Mr.Bill

Dang didn't work..lol

lil vette

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it's a car....get a grip.
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c4cruiser

It would have to go on a trailer. The passenger seat won't handle it. Even if you take out the console, I don't think the driver and passenger seat could handle each cheek...

Neither the C4 or C5 owner's manuals have any information about towing a trailer other than to say the car is not designed to do so. But there are lots of autocrossers and track day people that haul small trailers to bring tires, tools and equipment to an event.

It's next to impossible to find a good hitch for a C4 but there are bolt-on hitches available for C5's. While these hitches are rated as Class II hitches (3200lbs), hauling more than, say, 750lbs total towed weight would be pushing it.

One thing you have to consider is that the tongue weight of the trailer has to be added to the car's total cargo weight. My 02 has a maximum cargo capacity of 399 lbs. That's passengers and cargo. Typical tongue weight is 15% of the total weight of a trailer. So with a 750lb trailer, 75lbs is tongue weight which has to be added to the total cargo weight. Take that 75lbs from 399 and that leaves 324lbs for cargo. That can easily equal two occupants.

The car "can" tow the trailer; it has enough power to pull it, the brakes are adequate enough to slow the car and trailer down, but the limitation is the gross cargo weight. You can't really lighten up the tongue weight as that can create an imbalance on the trailer that could cause the tongue to create an upwards force and cause handling problems.

So, a small trailer for autocross, a trailer for bicycles, maybe amotorcycle could work. A ski boat? No. There are small cargo trailers you could tow, but the weight is the big factor. Getting the wiring done properly is another issue.

ONE BMF

Now go buy a POS truck for towing

ONE BMF

you live here in fla so you know you can get caught in the rain on I-95 anytime anyday--these cars weigh approx 3200lbs with that trailer pushing you with its weight and whatever you have on it on a wet road at speed (unless you crawl everywhere you go) when your car breaks loose on a slight curve you'll wish you had a grip A VETTE is not a mule-- Now go buy a truck before you end up in the grassy median strip on 95

Zeek

I plan on putting a hitch on my C5. What better vacation than to drive the Vette to Fla. with the top down and pulling my Harley behind for even more sun and fun after I arrive!...Like someone else here said...It's only a freekin car frcrisakes!!!!!!

ericdwong

Funny, last time I towed my motorcycle to a bike cruise (Delmarva Bike Week) it poured like crazy on the ride down there and I was towing the bike on trailer with the vette. I didn't slid off the road.

lil vette

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Had C3.....C4.....C5
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Been towing my bikes for years, never a problem......

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Now watch, on my way to Myrtle Beach, I'll mmmmmm
not a good thought.
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Trainman-2

I tow with my C-5 all of the time. To the people who say I should buy a truck I respond with why should I buy a truck when I can tow in style with a C-5.

Draw Tite makes a nice hitch for the C-5 that is rated at 2,000 pounds.



I ordered mine from a local muffler & hitch shop and they installed it for me. I am glad I had them install it because it does require drilling some holes and they were set up to do that.



I tow my railroad stuff with my C-5. Here is my rail speeder which tows nicely behind me at 80 mph. But it is like pulling a drag chute and cuts my gas millage to around 13 mpg at that speed.



Last summer I drove 1,400 miles to pick up a Railroad Derrick Car. They guy told me over the phone that it weighed about the same as my rail speeder so I towed my trailer empty all of the way there. When I got there I learned that it was much heaver than the guy told me. I considered dripping my single axle trailer and renting a double axle trailer but then I would have had to go back and pick up my own trailer. I took a chance and made it home but at 40-45 mph.



Here is a photo of the Derrick Car when I got it home just before I unloaded it. I have since learned that it weighs almost 4,000 pounds.



Towing with my C-5 allows me to do the two things I enjoy most. Railroading and driving my C-5!

I found the two photos below somewhere on the Internet and post them every time I am picked on about towing with my C-5.





I Am Not Alone!

Oldvetter

Guys, I know that the C5 was not designed to tow anything, but if you want to it is your business, BUT to go 140 mph on small trailer tires (which are probably only rated to 80 mph) IS A DEATH WISH !

They do say that "common sense" is the least common item.

JoeyG

Actually the tires and wheels are 15" Honda rims with Z rated tires

Pro-Techt

Thanks, I'll look into that. I plan on using my C5 to pull a small enclosed trailer for mobile detailing. I won't be towing any H2O, so I'm sure my cargo will less than a few 100lbs. I can't wait to see what a black Z06 looks like pulling a black(logo'd) enclosed trailer.

Tim01Coupe

I got dogged last time I piped up on this question by the pro-towing factions, I will take my risks again.
Here are my thoughts:
GM recommends againsts ANY towing. Period.
My Silverado has 65 less horsepower with 5.3 LS1 and a virtually identical transmission and is rated to tow nearly 9,000 lbs. With that being said, the pro-towing Vette croud sees this kind of info and figures they are qualified to determine personal tow limits on a Vette. For those that think towing is OK on a Vette, I ask you, WHAT IS THE LIMIT? 2000 lbs? 1200 lbs? 800 lbs? I have a 6,000 lb trailer which I can tow with my Silverado, can I tow it with my Vette? Yes? No? Why? Why not?
The facts are, 99.99 percent of us are not qualified to tell you if, and what you cannot tow with a Vette, myself included. I would like to see a C5 drivetrain and suspension engineer pipe in on this so you can make a judgement based on an educated, factual, reliable source.
Again, my opinion, don't do it, buy a truck until you have a better source of information telling you it is OK.
For the pro-towing factions, it is your car, your risks and your choice, nothing personal, I just don't agree with doing it to my car and will not until the properly qualified person says I can and tells me limits.
Dog away....

Mr.TT

Just because the car has enough power and brakes to tow 1000+ lbs does not mean the frame of the car or the suspension was designed to have these unintended loads on them. Especially the guy who was towing the rail speeder where his MPG went down to 13. Not only are you towing the actual weight, but there is a constant, HUGE aerodynamic load from that rolling barn door that is stressing the frame out even more. These are definitely your cars to do with as you want, but I agree with Tim01... Trucks were engineered, designed, tested, and reinforced in critical areas to safely tow. The C5 was not, and plainly states so. You are introducing stresses on components that were not designed for them. Everything is engineered with some safety margins; while you have not failed your suspension or frame components yet, you will fatigue your car at a much faster rate, and you won't have that extra safety net for when your car sees a sudden shock load (bump, wind gust, etc.)

That being said, engineers are great at assuming the worst. Maybe one of the Corvette engineers anticipated people towing with them and the car has at least some small capacity to tow, even if it's not recommended in the manual. I wouldn't do it unless I actually met the guy and asked him myself, though.

ericdwong

I'm sure the Corvette engineers also intended for their cars to be supercharged, slammed, springs replaced with coilovers, independent rears swapped for live axles etc. Heck 2 big enough people can exceed the GWVR pretty easily. The point is there's alot of stuff the car wasn't designed to do and the C5 tows alot better then any family sedan.

The hydroformed frame is extremely strong, even stronger then a C4's and certainly much stronger then a unibody. Ever hear of anybody's frame coming apart from towing?

The 'vette certainly is no truck, but for light loads its fine. That being said, from previous personal experience I wouldn't put more then 100 lbs of tongue weight on the hitch.

JCFILM

Don't you also want to know about the luggage rack option for the roof?

oh6driver

corvettes don't pull trailers they ride in them

JoeyG

This thread is making me

jacks996

What is the GVWR of that chair? Damn

Mr.TT

That's why I said the car is yours to do with what you want."

The OP asked how much you can tow with the C5. There are two perspectives, the "I did this much and my car didn't break", and the "well the manual says you're not supposed to tow with it." It is important to understand both.

Anyway, I'm not saying the car is going to fall apart while driving, or that the C5 has a weak frame. I'm saying it is a fact (not an opinion) that there are loads and stresses being introduced in areas that are not designed for them when you tow. Does this translate into the frame developing fatigue cracks at 300,000 miles instead of 400,000? I don't know, and only a few people do (the Corvette engineers). The OP needs to weigh this as a consideration when deciding to tow.