Sudden TOAD shopping?

[Isaac-1]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, my wife has Vetoed the Honda CRV, her best friend has one that my wife has been in several times, and she does not like the interior layout. I think we are going to take a look at the Cherokee Trailblazer though, unfortunately the nearest one for sale is 70 miles away in a direction we don't usually go.

[milkman55]

I just bought a 2014 Honda CR-V Certified Used with 33k miles. I think the weight is right at 3,600 lbs. I have about 4,400 lbs towable behind my Sprinter. If you want new, I believe the Ford Edge is still towable, but a little heavier.

[rgvtexan]

Glad you are OK the Flex not so much.

I tow a Flex, great TOAD but kinda heavy. My Daughter drives an Edge, it would make a good Toad.

We have several friends that have the Cherokees. I find them uncomfortable to get into as I have to duck my head. And a few have had the Death Wobble problems.

Good Luck in your search.

[Mac99]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

This is easy...buy ANY front wheel drive car, crossover or SUV that YOU LIKE and tow it (or any other car you have or get) on a Dolly.

Why? 'Cuz the list of flat towable car's gets smaller and smaller each year, the car is protected from rock strikes and unrecorded miles on the lower driveline up-high on the dolly, and braking/break-away is easily part of the dolly. Plus you can change cars at-will and there's no mods to the car like cutting the front fascia, hacking the car's lighting circuits, and bolting hardware in the car's critical crush zone.

Glad everyone is uninjured from the crash.

Best luck

I respectfully disagree.
I think dealing with a dolly is a royal pita.
There is a good selection of 4 down towables available,
as noted check the FMCA listing.
I've towed an Explorer for 84,000 miles without any
dings or damage. JMHO

[Scarab0088]

Disagree at will and glad you are happy flat towing.

But...Our dolly's biggest benefits that flat towing CANNOT OFFER, are allowing us to swap cars as we wish, it protects the car's finish (No rock strikes on a flat tow. Really?) and saves the miles on the car's lower driveline (those 84,000 miles are wear and tear on your car's axles, bearings, joints, and seals) .

And no, the list of cars that can safely flat tow is not good...too limited. Plus, many cars (like our main toad) are often rated to flat tow, until the factory pulls the rating after too many failures. Each failure representing an RV'er that was stranded

Sorry you had a poor experience with a dolly. We travel with flat tow folks and know first hand the negatives of towing 4 down. Both systems work well, but we prefer our dolly for many many reasons...including the most obvious - co$t.

Safe travels

[stepside454]

I have dolly towed before & while I totally see there are some benefits to it ... I just plain don’t like it .

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by Air Conditioned Gypsy

Ike,

I hope there are no long-term injuries. Maybe visit a chiropractor to be sure your back and neck are lined up well, and if not get aligned.

I was put in the same situation last November. My son was driving our toad and was hit by a reckless driver. Had to move quickly and bought a used 2014 Honda CRV to replace our toad. It weighs in at just about 3400 lbs when full of gas, so your coach should handle it. I think bunches of folks on this board use CRV's and are happy with them. I really like the CRV as a toad and it drives nicely, too. I would like to have gotten a new CRV, but 2014 is the last year they are 4-down towable.

By the way, even though the other driver was at fault, his insurance company, Nationwide, is balking at payment for hospital/doctor bills (Son spent one night in hosp, his girlfriend spent several days in hospital, 2 in intensive) and we have yet to receive payment for the totaled toad....

Regards.

Chuck

That's kind of crazy! Is YOUR insurance company involved? They will pay off the claim, pay the medical bills and the go after the other guy's insurance. That's one of the things you are paying for with your insurance.

If no luck with YOUR insurance company, a nice detailed letter to your state insurance commissioners office will light a fire under the other guys insurance. Believe me, they don't want the state insurance commissioner breathing down their neck. Nov accident, here is almost March . . . They don't have a let to stand on. Also, make sure that they reimburse you for the cost of setting it up as a toad, baseplate, lube pump is installed, breakaway, brake system if installed, and supplemental toad lighting if installed.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Disagree at will and glad you are happy flat towing.

But...Our dolly's biggest benefits that flat towing CANNOT OFFER, are allowing us to swap cars as we wish, it protects the car's finish (No rock strikes on a flat tow. Really?) and saves the miles on the car's lower driveline (those 84,000 miles are wear and tear on your car's axles, bearings, joints, and seals) .

And no, the list of cars that can safely flat tow is not good...too limited. Plus, many cars (like our main toad) are often rated to flat tow, until the factory pulls the rating after too many failures. Each failure representing an RV'er that was stranded

Sorry you had a poor experience with a dolly. We travel with flat tow folks and know first hand the negatives of towing 4 down. Both systems work well, but we prefer our dolly for many many reasons...including the most obvious - co$t.

Safe travels

Since they state that they are limited to 5000 lbs, or possibly even less, 4,500 lbs, I don't think adding the additional weight of a tow dolly makes much sense.

The Cherokee Trailblazer has a curb weight of 4028 lbs, and I don't think that includes a full tank of gas . . . that's putting you pretty close to your weight limit.

On potential cost savings using a tow dolly . . .(your last paragraph) How do you figure? Our Subaru outback required a $205.00 base plate. The Canyon we tow, the base plate was $210.00 I guess if you're starting from ground zero, than you would need to add the cost of the tow bar and braking system though.

Oh, and by the way, of our other vehicles, one Honda Element, one Subaru Outback Manual transmission, one Subaru Outback, Automatic transmission, one GMC Canyon, NONE of them can be towed on a tow dolly according the owner's manuals . . .

[Adamsta]

Happy with my Ford edge as toad

[Adamsta]

...

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by stepside454

I have dolly towed before & while I totally see there are some benefits to it ... I just plain don’t like it .

Many thanks for putting it so clearly
Dolly and flat towing really are so similar (we too have done both) and the pick can be as simple as preference.

________________________________________________

Our dolly weighs just over 300lb, but the reduced rolling resistance of a dolly free rolling trailer axle over that of a spinning driveline axle negates the small weight increase.

The cost discussion is always thrown out in these discussions...so...
If bought new retail - with delivery, install, and brakes - a flat tow set-up will run about $2000 and more.
A new dolly with brakes will be $1200 and more.

I won't even recognize towing without brakes...not required in many places, but smart and obviously safer.

If bought used and/or DIY installed, the price drops - of course.

And don't forget the indirect costs at the car's resale. The average car buyer will run away from a car with hidden miles and holes cut in the fascia. It's best to look to sell to another RV'er. Problem is that most all of us like new cars.

Where a dolly has an even clearer co$t benefit is on car #2 and others...each flat tow adds add'l parts and install co$t, but a dolly has no add'l cost to swap cars.

About AllWheelDrive cars...obviously "no" to dolly, but most are "no" to flat tow also. Get a trailer.
But we're really talking about the hundreds of front wheel drive cars, crossovers, or SUV's.

I am not saying to dolly tow is better than 4down, and it cannot be said that 4down is better either...just different.

Safe travels

[SmootZero]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Disagree at will and glad you are happy flat towing.

But...Our dolly's biggest benefits that flat towing CANNOT OFFER, are allowing us to swap cars as we wish, it protects the car's finish (No rock strikes on a flat tow. Really?) and saves the miles on the car's lower driveline (those 84,000 miles are wear and tear on your car's axles, bearings, joints, and seals) .

And no, the list of cars that can safely flat tow is not good...too limited. Plus, many cars (like our main toad) are often rated to flat tow, until the factory pulls the rating after too many failures. Each failure representing an RV'er that was stranded

Sorry you had a poor experience with a dolly. We travel with flat tow folks and know first hand the negatives of towing 4 down. Both systems work well, but we prefer our dolly for many many reasons...including the most obvious - co$t.

Safe travels

Granted dolly is cheaper, good for many cars etc but how do you move it around once you are old(er). It’s very heavy and difficult to move around.

[tyoneonit]

Originally Posted by Air Conditioned Gypsy

Ike,

I hope there are no long-term injuries. Maybe visit a chiropractor to be sure your back and neck are lined up well, and if not get aligned.

I was put in the same situation last November. My son was driving our toad and was hit by a reckless driver. Had to move quickly and bought a used 2014 Honda CRV to replace our toad. It weighs in at just about 3400 lbs when full of gas, so your coach should handle it. I think bunches of folks on this board use CRV's and are happy with them. I really like the CRV as a toad and it drives nicely, too. I would like to have gotten a new CRV, but 2014 is the last year they are 4-down towable.

By the way, even though the other driver was at fault, his insurance company, Nationwide, is balking at payment for hospital/doctor bills (Son spent one night in hosp, his girlfriend spent several days in hospital, 2 in intensive) and we have yet to receive payment for the totaled toad....

Regards.

Chuck

Air, what state are you in? If a no-fault state, then you’ll need to get your own insurance involved. If not often, Nationwide will delay payment until they have all the police reports and determine that their insured was fully liable. If there’s even a slim chance you had any degree of liability in the accident, they’ll try to claim comparative negligence to keep from paying the full amount. Since it’s been several months, you may want to get an attorney involved.

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by SmootZero

Granted dolly is cheaper, good for many cars etc but how do you move it around once you are old(er). It’s very heavy and difficult to move around.

Great question! I do not lift anything if not required.

We have possibly the lightest dolly there is with only about 25 lb unloaded tongue weight. If 25 lb is too much, a hitch dolly or tongue jack can lift it to move.

To move more than a few feet, we also have a light duty hitch receiver on the main toad. It can haul the dolly anywhere as needed - just like a trailer, and the receiver doubles as a bike rack holder on the toad.

Our dolly can also stand-up on the back rail to store against a wall when not in use.

Safe travels