So I need to take my four wheeler about 15 miles to go riding saturday and was wondering if the focus can handle it. I have a hitch already on it from when I bought the car, but all the previous owner towed was a light trailer and motorcycle. I have a light trailer and a 550lb Honda Bruin four wheeler. Total weight should be less than 1000lbs, right? I can post pics later for more confirmation, but let me know what you think.

I have my s10 and ranger to pull it with, but my wife's Honda Rancher is going in the back of on of those and I really shouldn't pull all that weight and tow at the same time....and mine doens't fit in the back of a small truck.

EDIT!!!!!!!!

So yeah. It pulls it without a problem.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/Svtzx555/100_0567.jpg

Anyone?

i dont think is try it bro. duffman was saying he had some of his heavier freinds in his back seat and his car was squatting pretty bad.

Never know til you try right? [hihi] I'm no expert but I wouldn't expect it to be a problem. Are both your cars manual? If the ZX3 is auto i'd expect the transmission to be the weak link, if anything. If the hitch is on the ST I would feel comfortable pulling that weight.

The hitch is on my zx3 and it is manual. I don't think it'll be a problem, I just needed some other opinions and was hoping that someone on here did something similar to my case. I'm going to pull it tomorrow and let you all know what happens and my feelings on it.

I might just throw one atv in the bed of my truck and trailer the other at the same time....that way, the 350 will get about 5 or 6 mpg. [ohcrap]

i dont think is try it bro. duffman was saying he had some of his heavier freinds in his back seat and his car was squatting pretty bad.


True I guess, but the tongue weight and total wieght is what you really gotta worry about. I don't think the tongue weight of that particular load would really be that much, less than two heavy dudes I'd think. Refer to your owners manual is my advice. Also, manual or auto tranny?

Also, manual or auto tranny?


The hitch is on my zx3 and it is manual.

I'll take pics later.

easy on the brakes, that extra weight will eat your pads up. I think you'll be fine for sure, just saying, easy on the ole brakes.

Heres the four wheeler that I'm towing...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/Svtzx555/Picture095.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/Svtzx555/Picture096.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/Svtzx555/Picture097.jpg

your best would be to read the manual and see what it can actually pull. you probably knew that, but just thought i'd give you an idea.

if the previous owner towed a light trailer and a motorcyle then you should have no probs either.The ATV weighs as much as an average sized bike.Some of the bigger bikes can get to 700 lbs.I'd be more concerned of the empty trailer weight.If you want to test, grab two 500 lb fat women and stuff them in your back seat to see if your dragging.

if the previous owner towed a light trailer and a motorcyle then you should have no probs either.The ATV weighs as much as an average sized bike.Some of the bigger bikes can get to 700 lbs.I'd be more concerned of the empty trailer weight.If you want to test, grab two 500 lb fat women and stuff them in your back seat to see if your dragging.

That's the best advice I've heard yet! [woot] [woot]

I've towed a 6x8 trailer with all boards on the sides and stuff ( nice trailer, a little heavier than a light light one though ) and 2! 3-wheelers both honda 200's, with no problem at all...and i've got a manual trans SPI!

I've put 600 lbs of cargo in my car before moving to school, and it handled it fine, and wasn't really squatting at all. ZX3 manual SES

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, NO PROBLEM. The focus can tow alot more than people think. If the tongue weight is under or around 200 # and the total weight is under or around 1000#, the focus can do it with ease. I have, and do trailer a 600# seadoo with a 200# trailer with both an auto focus (in the past) and a manual focus currently, and I even use the boat ramps. If an auto sedan can pull 800 + pounds of seadoo, trailer and water out a steep ramp like it was just normally driving, most any trailer on regular roads should be fine.

Drive slow, easy on the brakes, downshift when possible. Hitches made for Foci are rated at 1000# if memory serves correctly.

I wouldn't worry about it. I've had friends tow boats with 2.3 auto Mustangs.

Go out, and have some fun [thumb]

well, if other people have done it, that means you can too.

lol the foci definetly handles towing no problem...even my 3-wheeler will tow 700lbs! [:p]

So I didn't get to tow the 4 wheeler this saturday...it didn't fit. The tires were hitting the rails, so I'm going to cut the rails off to put it on there.

BUT, I will start towing it with the Focus after I get that situated. I had to take the s10 out there [bawling] There and back it used 3/4 of the tank...premium...it was a 40 mile trip total...[chairfall]

Oh and to top things off, I bent one of the steering arms about 45 degrees...

try it

Just curious, why are you using premium in your S-10?

Just curious, why are you using premium in your S-10?

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/Svtzx555/Picture015-1.jpg

1993ish 350 bored .030 over, Edelbrock performer intake, Edlebrock 600 cfm carb, 160* thermostat, electric fan, .480 lift Comp cam, Hedman shorty hedders, Flowmaster mufflers, no cats, 8.8 posi rear end, 3.73s, 100 shot, Th350 with shift kit.

Say no more. I'm trackin.

you should be fine. i've seen many foci tow jet skis, motorcycles, 4wheelers and such. like stated previously, just take it easy and easy on the brakes to prevent wear and i'm sure you'll be just fine.

Edit. Check out the first pic now posted.

Won't hurt a fly! if you have a manual, auto's are okay when the torque converter engages u will have a advantage.

I've been reading through this thread because I've been thinking about towing with my Focus. I have a couple different scenerios though:

I have a 2005 Ford Focus ZX4 SE Automatic. I will be looking to tow nearly 1000lbs (ATV & Trailer Combined) about 100 miles each way. There are some dirt roads alot of bumps and some steep hills to go up and down. I was going to have a guy put a hitch onto my Focus but he suggested not to do it because it would burn out the transmission towing with the Focus.

I am thinking about buying the hitch online and installing it myself. I found one made for the Focus, is there anything I need to modify or do to put this thing on? Also if towing with a Focus will eventually burn out the transmission, how long before it would? I have another 3 years to pay on this car. After it is payed off I plan on getting rid of the car immediatly after, it has been nothing but an apsolute nightmere. In the meantime I am stuck with it, so I don't want to kill the car. Thanks for any advice!

-Jim

You'll be fine. I have a 2003 PZEV auto ZX3 lowered with a cup kit and I tow a trailer with my atv all the time. I have gone as far as 350 miles in one day with no trouble at all.

Polarisman,

Thanks for the info!

I looked under my Focus last night, where on Earth does a hitch mount? I only see 2 holes in the frame (1 on each side). I don't have to remove the muffler do I? I would just hate to order one and find out I can't do it myself is all. A guy selling the hitches on eBay said they are very easy to install, but he has never installed one himself [screwy] . Thanks again for getting back to me. I am happy to know the towing part won't be a problem.

-Jim

I am glad my advice was helpfull Jim. I had my hitch installed by someone else. I did watch and it only took about a half an hour. I can't remember for the life of me if he drilled any other holes or not. The part that took the longest time was wiring up the harness to my tail lights. Send me a private message with your email and I will send you a pic of my setup. The exhaust was not modified for the install but be adviced I have a custom exhaust with a 4" Magnaflow resonator for the tip.
I found it to be cheaper to buy it locally and have it installed then it was to buy over the internet and have to pay shipping. I think I paid $225.00 installed with the wiring harness also.
I have actually towed up to 90 miles per hour with no problem although I probaly shouldn't have. You can not even feel the trailer back there. I do plan ahead when it comes to stopping though because I realize that braking will suffer a lot. I have 51,000 miles on my car now so I am going to change the transmission fluid but my brakes are still all original both front and rear and they look great still.

Never know til you try right? [hihi] I'm no expert but I wouldn't expect it to be a problem. Are both your cars manual? If the ZX3 is auto i'd expect the transmission to be the weak link, if anything. If the hitch is on the ST I would feel comfortable pulling that weight.



It would actually be harder on a manual transmission than it would be on an auto.....but it states in the manual that the focus with either transmission is good for 1000 lbs

The Draw-Tite Sportframe Class I hitch fits up real nicely to the Focus ZX3.
You do have to drill a 1/2" hole in the frame, but it took me all of 60 seconds to do that.
I'm a novice with these sorts of things, and I installed it myself in less than 45 minutes.
No removal of anything (bumper, muffler, etc.) is necessary.

The hitch was about $100, and it came with a drawbar, pin and clip.

- George

I installed a hitch, and will be testing out the trailering capabilities of my Focus this weekend.
I'll report back, but I don't expect it to be a problem.

On an electrical tangent:
Does anyone know where to run the 4-pin wiring harness out of the hatch and down to the hitch?
I would rather not have the wires sticking out of the hatchback door.

Thanks.
- George

Bump?

I installed a hitch, and will be testing out the trailering capabilities of my Focus this weekend.
I'll report back, but I don't expect it to be a problem.

On an electrical tangent:
Does anyone know where to run the 4-pin wiring harness out of the hatch and down to the hitch?
I would rather not have the wires sticking out of the hatchback door.

Thanks.
- George


George, I just leave the wiring harness in the hatch until I need it. I actually have a trunk/hatch liner and I leave it underneath that so it doesn't get hung up on anything I put in the hatch area. When I use the trailer, I just put the harness right through the hatch and close the hatch on the whole harness. I also wrap a little towel around the harness too to prevent the harness from chaffing around from the wind and scratching the bumper.

I installed the Draw-Tite Sportframe Class I hitch too and it was a breeze to mount and seems really solid. Got it on eBay for 51.00 and couldn't be happier. My question is I can't seem to find a plug and play trailer wiring harness made for the Focus. If anyone knows of one I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks,

John

My question is I can't seem to find a plug and play trailer wiring harness made for the Focus.

The guy who did mine before I bought it, took a universal wiring harness and wired it in to the brake lights and turning signals. I just let it hang out of the hatch wrapped with a rag when I need to use it.

My question is I can't seem to find a plug and play trailer wiring harness made for the Focus. If anyone knows of one I'd love to hear about it.

Draw-Tite has one for abour $15, but it's not plug and play.
There is some splicing involved.

OK.
I found a VERY easy way to run the wires.
Just below where the connectors are all attached to the inside sidewall of the car's body (behind the carpeted wall, where all the splicing is done), is a small cubby hole.
I can't think of any other way to explain it.
It's at the very bottom corner inside the hatch.

Inside there is a square, plastic insert about 4" x 5".
Two small flaps - about 1/2" square each - on that plastic piece, push out like doggy doors.

If you reach your hand up inside the bumper from the driver's side of the car (on the outside of the car), you can reach right up to where those "doggy doors" are.

I ran the wires up through there, and secured them to the hitch with some zip ties.

Now all the wires are hidden, and the plug is attached right next to the receiver part of the hitch.
Quite easy, and no drilling!

Now if I can only figure out how to get the brake lights to work.
The wires are all spliced properly.
The trailer's running lights work, the trailer's directionals work ... but when I step on the brake pedal, all the trailer lights go out.

It seems the second filaments on the lamps are not being utilized.

Any suggestions?

- George

So ...
I loaded the bike up on the trailer this weekend, and gave it a test run.
Not too shabby.

The Focus pulls just fine.
The bike is about 550 lbs, the trailer is about 140 lbs.
Tongue weight should be around 100 lbs with this trailer.

The tranny felt fine.
The only thing I'm concerned about is comfort.
The trailer doesn't have it's own suspension, so every bump the trailer hits is felt in the whole frame of the car.
A little weird to get used to, but I don't have a choice.

I headed up a few pretty steep hills, and the Focus held tight.
Not too bad at all.

- George

Put a Drawtite Hitch on my 2006 ZX3 last year, piece of cake only had to enlarge one pre-drilled hole on the passangers lower frame rail. Ran the wires thru a small hole I drilled in the front of the spare tire well (used a grommet and sealer).Have never towed anything yet (have a Ranger and a Escape) but the manual says:
passengers ---- load --------- Towing capacity
1-------------- 227 lbs. --------- 1230 lbs.
2 ------------- 377 lbs.----------- 1080 lbs.
3-------------- 527 lbs.----------- 930 lbs.
4 ------------- 677 lbs. ----------- 780 lbs.
5 ------------- 827 lbs.------------ 630 lbs.
The tongue weight should only be 10%-15% of total capacity (123-185 lbs.)
The Drawtite hitch is rated at 200 lbs. tongue 2000 lbs. capacity so you'll break the car before the Hitch.

You'll be fine. The total weight of the trailer+ATV should be under the max towing capacity of the car. The only thing to be weary of is the tung weight.

Does that mean that if the passengers weigh 377 lbs, then the car should be able to tow up to 1080 lbs more?
That's awesome.

It should be no problem, then.
My wife and I would have to weigh over 800 lbs in order for it to be trouble.
We will have some camping gear with us ... but only about 200 more lbs.

Thanks a bunch!

lol i've had 3 bikes in a large homemade trailer that weighs a good amount with 3 other people in the car and no problems towing so far...

It's weird in the manual the first passenger weight is 227 pounds
The second only weighs 150lbs for a total weight of 377 pounds
The third weighs in at 150 lbs also for a total weight in the car of 527 pounds
So 3 average people (527pounds) in the car you could only tow a 930 pound trailer.
The chart I posted earlier lost it column alignment when I posted it.

Well, with the wife and I weighing in at about 330, and the camping gear at about 150, that should leave me ample room to spare.

The total trailer weight, with the bike, is about 700 lbs.

We'll be loading up the car with the gear and the trailer for a test run on Saturday.

We shall see.

Thanks again.
- G

This is my set-up.

Is that the ZX3, Polaris?

If so, how much does the four-wheeler and the trailer weigh all together?
And have you had any troubles with it?

- George

I figure the trailer and the ATV weight around 900LBS. This is the second year I have used this setup and I have never had any trouble at all. I have towed it as far as 350 miles in one day to go from Massachusetts all the way to Canada. I drove 7 hours straight up and down the mountains and the Focus never missed a beat. After a while I forgot the trailer and ATV were even there.

My '92 Escort use to pull around a 16ft boat all the time. That thing had like 80hp or something. Was also a auto. The hills were horrible, but i made it over 100 miles with no problems. I think the car is still running. Also had a '85 Ranger that pulled all kinds of stuff. My newest tow vehicle is a '97 Sentra.

Probably throw a hitch on the '07 Focus soon (bike carrier).

This has probably already been said in this thread, but- It will be fine. The Focus is rated at about 1000lbs towing. Basically there is a total cargo weight limit (listed in the owners manual). It says the weight you can tow with the weight you have in your car. Basically dont tow 1200lbs and have five 200lb people in your car at the same time.

I have a Yamaha Waverunner XL800 I tow to the lake (summers almost here!). I used my wifes 2005 ZX4 last year and will be using my ZX5 this year. I also tow a utility trailer since I havent owned a truck in over 5 years. I have towed with different cars for years, as most of them have a tow rating listed in the owners manuals.

When I do go to the lake, a friend tows his Jetski with his '69 GMC with a 350 2barrel and I actually can pull hills better than him. Sure his engine is sooo stock and has many miles, but it doesnt smoke and is a v8.

Just be sure to drive like you are towing. Turn off OD unless the road is completely flat (completely). Slow down and stop smoothly, dont hammer the brakes. External tranny oil coolers are great (but not required).

I plan on towing this setup from Nova Scotia to Ontario (about 1700kms).

http://pic19.picturetrail.com/VOL1096/4465185/19890922/321531954.jpg

I used to have a Golf TDI and towed this several times to ontario and back. It is a great thing to have storage for extra luggage.