I bought a 2008 Corolla S with a 5-speed manual trans back in December. So far I am happy with the car. I'm getting 34mpg mix of in town and highway. Haven't had a chance to find out what I will get with strictly highway miles. So I'm thinking about buying a jet ski and the only vehicle I have is my Corolla. Could I install a trailer hitch and tow a single jet ski with it? I don't see why I couldn't. A single jet ski with the trailer couldn't weigh over 800lb. The only thing I worry about is launching it on a lake. Let me know what you guys know/think.


thanks
-Dan

You would probably be pretty close to the towing limit of your Corolla, but I think it would do it. You'd definetly want trailer brakes though.
The other problem I see you running into is traction. If the boatlaunch ramp is slippery (moss, water, etc...) your Corolla might not be able to get back up the ramp.

I'm not so worried about trailer brakes. I can downshift to help with braking, and mainly keep a good distance from other cars and give myself more time to slow down when stopping. I am worried about boat launches. With such a short wheel base, I would have to make sure my front tires stay on dry concrete when launching. I looked up a trailer hitch for my car and it's only like $130, and only takes four bolts to put it in. We'll see what happens, who knows if I'll ever buy a jetski or not, I have new ideas for crap I don't need every week.

I don't know about 2008, but I put a hitch on my 2007 Corolla LE not too long ago (only one available is a class I hitch, 1.25" receiver). Manual says that the max hauling weight is 2000 lbs. I got it from UHaul...it was $99.95 (including shipping). You're right...just 4 bolts and you're done. Toughest part is trying to hold the hitch up while trying to screw in one of those bolts! Of course, I had to find the right ballmount and ball for the trailer I bought (etrailer.com seems to have a bunch of stuff...it had the right ballmount for my Corolla). Also had to figure out the wiring...but when I bought the trailer, they installed the wiring for me.

I'm not sure about jet ski trailers, but if there were some way to take off the trailer near the ramp and guide it in w/o the car, I would think that's the way to go (w/o losing the jet ski and/or the trailer of course). That might be a bit of manual labor though. Good question though! Let us know what happens!

SuperJ

Im thinking that guiding the trailer with the PWC on it in without the car probably wouldnt be the best idea. You are looking at at least 600 pounds (PWC and trailer) and thats a lot of weight.

If Toyota states you can to 2000lbs with it you are fine to tow a PWC. You can even launch it at the ramps just watch out and try to keep the tires as dry as you can. The pwc is pretty light so you dont have to sink the trailer all the way to get it on there. I have towed many different things with differenct cars and trucks so I have some experiance. I would do it if I were you just keep an eye on what you are doing.

Towing capacity of the Corolla is 1500 pounds. Im quite sure JetSki plus trailer will be under that, but make sure. The biggest PITA with Corolla is the overdrive as it comes back on everytime you turn the car off.

You are right...

I can't make a front wheel drive vehicle towable by disconnecting the drive wheels from the transmission. If it were rear wheel drive, you could disconnect the drive shaft from the rear transaxle and tow it forever with no problems.

The reason for the engine having to run is that the transmission oil is then pumped through the cooling system and cools and lubricates the transmission gears. Without it, the gears would heat up and damage the transmission. Very expensive. It is okay to leave the engine running if you're towing a short distance (20-30 miles) providing you're engine's cooling system is working good.

However, towing with the engine running for 1300 miles is not adviseable. Being that the Escort will be towed behind another vehicle, it will be in a vacuum created by the towing vehicle and might not get sufficient air flow to the radiator for cooling purposes.

My best advise is to rent a one way tow dolly. It will lift the front wheels off the ground and there is no possible way the transmission will be damaged.
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