Towing with a car not rated by manufacturer - insurance coverage questions

[xxaarraa]

My car is not rated by manufacturer for towing, and manufacturer does not offer a factory towbar option. Already checked with dealer.

Here is what I do know.

• Curt offers a towbar for my car
• I can install it myself
• I know my car can handle two 400 lb bikes and 400lb trailer. Quite easily.
• I know others who have installed one (overseas, in Europe)
• For some reason, America is weird about towing with cars. I have seen even dinky econobox cars tow big ass trailers and campers in Europe all the time.

But what I am wondering is if insurance companies are likely to give you a hard time and decline coverage if I crash while towing resulting in damage to car or trailer/bikes. Folks that have installed their own tow bars or have had uhaul do it for them (pistorius, I know you towed with a GTI, I know nhbubba tows with a subie?), can you please chime in? Have you looked into this and is there any consumer protection in this area?

I am specifically interested in knowing what happens in the worst case scenario. i.e., I am towing with a car not rated by manufacturer for towing and hit a Ferarri, and it's my fault. Is my liability coverage going to apply, or is the insurance company going to say tough luck, since I towed with a car not rated for towing.


I have asked my agent and waiting to hear back, but wanted to check here for personal experiences since most folks here tow regularly. No "tow with a truck, that's what trucks are for" comments please.

[Petorius]

The manual gave a tow rating for the GTI. I never thought any more of it, and never used insurance with it. Sorry I can't help. Nhbubba's VW is likely the same.

[breakdirt916]

I was going to ask - which kind of car?

then I read this -

is there any consumer protection in this area?

and if there was some sort of accident, I can guarantee that if an insurance company found out it wasn't rated for towing, I'd be worried about the financial rape

[stoinkythepig]

My advice is read your insurance policy and check state laws. Most states have no laws about towing other than the trailer tires cannot be overloaded. Some have laws about exceeding the GCVW and some have restrictions about exceeding the manufacturer's tow rating. My insurance policy has absolutely no provisions or restrictions regarding towing over the rated capacity of my car, but I am out of luck if my car is damaged in a nuclear war. Towing with a car is considered "normal operation" by insurance companies and does not require special coverage.

Does your owner's manual specifically prohibit towing? If so, you could be out of luck on a warranty claim for the drivetrain if they can prove you were towing with it.

[Falko]

Get a small binder on the trailer. Cost you next to nothing and then you are covered.
If you do trash your trailer while towing without a binder, you are probably not covered anyway. Your auto insurance most likely only covers someone else if you hit them with the trailer. That is the way mine was with my boat.

[xxaarraa]

Get a small binder on the trailer. Cost you next to nothing and then you are covered.
If you do trash your trailer while towing without a binder, you are probably not covered anyway. Your auto insurance most likely only covers someone else if you hit them with the trailer. That is the way mine was with my boat.

What do you mean by binder on the trailer? I called my Allstate agent and explained the situation. He said liability coverage from my auto policy automatically extends to the trailer, but not comp and collision. I have asked for a quote for comp and collision on the trailer (I told him up to $50k in value).

I should have explained more clearly in my original post. I am specifically interested in knowing what happens in the worst case scenario. i.e., I am towing with a car not rated by manufacturer for towing and hit a Ferarri, and it's my fault. Is my liability coverage going to apply, or is the insurance company going to say tough luck, since I towed with a car not rated for towing.

[Jewcati]

So....what kind of race bred car are you thinking of towing with?

What do you mean by binder on the trailer? I called my Allstate agent and explained the situation. He said liability coverage from my auto policy automatically extends to the trailer, but not comp and collision. I have asked for a quote for comp and collision on the trailer (I told him up to $50k in value).

I should have explained more clearly in my original post. I am specifically interested in knowing what happens in the worst case scenario. i.e., I am towing with a car not rated by manufacturer for towing and hit a Ferarri, and it's my fault. Is my liability coverage going to apply, or is the insurance company going to say tough luck, since I towed with a car not rated for towing.

[Falko]

A binder being dedicated coverage on the trailer, like you've done. Most policies cover you on liability should you hit said Ferrari. A full coverage is what I was meaning, so you are covered if the trailer breaks loose and crashes, your stuff is covered.

[Garandman]

So....what kind of race bred car are you thinking of towing with?

There's precedence.



I was on my way to a VW dealer in 2001 to buy a wagon when I asked the salesman on the phone what the tow rating was. "Zero." I thought he was just being an idiot, so I called VWOA and they confirmed this was true and they reserved the right to deny warranty claims. That's how we wound up with our first Outback.....

[xxaarraa]

There's precedence.

I pit with a guy at NYST regularly, who tows two bikes with his prius. He uses the hybrid as his generator too, and powers his warmers, Keurig from his 2000W inverter hooked up to the prius.

[caddydaddy]

I have asked for a quote for comp and collision on the trailer (I told him up to $50k in value).

$50,000 in coverage for a trailer? Why? You said it was a 400 pound trailer, so it can't be worth more than $1,000 at most. I have comp and collision coverage on my trailer, but it's a tandem axle 6x12 foot V-nose. For your little trailer, I wouldn't bother with insurance, because like others said, liability for trailers is covered by your auto policy. My auto policy company said the same thing to me.

[xxaarraa]

Guys, just to be clear. This isn't a question about warranty claims. Or a question about how much to insure my trailer for. Or a question about whether I can install a hitch on my car.

This is a question about whether ANYONE HAS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE or knowledge of insurance companies denying liability claims if you get into a soup while towing with a VEHICLE THAT IS NOT RATED FOR TOWING BY MANUFACTURER.

I have asked my insurance company's rep, but I was hoping to also get first hand knowledge from folks who might have experience in this area. All ears.

[carsick]

I use Rotella in all my trailers, but change it more often.

[Paul_E_D]

Can't say. BUT I was denied coverage of towed contents because I didn't notify my ins of my trailer. That coverage is apparently NOT automatic as stated elsewhere in this thread.

I think if you list your trailer, they will cover it regardless of vehicle, but they do seem to wiggle out on many technicalities.

[caddydaddy]

Or a question about how much to insure my trailer for.

Hey, you mentioned it! Sorry for trying to help you with what you wrote about!

[xxaarraa]

So....what kind of race bred car are you thinking of towing with?

[nhbubba]

I tow with a VW. I've never owned a Subie. My folks have been driving VW's since before I was a whatever in whoever's whatever. VW gave my folks static about having a tow bar on their cars for years. Nothing noteworthy ever came of any of it. All the cars survived their warranties with drivetrains intact. No serious questions were ever asked. I had dealers give me the "you know, you really shouldn't tow with that" bs. I learned to smile politely and ignore it. Once I told the service manager about towing a boat with the car just to see the look of disgust in his eyes. Never really understood it. It isn't like VW sells real trucks. Underrated SUVs weren't even a thing at that time.

My VW tows very well. Just like the VW I had when I was in college. As far as I'm concerned, VWoA can sit and spin for their position on towing with their cars. Ditto for Mazda. I found them to be just about as bad. Subaru seems to be the only automaker in the US that isn't completely dumb about this.


As to your actual question : I haven't a damned clue. Fortunately I've not had any experience where I was responsible for an accident while towing. Fortunately.


Call me irresponsible, but I've never given the liability angle all that much thought. I've read my policy. I don't remember it line for line. But I nothing jumped out at me in this respect. I know it said something about using the car for commercial purposes.. or racing. But no mention of towing.

Although VWoA finally got its head of its ass and gave my latest VW an actual tow rating. I'm under my rating, so they can't even sue me for that. I am entirely confident they'd find something else to sue me for though. So I still sleep at night. A rebel with a draw bar, that's me.

[Falko]

Shit, they'd probably tow a 15' camper in Europe with that thing.

There's been a lot of talk about this whole towing capacity BS in the boating world lately. Following the new standards, half ton trucks are only allowed to tow 5000# before they need a WD hitch. So, you buy the latest and greatest F150 sized to tow 12k, but you need weight dist to get there. Everyone is concerned they won't be covered in the event of an accident. Interesting dilemma.

[ZX-12R]

So, you buy the latest and greatest F150 sized to tow 12k, but you need weight dist to get there.

Have you towed with a WD hitch? If you are routinely pulling any significant weight, they can make the ride substantially better in almost every scenario.

[Falko]

Have you towed with a WD hitch? If you are routinely pulling any significant weight, they can make the ride substantially better in almost every scenario.

While they do help, the majority of boat trailers use a surge style braking system. The pressure applied by a WD hitch can bind and/or damage the surge actuator. There are specific WD hitches for surge type systems but they cost about 3x as much and are a real pain to set up. But for travel trailers and utility, they do work well.

[Garandman]

Guys, just to be clear. This isn't a question about warranty claims. Or a question about how much to insure my trailer for. Or a question about whether I can install a hitch on my car.

This is a question about whether ANYONE HAS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE or knowledge of insurance companies denying liability claims if you get into a soup while towing with a VEHICLE THAT IS NOT RATED FOR TOWING BY MANUFACTURER.

I have asked my insurance company's rep, but I was hoping to also get first hand knowledge from folks who might have experience in this area. All ears.

Personal experience - no, I don't tow anything about the rated capacity. In this litigious time, it seems like a terrible idea. I execute on other terrible ideas, just not while towing.

I used to sell insurance for State Farm. We had a insured that had an accident while towing. The truck was overloaded beyond the stated capacity. The trail lawyer for the injured party was able thru research and interviews to establish that our insured both knowingly and willfully exceeded his trucks capacity. State Farm denied his claim.

Insurance will pay for mistakes and stupidity. They will not pay for intentional bad behavior. In this case the injured party proved that it was willful and intentional. Again I'm not saying it was right that no coverage was provided. Just trying to shed some light on this subject. Insurance is not absolute. There are many ways to be excluded from coverage. Some examples are:

1) burn your own house down intentionally. No check for you!

2) drive your car off into the water intentionally at the boat ramp. No check for you!

The above examples are not absolute. In each case an investigation would have to occur to prove that it was intentional. In most cases that does not happen or it is just too hard to prove. Cheaper to just pay out then spend time and money to prove otherwise.

US tow ratings are absurd. Many cars rated to tow elsewhere are zero'd out here, and the ratings of others are much lower. My Outback 3.0R is rated for 3,500 lbs here, but 2,000KG (4,400 lbs) in Australia and Europe. But we have the above to contend with.

[Spooler]

If you tow with this I'd love to hear how it works out. We have a fiat also.

[ZX-12R]

While they do help, the majority of boat trailers use a surge style braking system.

Instead of spending a small fortune on a surge compatible WDH, spend money on a proportional electric/hydraulic actuator and either lock-out or remove the surge actuator. In the grand scheme of things even with a less expensive WDH, you aren't talking about that much more money and you end up with a superior solution.

[stoinkythepig]

As far as insurance goes, it does not matter what experiences other people have, if you want to know if you are covered, you have to read your policy. Insurance covers you for anything that is not very specifically described as not covered in your policy. If they don't specifically exclude something, it's covered.

Instead of spending a small fortune on a surge compatible WDH, spend money on a proportional electric/hydraulic actuator and either lock-out or remove the surge actuator. In the grand scheme of things even with a less expensive WDH, you aren't talking about that much more money and you end up with a superior solution.

Or you can do like I did and just swap out the hydraulic drum backing plates for electric drum backing plates (for only 37 bucks per wheel on 3500 lb axles). As it turns out, the electric brakes are actually more reliable for underwater use than the hydraulic brakes and they are vastly more effective than surge brakes for slowing. I'd do this swap even if I did not use a WD hitch. That said, if I were buying a new boat trailer, I'd get it with stainless steel disc brakes on each wheel and an electric over hydraulic pump.

[nhbubba]

Where do you get electric drums for $37/wheel? I'd kind of like to add brakes to my enclosed setup.