Finally getting ready to build one. Just bought a new 5x8 with no gate. Super excited. I have an hour drive home on the highway. We just stopped for dinner and the Prius has been pulling great. Yay!
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Good stuff man. My first trailer was a 5x8… it’s small, but you can pack a lot of stuff on there. Let us know if you have any questions setting stuff up, when you get to that point.
Thank you much. I think I’ve seen enough content to figure most of it out. But mostly of bigger trailers. Not a whole lot of details for small trailer builds, on here or on youtube. So I’ll try to document as much as possible for the next small guy who is learning.
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Good luck with the build… i like see pictures of the different set ups.
What is the brand name of trailer?
I am looking for same style
Diamond C RSA 5x8. Angle top rail. Really good quality. I’ve been looking at trailers for a few weeks and this was the highest quality economy trailer is come across. Plus I only paid $1,270.20 after taxes and registration and tags. That’s less than several lower quality trailers sticker price.
Carry On was a brand I looked at that was very poor build quality.
I like the fullsize tire. A lot of the smaller trailers have the little baby tires
So for a tank, I want something low profile. The plastics supplier I’m using for all the parts for the metering systems I’m working on also supplies a plastic tank brand, Chemtainer. Some of you might even have their tanks. So I’m hoping I can swing a good deal on the right one. I googled them out of curiosity, and they have a facility right here in Los Angeles.
http://www.chemtainer.com/home/default.aspx
Check out the google satellite view and street view of this place! I’m sure I can find the right tank there. Plus it’s only 30 minutes from me! 
@Donut, you’re gonna love this lol.
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Damn… thats a lotta tanks.
That green one in the second picture should work… with a vertical tank the footprint wont take up as much room as other options.
Lucky to have that place.
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How much weight can a Prius pull??
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Three envelopes or one box of angel air pasta 
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The prius won’t pull much safely… Secondly the hitch is probably only class one which is not good. May be a class 2 but I dought it. Even if it is a class 2 you are pushing the limits. Third no elec brakes on the trailer … By the time you add machines, ladders, hoses , reels etc you are going to be in very dangerous driving conditions. Not to mention when you add water. My suggestion would be to buy a used truck or at very least a vehicle with a minimum of a 6 cylinder engine and a frame heavy enough to handle a class 2 or higher hitch.
Swap out the Prius engine for a GX690 and you’ll probably increase your tow capacity by 100lbs. 
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I appreciate all the safety concerns. I do think that sometime in the next several months I’ll be getting a small truck, but in the mean time, this is what I have.
@Innocentbystander, it’s actually rated to pull a full box of manilla envelopes with a book of stamps. So stand corrected.
JK. Everyone is right. The 2013 Prius isn’t rated to tow anything, but the new Prius is rated to tow 1500 lbs. I think I can keep weight under that, or very close to it. I can also get most everywhere on city streets without using the highways. I spent some time reading on Prius forums as well and several people tow with them. One guy even had a business transporting Harley’s across the country and he’d pull 2 or 3 bikes at a time on a trailer behind his Prius and that was his full time job.
So hate if you want to, that’s okay. I’d like a truck as much as everyone else, but I don’t have one right now and that’s just how it is.
But the thread will hopefully be only about the trailer build, not the towing of said trailer. Because when I get a small truck, the trailer will be the same. So we can ignore the fact that I got 44 MPG on my 75 mile drive home last night towing the 725 lb trailer and just wait for the first equipments to go on.
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Im going to send you an F250 decal to put on it. That will fix everything
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As long as it has the TurboDiesel in big chrome letters, I could probably upgrade to dual axle 20 footer with gooseneck. I think they have a mounting kit for the gooseneck receiver that mounts right to the hatchback windshield. But I read it does negatively impact the aerodynamic profile slightly. But it would be worth it for the additional towing options for sure. Thank you!
I’m to smart to own a diesel truck. Plain ol 5.4 gasser for me.
Bahahahahahahaha
Dude chill out there is no “Hate” you want to destroy an expensive car or take a chance on killing your self … Have at it… Just passing on info that could save your or someone else’s life. Or save you thousands of dollars in repairs. Passing on helpful advise is not “hate” just because you can’t take advise Dosent mean that someone reading this post won’t benefit from it… So calm down its not about your car…, it’s about safety …
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I don’t think jbreeze thought there was hate. I put a trailer hitch in a Hyundai excel once and pulled a uhaul trailer from atlanta to spiveys corner NC. He’ll be ok and it will give him incentive to get a tacoma
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