What are best toads for 2015 Solera 24 on MBS Chassis?

[Blue Ridge]

We've been towing our 2007 Prius on the EZ Tow Dolly, and that has been a good experience. The newer EZ Tow Dolly is a lot easier to use, and the mileage is still 46.5 mpg. It's been a good combo. Trouble is, our knees and backs are giving out, and we hope to move soon to a pulling a toad behind our Solera 24R on the MB Sprinter. What toads are you using behind your MBS? Thanks for your help!
Blue Ridge
Meadows of Dan VA

[KatanaPilot]

Manual transmission 2015 Honda Fit towed 4 down behind our 2015 Forester 2401R MBS. Blue Ox base plate, tow bar, braking system.

Took a little while to get the bugs worked out, but this was our first experience with a MH or a Toad. We installed all of the equipment ourselves.

I was reluctant to buy a Toad given the size of the Forester. Now I wouldn't travel without it. Given the questionable reliability of the MH and the MBS chassis, the Honda is our backup vehicle to get us to a hotel if needed.

We have towed the Fit about 10,000 miles now with very little issue, including through the mountains of TN. The Fit is a great little car, very well engineered and we average 38 or so mpg driving a combination of city and highway. It will also carry 4 adults and some stuff quite comfortably.

[DaveJordan]

The HR-V is the Fit's somewhat larger cousin. I looked at both, but didn't like feeling like I was surrounded by taller cars. The driving position in the HR-V is higher up.

The HR-V is a little heavier but has a larger engine and somewhat more carrying capacity - both vehicles have a surprising amount of carrying space due to the way the rear seats fold.

Dave

[barnbnb]

The best toad is whatever you like or need (that's under the max towing capacity) that can be flat towed or dollied. You will need a braking system as well.
I tow a Wrangler which weighs about 3500 lbs. We like to get off road sometimes so the 4x4 is important to us and we also like the convertible top aspect, especially at national parks.
My rig got 13.5 mpg towing on our last 500 mile trip, albeit we were not traveling the mountains and kept it at 60 mph max.
The Jeep is best for us, but not for everyone.
Google the "2016 Dinghy Towing Guide" for your options, and welcome to the wonderful world of RVing!

[Sandiegodoug]

We tow a soft top wrangler too. Great dingy. Ours a rubicon so closer to 4000, but tows great. Jeeps made for towing.

[rvfriendly]

We pull a 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth manual transmission behind our MH. Simply put the tranny in neutral. Steering wheel does not lock, so ignition switch does not need to be on. It weighs 2600 lbs, perfect for a Sprint chassis and drive train.

[Mikegjax]

2013 Smart car. Manual trans. but drives like an auto (DW does not drive manual). Can be towed 4 down. 1840 lb. Two seats so I don't have to carry other's .

[TARVIDSON]

We tow a Chevy HHR which has an automatic and is a 5 passenger car with a lot of storage room. We like to use our 16' inflatable boat and it has a roof rack so we can float a stretch of river and load the 82# boat back on to get back to where we put in with the motorhome. It also acts as a great extra storage and gets about 30 mpg in general driving. It does not have a lot of ground clearance though and is not all wheel drive. It weighs about 3200# and slows the motorhome down a bit going up steep hills and costs you 1 to 2 mpg. It definitely changes where one attempts to go. You can get in and out of about anywhere a car can go with the Sprinter but with a Toad backing up is pretty limited so I find myself avoiding spots where I can't see pull through parking. I have had to unhook and rehook several times. After doing this many times though it does not take long nor is it difficult with release tow bars.

[dukeboone]

We tow a 2 door Wrangler JK with a Roadmaster Sterling tow bar and Roadmaster Invisibrake. The MH tows it quite well, no issues so far. We don't always take the toad either, only when circumstances warrant it.

[SSmbs]

We tow a Honda CRV which is a very popular tow but the newest model years of CRV are not towable. Search "Motorhome magazine dinghy towing guide." They have a yearly guide that lists towable vehicles and also covers brakes, towbars, etc. Do a lot of research on braking systems. We use SMI Stay in Play Duo. There are other good ones but I would suggest not going with the box on the floor pushing a dead pedal. Mine involves switching a switch to on when I tow.

[TARVIDSON]

X2 on the SMI Stay In Play, totally out of sight, will not apply brakes unless you are stepping on the pedal,(your toad will not be setting its brakes when you are bouncing over bumps or going downhill using engine compression thus burning up your toad brakes) easy to adjust sensitivity and just flip a switch to turn it on and off.
More trouble to install but a lot more convenient afterwards.

[wendylys]

We tow a 2 door Wrangler. We us a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar and an Invisibrake.

[Rkloud9]

We have been thinking about pulling a toad... although our 2017 MBS 2400w has been mostly a wonderful experience over the last 8 months and 14000 miles (about 80 days on the road), the idea of having something smaller for exploring areas in detail is compelling. We ran into another couple at Davis Mountains State Park in Texas that were driving a similar SunSeeker, and they put a bug in our ear about their dinghy, a new Chevy Spark. The towable version must have a stick shift, something both DW and I are very familiar with. So, we spent the last week looking at all the sub 3000 lb. vehicles listed in the Motorhome Magazine Dinghy Guide, plus a few others. This included the following... Ford Fiesta hatchback (liked it a lot, great end of year pricing, fairly small access opening at back, both stick shift and manual trans are towable), Ford Focus (nice, but larger/heavier, and more dough), Toyota Yaris and Toyota Sentra (probably great choices, but tough to get any kind of deal and stick shifts hard to find), Nissan Note (again, not a bad choice, but could not find a good deal, and sticks hard to find), and the Chevy Sonic and Spark. Chevy has a great deal going right now until December 12th on both models, 20% off the sticker for cash. In all of Chicagoland there were only about 6 manual trans units for either model... trying both, we were surprised at how the Spark drove for being so small, and how much space there was in the back with the seats folded / how large the rear door hatch was (I hope to get my bike in there, since we lose the bike rack to the tow gear).

So, we purchased the Spark! It is a really basic car, kind of a cross of old and new tech... manual trans, windows, mirrors, yet with AC, back up camera, wireless hot spot, Apple Play, Bluetooth. It is only about 12' long, and weighs about 2300 lbs. My RV dealer who installs Blue Ox gear says the light weight will mean we will not need a braking system. Not sure about that, but we will research this further. I will share our experiences as we go forward.



Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400W
Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[FFred]

Another vote for an earlier Honda CRV , not only can the tranny be towed 4 wheels down , but the car used a timing chain to operate the camshaft.

This gets rid of required timing belt replacement , on miles OR time in service ,and gets rid of another chance of engine failure.

[Blue Ridge]

Works beautifully. Bought it from a couple in Ohio who had taken loving care of the vehicle when they had a Class C, and were selling after moving up to a 33 foot TT. Towed it from Canton to SW Virginia and found it as easy to tow as our Prius was on the Acme EZ Tow Dolly. Like is was made for the flat tow trade.
Thanks, all, for the good advice on what to get and how it works. I appreciate the differing views and helpful information.
Blue Ridge
Meadows of Dan VA

[FFred]

As snowbirds we now tow a small trailer (the bride is a "fiber artist") so we move a volume of yarn for her weaving.

We are planning on downsizing to the CRV as the snowbird "trailer". .

The simplest method to obtain the carrying ability we need is probably to dump the Rubber made tubs and boxes and pack in duffle bags .

Now have a boxed 12V spinning wheel for her , but the looms are duplicated not transported.

Google Hats On or Mostly Mittens to see her past knitting experiments.

[CarolinaBlue]

Thought I would add the toad we use - a 2001 Miata 6 speed. Just returned from a trip that took us from North Carolina to the parks in Texas, AZ, NM, UT, and CO. We love it. Not what you want for off-road but driving in the parks, to town, and general sightseeing with the top down is wonderful. It weighs ~ 2,500 lbs. and we tow it with a 2017 Forester 2401W on the MBS chases. We had some very strong winds, prolonged periods of high elevation, and lots of mountain climbing. We average 14 - 15 mpg during the 7 week trip that covered 8 - 9K miles. Tow with BluOx tow at and have StaynPlay duo with battery charger in the Miata.

[raptor]

Chevy has a great deal going right now until December 12th on both models, 20% off the sticker for cash. In all of Chicagoland there were only about 6 manual trans units for either model... trying both, we were surprised at how the Spark drove for being so small, and how much space there was in the back with the seats folded / how large the rear door hatch was (I hope to get my bike in there, since we lose the bike rack to the tow gear).

Hi Bob,
What is the deal price for Sparks after 20% off in Chicago? It's about $12,900 here before tax in Puget sound area.

[Rkloud9]

Originally Posted by raptor

Hi Bob,
What is the deal price for Sparks after 20% off in Chicago? It's about $12,900 here before tax in Puget sound area.

We paid $10,200 plus tax back in December... this was for the most basic model, LS I think... 5 speed manual, manual windows, AC, nice radio with Apple Play (cool!), OnStar, and an AT&T hot spot. We have driven it about 5000 miles, and towed it about 7500 more. We are planning to add cruise control, as we do find we take some extended trips at times. Presently in Canada nearing the end of a 4000 mile loop to the East Coast and back. The MBS 2400W is running great with about 21500 miles, and about 13.5 mph pulling the Spark...
lots of good times!

[CZNEDY]

We tow a 2004 Jeep TJ with our DYNAMAX. Our last long trip it seems like dragging a toad makes the ride better in the wind. Kind of like dragging an anchor behind a boat in bad weather.