Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > MOTORHOME FORUMS > Toads and Motorhome Related Towing
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-19-2013, 05:59 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 24
Towing by Dollie vs. 4 Wheels Down

From experience, please share what you think is the best way to tow? What are the pros and cons? I have a 2004 Toyota Solara Convertible front wheel drive that I could tow but am thinking about buying a Jeep Liberty to tow 4 wheels down....Do I need the Jeep or is it just as easy to have a tow Dollie? I know you can't back up with either towing method.....Please help me decide....Thanks. OH....I am towing with a 2007 400 Cat DP Country Coach Tribute 260....Thanks
Haleyjean50 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-19-2013, 06:07 PM   #2
D333RLT Tower
 
Dutch Star David's Avatar


 
Texas Boomers Club
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,075
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haleyjean50 View Post
From experience, please share what you think is the best way to tow? What are the pros and cons? I have a 2004 Toyota Solara Convertible front wheel drive that I could tow but am thinking about buying a Jeep Liberty to tow 4 wheels down....Do I need the Jeep or is it just as easy to have a tow Dollie? I know you can't back up with either towing method.....Please help me decide....Thanks. OH....I am towing with a 2007 400 Cat DP Country Coach Tribute 260....Thanks
Wouldn't you rather have a nice convertible to drive when you get to your destination?
__________________
[COLOR=red]2022 KZ Durango D333RLT
[FONT=Arial][COLOR=red] Towed by2022 F-250 Lariat 7.3 Godzilla gas 10 speed , Texas Boomers RV Club
Dutch Star David is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 06:09 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Mr_D's Avatar
 
Country Coach Owners Club
Solo Rvers Club
iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 37,725
I've towed the same vehicle ('05 Honda Odyssey) behind the same MH both on a dollie and four down.
Prefer using the dollie even though four down is slightly less trouble. Last time I towed from WA to Phoenix I towed four down. Had a new battery installed in the Ody a week or so before we left, battery went dead three times. When we got back there were more rock chips in the paint, tires were worn and the Ody needed an alignment.
I think the less wear on the towed makes up for the slight inconvenience of the dolly, plus I can tow any front wheel drive vehicle with no extra cost.
__________________
2009 45' Magna 630 w/Cummins ISX 650 HP/1950 Lbs Ft, HWH Active Air
Charter Good Sam Lifetime Member, FMCA,
RV'ing since 1957, NRA Benefactor Life, towing '21 Jeep JLU Rubicon Ecodiesel
Mr_D is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 06:21 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
GregOk80's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Glenpool, Oklahoma
Posts: 326
I see it both ways. BUT most auto builder are starting to VOID warranties because of 4 down. The dolly is some pain BUT you can tow any front wheel or rear wheel drive vehicle with easy. And also use it to recover a broken down car or truck without any cost. We have a 2002 Fleetwood and a 2008 honda accord toad. Also tow my Ford F250 superduty.
GregOk80 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 06:24 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,965
We tow either our Buick on a dolly or our Jeep Wrangler 4 down. One is as easy as the other. The advantage of only towing 4 down is there's no dolly to store either at home or on the road. The advantage of a dolly is you can take almost any front wheel drive car with you without modifications.

Having done both to me it's a personal preference dictated by the type of vehicle you want to take along. In our case the Jeep can't be towed on a dolly and the Buick can't be towed 4 down.
__________________
Hikerdogs
2013 Adventurer 32H
Hikerdogs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 07:01 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
jrgreen's Avatar
 
Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 177
We have been towing a Jeep Liberty 4 down since 2002 and there are not enough words to convince me to ever tow with a dolly. Of course I am sure that you will find someone with a dolly to say the same thing - and that's ok and true for them. The choice of car and preferences are the driving factors as stated above. We bought the Liberty strictly so we could tow 4 down since I did not want to mess with storage of dolly and time and hassle to hook up.
__________________
2008 Fleetwood Discovery 40x
2002 Jeep Liberty
jrgreen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 07:16 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
mvpmich's Avatar
 
Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: SE Michigan & Central Florida
Posts: 228
We purchased a dolly so we could immediately start towing a car after we purchased our DP and to allow some time to determine what vehicle and towing package we needed/wanted. Since we have a sebring convertible we are not in a hurry to make the change and, as more time passes, we are not sure we want to spend the $'s for one of the limited number of suv's that can be towed, along with the cost of base plate, tow bar, braking system and light wiring.

The flexibility is great, the dolly has surge brakes and tows as if its not even there. It takes about 10-15 minutes longer to hook up with the safety chains and having to use some 2x6's (to raise the ramps since the cowl on the sebring is so low) compared to four down. I timed it to against a neighbor in a campground one morning. Haven't had a problem with dolly storage at a campsite or our storage yard.

Based on the above, it will probably be some time before we go four down.
__________________
mvpmich
2012 Sportscoach Cross Country 385 DS Freightliner XCR w/ Cummins ISB 6.7L 340 hp
2009 Saturn Vue, Blue Ox Alpha, RVi Brake 2
mvpmich is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 07:41 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
rream's Avatar
 
Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 827
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregOk80 View Post
I see it both ways. BUT most auto builder are starting to VOID warranties because of 4 down. The dolly is some pain BUT you can tow any front wheel or rear wheel drive vehicle with easy. And also use it to recover a broken down car or truck without any cost. We have a 2002 Fleetwood and a 2008 honda accord toad. Also tow my Ford F250 superduty.

Did you make this up about the voiding - the 2013 Guide to Dinghy Towing that just came out lists 92 various models that are towable.



Although some models have
withdrawn for 2013 (see sidebar, “Where
are they now?”), the demand for more fueleffi
cient cars has expanded the fi eld of dinghy
offerings. Examples include vehicles by Dodge,
Ford, Hyundai and Subaru, which will suit a
variety of needs and lifestyles.
You’ve probably noticed that there are
Although some models have
withdrawn for 2013 (see sidebar, “Where
are they now?”), the demand for more fueleffi
cient cars has expanded the fi eld of dinghy
offerings. Examples include vehicles by Dodge,
Ford, Hyundai and Subaru, which will suit a
variety of needs and lifestyles.
You’ve probably noticed that there are
__________________
2012 Winnebago Journey 36M Cummins 360
2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited, 41 National Parks
501 Campgrounds, 2421 nights camping since 2009 and 109 K Winnebago miles
rream is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 08:36 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Anacortes, WA (Stick & Brick)
Posts: 2,643
When I investigated the options for towing our '03 Kia Sedona, I was surprised by the costs involved. Unfortunatley, the Sedona's curb weight is 4800 pounds. We have a 5000 pound hitch, so a dolly that could carry a vehicle that heavy was (a) hard to find - most are limited to 4000 or 4300 pounds and (b) if you could find one, they were very expensive and heavy, running our towed combination several hundred pounds over our hitch limit.

When I looked into flat towing, the total for all the gear (transmission lube system, auxiliary braking system, base plates and tow bar) added up to more than the Sedona is worth.

Right now we're managing without a toad, but it is limiting what we can do. I'm considering getting an old, much lighter clunker to tow on a dolly, since you can get dollies new for around $1500 or sometimes used for a good deal less. I'm thinking a Geo Metro or an older Camry (we had an '85 that was one of the best cars we ever owned) and just using it as a toad so we don't put a lot more miles on it.

Since we may bow out of the RV hobby all together at the end of the 2014 season, we may just make do without a toad and rent when we really need a second set of wheels.
__________________
Frank Damp -Anacortes, WA,(DW- Eileen)
ex-pat Brits (1968) and ex-RVers.
frankdamp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2013, 10:22 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 735
This thread is currently discussing the same tpoic, check it out.


http://www.irv2.com/forums/f85/tow-d...ml#post1502213

.
Sequim Guy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2013, 04:23 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
Dan DeBruin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 268
Which are better Chevy or Fords? If you can answer that question for everyone, you can answer the OP's question. We started with a dolly for convenience. Took our time, picked out a car that could be towed down, got all the stuff needed used (base plate, tow bar, lights, brakes) to keep cost down and now tow four down. I like towing four down for convenience. Still have my dolly in case I have to tow another vehicle.
__________________
Dan and Kathryn DeBruin plus dogs
2005 Newmar Dutchstar 4009
Victor NY
Dan DeBruin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2013, 09:14 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
ChileRick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Palm Desert, Ca
Posts: 666
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haleyjean50 View Post
From experience, please share what you think is the best way to tow? What are the pros and cons? I have a 2004 Toyota Solara Convertible front wheel drive that I could tow but am thinking about buying a Jeep Liberty to tow 4 wheels down....Do I need the Jeep or is it just as easy to have a tow Dollie? I know you can't back up with either towing method.....Please help me decide....Thanks. OH....I am towing with a 2007 400 Cat DP Country Coach Tribute 260....Thanks
We have a 2008 ( 2nd generation ) Solara, SLE that we towed on an acme eeze-tow. It is certainly a great car to have while traveling, and with the top down the scenic drives are even more scenic, plus you don't have to get out of the car to take pics.
As far as towing it on a dolly here are the issues we had, the SLE has 17" rims with 215x55's which are tightly squeezed into the wheel wells, making it very hard to get the straps straight on the back of the tire, in fact we had one fail in Las Vegas, thank goodness we had the safety chains tying the car too the trailer, which we had to run thru the rims as there is shielding underneath so the chains can't be attached to frame. We also had an issue with tension being built up on the passenger side wheel, maybe something with the auto-stick tranny, who knows. Our issues had more to do with the Solara than the dolly. We ended up getting a Wrangler to tow 4 down, with a soft top to keep the view. We also kept the dolly for possible trips to resorts areas.
if you Solara is a stick, it can be towed 4 down.
__________________
2018 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36U
2014 Wrangler JKU Rubi
ChileRick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2013, 04:43 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
jeryan59's Avatar
 
Fleetwood Owners Club
American Coach Owners Club
Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 667
Tow dolly allows flexibility in towing multiple different vehicles that allow this. I didn't care for it because I had to get on ground to secure safety chains from dolly to vehicle.

4 down you are limited by vehicles you can tow 4 down but much quicker and convenient to do than dolly.

I had front end pitting using both methods even taking precautions.

You need to look are your situation and determine which is best for you, dolly is lower cost than 4 down for me, but you will see what your requirements are because it may not be in all cases.

I currently use an enclosed trailer, plenty of information on this site for pros and cons. Good luck!
__________________
Johnny Rotten
2009 American Eagle 42'
Trailering HD Road Glide and Saab 9.3 or Cadillac Escalade ESV
jeryan59 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-26-2013, 10:18 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
GregOk80's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Glenpool, Oklahoma
Posts: 326
Quote:
Originally Posted by rream View Post

Did you make this up about the voiding - the 2013 Guide to Dinghy Towing that just came out lists 92 various models that are towable.

Although some models have
withdrawn for 2013 (see sidebar, “Where
are they now?”), the demand for more fueleffi
cient cars has expanded the fi eld of dinghy
offerings. Examples include vehicles by Dodge,
Ford, Hyundai and Subaru, which will suit a
variety of needs and lifestyles.
You’ve probably noticed that there are
Although some models have
withdrawn for 2013 (see sidebar, “Where
are they now?”), the demand for more fueleffi
cient cars has expanded the fi eld of dinghy
offerings. Examples include vehicles by Dodge
Ford, Hyundai and Subaru, which will suit
variety of needs and lifestyles.
You’ve probably noticed that there are
just try to get warranty work done if you tell the warranty shop that you were towing 4down behind a motor home .
GregOk80 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:27 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.