Toads and what type

[Crasher]

We're on our 4th Avalanche. It has the ride of a heavy car, the utility of a pickup and with the 4wd, is very capable on off road excursions. Simple and quick to hookup.

[swduns]

rule #1- everything is relative - anything can be easy if u have enough money

3 options:
1) trailer - very heavy - trailer plus vehicle - have to strap down vehicle - long combo
2) tow dolly - surge brakes simplest - I hear that strapping down the wheels is a hassle
3) 4 down - simple to complicated - custom drive train disconnect to standard mission. Toad braking can range from easy to PITA depending on $

All have some degree of hassle

I decided 4 down was least hassle.

I bought a 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara Auto xmission. 79,000 miles, $2,400. Already set up to tow, can with tow bar. Came with Brakebuddy. It’s very light but I use a Brakebuddy as I hear insurance won’t pay if ur not legal. My interpretation is that in most states u need a brake on the Toad to b legal. Setting up the Brakebuddy is a minor hassle. Setting the 4WD to tow is a minor hassle. The prior owner set the 4WD wrong just once & paid for a new xmission. You also have to crank the car & run the xmission thru the gears every 300 miles ... another minor hassle. My set up is a low cost approach but not for those not mechanically inclined. My Suzuki is in good shape but I do a lot of pre-emptive maintenance.

If you spend enough money you can make it relatively simple and easy

[Prof_T]

We started out with a tow dolly because we didn't have a car that was 4 down towable. Got along fine. Just too aggravating to move around at our age once we got to our destination.

We settled on a 14 Equinox V6 AWD as our 4 down toad vehicle. Why? We can use it as a second car, no worries with the "death wobble" electronic power steering, and lower in cost versus a similarity equipped Jeep.

Your tow bar and braking options are endless. We settled on the Roadmaster system, base plate, and tow bar. We scored a used Air Force One braking system. It was not cheap but hopefully we will be happy.

[Isaac-1]

Don, I think you need to add another thousand dollars or so to the cost of initially setting up a TOAD. I recently did it as a DIY project on my wife's Jeep Cherokee, and even with creative shopping, buying a used tow bar, and used Even Brake braking system the total came in at well over $1,000, plus about a week of time 3-4 hours per day to get it all installed:


To break this down:


Blue Ox BX 1138 base plate $320 on sale (regularly $440)
Used Demco Commander tow bar in good condition $400 (new cost $750)
Coiled 6 pin towing umbilical $25 Amazon deal, typical price around $60
Roadmaster Even Brake 9400 $390 off ebay for a lightly used less than 18 month old unit, $1,200 new on Amazon, $1320 on etrailer..
Roadmaster Stop Light switch kit, open box deal on Amazon Warehouse $11, regular price $42
Curt 58909 RV towing wiring harness with integrated diodesAmazon Warehouse open box deal $16.51 regular price $64
Mopar Cherokee flat tow wiring harness modification $125 online ($165 from local dealership parts dept)
Assorted wiring for charge line, wrapping tape, connectors, zip ties, etc. $50.
Plus about another $50 in tools bought specifically for this job (plastic rivet gun, screw together fiberglass wire fishing pole, etc.)

[New2road]

What do you drive now? Do you enjoy using that vehicle and want to use it when on the road? Look in the owners manual for that vehicle under recreational towing or dinghy towing. Can you tow your current vehicle? If yes, proceed to Blue Ox or Roadmaster web sites and identify components. If no, decide if trailer is option for you. If still no, review the learned postings above to get idea of what may be options.

I was gun ho to pick up a jeep and join the crowd. Till i tried getting in and out of one, my bad knees voted no. We went with a Chevy Colorado pickup. it work for us.

Far an away the most common tow is a jeep. I can't talk to how easy it is to set up. Our truck required the Roadmaster tow gear, lighting adapter, Invisbrake for brakes, and a battery neutral disconnect. takes 5 mins to hook up/ down.

[Down South]

Towing on a trailer is easy. But loading the vehicle, strapping it down then finding a place to drop the trailer once you are at your destination can be a pain. Ask me how I know.
I went with a 2020 Jeep Wrangler and tow it 4-down. It serves as our second vehicle.

[Dutch Star Don]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

Don, I think you need to add another thousand dollars or so to the cost of initially setting up a TOAD. I recently did it as a DIY project on my wife's Jeep Cherokee, and even with creative shopping, buying a used tow bar, and used Even Brake braking system the total came in at well over $1,000, plus about a week of time 3-4 hours per day to get it all installed:


To break this down:


Blue Ox BX 1138 base plate $320 on sale (regularly $440)
Used Demco Commander tow bar in good condition $400 (new cost $750)
Coiled 6 pin towing umbilical $25 Amazon deal, typical price around $60
Roadmaster Even Brake 9400 $390 off ebay for a lightly used less than 18 month old unit, $1,200 new on Amazon, $1320 on etrailer..
Roadmaster Stop Light switch kit, open box deal on Amazon Warehouse $11, regular price $42
Curt 58909 RV towing wiring harness with integrated diodesAmazon Warehouse open box deal $16.51 regular price $64
Mopar Cherokee flat tow wiring harness modification $125 online ($165 from local dealership parts dept)
Assorted wiring for charge line, wrapping tape, connectors, zip ties, etc. $50.
Plus about another $50 in tools bought specifically for this job (plastic rivet gun, screw together fiberglass wire fishing pole, etc.)

Yeah, I went light on the price because some will buy the Ready Brute system and save on the braking system. I know my setup, if bought today would cost me $3K and that's doing my own custom install.

[Down South]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Yeah, I went light on the price because some will buy the Ready Brute system and save on the braking system. I know my setup, if bought today would cost me $3K and that's doing my own custom install.

That's exactly how much my setup cost and I did my install. I didn't shop used. I bought all new stuff. I'm sure I could have gotten better prices used and cheaper equipment from other manufactures.

My hardware:
Roadmaster Nighthawk All Terrain, Non-Binding Tow Bar w/ LED Lights
Roadmaster Direct-Connect Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
Roadmaster Diode 7-Wire to 6-Wire Flexo-Coil Wiring Kit
Demco Stay-IN-Play DUO brake system.

[Phochief]

When we bought our 2017 Fleetwood Bounder, we also bought a 2017 Ford Focus as our Toad. The Ford Focus is a great tow vehicle and easy to prepare for towing (turn on engine, hold brake and slip into Neutral, use a disconnect switch on the Positive battery terminal). The Focus only weighs about three thousand pounds. We use it as our second car when not towing it.
I had a BlueOx Alpha 2 tow bar and a Demco Stay-In-Play DUO brake system installed.

Here's a good link where you can check out other vehicles that can be flat towed with 4 wheels down.

[RRGarcia626]

Originally Posted by RVNVA

All, I am miffed after looking at so many posts about towing a vehicle as a toad and still don’t get it.

I have seen a list of cars capable of being toad but if you all can weigh in on which ones are easiest, what to look for and where to buy/install would be helpful.

We are getting close to closing on our next rig that tows 10,000lbs, so no worries on vehicle weight. Just shocked that it seems a mystery and I see so many RV’s towing their vehicles four down.

Let me know and thanks in advance!

Towed Honda Element, which like the CRV were easy to tow. Now tow a Subaru Crosstrek with a manual trans. Tows easy, light, and great for some light trail driving and in snow.

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

"RVNVA"....For everyone it's different. Some buy an old beater and use it just for towing behind an RV, not worrying too much about it.....not a bad way to go. Some can't afford an extra car, just for towing, and use one of their daily drivers. Others buy something like a Jeep that they can use off road and explore while camping.

For me, I don't want to have an extra vehicle around that I have to service, insure, park and maintain. I also want something that is a combination daily driver, toad and a vehicle I LIKE to drive. I've owned a truck since the first day I started driving and always will own a truck. Luckily, my coach can handle a heavy vehicle, so I look for trucks that are towable. GM, Dodge and Ford and Nissan all make trucks that are towable, they just need to be four wheel drive.

I've worked on both my cars and RV's, and cars and RV's belonging to friends and family, all my life, yet I've never owned a hot rod. So, whatever truck I buy, I customize it to some degree, making it my hot rod. My current, old man hot rod, is a Ford Raptor. It tows well behind my diesel pusher.

So......YOU need to decide what you want the toad to be and DO......daily driver, spare car, off road vehicle or hot rod. Essentially, they all take the same equipment to set them up for towing, base pate, tow bar, braking system and wiring for lights. Some are easier to put into neutral for towing and some take a few steps more. I'm owned six different toads, five trucks and one Honda CRV. All were reasonably easy to tow, when set up properly.

Unless you do a lot of the work yourself, setting up a toad can run between $2K and $3K. I use a braking system, Remco Air Force One, that is movable from vehicle to vehicle. The tow bar stay the same, so changing vehicles, basically requires new base plates and wiring.

Good post. It's Demco Air Force One, not Remco.

[SD Traveler]

We tow a 2020 Blazer and love it. Tracks well and is easy to prepare as there is no need to pull a fuse or to stop and run the engine after a few hours. Plenty of room for additional passengers and loading grocery supplies, etc.