The Mini Cooper is a small car available in two-door, four-door, and convertible variants. It is made by Germany's BMW, which produces its own famous line of luxury cars. As a small car, the Mini is not the ideal vehicle for towing large or heavy loads such as campers, but is quite capable of pulling a small trailer. Mini Coopers do not, however, ship with a trailer hitch installed. These parts are available as accessories for most models of Mini, except for models with rear fog lights.
Buy a trailer hitch for your Mini Cooper and install it according to the instruction manual provided. Several companies sell these hitches, which are installed underneath the back bumper of the Mini. The job should be doable at home for many car-owners, as it involves using only screwdrivers, wrenches, and a hacksaw. If you are uncomfortable installing it, take it to a mechanic who knows Mini Coopers.
Pull off the backup light or cover plate on your bumper to reveal the receiver of your hitch. This is a square socket into which you can insert a metal ball hitch piece. These are standardized pieces available from any auto part supplier.
Insert the ball hitch into the hitch receiver and pin it in place using a locking pin. This will prevent it from sliding out once under load.
Buy or rent a trailer and attach it to your hitch by cranking the jack on the trailer's hitch until the plate hits the ground and lifts the hitch up higher than the ball attached to your Mini. If the trailer is two-wheeled and empty, you can just have a friend hold it up. Back the Mini up until the ball is sitting under the trailer's ball cup, and lower the trailer down until the clasp in the ball cup wraps around the hitch ball.
Pass a locking pin through the bottom of the ball cup to hold it in place over the hitch. The trailer is now attached to your Mini Cooper. Do not load it beyond the towing capacity of the car and the hitch; to find your model's exact towing capacity check the user manual. Since it is a small car, it can't pull a great deal; the heaviest Mini trailer hitch is rated for 1400 pounds.
Drive carefully with the trailer attached. The extra weight will make stopping take longer, and the extra length requires much wider turns than you might normally take with a small car. Be sure to strap everything on the trailer down tightly so that it doesn't shift or fly off during the drive. If you need to back up with a trailer on, remember that you must turn your wheel in the direction you wish the trailer to turn when reversing.
