Can a 2012 Fiat 500 Sport Tow a Yakima Rack and Roll Trailer

Question:

I have a 2012 Fiat 500 Sport. I installed a Curt hitch receiver C11363 and currently use that to run a Thule hitch mount bike carrier TH9042. The setup works great btw, I am now thinking about getting one of the Yakima rack and roll trailers. Any thoughts on compatibility of the trailer with my hitch set up? thanks!

asked by: Mike C

Expert Reply:

On your 2012 Fiat 500 with Curt trailer hitch # C11363 you could tow a Rack and Roll trailer, # Y08106 using ball mount # C45572 and 2 inch ball # 19258. You will also need the appropriate wiring harness, # 118546, to activate the lights on the trailer.

The height of the hitch installed on your Fiat is 11 inches from the ground to the top of the receiver opening. The coupler height with the Yakima Rack and Roll trailer level is 18-1/2 inches. This is a difference of 7-1/2 inches.

The ball mount # C45572 has a rise of 2-5/8 inches so the difference between the hitch and coupler drops to 4-7/8 inches off level. This means that the trailer will point down at the front. While you do want it to be as level as possible, considering the low weight of the trailer (if loaded to capacity it would weigh 400 pounds total) it would not be a big concern.

With a Class I Draw-Tite trailer hitch you are supposed to use the manufacturer recommended ball mount which in this case is # C45572 which has a 2-5/8 inch rise. But if you could use a different ball mount # C45024 has a 5 inch rise so the trailer would not be so far off level.