Does anyone tow a car on a trailer?

[ReddingFamil]

Hi! We just purchased a 2002 Tiffin Allegro bus, but do not have a tow vehicle. We own a Prius that cannot be towed four down and the back bumper must be removed to use a tow dolly. We were thinking of a car trailer to avoid the cost of buying another vehicle. Has anyone had experience with this setup? Have you had problems with space in campgrounds to store the trailer? Some campgrounds don't have very big sites and it seems that having a trailer and a car to fit on a site might be a problem. We found an aluminum trailer on the web for about $2,000 which would be a big savings, but we don't want lots of headaches when we get to the campgrounds. Any advice you can give will be appreciated. We just moved up to a motor home from a fifth wheel and there is so much to learn!
Bob and Diane
Proud owners of 2002 Tiffin Allegro Bus AND
2010 Grand Junction Fifth Wheel and Ford F-350 Super Duty Truck

[acekirk]

I pull my mini cooper on an aluminum trailer, works fine, especially if you have to back up. I used to flat tow my jeep which was ok until you got in a tight spot and couldn't turn around and had to unhook the jeep. That was a pain. Not sure about storing and a campground since I usually boon dock it.

[rgvtexan]

Sometimes, I trailer tow the MGs, flat tow the Odyssey.
When I tow the trailer I look for CGs with long pull throughs. The trailer is a tilt bed so I like to be able to drive on/off. Many CGs have 65+ long sites, call ahead.

[Leary54]

Used to tow a trailer but many camp grounds would charge as an extra vehicle . Last year I went back to flat towing our Tahoe . Sounds like u do not have that option.

[George Schweikle]

We have RV'd for 33 years; everywhere except the southwest and towed a car trailer for 80% of the time. We have never paid extra for the trailer as an extra vehicle.

Bob, $2000 for an Aluminum car trailer sounds like a bargain. I bought a Featherlite for $4000 in 2004, and understand they are over $6000 now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leary54 Used to tow a trailer but many camp grounds would charge as an extra vehicle . Last year I went back to flat towing our Tahoe . Sounds like u do not have that option.

[Ernie Ekberg]

I have a custom trailer made for towing my 1 ton chevy van with all my flooring tools. I always ask for a pull thru as I'm 65 feet in length.

[George Schweikle]

I forgot to add that our motorhomes have always been under 30 ft. so, even with three different trailers, we were never over 50 ft. total length. There were just a very few times where we were asked to park the trailer in a different location, but it wasn't that much inconvenience. I try to get pull-through sites, but backing in isn't a problem. The car isn't street driven.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie Ekberg I have a custom trailer made for towing my 1 ton chevy van with all my flooring tools. I always ask for a pull thru as I'm 65 feet in length.

[powerboatr]

we tow our F150 on a flat trailer
i would add, if possible have some sort of way to move the trailer empty


but so far we have had a 99% failure free use, last trip i blew out a rear tire and damaged the fender some.
pretty sure i ran over something when we stopped a few miles before the incident
a few places we pulled into were tight, lengthwise,

[Scooter]

ReddingFamil(y)

What was the $2K trailer you saw? Did you buy it?

Thanks

[ReddingFamil]

No, unfortunately we missed the deal on that trailer. We are in the process of selling our 2010 Grand Junction fifth wheel and need to sell that before we can buy a toad or a trailer for our Prius, whichever we finally decide. Since we live in a low income rural area, selling a luxury fifth wheel is rather challenging. We will be so glad when we can actually travel together in the motor home instead of having to drive it and a car behind it! All in good time.

[George Schweikle]

Bob & Diane, Earlier you mentioned an Aluminum car trailer for $2000. If you find another at this price, be sure to check the quality. A friend bought one new from Aluminum Trailer Company, Cincinnati, and had the main chassis crack from a big hole torched in the side. This was supposed to be a small hole for wiring, but they cut it so big and sloppy that it weakened the entire trailer. The company repaired the trailer, but my friend sold it and bought a Featherlite at over twice his original "bargain trailer" cost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReddingFamil No, unfortunately we missed the deal on that trailer. We are in the process of selling our 2010 Grand Junction fifth wheel and need to sell that before we can buy a toad or a trailer for our Prius, whichever we finally decide. Since we live in a low income rural area, selling a luxury fifth wheel is rather challenging. We will be so glad when we can actually travel together in the motor home instead of having to drive it and a car behind it! All in good time.

[mustang652]

Towed my '65 Mustang on a Uhaul trailer behind an '04 Tiffin from here to east Texas with no problems.

[njs42]

Your thread has served to educate some of us (me) about towing a Prius.

Given your parameters it is hard to see a downside to acquiring the trailer. At the price it seems if you, after experience, decide to do something else the trailer can be sold w/o a loss. Trailering is probably much easier on the Prius better preserving it's value as well while you are in a learning curve.

It does not take long to learn camping spots that are trailer "friendly". Each method of towing has it's potential problems and advantages as well.

While not sceintific my random observation over ten years is that trailer towing is the least used option---but people who tow trailers find their way of making it practical for themselves and that is what counts. So can you.


Few of us find the exact right towing method for us the first time out.

Well there you have the philosophical to add to the more specific previous replys. Plenty of fodder to help you decide.

[wolfer]

I pull an 18' Big Tex. car trailer behind a 34' Safari. It has its up side and downside here are some. The car must be tied down. I use 2" wide straps with rachets. My car is a Scion XB. I found that the ramps were too steep and the front bumper usually rubbed the ramps so I made a couple of 2 x 12's with a stop plate on the front that are 5' long I just lay them on top of the other steel ramps which are 4'. I also found out that when I got the car on the trailer I could not open the doors all the way because the bottom of the doors hit the fenders of the trailer. I cured that by screwing two 2 x 12's from front to back and that put me high enough for the doors to clear and also was a little stronger. I only have brakes on one axle and may add electric brakes to the other axle as well. They work really good though. It does take me longer to load and unload because of taking the 4 straps off but it sure is nice to be able to back up. I took a 10,000 mile trip summer before last and it was sure a lot easier on the car. I still got rock chips from gravel roads though. Oh Yeah I found in Montana they don't have storm drains on some side streets so the roads go up and down when you cross just enough to hit bottom with the crank and bent it. that was between the frame rails. I had to mount a new one on the side that flips and pins sideways.