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Old 04-10-2022, 07:23 AM   #1
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Question Toad or dolly best choices

Recently purchased a 2021 Thor Quantom Class C. I now need a vehicle to go with us. We don't know which method of towing would be best of us. We probably will not do much off road camping ut do want to tour the country. Both of us are retired so we need something easy to hook up and disconnect.
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Old 04-10-2022, 07:29 AM   #2
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Both of us are retired so we need something easy to hook up and disconnect.

This makes the choice easy……4-down towing since it’s the easiest to hookup and disconnect.

Check the owners manual of your current car or truck to see if it can be recreational towed…..if not trade it in for one which can be.

The 2022 Ford maverick hybrid pickup truck is a popular choice, as is the Ford Escape hybrid.
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Old 04-10-2022, 07:45 AM   #3
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Something to flat tow will be quick and easy to hook or unhook. We tow a Jeep Wrangler. They’re about the easiest to equip and setup for towing. I installed our Ready Brute system myself and it takes one of us just a minute or two to hook or unhook it. There are other systems out there that are just as easy. Ready Brake’s systems are inexpensive and bulletproof. Wranglers are very popular as toads.
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Old 04-10-2022, 07:49 AM   #4
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There is a lot to consider; Do you have a vehicle that can be towed 4 down? 4 down is more costly with brake system and tow bars and toad plate. With a dolly you can tow more vehicles. The dolly adds weight to what you are towing, you need to store the dolly at the campsite and home. Dolly towing is much more work to connect and setup the vehicle setup. Back in sites most of the time you have to disconnect 4 down and the tow dolly.

We have done both methods and prefer 4 down. It would take both of us and a good 30 minutes to connect and setup the vehicle when dolly towing. It would take about the same time to disconnect the dolly and remove the vehicle if we had a back in campsite. 4 down it takes 5 minutes to attach the tow to the motor home each trip and about 5 minutes to disconnect.
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Old 04-10-2022, 08:00 AM   #5
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Whatever you decide be sure to include a braking system. Surge brakes on dollies work well.

As others have said 4 down is the quickest and simplest system once it's all installed. I like the "ReadyBreak" system for it's simplicity and proportional braking.
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Old 04-10-2022, 08:09 AM   #6
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When I started this I considered three methods of towing, trailer, tow dolly and flat towing. I went with flat towing. if you get a trailer many, if not most of the time you will have to park it somewhere not at your site. If you use a dolly the connect and disconnect process is much longer and you will likely be on the ground every time. Think about that if it's raining. With my flat tow vehicle I pull up to the back of the rig, attach the arms and in my case 3 cable and I'm ready to go, about 5 minutes. If you go either of the other two routes you will probably spend an hour a day dealing with hooking and unhooking. That's a lot of time on travel days. Good luck whatever you do.
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Old 04-10-2022, 08:11 AM   #7
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Having done both, if you have a vehicle that can be towed 4 down, go that route. If you already have a smaller vehicle but, it can not be towed 4 down, a dolly can work fine with a lot less expense, but a bit more work to hook and unhook. Many campsites will let you keep the dolly hooked to your RV, so the time to hookup isn't much different than 4 down.
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Old 04-10-2022, 08:31 AM   #8
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The big expense of towing 4-down is the break away and braking system for the towed car. And then you have to have a model that can be towed 4-down. Then the lighting system on the has to be adapted for the proper clearance and running lights. Additionally, the towed car has to be fitted with specific tow brackets, plus a tow bar.

With a dolly, you need one with electric brakes or the simplest is surge brakes. A dolly will have lights, but I prefer to add a set of magnetic lights on the rear of the auto.

A dolly can be used for multiple front wheel drive vehicles, but very few all-wheel models can be dolly towed.

With a dolly, you can switch cars easily. 4-down towing will have to have the equipment (braking system and tow-brackets) moved or new equipment with a new auto.

We have towed both with a dolly and 4-down and personally, if I went back to a motorhome, I would get a good dolly with surge brakes and a small front wheel car to suit me.

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Old 04-10-2022, 09:08 AM   #9
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Something to flat tow will be quick and easy to hook or unhook. We tow a Jeep Wrangler. They’re about the easiest to equip and setup for towing. I installed our Ready Brute system myself and it takes one of us just a minute or two to hook or unhook it. There are other systems out there that are just as easy. Ready Brake’s systems are inexpensive and bulletproof. Wranglers are very popular as toads.
All of the above, ditto.
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Old 04-10-2022, 09:26 AM   #10
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2nd all of what TXiceman said. Also, with some practice I can now load the car on the dolly in less than 15 minutes from start to finish, and unload in 5 minutes. One does have to be able to get down on one's knees though for the safety cables. (I use a yoga matt to make it easier on the knees.)
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Old 04-10-2022, 09:33 AM   #11
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Just a consideration, if you go with a dolly, make sure the ramps and tie downs are spaced properly to align with your towed vehicles front tires. Neighbor bought a brand new dolly only to find out his vehicle was to wide to get on the dolly.
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Old 04-10-2022, 09:49 AM   #12
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Too add to my post. With 4 down. Our routine is the DW disconnects the toad when I check in at the camp ground. This makes it much simpler to drive in the CG. When leaving DW follows me to a place to connect. Most of the time its the dump station, where she connects the toad while I dump.

Yes it is that simple.

We always have the other person inspect that everything is setup correctly depending who did the setup.
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Old 04-11-2022, 06:31 AM   #13
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Both methods work, but dolly towing is a lot more work. I have not done it myself, but I have helped people get hooked up (we flat tow when we take a car now). Depending on which car we tow, the connect / disconnect time takes between 2-6 minutes, including putting the drop in braking system in place. (Our Yaris is simpler to hook up just put it in neutral, make sure the hand brake is off and go, the Jeep Cherokee has complex button / switch dance required to put it in tow mode so takes longer). By comparison from what I have observed dolly towing is closer to 20-30 minutes and requires crawling on the ground.


So my take is dolly towing may be ok for snowbirds who travel to one place and stay there for months at a time, but for seeing the country moving from town to town every few days flat towing wins hands down, even if it does cost more to setup initially.
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