Towing a Vehicle

vettecrazy · 12-07-2018, 05:10 PM

We just bought the Forest River Sunseeker 2400WS, I’m interested in what (car) and how you tow (dolly, Blue Ox, etc). We had a 34 foot Coachman, sold it and wanted smaller. My husband prefers to tow with a dolly, so far we haven’t towed but this last trip we wished we had a car.

AudiDudi · 12-07-2018, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vettecrazy

We just bought the Forest River Sunseeker 2400WS, I’m interested in what (car) and how you tow (dolly, Blue Ox, etc). We had a 34 foot Coachman, sold it and wanted smaller. My husband prefers to tow with a dolly, so far we haven’t towed but this last trip we wished we had a car.

We tow a 2015 Chevy Sonic RS hatchback on an ACME EZtow with our Sprinter based Prism 24G. The EZtow is light enough to be moved by hand and can be stored standing up (although we typically just back the MH over most of it). When towing we typically lose 1-2mpg depending on terrain and wind.

hitchn2go · 12-07-2018, 06:55 PM

I am just getting setup and will tow a Ford Focus 4-down with the Blue Ox tow bar and the Patriot II auxillery brake system. Went back and forth on which to use and decided this was best setup for me. My reasoning:

1. Ford Focus was manual transmission and with no steering wheel lock.
2. Focus is a simple, inexpensive car that I know will likely get beat up over time towing behind big rig. Will not cry much when I need to replace it.
3. In my research I did not find any special limitations on the manual transmission other than it being in nuetral.
4. Using the Patriot II auxiliary brake because some states require it (aux braking) and wanted to be safe and legal so I could travel without any restrictions.
5. Decided on 4 wheels down on car because with a dolly you still have 4 wheels rolling but now I need to worry about spare tires for the dolly.
6. Decided that I did not want to have to unhook car from dolly AND unhook the dolly from the RV when arriving at campsites...seemed like extra steps to me.
7. Did not want to worry about storing dolly at campsites.
8. Did not want the extra hassle/cost of registering/tag for dolly.
9. Initially I thought you could backup with the dolly, but after renting from U-Haul (for another project) I realized that could bend the dolly frame. So that benefit went away for me.
10. Back to Patriot II auxillery system...portable for use in future cars.

Ok, this is all I could think of for now. There are some extra initial cost towing 4-down for sure (baseplate, wiring install, and Auxiliary brake) but once that is done, the operations seem simpler to me. I suppose if you had a favorite car that you wanted to take, a dolly could work if you met car’s towing restrictions (fyi Not all cars can be towed 4-down)

For me, I just wanted something that simplified life and gave me transportation at the destination.

Jane1550 · 12-07-2018, 07:36 PM

We use a Acme dolly and tow a 17 Versa, car was so inexpensive, the lesser half says "If it falls off, we ain't stoppin," gas mileage isn't affected and we don't even know it's there. Our rig is an 18 Freelander 26' on a Chevy 4500 chassis. Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a few minutes to load/unload and the dolly doesn't require a tag. Dolly stores against the wall and takes up same room as a motorcycle, it has surge brakes so no complicated stuff to worry with & cost about $1k

btw, hubby backs up with the dolly....I DON"T ;-)

AudiDudi · 12-07-2018, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane1550

We use a Acme dolly and tow a 17 Versa, car was so inexpensive, the lesser half says "If it falls off, we ain't stoppin,"<snip>

btw, hubby backs up with the dolly....I DON"T ;-)

I find it quite easy to back up our ACME dolly. Is easier with the car loaded than unloaded.

As said before, the surge brakes work great and if you want to tow a different vehicle, you don't have the expense of having multiple vehicles prepared to tow 4 down.

FFred · 12-08-2018, 07:25 AM

IMO the least hassle by far is 4 wheels down with a base plate , tow bar and brake device in the towd.

One vehicle choice is volume , if you snowbird a roomier vehicle will hold more "stuff".

The best might be an old VW microbus , but they are collectors items and way pri$y.

We tow an older 2010 Honda CRV , which has a tranny that allows towing , the new ones do not.

Have the setup weighed on a CAT scale before you get started.

Make sure you are legal with the towing capacity , vehicle & tow bar .

rp53 · 12-08-2018, 08:22 AM

have a question as i don't have a MH. does anyone use a trailer to tow with ? i think if we ever had a MH i would like to have a small car riding on a trailer. save wear on the car and would it be easy to tow ?

Jane1550 · 12-08-2018, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rp53

have a question as i don't have a MH. does anyone use a trailer to tow with ? i think if we ever had a MH i would like to have a small car riding on a trailer. save wear on the car and would it be easy to tow ?

It would weigh alot, negatively affect gas mileage and what do you do with the trailer when you make camp? Our dolly stands up behind the camper and takes up less room then a motorbike. As far as tire wear, our car tires usually dry rot before wearing out. Also dolly is less expensive then a trailer.

rp53 · 12-08-2018, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane1550

It would weigh alot, negatively affect gas mileage and what do you do with the trailer when you make camp? Our dolly stands up behind the camper and takes up less room then a motorbike. As far as tire wear, our car tires usually dry rot before wearing out. Also dolly is less expensive then a trailer.

well a smart car weighs about 1800 lb trailer another 750 - 1000. so that would be 2800 lb max. just seemed to me it would be easier to tow than pull and hookup just a hypothetical ? as i will probably never own a MH

chroniekon · 12-08-2018, 08:55 PM

The Sprinter chassis doesn't have very much extra weight carrying capacity so you need to be careful when considering a trailer because of the tongue weight.

FFred · 12-09-2018, 06:47 AM

About the only part that would "wear out" are the tires , and as noted tires usually rot and are changed out at 8 years or so.

KISS

vettecrazy · 12-14-2018, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chroniekon

The Sprinter chassis doesn't have very much extra weight carrying capacity so you need to be careful when considering a trailer because of the tongue weight.

Thanks everyone for your input, on our 34 ft Coachman we towed with a blue ox, so far we haven’t towed, but see the advantage in certain areas to have the ability to do it.

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