Towing a Smart Car?

[Sequim Guy]

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

Before you buy the dolly, make sure the smart will fit on it - I know if I try to load my smart onto our Master Tow dolly the ramps will hit the body as they swing up - the wheelbase is just too short to work well with a dolly.

Maybe doesn't work well with YOUR dolly.
Yes, that is one of the problems with a dolly that has attached ramps.
However, the eze-tow has detached ramps, so no problem.

[gmasters]

Well, we have a smart car trailer, when we traveled to Florida we picked it up and on our very first trip we made a skid stop and locked up the rv wheels, the wife said ... Is the car still on the trailer... I said if not it would be in our bedroom.
We have a 1997 Bounder we have now traveled from Va to Florida twice, and Va to Canada twice. The trailer comes with brakes at 800 lbs, and out 1800 lb car. It is great to pull, and backing up even into camping spots is really easy. I do not think I would like to drive a our 35 ft MH and tow a car that we couldn't back up when needed. And we seem to back up often knowing how easy it is.

Look up the SmartCar Trailer on line, it takes about 10 minutes to drive up and strap wheels down... Great

[gmasters]

Originally Posted by gmasters

Well, we have a smart car trailer, when we traveled to Florida we picked it up and on our very first trip we made a skid stop and locked up the rv wheels, the wife said ... Is the car still on the trailer... I said if not it would be in our bedroom.
We have a 1997 Bounder we have now traveled from Va to Florida twice, and Va to Canada twice. The trailer comes with brakes at 800 lbs, and out 1800 lb car. It is great to pull, and backing up even into camping spots is really easy. I do not think I would like to drive a our 35 ft MH and tow a car that we couldn't back up when needed. And we seem to back up often knowing how easy it is.

Look up the SmartCar Trailer on line, it takes about 10 minutes to drive up and strap wheels down... Great

http://www.smarttrailerusa.com/

Read and watch video, this isn't my car in video but it's funny it the same color

[bigcritter]

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

Before you buy the dolly, make sure the smart will fit on it - I know if I try to load my smart onto our Master Tow dolly the ramps will hit the body as they swing up - the wheelbase is just too short to work well with a dolly.

Thanks for the heads-up, and I've already considered that. I started out looking at a Demco Kar Kaddy SS, then I looked at some other ones, and knew they wouldn't work for that very reason. The EZE-TOW dolly doesn't have ramps attached. They use the Rhino Ramps like you would get at Wal-Mart or wherever to drive up on to raise your car to work under. With the short wheelbase of the smart, the others totally would NOT work. :>)

[bigcritter]

Originally Posted by okmunky

I ordered this, which is tow bar and braking system combined, for $870 shipped

Elite ReadyBrute RV Tow Bar 8000 lbs Aluminum Ready Brute - $809...

and found the base plate for $317 shipped from hitchsource.com Installation will take 4-5 hours for both, but my brother is helping me with that.

I rented a tow dolly once and what a pain. You might want to rent one to see what all is involved and how it handles. For me, towing 4 down is the better choice. Also, a trailer or tow dolly is another vehicle to license and insure.

Price was just ONE issue. The other is that we upsized from a 17' Class "B" Van so that we can take our Great Dane with us and NOT have to take a tent, which 'kinda defeated the purpose of having an RV. So.....if we want to take Harley, and still get out and sightsee when we get to where we're camping, we need to take our Chevy Aveo when we take Harley. We all simply will NOT fit in smartie! :>) Harley is about 135 lbs, very tall, and very long. Then we also have a Boston Terrier & a Chinese Crested hairless. That's the reason for the tow dolly rather than a tow bar system for smartie. Perhaps in the future, when we no longer have a Great Dane, and especially when we're retired and not just going on weekend trips or short vacations, we will certainly get set up with a tow bar system and tow 4-down. Until then, it's going to have to be able to take BOTH vehicles, depending on whether we take the 'kids' or leave them behind with a 'sitter'. :>)

[bigcritter]

Looked at smart trailers, and that would work for me if I was just going to be taking smartie, in which case I would just get a tow bar setup. However, if I used a trailer for our Chevy Aveo, with the trailer at 800 lbs, and the car at 2350, that would put me around 150 lbs. over my tow limit, and I'd have to get the 18' trailer, which would be a couple of hundred pounds heavier. :>(

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by two-niner

There are a lot of used SmartCars on Sahara Ave in Las Vegas. The original dealer that sold them new quit selling them. Not exactly sure what that means.

Kerry

When a dealer either stops selling a brand or goes out of business it can mean one of three things.

1: the dealer thinks the brand is... not good (not the case here)

2: the Vehicle Manufacturer thinks the Dealer is not good (Actually happens more often than you know, epically with multi-line dealers)

3: the dealer has financial issues.

or 4: It just was not selling.

I do know a very large Ford dealer for example.. I had a couple of interactions with them and the result was a very strong letter to both Ford and DMV (Which regulates auto dealers) Last time I passed it there was paperwork on the door which suggested the state padlocked the place.

I guess mine was not the only letter alleging fraud.

Don't mean Fords are bad.. Does mean the dealer is history.

[Perry White]

I just installed a Blue Ox base plate on my '08 Smart. Not a big deal. I tow a 2010 Ford Explorer but that's a lot of weight to pull around. If you look on Smart Forums you will find a lot of people towing them with the tow hook connections under the front bumper cover. I think it would be alright, I just wanted to be safe. If you pull the plug out of the left front bumper cover, there is a treaded hole to run an eye bolt or what ever. There is one on the other side but it has no cutout on the plastic bumper. Someone makes a tow bar that fits those two holes. Google it up.

I also bought light diodes off e-bay . Got 50- $12 not bad considering they are going for about$14 a piece. Same ones. 6 amp Hopkins

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

When a dealer either stops selling a brand or goes out of business it can mean one of three things.

1: the dealer thinks the brand is... not good (not the case here)

2: the Vehicle Manufacturer thinks the Dealer is not good (Actually happens more often than you know, epically with multi-line dealers)

3: the dealer has financial issues.

or 4: It just was not selling.

I do know a very large Ford dealer for example.. I had a couple of interactions with them and the result was a very strong letter to both Ford and DMV (Which regulates auto dealers) Last time I passed it there was paperwork on the door which suggested the state padlocked the place.

I guess mine was not the only letter alleging fraud.

Don't mean Fords are bad.. Does mean the dealer is history.

In the case of the smart car dealers - the dealers were all part of the Penske Automotive Group, who had the exclusive rights to import and sell the car. But last year Daimler, the parent company for smart, ended their partnership with Penske so a lot of the standalone smart dealers were closed since smart is now using the Mercedes dealership network. It doesn't mean the car had problems, the dealer had problems, or anything other than the dealer was not part of the Mercedes network.

[okmunky]

You are correct Alan. My experience buying and owning a Smart has been almost as if I bought a Mercedes. Even though I bought the cheapest car Plano Mercedes-Benz has ever sold, I have been treated as if I spent $100K.

Beginning with the 2012 models, Smarts now come with a 4 year/48K warranty and roadside assistance. I ran out of gas last week and 20 minutes later a tech was pouring 2 gallons into my tank. Driving it is fun, the interior is roomy for 2 and I installed the tow equipment myself. I get 40 mpg and it is cheap to insure thanks to it's great safety rating. At only 1800 pounds, I feel it is the perfect tow car for 1 or 2 people.

[garebare]

Originally Posted by okmunky

I ordered this, which is tow bar and braking system combined, for $870 shipped

Elite ReadyBrute RV Tow Bar 8000 lbs Aluminum Ready Brute - $809...

and found the base plate for $317 shipped from hitchsource.com Installation will take 4-5 hours for both, but my brother is helping me with that.

I rented a tow dolly once and what a pain. You might want to rent one to see what all is involved and how it handles. For me, towing 4 down is the better choice. Also, a trailer or tow dolly is another vehicle to license and insure.

Where did you find the Demco baseplate for 2012? Also, does the demco base plate attach directly to tow bars without an additional (stabalizer) bar between the tow bars and the car connections on outside of car? This is required with a roadmaster tow bar and a roadmaster baseplate.

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Perry White

I just installed a Blue Ox base plate on my '08 Smart. Not a big deal. I tow a 2010 Ford Explorer but that's a lot of weight to pull around. If you look on Smart Forums you will find a lot of people towing them with the tow hook connections under the front bumper cover. I think it would be alright, I just wanted to be safe. If you pull the plug out of the left front bumper cover, there is a treaded hole to run an eye bolt or what ever. There is one on the other side but it has no cutout on the plastic bumper. Someone makes a tow bar that fits those two holes. Google it up.

I also bought light diodes off e-bay . Got 50- $12 not bad considering they are going for about$14 a piece. Same ones. 6 amp Hopkins

I have seen the tow bars that attach to the tow hook points on the smart car bumper, but none are sold in the US. I'm just afraid they aren't legal for use here. It sure looks like an easy system.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by okmunky

I have seen the tow bars that attach to the tow hook points on the smart car bumper, but none are sold in the US. I'm just afraid they aren't legal for use here. It sure looks like an easy system.

Unless things have changed since the '08 models the threads on those points are not strong enough for towing. They are cut into a relatively thin piece of metal and are not designed for strength. Personally I would not rely on them to keep my car safely connected to my motorhome.

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

Unless things have changed since the '08 models the threads on those points are not strong enough for towing. They are cut into a relatively thin piece of metal and are not designed for strength. Personally I would not rely on them to keep my car safely connected to my motorhome.

Here is a link to one that you can buy in the UK

Smart-Tow, A-Frame Towing Solutions for Motorhomes