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Old 08-12-2014, 08:39 PM   #1
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Toad Car Question

DW and I are at odds over choice of a toad. I am looking at a new Ford Flex as our only car and for towing. DW thinks it is 'too big and too nice' for towing. Her choice is a second car like CRV just for a toad.
I have never towed a car with the RV so my question is : does the toad get banged up just by being towed? I have seen some very nice cars being towed so can't believe they are that susceptible to damage. If thats the case then a used beater is definitely the answer .
Any advice wi be greatly appreciated!


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Old 08-12-2014, 08:46 PM   #2
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I am not an expert or towed a great deal, but I have towed my Wrangler from south LA to middle TN. No (new) dings from that trip. I am guessing here but I guess it would depend on what kind of roads you would be towing. There are vehicle protectors out there. Some are pricey while other are not.


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Old 08-12-2014, 09:33 PM   #3
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I used a 2012 Enclave as a toad and it got a bit beaten up. I put a rock guard on and that helped but I decided it was just to much car and bought a Wrangler. The Wrangler sets high and seems to miss most of the rocks but at our stop tonight I found a cigarette butt on the front bumper. Only a 150 mile trip and the jeep was filthy. It was raining so that is expected. I had two chrome pieces on the Enclave broken by rocks. I would not tow a car that I would worry a lot about. It's bound to get a Dinged and beaten up.


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Old 08-12-2014, 10:13 PM   #4
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RKCO2 - I have toad a CRV for the past 3 years. I just traded in my 2011 CRV for a 2014 CRV. On the 2011, I did not use any deflectors or Bras. There were not any noticeable chips or dings from towing it. On the 2014 CRV, I did get a Bra for it. On the motorhome, I do have the rear panel deflector behind the tires. For me it works very well. Also I travel mainly interstate roads, which are paved. Hope that helps! Craig. ps - I travel about 11,000 miles a year in the Motorhome.


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Old 08-13-2014, 12:25 AM   #5
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We used a Saturn S2 as a tow vehicle for several years. This was a great little car ... very reliable àmish extremely light weight , making it very easy to tow. As our kids started to grow, the lack of back seat room make it a poor choice.

I wanted to stay with a car that could be towed on all 4 wheels without modifications and few towing restictions. We settled on a Ford Flex AWD. This is my primary vehicle as well as the car we tow behind our Berk.

What can I say .... we love it. This has been a fantastic vehicle. We have about 100k miles on the car ... other than tires and oil changes it has cost us nothing in maintenance.

The car is extremely vesitile with the 3 rows of seats, is easy on gas and tows well behind our 390bh 60.

We use a blue ox tow bar that can be attached and detached on less that 2 minutes. The NH has a solid rock guard that prevents any rock damage to the car. Other than lots of dust and dirt ... we have never had any damage. We tow the car empty and try to pull with limited fuel on board. The weight of the car is àmish 4800lbs.

The flex is a great choice ... is has the size of an suv but drives like a car.

Tim
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Old 08-13-2014, 10:44 AM   #6
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We have been towing a 2004 Honda Element since 2004. We have had a 24 Foot Class C, 30 Foot Class A and now a 37 Foot Class A. All have had some type of Mud Flap or Hula Skirt with no damage at all to the Honda. Just turn the key 1 click to unlock the steering wheel, put the manual transmission in neutral and release the brake. The odometer does not register the 50k plus miles it has been towed and the lights are 1157 bulbs and sockets installed in to the tail light housing with absolutly no connection to the car's electrical system just wired to a connector for the coach. The Honda has shown no signs of road damage or mechanical impairment from the amount of towing. We use a Demco Excaliber Toe Bar and a Demco Tow Plate, I did have an issue with the Tow Bar but Demco stepped up and fixed it enen though it was more than 8 years old. Hook ups and disconnects are easy and quick.

Good Luck
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Old 08-13-2014, 12:06 PM   #7
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Many thanks to all for your replies! We are still deciding but this gives me more to go on.


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Old 08-13-2014, 12:32 PM   #8
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I tow my wife's cadillac SRX and have never had an issue or anything show up on the car like dings or scratches. The rock guard on the back of the berkshire helps I'm sure!!


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Old 08-13-2014, 03:01 PM   #9
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Toad Car Question

I've got a 2009 Chev Cobolt that we have towed since it was new. Probably has 60,000+ miles being towed. It looks as good as it did day one. No dents or scrapes. Now and then we will get some fresh tar up on the hood. I'll use some diesel fuel and get the tar off and wax it again. All's good. We have always ran a full width flap across the back of the coaches.

Russell.
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