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I am going to get the Curt hitch which is displayed in the link above, apparently it is the same as the GM part number and about the same price. I intend to just use it for the bike rack, but I too was curious about how much the drive train could take in a towing mode. Something tells me if you need CVT transmission work under warranty the GM dealer is going to ask if you put anything on that hitch bigger than bikes....

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On 1/30/2018 at 10:26 AM, 51 Champ said:

I am going to get the Curt hitch which is displayed in the link above, apparently it is the same as the GM part number and about the same price. I intend to just use it for the bike rack, but I too was curious about how much the drive train could take in a towing mode. Something tells me if you need CVT transmission work under warranty the GM dealer is going to ask if you put anything on that hitch bigger than bikes....

They can ask all they want. They have to prove it to deny a claim. 

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Here are my real world stats on this topic using my 2016 gas Spark with CVT....

 

Towed about an 850 lb pop up camper (it's a tiny pop up--much smaller than even a normal pop up) 200 miles through Kentucky. It did perfectly fine handling/pulling/stopping. The car was loaded with just me, a large cooler, and moderate amount of luggage for one.

 

To tow somewhere that has more sustained hills would be worrisome. I would fear heating up components in the mechanics (especially the CVT). Unfortunately there isn't really any space to beef up with some aftermarket cooling components. I think the CVT already has a transmission oil cooler which implies to me it gets hot even under normal conditions.

 

So in easy conditions, I'd say a Spark can handle about 1500 lbs of total cargo (trailer plus whatever else is in the car). If you've got something half that (maybe a riding mower on a small cheap Lowe's trailer, you probably have absolutely nothing to worry about as long as you can balance the trailer weight correctly (about 60-70% of the weight between the hitch and trailer axle) and still keep under the 200lb tongue capacity of the Curt hitch.

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