Community Forums

talrogers · 02-24-2013, 03:00 PM

To day is decision making day. The decision is whether to buy a car dolly for my 2010 Toyota Venza or buy a 2002 Jeep Liberty 4x4 with 58K miles on it for $9800 and then spend another $2400 on towing equipment. My wife and I have no experience with Toads as we just got our 2003 Safari Zanzabar in October and have had only one trip in it and of course that was toadless. What would you do? I need some folks with experience to tell us if we are going to regret going one way or the other. Many thanks for your wisdom.

Possum · 02-24-2013, 03:15 PM

I would opt for the Jeep option as it can get you to more outback locations than the Venza does. Of course that is assuming you two, like Denise and I, like to fish, hunt, and traverse rugged country.

SMRDNR · 02-24-2013, 03:25 PM

we were faced with the same decision, I decided to tow 4 down so I would not have to deal with the additional trailer (tow dolly) and all the associated item- license plate, spare tire, maintenance on tow dolly and also where to store the tow dolly when camped or at home. I also think it will be quicker to unhook the toad from the MH and also less to deal with should it be raining out. JMHO

LaZy507 · 02-24-2013, 03:49 PM

i cant say which works better, but im glad you asked. i want to know too..
as i was looking for the same thing. i found a toad as they call them at walmart for 100 bucks..i dont know the reviews on it..maybe one of the experts do tho??
but it looked pretty simple..and way cheaper than trailer.even the one you put the two front wheels on..around a grand for that..i found a old one for 500 on craigslist.
ill be checking in too see what the experts say..good question

vsheetz · 02-24-2013, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMRDNR

we were faced with the same decision, I decided to tow 4 down so I would not have to deal with the additional trailer (tow dolly) and all the associated item- license plate, spare tire, maintenance on tow dolly and also where to store the tow dolly when camped or at home. I also think it will be quicker to unhook the toad from the MH and also less to deal with should it be raining out. JMHO

I agree.

A seach of the forum will reveal several threads on the differing ways to toad.

As for the towing setup - price around to see if you can do better. I am a Craigslist fan - that's where my Blue OX towbar and Brake Buddy came from - paid $450 for both. If you seach Craigslist for towbar you will find used vehicles already setup as 4-down toad.

Route 66 · 02-24-2013, 03:54 PM

I always towed 4 down.

It was much easier.

palehorse89 · 02-24-2013, 03:56 PM

I towed with a dolly for 2 years and got tired of getting dirty messing with the dolly and getting the car on it and strapping it down, then I got tired of dealing with the dolly when I got where we were going. We went to 4 down and it is a lot better hook and un-hooking and no dolly to mess with. The dolly served us well and worked OK ,but for me 4 down is the way to go. Hope this helps you out.

ChileRick · 02-24-2013, 04:03 PM

We were faced with the same decision last year, we opted for an Acme dolly for our Toyota Solara. The dolly was not a problem, towed fine, stopped fine we never had a storage issue. The Solara just wasn't dolly friendly, we eventually changed out the straps to a different style, that made it better, but we still had issues enough to get us a Jeep Wrangler and all the 4down stuff to go with it. So, we are keeping the dolly in case we want to take the Toyota some where close.

mel s · 02-24-2013, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talrogers

To day is decision making day. The decision is whether to buy a car dolly for my 2010 Toyota Venza or buy a 2002 Jeep Liberty 4x4 with 58K miles on it for $9800 and then spend another $2400 on towing equipment. My wife and I have no experience with Toads as we just got our 2003 Safari Zanzabar in October and have had only one trip in it and of course that was toadless. What would you do? I need some folks with experience to tell us if we are going to regret going one way or the other. Many thanks for your wisdom.

My vote is for a car you can tow "four down" via a tow bar.
IMO, unless you are trying to impress somebody, a $9800 "anything" is to to much for a tow car.
I would suggest you save what you can for the Zanzibar repairs that I predict are in your future!... (but it's your money waste it how you want to)!

Why on earth would think of paying someone $2400 for towing equipment?
(It cost me less than 1/2 that to set my '07 Saturn ION up for towing).

'96 Safari 3530
130k miles, (103k mine)

2Labs · 02-24-2013, 04:08 PM

Have you given any thought to getting a trailer to tow the venza on or in? We can't tow 4-down with our VW and we weren't interested in trading it in or getting a 2nd car to tow - so we ended up with an open, flatbed car trailer.

We're right under our towing limit with the car and trailer AND the trailer is light enough to tow behind the VW when I need to use it for trips to the home improvement stores, lumber yard, dump and more.

We've been towing this way for nearly 2 years now, and once the trailer is attached to the motorhome - which is fairly easy with our rear view camera, it only takes me about 10 minutes to get the VW up on the trailer and secured at all 4 corners.

It tows great behind our motorhome AND I have no problems with backing up with the trailer attached - something you can't do with a 4 down toad and is more difficult - if not impossible - with a tow dolly. A Day of Travel and Backing Up!

We spent about $2,000 on our car trailer, and it was a good investment for us.

gbstewart · 02-24-2013, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talrogers

To day is decision making day. The decision is whether to buy a car dolly for my 2010 Toyota Venza or buy a 2002 Jeep Liberty 4x4 with 58K miles on it for $9800 and then spend another $2400 on towing equipment. My wife and I have no experience with Toads as we just got our 2003 Safari Zanzabar in October and have had only one trip in it and of course that was toadless. What would you do? I need some folks with experience to tell us if we are going to regret going one way or the other. Many thanks for your wisdom.

how much do you want to spend$$$ $12000. or $2000.00 on a dolly?
theres nothing wrong with a dolly just more work. Yes I know 4 down is the only way to go, but heres folks like me out there where we have to use a dolly, money is one factor . me I would buy a dolly and use the $9800.00 for fuel
gbstewart

dennis45 · 02-24-2013, 04:26 PM

I have not used a dolly but have watched people in parks with them and think, "man am I glad I didn't go that route"
Looks like a lot of work to me. I like my BlueOx setup. Easy to hook-up and un-hook. Low maintenance, all round good product. And, I don't have to find a place to store the dolly or trailer. IMHO

papaw.1 · 02-24-2013, 04:30 PM

I use a MasterTow tow dolly.My toad is a 2011 Hyundai Accent.I haven't had any problems at all and it really isin't that big of a deal for me to get it ready to tow,IMHO which is not worth much but,It is not hard to put it out of the way at the cg.Good Luck and Many Safe and Happy Miles And Smiles.

Pusherman · 02-24-2013, 05:53 PM

Here's my opinion (and everyone has one): towing 4-down is way less hassle than towing on a dolly. Lots of posts on this topic. It comes down to personal preference on how you use your tow car other than towing, etc.

It takes me about 5 minutes to set up my HHR to tow behind the motorhome flat-4.