If you look at the underside of Reatta, you are very limited as to where you can/could mount a hitch. Also, if you mounted the forward end of a hitch to the rear crossmember, and the back end to the underside of the trunk, you would probably transfer some road noise into the body and that needs to be considered.

Actually, the Riviera OM warns against any towing as well. (At least the 1991 manual does - page 191.)

I'm sure that a Reatta will pull a tiny trailer with Double Ms scooter on it provided the hitch was installed properly

Search forum for towing hitch and towing weight and you will find lots of information on what folks have done and how they did it.

It can and has been done, but you need to be informed what the risks and problems that are involved in doing so.

Well, thank you! There isnt anyting about this in the resources thread. I dont have a complete owners manual, just a few unbound loose pages...

U-Haul does make a hitch for it. But as Barry stated it doesnt really look like there is a strong place to mount it, at first glance, but they do sell it, so it must go on.

I wont be anywhere near 1250 pounds. The Scoots weigh about 250 pounds and the trailers I have looked out are a max of 300 or less. I really only want to pull a trailer meant for lawn mowers since my scooters are really glorified Lawn Mowers anyway!

I understand that it wasnt intended for towing, but those marketing guys forgot to figure that 20 years later I would end up with one as my only car.

Before the Recession I had 2 cars, A Jeep (with a Hitch mounted Scooter Rack) & 5 Scooters, a house and my income was double of what it is now. The Marketing guys liked me better back then...

There are trailers designed to be pulled by motorcycles. My second bedroom weighs about 400 lbs.

My Owners manual says, The 1990 Reatta is not designed for towing. That said, It was probably to limit tranny warranty claims. 500 pounds is my guess at moderate speeds and level ground. Just a guess.

My bad, I suppose it isn't on the Reatta Resources thread. I read it on ReattaOwner.com on Ronnie's list he has there: Web Links - ReattaOwner.com

U-Haul Reatta Trailer Hitch

Since 1945, U-Haul has been America's number one trailer hitch installer. Heavy Duty 1 1/4 inch Rec (Black) Class 2 Trailer Hitch Max weight: 3,500 lbs, Part# UHI36913CH Price: $199.95 Call 1-800-468-4285

Reatta never had the airlift suspension but no reason it cannot handle a properly mounted hitch. TranSport has same powertrain as '91 Reatta and has no problem with unreasonable loads (like a Reatta on a tow dolly). Just like with any rig, be gentle.

The 440T-4 had reliability problems when new. Our Reattas are now 20+ years old, and often have six digits worth of miles on them. The same year Rivs had about the same weight, longer wheelbase, auto-leveling rear suspension, and (90-onwards) an aux tranny cooler. Yet GM didn't recommend towing with them either.

If just around town a bit, probably not a big deal. But for any extended towing, even with only an extra 500 lbs, I would make sure the fluid/filter has been recently serviced and have an aux tranny cooler installed - especially if any hills are involved. (Long climbs can really run transmission temps up even without a trailer.)

Good Advice all. I think I will err on the side of caution. I probably could just rent a u-haul truck for less money than the whole set up, if I had too.

Also you are right about high miles and tranny concerns. ANY major issues like a tranny replacement would take me off the road and I would have only those Scooters to get around with.

Amazing how cheap low milage early '90s GM minivans with 3800s have gotten...