Maco Shark

I am just finishing a custom tricked out trailer to haul the luggage in our 94 convertable.
I am in a jamb. based on the 87 we had, you needed a heavy duty flasher in order to make the signals flash correctly.
Can someone advise on where the flasher is located, and if anyone out there has wired thier car for a trailer. I have seen many towing light trailers and somebody out there has gotta know. Help me please!
I really want to debut the trailer at Carlisle, I just hope I can get the wiring deal worked out, as we all know, tickets suck!

Strick

I have a 92 vert with a Reese Shadow II hitch and I pull a light trailer with my race tires on it. Yes, you'll need a heavy duty flasher and you won't like where it is located. It is in your dash on the driver's side just above your left knee. I had to remove the knee panel so I could reach up in there and pull it from the clip that holds it. The other wiring is simple, take out the right tail lamp lenze and the licence plate holder and you'll have accesss to the wiring. Any wiring plug will have directions on how to wire. I used a flat 4 wire plug and pig tail. The biggest mistake most people make is not making a good ground. If you haven't bought your trailer yet, make sure you have 12 inch tires or larger. The smaller ones heat up to much at high speeds.

CF6873

I have pulled my tire trailer with my 94 to 3 weekend events this summer and have not changed the flasher. The signals do flash a little bit faster but so far no problem. Am I in for one?

Strick

I don't know, but the trailer light instructions told me to put one in. So, I did.

jfb

If you will look at your 87 owners manual it says do not tow ANYTHING with your Corvette!

Mr Mojo

While that is true, not everyone listens and it's probably more to cover their *** if something goes wrong.

dchildress

I thought the flasher was behind the DIC on the earlier C4s. But I am know to be wrong from time to time.

c4cruiser

For the 87, the flasher is located next to the radio on the passenger side. It's above the carpeted knee bolster toward the face of the dash. It's is so close to the face of the dash that it would be a real PITA to get to .

When I wired my 87, I was going to install one of the electronic variable load flashers but after the initial lamp testing after wiring up the trailer, I noticed that the turn signal lights aren't really all that dim but do flash quicker.

Remove the passenger side hush panel and activate the turn signal. Go to the passenger side footwell and you will hear it up under there.

Good Luck!!

Strick

If you read and heed all the warnings one is given on anything you buy, you'd never get to use them. I bet there is a warning not to speed as it maybe hazardous to your health. My point is this, if you have a quality hitch and you drive with a lot of common sence and only pull a small (less than 1000lbs) trailer, your Vette will do just fine.

Maco Shark

I really appreciate the information on the flasher. Like I said, I have pulled trailers before with no issues other than the signals flashing fast. With the location pointed out for the flasher, I think I can handle the rest.
Thanks

c4cruiser

Like Strick (and a lot of other autocrossers with C4's) I tow a tire trailer to autocross events and it's not a problem at all. There are even custom trailers made for Corvettes for people who travel long distances. These are lightweight and typically don't weigh near 1000 lbs fully loaded. I peraonally may not want to tow that much, but a good hitch installed properly and the trailer loaded and balanced correctly, there really is no issue to towing small light trailers.

Mr Mojo

Think this guy read the manual?

c4cruiser

Don't think I would do that!

Strick

Me neither.

CF6873

That is insane!!!

ninetyfivevette

I don't get what the big deal about towing a trailer behind a Vette is.. I mean if I made my own hitch, it would tie into the rear frame and that should be just as good as any other vehicle capable of modest towing. The suspension in the rear is plenty stiff to support a modest tounge weight, so what is the problem? Personally I would love to tow a 20' jet drive Eliminator or Hawaiiian behind mine... Maybe next year.

Bluewasp

I agree... I don't see a problem. My father has a tow hitch on his car for a small track trailer. He has NEVER had a problem.

The hitch setup is for sale now if anyone wants it. He bought car trailer after the car broke down at the track and he couldn't get home.

Robert

c4cruiser

Towing a light trailer load is not a problem. However, the portion of the frame that a hitch attaches to on the C4 is aluminum, not steel. This is the major limiting factor in gross towing weight and also tongue weight. The hitches that are available have only a small surface area for attachment (4-6"x1/5"). Only 1 bolt goes thru the upper and lower frame rails and that is within 2" of the end of the frame rail.

While the hitches available are rated as Class II for 3500lbs gross weight, the rear of the car would simply not support that weight. If you look at the door sticker that shows maximum cargo capacity, the car has a maximum cargo weight of around 450lbs. That includes the driver and passenger and any cargo. If you add something like a 350lb tongue weight (10% of the max towing weight for a Class II) you really overload the car by close to twice it carrying limit.

Granted, the fiberglass springs are stiff but they are designed to take cornering loads, not constant compression and the occasional shock from a road surface with extreme weights on them. In addition, the spring/shock travel is limited due to the design of the suspension. Any excessive rise and fall in suspension travel from a heavy trailer (like your 20' boat example) could cause binding and possible failure at some point.