Community Forums

THenman · 01-01-2017, 02:53 PM

One more thing to look at is total weight. I don't know how much you can pull with that coach. There can be a major weight difference in what you choose to tow and some smaller auto's are fairly heavy like a wrangler others are quite light. If using a dolly you have the dolly weight and auto weight.

We just got set up to tow and are taking our first trip soon. Unhook was fast and easy when we got home from having base plate and air force one installed but time will tell on the rest.

Tom

Adam1219 · 01-01-2017, 03:34 PM

Blue OX?

Opinions on brands?

We are looking at the following vehicles:
My wife really wants a Kia Soul

1. Kia Soul
2. Kia Rio
3. Nissan Juke or Altima
4. Honda Civic
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra or Sonata

Some ideas????

Waiter21 · 01-01-2017, 03:45 PM

Before you buy, make sure it can indeed be towed four down, and what the exact procedure is to do it.

stepside454 · 01-01-2017, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam1219

Blue OX?

Opinions on brands?

We are looking at the following vehicles:
My wife really wants a Kia Soul

1. Kia Soul
2. Kia Rio
3. Nissan Juke or Altima
4. Honda Civic
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra or Sonata

Some ideas????

Look them up on Remco towings sight . If your looking at new , the only way any of those can be toad is if they are manual trans.
If you want automatic the only one of the that can be toad is older Civics . Not the new ones .

Dhahranswa · 01-01-2017, 05:35 PM

I started out with a road master Electric break dolly. When from Texas to MI to Canada and back. It was Not fun loading in the rain. I now flat tow and it's so much easier. [moderator edit] Bruce

lanerd · 01-01-2017, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam1219

Blue OX?

Opinions on brands?

We are looking at the following vehicles:
My wife really wants a Kia Soul

1. Kia Soul
2. Kia Rio
3. Nissan Juke or Altima
4. Honda Civic
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra or Sonata

Some ideas????

I don't think any of those can be towed four down without a lube pump (all are FWD). A dolly would be needed for any one of them. Maybe the Nissan Juke with the 6-speed manual....

Ron

**pasdad1** · 01-01-2017, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam1219

Blue OX?

Opinions on brands?

We are looking at the following vehicles:
My wife really wants a Kia Soul

1. Kia Soul
2. Kia Rio
3. Nissan Juke or Altima
4. Honda Civic
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra or Sonata

Some ideas????

Check out the vehicles for sale on the IRV2.com classifieds. They are already setup with the tow equipment and ready to go !

http://www.irv2.com/rvclassifieds/showcat.php?cat=22

tizzel · 01-01-2017, 06:58 PM

Also check out some of the used tow bars , brake systems and hardware here in the classifieds .

WILDEBILL308 · 01-01-2017, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam1219

Blue OX?

Opinions on brands?

We are looking at the following vehicles:
My wife really wants a Kia Soul

1. Kia Soul
2. Kia Rio
3. Nissan Juke or Altima
4. Honda Civic
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra or Sonata

Some ideas????

2017
1. Kia Soul: Manual only
2. Kia Rio: Manual only
3. Nissan Juke :Manual only
or Altima : No
4. Honda Civic: Manual only, Interesting as Remco says NO. FMCA says all the Honda Fit manual and HR-V Manual only
5. Toyota Camry: No but Corolla and Yaris manuals can be.
I would look at some of the Fords I had a Ford Fusion 2.7 ecoboost last week for a rental and it was a pretty nice car and got 30+mpg on the freeway and was fun in the sport mode

but milage did suffer.

. It can be towed 4 down. The Flex, Focus, and Taurus can be towed 4 down. there are some outher Fords but they may be to heavy for you.
I like Blue Ox towbar and baseplate I had led lights installed by the dealer when I bought My 2014 CR-V (the last towable 4 down) Actually made the baseplate and wiring part of the deal.
Bill

ChasL · 01-01-2017, 07:51 PM

FWIW: Chevrolet Spark Manual can be towed 4 Down. Some dealers offer very good deals. Also Sonic Automatic.

Scarab0088 · 01-01-2017, 08:18 PM

How ever you decide to tow...please get brakes and with a break-away.
Brakes are not required in many places, but smart and safer.

We dolly tow. Switch/pick any of hundreds of model/years of front wheel drive cars at will, no worry about destroying the car's tranny. No mods to the car, especially to the critical front-end crush zone. No miles hidden on the car's lower driveline line, and much less risk of rock damage with the car up-high on the dolly. We load as fast as our flat towing travel partners and unload faster...so EZE, from Acme.

Many states now do not require dolly registration/ insurance (considered part of the toad).

Best luck

Longmire · 01-02-2017, 06:49 AM

We bought our 2014 ACE 29.2 about 6 months ago and decided pretty quickly we would like to have a toad with us when travelling to see the grandkids, etc. I already owned a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Sport FWD which can't be towed 4-down. I really like the car and decided to go with a dolly instead of trading it for a flat-tow approved new vehicle or buying an older car that could be flat towed.

After doing quite a bit of research online, I decided to go with the Acme Eze Tow dolly. I picked it up at the factory in North Carolina; a tech showed me how to use the dolly and explained all of the features. We have been using it now for a couple of months and have towed for several thousand trouble free miles, so I definitely recommend the Acme.

The dolly takes about 10 minutes or so to load and secure the vehicle, less than 5 minutes to unload. I haven't had any problems with it at all and have towed the car on mountain roads and in other places that made me appreciate the surge brakes on the dolly.

What I like about the dolly:
Hydraulic disc surge brakes
Built in break away device
Low loading height
No modifications required to the towed vehicle
Lightweight and easy to move around by hand once the vehicle is unloaded
Welded construction- very solidly built
Ability to use the dolly to tow most other FWD vehicles if needed

Another advantage of the dolly that I've noticed is the fact you can see the dolly wheels in your mirrors. We have a rear camera that I watch the Cherokee with when we are towing, but I can also glance at the coach rear view mirrors to make sure it's still rolling along back there.

One caveat- Check the owner's manual of the vehicle you choose to make sure it can be dolly towed. My wife's 2016 Honda Accord's manual (front wheel drive with CVT transmission) states that it cannot be dolly towed and that all 4 wheels should be off the ground when it is towed.

Good luck with whatever direction you decide to go. Happy Camping!

jpmihalk · 01-12-2017, 06:15 AM

We have towed both 4 down and using a dolly. It really depends on what you want to tow. 4 down is definitely easier but is more expensive to set up and requires modifications to the towed vehicle. We dolly tow now because we like the towed vehicle and it isn't 4-down towable. It is a bit more of a pain to hook up and unhook with a dolly but not too hard once you have a routine.

Timon · 01-12-2017, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longmire

One caveat- Check the owner's manual of the vehicle you choose to make sure it can be dolly towed. My wife's 2016 Honda Accord's manual (front wheel drive with CVT transmission) states that it cannot be dolly towed and that all 4 wheels should be off the ground when it is towed.

I may be quoting out of the wrong 2016 Accords manual but here goes.

Quote:

Emergency Towing
Call a professional towing service if you need to tow your vehicle.

Flat bed equipment: The operator loads your vehicle on the back of a truck. This is the best way to transport your vehicle.
Wheel lift equipment: The tow truck uses two pivoting arms that go under the front tires and lift them off the ground. The rear tires remain on the ground. This is an acceptable way to tow your vehicle.
NOTICE: Trying to lift or tow your vehicle by the bumpers will cause serious damage. The bumpers are not designed to support the vehicle’s weight.
Improper towing such as towing behind a motorhome or other motor vehicle can damage the transmission.

Honda doesn't have a section on recreational towing so one can only follow the above.

For toad towing with a dolly you follow the section under Wheel lift equipment which Honda clearly states "This is an acceptable way to tow your vehicle".

However they do state that "Improper towing such as towing behind a motorhome or other motor vehicle can damage the transmission" which is true if you're towing 4 down but not if you're dolly towing. Why did they put that statement in? To cover Honda's ass when someone installs a baseplate and tows 4 down. Since you're towing using a dolly, i.e., "Wheel Lift equipment", this section does not apply.

IMHO