Community Forums

Raxel7851 · 03-17-2023, 02:00 PM

We were thinking of purchasing a Wrangler to flat tow but now we’re thinking of dolly towing a Mini Cooper. Would appreciate any and all thoughts. I have been reading some threads here and it appears a tow dolly with a swivel for the towed vehicle may be the better option. It would definitely be a 2-wheel drive model.

Thanks in Advance.

Mighty_J · 03-17-2023, 02:45 PM

IIRC from a number of posts, there are quite a few people on here that flat tow their Mini Coopers - manual transmission front wheel drive.

twinboat · 03-17-2023, 02:49 PM

I use a dolly with built in ramps, disk surge brakes and a swivel plate.

DW and I can load the car on it in 5 to 10 minutes. Towed about 40,000 miles on it.

Most brands of dollys have swivel plates, one style has steering wheels and one type doesn't steer or swivel. I think that tells you something.

DriverRichard · 03-17-2023, 02:56 PM

Finding a place for the dolly at camp and maneuvering it around may become annoying.

Flyer15015 · 03-17-2023, 03:02 PM

We tow an '02 Dodge Caravan on a Mastertow Dolly that swivels, but it does not have brakes. It's an earlier version we picked up for $500.00 on Craig's list.
4 trips to Florida and back with no incidents.
Earlier we tried the one with the itty bitty wheels and removable ramps. What a pain, and I got tired of seeing the skid marks when we had to make sharp turns getting gas. We dumped that one after one trip.

FYI
Mike in Colorado

Raxel7851 · 03-17-2023, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mighty_J

IIRC from a number of posts, there are quite a few people on here that flat tow their Mini Coopers - manual transmission front wheel drive.

Thanks @Mighty J. I did not realize they could be, but Wow there’s a ton of articles on them. All pretty positive. I think that’s the way to go.

dvspl · 03-18-2023, 11:12 AM

Manual transmission MINI Coopers can be flat towed, though MINI doesn't recommend it. Dolly tow will also work for automatic transmission models. There's LOTS of info on this forum about flat towing a Cooper...and, of course, I'd also be happy to answer any specific questions. We've towed ours about 10k miles.

gwbrown52 · 03-20-2023, 02:43 PM

we are wanting to buy a 2024 mini cooper s with a stick shift and flat tow it. 2 dealers said absolutely not, 2 said just disconnect the battery when towing. Any real life experience would be appreciated thanks. I really dont want to make a $40k mistake...

AZ RV'r · 03-20-2023, 02:56 PM

You will most likely need to purchase and carry the extra "Ramp Extenders."

They are heavy and take up storage space under the coach.

The front of many Mini's are too low to drive up the ramp without damaging the bottom of the front bumper. With the extra extended ramps it lowers the angle needed to drive up and prevents any damage. We couldn't drive ours up without using these.

Here is a link to Master Tow's website for their extenders that I used.

https://www.mastertow.com/product/?p...&category_id=3

BayRunner · 03-20-2023, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZ RV'r

You will most likely need to purchase and carry the extra "Ramp Extenders."

They are heavy and take up storage space under the coach.

The front of many Mini's are too low to drive up the ramp without damaging the bottom of the front bumper. With the extra extended ramps it lowers the angle needed to drive up and prevents any damage. We couldnt drive ours up without using these.

Here is a link to Master Tow's website for their extenders that I used.

https://www.mastertow.com/product/?p...&category_id=3

I would think carting a couple pieces of 2 x 10’s would be easier to transport. Granted, I don’t have a mini so don’t know if they would provide enough clearance.

AZ RV'r · 03-20-2023, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BayRunner

I would think carting a couple pieces of 2 x 10’s would be easier to transport. Granted, I don’t have a mini so don’t know if they would provide enough clearance.

I agree! Yours is a much better idea. I didnt know better at the time and they sold me those ramps.

I only towed the Mini Cooper twice... sold it... the dolly too... and bought a Jeep.

dvspl · 03-20-2023, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwbrown52

we are wanting to buy a 2024 mini cooper s with a stick shift and flat tow it. 2 dealers said absolutely not, 2 said just disconnect the battery when towing. Any real life experience would be appreciated thanks. I really dont want to make a $40k mistake...

The manual transmission MINIs can definitely be flat towed; we have towed our 2021 Cooper about 10k miles. But BMW/MINI don't recommend it. My owner's manual says "a broken-down vehicle can be towed...Do not exceed a towing speed of 30 mph...Do not exceed a towing distance of 30 miles." Some have speculated that this may lead them to not cover warranty claims. We bought ours used and haven't made any warranty claims so I don't have any direct experience. But I've accepted that as a risk, especially for powertrain issues where the manufacturer could assert that towing caused the problem. You should consider that for a new MINI.

If you decide to risk the warranty issues (as I have), then let me know and I'll give you some thoughts on setup and towing. Personally, I would not disconnect the battery.

EdInArk · 03-20-2023, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pimprig1979

Finding a place for the dolly at camp and maneuvering it around may become annoying.

We dollied for quite a while and just pushed it to the back of the site and backed over it. It was low enough we could back over it almost to the wheels.

Mummy · 03-20-2023, 08:43 PM

I towed a Mini for 4 yrs on STHEL to dolly. no brakes, I also pushed the dolly under the RV as far as I could. But remember you can not back up when towing . It takes about 15 mins to hook up and off you go