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

[johnnypal]

The one car thats been flat towable since its itroduction has been the Honda CRV. Just hook it up,follow the little procedure and take it away.Im on my 4th one since 1998. Its probably the most the most dependable car you can own also. Besides the new ones are 95% made in America.

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by johnnypal

The one car thats been flat towable since its itroduction has been the Honda CRV. Just hook it up,follow the little procedure and take it away.Im on my 4th one since 1998. Its probably the most the most dependable car you can own also. Besides the new ones are 95% made in America.

Not true. The top five were toyota camry, honda accord, ford escape, ford focus and the chevy malibu. The CRV was not even in the top ten so was under 75%. I got my information from cars.com. Also the Saturn Vue has been flat towable since its introduction and is continued in the the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain which are on the same frame as the Vue. Don't get me wrong the CRV is a great toad but so are the two I listed. Also, might be better to say the CRV is "one" of the most dependable cars you can own without stating where you got your information. It certainly wasn't from experience since you never kept any one of them more than three years.

[johnnypal]

Nemo, all the cars you mention Might be flat towable with thier latest year offerings but all of them including your Equinox required special equipment for flat towing in thier earlier years. The early Saturn Vues were equiped with Honda power trains.Take a look in the Consumer reports yearly buying guide for reliability records.

[senforex]

You can verify your car in the Motorhome Towing Guide

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

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by johnnypal

Nemo, all the cars you mention Might be flat towable with thier latest year offerings but all of them including your Equinox required special equipment for flat towing in thier earlier years. The early Saturn Vues were equiped with Honda power trains.Take a look in the Consumer reports yearly buying guide for reliability records.

In its ealier years the Equinox with the 3.4 V6 and the 5 speed tranny had to be towed with a dolly but the Equinox Sport with the 3.6 V6 (same as the Vue) with the 6 speed tranny could be pulled four down and by just removing a fuse. You could not get an Equinox with a 4 cyl. like the CRV until the 2010 model. The early 3.4 V6 Equinox's had head gasket problems but they have been resolved, I don't think they even use that engine anymore, and the 4 cyl. has had no such problems. My 4 cyl. Equinox has the 6 speed transmission and they have been towable four down since its inception in the 2010 model. By the way, you should be pulling a fuse on your CRV to tow it too. A couple of my friends with CRV's didn't know this and one had a dead battery when they finished the day towing because they left the radio on. I am just saying by my experience my Equinox has been a great toad and there are alternatives to a CRV. Some of the Jeeps and the Ford Exscape also come to mind. If you want a larger vehicle the GMC Acadia, Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave are all towble four down and by just removing, in their case, 2 fuses.

[johnnypal]

Nemo, The main point I was trying to stress was that you could buy an old CRV or Saturn S series and tow it flat.People who dont want to spend a lot on a toad are still looking for these old cars. These were the only ones in those years.As far as pulling a fuse goes, I never did and never had a dead battery. As far as reliability goes,both the Saturn S and the CRV had the best records in the industry going way back.

[MikeA]

Another resource for information is:

Application Charts | Remco Towing


This resource lists not only the vehicles that can be towed without modifications but also the vehicles that can be towed with modifications (and tells you what modifications are required). Also listed are the vehicles that cannot be flat towed at all (even with modifications). And, of course they sell the stuff you need to make the modifications

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by johnnypal

Nemo, The main point I was trying to stress was that you could buy an old CRV or Saturn S series and tow it flat.People who dont want to spend a lot on a toad are still looking for these old cars. These were the only ones in those years.As far as pulling a fuse goes, I never did and never had a dead battery. As far as reliability goes,both the Saturn S and the CRV had the best records in the industry going way back.

And you could buy most any car with a manual transmission and tow it four down, if you wanted a really inexpensive toad. My buddy that had his battery go dead after towing never had it go dead again either, but after that he never left the radio on. Anyway its in your owner's manual, but it states that you need to do it if you're going to tow long distances. With the Equinox there are other things on that fuse that would run when the ignition is in the on position like the vehicle info screen and key in the ignition buzzer. Anyway, to the OP. I have towed both with a dolly and four down and to me, four down wins hands down.

[johnnypal]

Nemo, when Im talking tow cars Im talking auto trans.You can probably tow most any stick shift but how many people are buying stick cars today . A stick in a CRV is a special order. Most people dont know how to drive stickshift. If you leave your radio on while towing you deserve a dead battery.

[louis cherry]

Install an Axle Lock. Yet another method of adapting a newer car with front drive and automatic transmission for towing four-down is an axle lock. This device is designed to be used on front-wheel drive cars. The axle lock is installed between the transmission and the right front wheel. You simply reach behind the tire and give the unit a twist to either engage or disengage the it.