Could one tow a full sized solar panel array behind the HCH to keep the battery charged?

 

It is not too difficult to remove the receiver before going in for service?

 

The standard weight limit using Yakima's removable Q-tower rack system is 125# for this warranty-compatible system.

Also according to Yakima, a set of permanent roof rack rails could be added to the HCH using either PlusNuts (tm) or bolts. (The headliner may need to be pulled in either case.) This, too, may void the warranty, but Yakima rates these rails for up to about 150#, so you might get a couple more of your DH tank-bikes on the roof.

I have NO idea what the warranty implications are for drilling holes in the HCH's roof, as we just bought our 2007 HCH sedan, and I haven't even finished plowing through the owner's manuals yet...

 

I didn't get the joke (a) because I'm gullible and stupid and (b) we used to have a jet ski. when we would take it down to Mex. we would see some pretty interesting ways of towing these things w/o a jet ski trailer... you'd be surprised.

 

I've been struggling to understand WHY a Honda Civic Hybrid truly could not tow a small utility trailer 40" x 49" that weighs a measly 137 pounds plus 4 bales of hay (between 300-380 lbs for 4) and one 125 lb human driving, for 15 miles, with an otherwise empty vehicle. Heck, a motorcycle or a bicycle can tow stuff, admittedly not as much weight, but still.... if you can drive around with 850 lbs of humans and their stuff in the car & trunk, why can't you tow less than 600 lbs. behind it (including trailer and hitch)????? Is it REALLY THAT dangerous to the vehicle?

 

If Honda says it is grounds for voiding the warranty, I would go with that.

from page 175 of the Owners Manual:

Towing a Trailer:

Your vehicle is not designed to tow a
trailer; Attempting to do so can void
your warranties.

Also, from page 159, but I would take this as boiler plate text, taken from the general Civic document, in error:

Load Limits

The maximum load for your vehicle
is 850 lbs (385 kg) for U.S.A, 395 kg
for Canada. This figure includes the
total weight of all occupants, cargo,
and accessories, and the tongue load
if you are towing a trailer.

Addendum: I see the above has already been posted on page one by NoFlash. Anyway, I'll just leave it for continuity.

 

I tow a 4x8' trailer with mine locally. Trips to the dump, rocks for fish pond and so on without difficulty. It handles it like any other car! I have probably towed 1500 lbs. for 15 kilometers or so and it wasn't smoking when I got home! Hal

 

I think you would be fine towing 600 pounds--I've had 4 guys, plus 4 downhill bikes, plus gear and beer which is probably a little over 850 pounds, and that was in the high mountains (7-12k feet). Sure, I only got 35mpg on the trip but the HCH did fine.

That being said, is the cost of a hitch mount and the possibility of voiding your tranny warranty worth renting a truck? You could bring more than 4 bales back that way, and save yourself time in the long run (assuming you have demand for more than 4 bales in the foreseeable future).

 

Warranty issue aside, the CVT would have to be my main concern. Like all automatic transmissions it generates a good amount of heat as well as beig engineered for the relatively wimpy demands of low output power. That said, I tow a small utility trailer with my HCH I (manual transmission) on a regular basis and have had zero problems. Most of my hauling is pretty lightweight stuff, brush, snowblower, etc. but I have occasionally tested the limits of good judgement with much heavier loads.

The weight you tow is not the only factor to consider since the terrain, speed distance and traffic wil all have an impact on the demands put on the machinery. Pulling 200# through muddy rutted unpaved roads will be far more demanding than hauling half a ton of cement block at low speed down a smooth level paved road.

I trust my judgement over the blanket denial in the owner's manual and am willing to live with the consequences, out of warranty, if I screw it up by doing something really stupid. If you need the assurances of your warranty coverage: don't tow anything. If your warranty is expired and you are prudent about keeping your GVW within the limits Honda recommends, even with the CVT I wouldn't be losing any sleep over towing a bit now and then.

 

Regardless of the physical towing capability, Honda has spelled out in the Owners Manual that towing can (likely "can" = "will") void the warranty. With the Continuously Variable Transmission and the Integrated Motor Assist systems both being trouble-prone, expensive items to repair, towing could be a financial problem.