Best used vehicle to tow on all fours

[7521]

What is the best choice for a used car or small suv to tow on all fours behind our 30' Storm?

[Rick & Hope]

Hard to beat a Jeep Wangler for four down towing..Just hook up tow bar, put in aux brakes, and shift the transfer case to neutral and away you go

[B Bob]

We have a Saturn sedan. My observation is that there are way more Saturns as tow cars than any other brand. Some friends of ours just bought a used Saturn View to tow it is a small SUV. GM has canceled Saturn. IMHO that in no way detracts from Saturn being a good tow car and now you can pay less because all kinds of people won't want to buy them because they think they cannot get parts or service. I just had the local Chevy dealer do the check up on mine. They are now the official Saturn place.

I also like Jeeps a lot as tow cars. I might go with a Wrangler if I was to buy today.

[RickO]

Both great suggestions. We towed a Grand Cherokee for a couple of years and loved it. We full time and probably do see more Saturns than any other brand. We have towed a Ford Explorer for the past year and aren't real happy with it. It tows just fine... although I seem to get lower mpg than with the Grand Cherokee... but we don't like the ergonomics of the design nor the visibility out of it when backing or changing lanes.

Rick

[NLOVNIT]

X2 for a Jeep. No fuses to pull, no speed limit & you don't have to stop after X amount of miles or X number of hours to start it & run it through the gears. Just hook it to the tow bars, connect the lights/breakaway cable, connect to aux brake, xfr case in N/gear in P & away ya go.

Lori-

[frankdamp]

According to one experienced RVer friend, almost all Hondas since about 2000 are 4-down towable with only an auxiliary brake system needing to be added. He tows a late-model CRV.

If we go for a toad, an early 2000's Civic is an attractive option.

[J&SW]

We love our 07 CRV toad. Great on the road, and for off road going fishing, etc. Don't notice it at all being towed.

Best thing we got to make towing easier - SMI Stay-In-Play Duo brake system. It is sooo easy, just connect the hitch and flip the switch.

We do not remove the fuse that some suggest be removed, because we charge the CRV battery directly from the coach through the umbilical. All pretty easy straight forward installation.

We did have a auto electrician hook up the CRV for lights, by adding lights in the CRVs back light encasings.

SMI - www.smibrake.com/stay-in-play-duo.html

[mfire1339]

I did not think Civics were towable 4 down.


Mike

[faye]

Originally Posted by 7521

What is the best choice for a used car or small suv to tow on all fours behind our 30' Storm?

chevy cavlier,chevy cobalt, hhr, smart car.....less weight for 30 foot motorhome;

[NLOVNIT]

Originally Posted by mfire1339

I did not think Civics were towable 4 down.
Mike

According to Motorhome Magazine's Dinghy Towing Guide, that is correct. I have not seen a Civic listed in any of their guides. I've only seen Honda SUV's (not cars) listed.

Not that MHM's guide is the be all/end all of toad listings, but it's what many of us use as a guide.

Lori-

[Seajay]

IMHO... I have made two choices and loved both of them.
one. For a ''small vehicle'' you can not beat a GEO Tracker 4wd/5spd trannie. I pulled on probably 90,000 miles and the only trouble I had was when I accidentally ''locked the front wheels'' slightly turned. (bummer, lost both of them). It is so light you dont need an ''aux'' break system and you can see your coach tail lites beside the Tracker. Its a convertible and I use to tell folks that my Tracker was like a good lookin' blond. ''Take her top down and she is a lot of fun''... (good greef, who typed that in my article?) The 4wd will go just about anywhere. Pretty good economy also and you can haul 4 people so long as the two in the back seat are kinda skinnie.

Two. A Ford Ranger 4 wd/5spd tranny. I have pulled on over 70,000 miles with no troubles. Been to Alaska and back, no problem, It has Aux breaking cause I use it for a rolling basement. It has a ''capp'' on top with a 'rack' on the cap with a 'Port a bote' on the rack, on the capp, on the back and the back of the truck loaded with all kinds of ''stuff'' that I sometimes never use but I refuse to leave home without it. It has two ''jump seats'' behind the front seat and you can easily haul two really small children in them. This area is also good for hauling my three puppies and we give them two large pillows to sit on so they can ''see out'' or they may throw up. The truck has a ''hitch'' and has come in handy for pulling a trailer and doing work around the house when I am forced into it.

I'm done......

God bless our troops and bring them home to us please
God bless our Vets ....... ALL GAVE SOME.... SOME GAVE ALL

[Gary RVRoamer]

The "best" toad is a car you like to drive, requires no mods for 4-down towing, and is within the tow capability of your RV. Lots of choices out there, so you need to decide if you want a sedan, an SUV, on off-road capable vehicle, or whatever.

If your coach can only tow 3500-4000 lbs, that will limit your choices quite a bit. Start from there plus your preference for body style/type and see what fits.

[RVThere]

I love pulling my Jeep Cherokee. After dealing with tow dollies and lube pumps, this one tows with no hassles. The only issues with Jeeps is the low MPG around town but mine is a rare diesel version (make between 2006-2008) that gets 24 MPG.

[frankdamp]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Civic. Whatever we get will have to be an automatic. I learned to drive on a stick (with a "crash" box). I've driven auto exclusively for over 20 years (including transit coaches) and I'd hate to go back to a stick.

DW's comment, when she had no option but to drive a stick for a few weeks, was "It's like painting the Forth Bridge - you just get finished and you have to do it all over again."