Hhrbie and the Scamp

Hhrbie is a 2010 Chevy HHR.

He got great gas mileage compared to the large older Chevy pickup I used to have (and now have another version of again! Hhrbie now makes his home with my oldest kid.). My older 93 Silverado was a great truck, but the body was starting to go on her and she had over a quarter million miles on, so it was time to unfortunately consider the unthinkable and make some changes at that time. Enter Hhrbie.

The one problem that arose with Hhrbie was a distinct lack of towing capabilities.

If at some point you’d like to pull a hard-sided camper or anything else for that matter, this is a problem.

We got around some other problems by realizing Hhrbie has a pretty cavernous interior for his outside size. We actually fit a full-size dryer (unboxed) into this car.

No, really we did:

And Hhrbie’s a pretty plucky little guy.

We lived at the time where the 2013 October blizzard “Atlas” struck. Nothing screams “WINTER!” like an unexpected October blizzard. And nothing screams “WINTER!” in dismay like me in when that happens.

As I am in professional transportation, I had Hhrbie out in conditions where we were about the only non-4WD left on the road. It was necessary that I make it home. Hhrbie did so in the nick of time only becoming immobile after just making it into our driveway. Here he is, stuck at the end of the driveway looking pretty forlorn and about as happy with “WINTER!” as the rest of us:

Well, after I spent awhile cursing myself for not thinking I’d ever need some kind of towing capability and wondering how on earth was I going to get around that particular issue short of trading him in, I discovered…

The Scamp (!)

Our Scamp had come to live with us a few summers ago. It was a 13′ and weighed in at under 1,000 lbs. It did not have a built-in heater, nor A/C, nor extra weight-contributing appliances. We could drag it around by the hitch and push and pull it by hand (not very far, mind you and that process did encompass grunts and forceful expletives, but it could be done).

However, in order to pull a camper with Hhrbie one must have…a receiver hitch.

I got the bright idea that myself and my oldest child could just install that ourselves. Yeah.

I ordered a well-rated receiver hitch, wiring harness and ball from Amazon that would fit Hhrbie. It sat around here for a week or two while I procrastinated, gathering up the mental ambition to prepare to install it:

The video we watched on the installation showed it could be completed in only 5 minutes!

Materials needed included ramps, a torque wrench, a drill, and a plastic cat litter tub. A hydraulic lift installed in your large comfortable garage is also useful, but I discarded the idea of building a garage and used ramps instead on a nice day, scooting awkwardly under the car on a piece of cardboard.

The process involved dropping the exhaust, drilling out holes in Hhrbie’s frame, threading bolts down through those holes with a wire gizmo, then heave-hoeing the receiver up and trying to line it up and lift it onto the dangling bolts and thread on a nut quick all while not losing the bolts back up into the frame. It was like an Olympic event.

While the sturdy mechanic in the video bench-pressed the receiver with ease in his comfortable garage with hydraulic lift, we were unable to replicate that feat with our quivering arms and ended up propping it on the cat litter tub we dragged outside to help us. Then heaving, grunting and swearing the hitch into place, we put on an entertaining spectacle for our curious neighbors who ran away hurriedly while covering their children’s ears when they actually ventured within earshot.

I was hoping that because I’d backed Hhrbie up on ramps with his nose facing the street that with our legs sticking out, it looked like we were badasses simply bench-pressing him into the air with our incredible strength.

Hours later, plus several trips to the auto store and the hitch was finally on. It took both of us to torque the bolts down to their recommended settings. So far, the receiver hasn’t fallen off!

The wiring harness was pretty easy to do – and it even works.

The end result?

How did Hhrbie do pulling the Scamp?

Pretty well. Hhrbie averaged between 28-33 mpg not towing anything. This depends on terrain and gasoline quality. Pulling the Scamp he averaged around 20-22 mpg at around 63-65 mph, again give or take, depending. I traveled about 2,000 miles with this combo encompassing several campgrounds and state parks.