Better to flat tow or trailer tow car

[Frank4]

Is it better to flat tow and car or but in in a trailer?

[wayne anthony]

Depends on what the instructions say for the vehicle you are towing. Some vehicles say they can be and others may burn out bearing or something in the trans. Back in the seventies, towed a dune buggy, but made the tow bar to lift the front wheels off the ground. No problems. In the nineties, towed a Tracker on a car dolly. The manual for the Tracker said a maximum of 150 miles. Towed it on a car dolly backwards with the back wheels on the car dolly. No problems except breaking the mirrors the first time I drove on a gravel road. Wayne

[bend302]

Most folks I know who have used a dolly have eventually reverted to 4 wheels on the ground. They report that a big issue is finding a place at the camp sites to store the dolly and the effort required to set up and break down the tow.

Bill

[wnytaxman]

General opinion seems to be to tow 4 down. Best vehicles for this is open for discussion with many opting for the Jeep and others going with Fords or Dodges. If you check the FMCA site, I think they have the towing guide on their site which lists out the various vehicles and what can and can't be towed 4 down.

[Lostdog]

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

General opinion seems to be to tow 4 down. Best vehicles for this is open for discussion with many opting for the Jeep and others going with Fords or Dodges. If you check the FMCA site, I think they have the towing guide on their site which lists out the various vehicles and what can and can't be towed 4 down.

For us...four down with a Jeep Wrangler. RoadMaster tow bar and a ReadyBrake supplemental brake system. I'm all about simplicity.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by wayne anthony

Depends on what the instructions say for the vehicle you are towing. Some vehicles say they can be and others may burn out bearing or something in the trans. Back in the seventies, towed a dune buggy, but made the tow bar to lift the front wheels off the ground. No problems. In the nineties, towed a Tracker on a car dolly. The manual for the Tracker said a maximum of 150 miles. Towed it on a car dolly backwards with the back wheels on the car dolly. No problems except breaking the mirrors the first time I drove on a gravel road. Wayne

X2. Not all vehicles can be flat towed; especially 4WD.

[kenandterry]

Hello Frank4..........

Going back to your question.....

"Is it better to flat tow and car or but in in a trailer?" The answer is definitely flat tow....HOWEVER.......it all depends on the vehilce that you want to bring along as designed by the manufacturer, not what your personal choice is.

Please read the following, and you will see your selection of vehicles as it pertains to flat towing. Good luck.

http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/Din...-Towing-Guide/

[Mountainmanbob]

seems if possible
4 down would always be the best
taking into consideration
towing the extra trailer
just means more weight
it would seem a little extra gas used also

another excellent point brought out above
by bend302
where are you going to
store that extra THING brought with you
if in a tight camping situation ??

used to
tow Jeep Wrangler behind my motor home
did not even know that it was there
nice way to go
with a nice hitch a sweet ride

question
how many do we think
as we look around on the highways
tow the spare vehicle on a trailer ??
my gess would be
1 out of twenty
((there must be a reason))
or many good reasons ??

Mountainman

[MikeA]

We tow a Dodge Grand Caravan behind our 350 using a dolly. I was originally planning on towing it four down but got never found the time to install the lube pump in the car and install the brake and towbar hitch (even though I had already invested over $1000 in the stuff I needed). We did over 5000 miles on our MH last summer pulling the minivan.
It is more work to hook up the dolly but like anything else, you get used to it. The nice thing about towing with a dolly is that you don't generally need to do any mods to the car or the MH.

[cdrifter]

I dollytow, backwards, a 2002 toyota 4-runner because 2whl.drive and drive shaft

disconnect will void any factory or extended warr. Without disconnect, must install

tranny pump and cooler and add aux. braking system.

total cost for 4 down would be $3000.00

cost of pulling 400# tow dolly ? too small to measure.

tow master w/ surge hyd. brake $1200.00

most larger parks have separate area for storage and such.

just saying.........

cdrifter