Taking the Car Questions

LaLaLisa · 02-01-2021, 07:53 PM

Hi Experienced Folks,

So, as we start planning for Spring amidst the snow storm we are in, we are considering taking one of our cars along behind the Georgetown GT7 36D. My husband says we should just rent a tow rig from U-Haul for the times we want to take a car along. I say, we should invest in a tow rig we can use anytime we want. Is the tow from U-Haul really a good idea? If so/not, why?

Next question, we have a Mercedes 300GLC and a Lincoln Corsair, neither of which I want to tow. I’d prefer to take one of the Fiats I own at my business, (500 Pop or 500X). Thoughts?

Lastly, we have that big thing that hangs under the rig to block stones and things from hitting the car you’re towing. Does it really help or is it just dead weight?

Thanks!

formerFR · 02-01-2021, 08:02 PM

towing a vehicle is a joy, or a chore, depending on your situation. If you go to a lot of trouble to tow one, you might actually find you don't use it nearly as much as you feared you'd need it - so, not very convenient for the trouble involved, especially if you find you have to disconnect it at every overnight, even when you don't otherwise need to.
If you don't go to any trouble, and don't take a vehicle with you, you might find yourself lamenting that you wished you'd had one to make things much more convenient when the rig is parked, set up, and you just want to go to the store or a drive thru the nearby State Park, or something.

It's a toss up either way, but yes, a rented tow dolly is really the best of 'both worlds' - you don't invest a lot of money, but you have your vehicle with you. You might find it a slight inconvenience to have to handle or move the tow dolly at rv parks or campgrounds, and the 'driving up and onto' the dolly can be sometimes a little unnerving, but otherwise it's a more 'normal' thing to do than most realize, at least compared to flat-towing, which takes special installed equipment and tow bars. Not cheap, etiher.

As for the stone guard, or more accurately the 'advertising signage', it's never been proven that they provide one ioda of any additional protection from anything. Use it if you like it, remove it if you don't. Your tow vehicle is likely to know little difference.

Have fun. (another idea - have one of you follow in the tow vehicle, rather than towing it!)

rkulbok · 02-02-2021, 06:54 AM

One thing you did not mention in your post is ‘how long your camping trips will be’? If you are just planning weekend trips, then towing a car might prove to be a hassle and driving a car separately might be the best option. If you are planning longer trips, say weeks or months, then towing a vehicle will give you much more flexibility to explore surrounding areas and much less hassle in planning all of you supplies so you don’t need to make quick trips to a store.

We have been flat towing a vehicle now for 5 years. Like anything else once you have ‘hooked and un-hooked’ the vehicle a few times it’s a pretty easy process and only takes a few minutes.

Flat towing vs using a dolly I think is a no-brainer. Except for the initial expense, flat towing eliminates an extra piece of equipment, the tow dolly, which will need to be un-hooked once you reach your campsite, along with removing your car, and finding a place to store it.

As for the rock guard we use one and I have not noticed any paint chips on our vehicle, but we have always used so I cannot compare to not having one.

In summary if you are planning longer trips, then flat towing a car will prove to be the easier but more expensive option. Just make sure your car is designed to be flat towed. Otherwise, a tow dolly is your only option.

I hope this gives you some ‘food for thought’ and safe travels.

Funengineer · 02-02-2021, 09:19 AM

So a question to those using a rock guard. Are you using a hanging guard similar to mud flaps or a guard that mounts between the MH and towed vehicle?

rkulbok · 02-02-2021, 09:27 AM

We are using a guard that mounts between the MH and towed vehicle.

BehindBars · 02-02-2021, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaLaLisa

Next question, we have a Mercedes 300GLC and a Lincoln Corsair, neither of which I want to tow. I’d prefer to take one of the Fiats I own at my business, (500 Pop or 500X). Thoughts?

I’m not sure what you mean in post #1 by “tow rig”. You could tow on a dolly, a trailer, or tow the car on it’s four wheels.

When choosing a car to flat tow, if that’s how you want to tow it, first you need to find out if it can be flat towed. Many cars cannot be towed with four wheels down, according to their manufacturers.

Read the car’s owner’s manual under a section often called “recreational towing”, or consult a guide like the Dinghy Towing Guide: https://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/

If you chose to tow a car on a trailer or dolly that you own, you have that extra weight to tow, then you need to store it at the camp or home as well.

Dodge Guy · 02-02-2021, 10:28 AM

If none of the cars are flat towable then I would invest in a good tow dolly. But I prefer 4 down as it’s much easier to connect and hookup.

As for the rock guard.....I’m ordering one next week. The front of my Explorer after our last trip was awful. I lost a dog lamp (cracked) tiny stone chips in the windshield as well as rock chips all over the front bumper. And I found some rocks on the cowl by the wipers and one up on the roof by the roof rack rail. The car was perfect before because I just had a lot of hail damage repaired and they installed a new hood and painted the fenders.

Dodge Guy · 02-02-2021, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formerFR

As for the stone guard, or more accurately the 'advertising signage', it's never been proven that they provide one ioda of any additional protection from anything. Use it if you like it, remove it if you don't. Your tow vehicle is likely to know little difference.

Have fun. (another idea - have one of you follow in the tow vehicle, rather than towing it!)

I can tell You for a fact my Explorer knows a big difference. As do I! I’ll report on my findings after our next long trip with the rock guard!

NXR · 02-02-2021, 11:37 AM

Check your cars here to see if they are flat towable. The year, model, and exact engine and transmission combination can mean they are or not: https://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/

We did not tow on the first several trips and then started using a dolly. We towed with a dolly for a year and dumped it for a new used SUV that we flat tow. Far, far more convenient in all respects than a dolly. If the motorhome leaves home, the car is right behind us.

For example, our rear motorhome wheels are 96" outside-to-outside width. But the dolly was 102" wide. While that is only 3" per side, a towed vehicle will never track perfectly in a turn. So we had to be very careful on turns, and turn wide, because even though the motorhome's rear tires would clear the curb easily, the dolly tires could still scuff or hit the curb. But the flat towed car is always well inside the motorhome's track because its tires are a lot closer together.

It does depend on how long you're gone on a trip and where as to whether you'll want a car. A few days at a real resort and never needing food or whatever is different than a week at a state park where you want to sightsee. If anybody in your family has special medical needs then a readily-available car can be life-saving.

Note that most U-Haul tow dollies do not have any type of brakes, not electric or surge. Some do now, though. If your motorhome weighs 22,000 pounds and you're towing 4,000 pounds of car + dolly, you have roughly 20% of the weight of the motorhome pushing from the rear when stopping. Personally, I'd never tow anything that did not have its own brakes. Doing so will significantly increase your total stopping distance and motorhome brake wear.

And then there's this: https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Tow-Dolly-Rental/TD/

"Tow dollies have a lightweight and durable design ..."

"Empty weight: 750 lbs."

Not exactly my definition of "lightweight" but I do not write advertising copy.

U-Haul uses, or used to use, Demco tow dollies and they are built like tanks and weigh just as much, relatively speaking.

Good luck,

Ray

NXR · 02-02-2021, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dodge Guy

I can tell You for a fact my Explorer knows a big difference. As do I! I’ll report on my findings after our next long trip with the rock guard!

You do realize that the lack of rock damage to the car is not necessarily because of the rock guard, right?

The only way to test your supposition is to remove the rock guard and then go drive a long distance on multiple rocky roads.

We are anxiously awaiting your "before" and "after" pictures of that experiment.

Ray

NMWildcat · 02-02-2021, 11:52 AM

If the Fiats are standard, definitely flat tow one of those. If not, trade for one that is

The setup for flat tow is not bad and not that expensive and much easier to maintain than any tow dolly/trailer.
The only folks I know that do not flat tow behind their MH are those that insist on having their fancy vehicle with them, or do not have any other choice due to finances.

Mr. October · 02-02-2021, 03:38 PM

I can guarantee you can't tow your Mercedes GLC 300 either flat-towed or a tow dolly. You'd need a full trailer. I can't speak for the Lincoln. (I don't have one of those.) If you were going to go to the trouble and expense of renting a u-haul to tow a car, you'd be way further ahead to just rent a car at your destination from Enterprise. We did that for a couple years before we bought a new car we could tow 4-down.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, if you are going to tow a car, make your setup/take down as easy as possible. It's worth the money. We found ourselves camping less when we weren't towing a car than when we were.

NXR · 02-02-2021, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. October

If you were going to go to the trouble and expense of renting a u-haul to tow a car, you'd be way further ahead to just rent a car at your destination from Enterprise. We did that for a couple years before we bought a new car we could tow 4-down.

Pete, can you give a rough idea of what those rentals cost? I think Enterprise will actually drop the car off and pick it up, if that service is available in your camping area?

My only experience is renting cars on vacation for a week or more and that was rather expensive. For us, anyway.

Ray

KNMIB · 02-02-2021, 05:31 PM

We do not tow, we rent where needed but we also have a 28 ft motorhome we can pretty much take anywhere. There have been times a tow vehicle would ne nice but we never really where hurt by not having one. 4 years and 90000 mile and slept in all but 3 states shows you we move a lot but if we are somewhere for several days we rent from usually Enterprise. Cost is not bad. Last 2 month trip we rented in Yellowstone, Bakersfield. Las Vega and Tuscon. Works for us.

scottrubarb · 02-02-2021, 07:17 PM

From 1978 through 2013 camped with a travel trailer. Sold it. Always nice to have the towing vehicle to get around national parks, towns and museums while camping. back to RV'ing in 2017 with purchase of Georgetown 270S. The prior year replaced a 2000 Jeep GC with a Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk. Always planning on flat towing. Jeep has Stay and play duo braking and Blue Ox tow bar. Have made several 5 -6 week trips, 1 week trips and one 10,000 mile 3 1/2 month cross country in 2018. Really made use of the TOAD on that trip, especially near metropolitan areas. It's nice to have the extra wheels if something happens to the RV. Some people will rent a car when they arrive near populated areas. A good way to minimize investment until you get a better idea of your preferences.

The Fiat if eligible would be great as a TOAD. Check FMCA report for your car's capability as a toad.

With a TOAD you cannot backup the RV. Watch out for getting boxed in a tight parking area or gas station. If it happens, you will need to disconnect and move the RV and Car separately to a place to re-connect.

Dodge Guy · 02-03-2021, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NXR

You do realize that the lack of rock damage to the car is not necessarily because of the rock guard, right?

The only way to test your supposition is to remove the rock guard and then go drive a long distance on multiple rocky roads.

We are anxiously awaiting your "before" and "after" pictures of that experiment.

Ray

I currently don't have a rock guard. Which is why my car is damaged from rocks kicking up. The rock guard will knock the rocks down so they don't fly up and into the fron of the car. Like I said, once I get it and install it I'll report my findings!

Mr. October · 02-03-2021, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NXR

Pete, can you give a rough idea of what those rentals cost? I think Enterprise will actually drop the car off and pick it up, if that service is available in your camping area?

My only experience is renting cars on vacation for a week or more and that was rather expensive. For us, anyway.

Ray

It varies wildly based on location but Enterprise is typically far less expensive than some of the other companies. Of course, the airport based rental companies are mostly becoming non-existent with COVID travel restrictions. I think average was around $25-$30/day. It isn't bad considering what it costs to setup a car or dolly to tow.

Our first motorhome was a 23' Sprinter-based motorhome. We could take it ALMOST anywhwere. Cities like Cape May, NJ in the peak of the season you just aren't going to be able to park a motorhome in town. Heck, you might not be able to park a bike. That said, the first couple years we had it, we didn't tow. Then I bought a car I could tow and set it up myself in a budget friendly way. It was safe and I got it set up (including a braking system) for under $1500.00. I did all the work myself but it took us about 30 minutes to properly hook it up. It was a little bit of a nuisance. The car was also my daily driver. After a few years of long commuting in it, I needed to upgrade my daily driver so sold the car we could tow. We then spent a couple years renting or not taking a car. The end result was we did not travel as much and when we did we tended not to want to be bothered tearing down camp to take the motorhome somewhere so we didn't do as much. Just lazy I guess but you certainly weren't running out for an ice cream cone after dinner.

Shortly before we got our Georgetown I decided to throw my hat back into the TOAD ring but decided to do it right. We bought basically a dedicated TOAD. A Chevrolet Spark. It's perfect for the two of us and was basically the cheapest new car you can buy and it was towable 4-down. (Manual transmission.) I took it to our local RV dealer and had their tow package installed. This included the base plate for the Blue Ox Avail tow bar (included in package), separate wiring for the lights on the car, and an SMI Stay-in-Play Duo braking system. Later we added a Roadmaster solenoid battery disconnect. (Chevrolet updated the towing protocol for the Spark to include disconnecting the battery.) Basically I wanted a system that I could quickly and easily hookup. Total cost of parts and labor was around $4500.00. (You could rent a lot of cars for that.) But we ALWAYS take the car with us now. We can hook it up in about 5 minutes. Pull up, connect the towbar, plug in the umbilical, add the safety lines, flip two switches in the car and we are good to go.

Obviously since we got the Georgetown we COULD have picked a bigger or different TOAD but our little Sprinter camper only had a 3500 lb. tow rating. That said, for the money the little Spark is a great 3rd car for running around home when needed. It's cheap to own and easy to operate and care for.

Bottom line for us, for motorhome travel I'd really rather have the car. It's nice to not be bothered having to tear down camp or go retrieve/return a rental car and we don't find ourselves limited on what we do or don't do. Of course the Georgetown doesn't even feel the little Spark back there. It weighs about 2300 lbs.

We do not have a rock guard. I guess we've been lucky so far but not damage as a result.

The2002Wanderer · 02-03-2021, 08:32 PM

If you need a car for a few days while camping consider Costco Travel for the rental. Give them a location where you'll be and the days you need a car. They will email back a list of options (rental company, car size, cost) to compare and it is very easy to just pick up the car when you get there. I've found the Costco Travel car rental prices lower than others than other sources and they don't charge extra for a second driver or mileage.

KNMIB · 02-03-2021, 09:04 PM

Since we rent we will check it out in metro areas. Thanks

n1acguy · 02-03-2021, 09:38 PM

We take our car everywhere on a tow dolly because nothing we own can be flat towed.

I do want a 4 wheel drive that can be flat towed, but it's not really a main priority right now, strictly a desire.

I've gotten to the point where it's pretty easy to get on and off as long as I follow some dos and don'ts.

The only mod I had to do to the car is to add a lighting harness so I don't have to use magnetic mounts, but you would want to do that with either method of towing.

One advantage of a car dolly is that the car won't get pelted with rocks since anything coming off the rear wheels of the MH just bounce off the bottom of the dolly or car just as if one of the cars own wheels picked it up. Another advantage is a dolly with a braking system built in. The one I have has surge brakes and I really like that feature. I wouldn't tow anything without a braking system, and just about every state requires one on anything over 2000 lbs.

I would still prefer to have something I could flat tow, but I don't find the dolly a hindrance. It is designed to stand up for storage only requiring 2 ft., but I almost always just leave it hitched to the MH. It does mean we get pull throughs for overnights, but I'd probably do that anyway.

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