Community Forums

Stevegd007 · 08-23-2021, 12:12 PM

Sorry your frustrated. I am towing a 2010 Honda CRV. Bought new 10 years ago. Still going good. 34,000 miles. I think in 2014-15, was the last year CRV could be towed 4 down. They switched to a CVT. Might try looking for used CRV 2014 an older.

I also have a 2019 Ford Edge. Its also 4 down towable. I understand the New Ford Bronco is towable. Most Jeeps are towable.

So don't give up. There is still cars that can be towed 4 down.

brobox · 08-23-2021, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harleydeal

If you are willing to spend a few bucks you can tow many rear wheel or AWD vehicles. I just had a new Sprinter setup to tow behind a Cornerstone. I had a Superior Driveline unit installed (previously Remco). Just put it in neutral, pull on a cable and go.

I towed a 2 WDTacoma PU for 4 years with the same setup. Easy, no problem and did not void the warranty with my dealer except the drive shaft that it connected to. I was good with that.

HarleySG · 08-23-2021, 04:40 PM

We tow our Jeep Commander about 15 feet long and rarely have to unhook when traveling. We also have a 15 foot enclosed motorcycle trailer that’s easy to pull and backup if needed. My rule of thumb that’s worked many times is (but there are exceptions) if your coach and toad are no more than 60 feet, I can usually find a pull through to accommodate both.

Good luck with your decision!!
Cheers

the sights · 08-23-2021, 05:14 PM

Hello all, I have been flat towing for 21 years. Always had a Chevy 2 wheel drive pick-up truck as a toad.

the 1 st Pick-up I made up a dummy 1/2 yolk had to remove the rear driveshaft and install in 1/2 yolk each time. BIG pita. Low budget years.

2nd Pick-up a Remco disconnect wow that's neat 35,000 toad miles and 150,000 drive miles that trucks trans want bad.

3nd Pic-up The drive shaft was the same length as the #2 truck so in it went I did change out u-joints. I could not get the rear end cradle to fit #3 so I crawl under and turn shaft till I can click the spline in/out takes 10 seconds. 200,000 drive miles and 55,000 toad miles add that to #2 and that shaft has 350,000 drive miles and 90,000 toad miles.

In that time I made my wife Chevy Suburban flat towable, not bad but not as easy as the disconnect.

So we buy a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee I got it right (flat towable), with a correctly installed harness but its like a check list as if I was a jet pilot.

I was going to buy a new 4 wheel drive truck to replace #3 so I can put the transfer case in neutral but why!
Just get a 2 wheeler and if posable transfer the shaft after replacing all wear parts.

The driveshaft disconnect is the easiest of all but not everyone wants a 2 wheel pick-up as a toad.

Adaycj · 08-23-2021, 06:02 PM

I did 4 down towing more than a decade ago. When we traded on a new RV, I ended up just having a family member drive another car for a few years. I've also done a flatbed trailer.

I prefer the trailer in most cases. Part of it is that I'm good at trailers.and towing them. The 4 down is still odd to me. There is a long list of pros and cons either way, and I'm not going to try to sway anybody. I will.say the hardest part of the trailer was this: Mine couldn't be loaded/unloaded.without being hooked up on a ball. If you are in a situation where you need to unload you need a long long space. It was.easier in every way to me other than the real estate needed at load and unload time. I did have a "trailer queen" that could tow the trailer, and that was very helpful for manuvering sometimes.

My unscientific guess is that there are millions of flat towable vehicles in the US even if another one was never produced. The decreasing model count would take a long time to catch up. Plus some things like the pickups are vehicles produced in large quantities. And finally the configuration of many of the pickups isn't a unicorn build. My WAG is that there are more flat towable vehicles now than even before.

RVFunlovers · 08-23-2021, 06:19 PM

I feel confident if flat tow dried up somebody would make them just for the sales lift.

I have trailer lowed and dolly towed. We like flat tow. If you go from the north to Florida once a year maybe a trailer behind your coach is great. We bounce every week or two. We like the ease of a quick holdup and unhook. When you do it once a week the easier the better.

I am not concerned we will not have vehicle options to tow. I would like more luxury car options though.

davidceder · 08-23-2021, 06:29 PM

Model year 2014 is the last year the CRV was towable.

Ford is coming out with a new small truck in 2022. The Maverick. Base unit comes in around 3700 pounds just 300 more than my CRV. Base model is around 20K if you can live with the base model. I believe the 4X4 Hybrid is towable 4 wheels down. I might look at it if they make a baseplate and shell.

My CRV is ok as a tow vehicle. I would never own it as my main car. I just don't like it. I would like something I can take off road more seriously. We travel in the West and N. West. There is just so much to do in the dirt.

We have a gasser so we are limited in what we want to tow.

Jyrocharlie · 08-23-2021, 06:45 PM

The new Ford Mavrick 4wd can.

2cyber71 · 08-23-2021, 06:50 PM

Jeep isn’t stupid
The Wrangler will always be a 4 down tow vehicle.
They will never change the manual 4 wheel drive on that one.
My 2004 Liberty has the exact same tranny

radar · 08-23-2021, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2cyber71

Jeep isn’t stupid
The Wrangler will always be a 4 down tow vehicle.
They will never change the manual 4 wheel drive on that one.
My 2004 Liberty has the exact same tranny

I don’t know. The wrangler is supposed to be coming out in a full EV version in the next few years. To date I haven’t seen any EV as towable four down. Time will tell.

Dr. Mike · 08-23-2021, 08:45 PM

This stems off my question last week when I asked what a baseplate was followed by asking why do people flat-tow. From the answers I received, it seems that no one wanted to use a trailer.

Harleydeal · 08-23-2021, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

I towed a 2 WDTacoma PU for 4 years with the same setup. Easy, no problem and did not void the warranty with my dealer except the drive shaft that it connected to. I was good with that.

It really is easier than a lot of these new cars that are 4 down towable but require 37 steps……in the correct order!

brobox · 08-24-2021, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harleydeal

It really is easier than a lot of these new cars that are 4 down towable but require 37 steps……in the correct order!

And that's the truth. 2016 Chevy Colorado now that has the combination of a bank vault to tow. The drive shaft disconnect was much easier. I would never let "not towable" stop me if a disconnect was available.

MRUSA14 · 08-25-2021, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVFunlovers

I feel confident if flat tow dried up somebody would make them just for the sales lift.

I have trailer lowed and dolly towed. We like flat tow. If you go from the north to Florida once a year maybe a trailer behind your coach is great. We bounce every week or two. We like the ease of a quick holdup and unhook. When you do it once a week the easier the better.

I am not concerned we will not have vehicle options to tow. I would like more luxury car options though.

Ditto, but I don't expect to see more luxury cars towable. Luxury SUV's are your best bet, but only the domestics. The foreign brands don't tend to be towable any more. Probably because there is not much 4-down towing in Europe or Asia.

As an aside, I have had Mercedes, BMW's and other import cars. None were as good as my current toad, a domestic Lincoln MKX. It feels good to be driving a USA brand.