Is the Prius rating for towing at all? I have yet to find any published info. Have a very small trailer, log splitter type. My best guess is that installing a hitch is the issue. Please confirm that I am only half an idiot. Thanks!
It's in your owners manual. Towing is "not recommended". Lots of people do tow with Prius with no problems. Hitches are available. The standard knowledge is to keep the towed weight below about 50% of the weight of the Prius. So 1500 lbs max. Some owners have exceeded even that with the GII model without any reported problems. Your small trailer sounds like it would not cause any problems, providing it's done properly.
there are hitches available, towing is limited. common sense would figure somewhere around the same as 5 adults plus a little more would be fine.
In some jurisdictions it might be illegal to tow with a Prius. This is the case in Australia. It is an offence here to exceed the towing capacity of the towing vehicle. The towing capacity of a Prius is 0kg.
I wouldn't exceed 500lbs personally, and if I chose to tow that amount of weight, I wouldn't do so w/ passengers. Simple reason being the "transmission" and brakes were not designed for the additional weight.
