Community Forums

aimhigh46 · 12-27-2013, 06:16 PM

As I drive down the highway I see Motorhomes pulling vehicles. It seems that the towed vehicle is always on all four wheels. Why is this the accepted way rather than using a trailer to get all four wheels of the toad off the ground, or at least a dolly to get two wheels off the ground? Thank you.

sdennislee · 12-27-2013, 06:29 PM

My biggest reason for towing 4 down is when i get to the campground I'm not stuck looking for a place to store the trailer or the dolly.

Trailers and dollies are just one more piece of equipment to maintain.

plasma800 · 12-27-2013, 06:31 PM

Towing 4 down is "easier". If you have a 2 down dolly or trailer, and you need to unhook to back up or whatever, you gotta move the car and then man handle the trailer too, which can be a pain when you do it often.

plasma800 · 12-27-2013, 06:32 PM

Oh and plus, hook up to a two down dolly or trailer is a pain the rear circular! Especially if you are doing it in the pouring down rain.

gemini5362 · 12-27-2013, 06:36 PM

Time. I can hook up my car to the tow bar and be on the way in under 5 minutes same amount of time for unhooking the car. I have seen people take a half hour putting their car on a tow dolly. There is also the space issue that others talk about. with the car being towed when I unhook it I can park anywhere and most spaces have room for the car in front of the rv. With a trailer you have to unhook the trailer before you can back into a space then if you have a trailer you have to have something to pull that with. For time space etc there is no comparison. The advantages of tow dolly or trailer is one cost. They are a lot cheaper than getting a car ready to tow 4 down. With a trailer you also have the advantage of being able to tow any kind of vehicle versus finding one with front wheel drive for tow dolly or one that will let you tow 4 wheels down

Crop Duster · 12-27-2013, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimhigh46

As I drive down the highway I see Motorhomes pulling vehicles. It seems that the towed vehicle is always on all four wheels. Why is this the accepted way rather than using a trailer to get all four wheels of the toad off the ground, or at least a dolly to get two wheels off the ground? Thank you.

I've wondered the same thing. I can see that the trailer is going to be a problem to park in some CG's but in our situation with 4WD Tacoma it looks like a trailer is our only option.

plasma800 · 12-27-2013, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemini5362

I have seen people take a half hour putting their car on a tow dolly.

I watched a dude the other day do this in the rain... painful... especially when his tire strap downs gave him trouble.... That toyota camry SEEMED like a good idea at the time of purchase... and I was glad it wasn't me, but I totally felt for him..

sdennislee · 12-27-2013, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crop Duster

I've wondered the same thing. I can see that the trailer is going to be a problem to park in some CG's but in our situation with 4WD Tacoma it looks like a trailer is our only option.

Some vehicles which are not towable 4 down from the factory can be made towable 4 down with the addition of neutral tow module.

My Ford Sport Trac was not towable 4 down as delivered but Ford makes a neutral tow module. Less than $200.00 installed by the Ford dealer.

You might want to check with the dealer.

plasma800 · 12-27-2013, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crop Duster

I've wondered the same thing. I can see that the trailer is going to be a problem to park in some CG's but in our situation with 4WD Tacoma it looks like a trailer is our only option.

Sell it! ha! that's what we did. We sold Andrea's 2004 Lexus, and I sold my 2006 Range Rover, and we combined the cash into one, ready to go, reasonable car that worked for us both. I would never hesitate to sell something like a car to make my life better / easier / whatever... it's a thing, and things comes and go / change

And on top of that, we LOVE our subie!! Great car for low $$$

sdennislee · 12-27-2013, 06:44 PM

The backing advantage of 4 down over tow dolly is with 4 down you just need to pop the tow bar off and back your toad out of the way. With a dolly you will need to take the vehicle off the dolly then back it out of the way.

Make no mistake you don't want to back your toad up on a tow bar.

4 down is quicker than dolly or trailer.

SuperGewl · 12-27-2013, 10:51 PM

4 down is the way to go. Take a look at the Jeep Grand Cherokes, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Cheroke, Jeep Wrangler and Unlimited. Most front wheel drive sticks. If your MH is big enough then you can tow a Ram 4X4. The key is that all these things must have a Transfer case Neutral position and NOT all of the Jeeps do. So choose wisely.
All hail 4 on the ground

jim.smithjr · 12-27-2013, 11:45 PM

When looking for a toad to tow four down be sure to look in the vehicle's owners manual to see if it can be towed; do not believe the car salesman because he doesn't likely really know the right answer.

I tow four down and I used to tow with a dolly. I hated the dolly, but it costs much less than towing four down and in truth they don't take much longer to hook up if you learn how to do it properly (as in drive straight onto the dolly).

Neither of them allow you to back up with the toad attached. Storing a dolly often isn't too difficult especially if you have one with a folding hitch or can push the hitch under the back of the motor home. It does take some youthful power to do that.

Scarab0088 · 12-28-2013, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimhigh46

As I drive down the highway I see Motorhomes pulling vehicles. It seems that the towed vehicle is always on all four wheels. Why is this the accepted way rather than using a trailer to get all four wheels of the toad off the ground, or at least a dolly to get two wheels off the ground? Thank you.

Because people believe they will save some time and all they have to do is trade large amounts of money for parts and installation for base plates, tow bars, lighting kits, braking kits in the RV, and the associated brake system in the car - then accept the extra wear and tear on the cars lower driveline and the lower price at resale

And everyone must agree with the OP that flat tows seem to out number dolly and trailer users...and the dirty little secret is that maybe because of the start-up cost of the tow set-up or whatever, some forego the brakes (I know 2 of these people personally)
But hey, those Multi-slide Diesel Pushers weigh SO MUCH, the dingy doesn't really need brakes...right.

Safe travels to all

phinneyj · 12-28-2013, 12:49 AM

I wrestled with the consequences of buying the MH. I had, as of yesterday a 2009 Nissan Xterra A/T 4x4. The only way to tow it is to put it on a trailer. Nest step is find a car. We met a couple several months ago with a Honda Fit A/T that they just bought to tow flat. After some wheeling and dealing I brought one home yesterday. Now to get it set up to tow.