Community Forums

TOP13 · 03-20-2025, 12:19 PM

Hi All, We are retirees and just starting out, so asking for your expert advice again on towing a car.

Any suggestions on the best way bring a car along?
Some background-- we have a 2005 Coachmen Concord 225RK E-450. I have 12 years experience towing heavy equipment, however my wife has no towing experience. Our car is a 2018 Subaru Forester that cannot be flat towed. In order to flat tow we would need to buy a flat tow-able vehicle...maybe an older Jeep with manual transmission, then add the tow bar hook up, brake system, insurance, etc. OR we could consider TRAILER towing our existing car?

Which would be the easiest for someone not familiar with driving with a trailer or a tow bar? Flat towing vs trailer towing?? (Also, my understanding is backing up with a tow bar is very dangerous unless you are perfect.)

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated! Thank you! Chris and Charlotte.

J Ringo · 03-20-2025, 12:27 PM

The biggest con against a trailer in my experience is most park spots wont have room for a trailer and a car. Flat towing is nice bc no trailer to mess with but you cannot back up very far if you get in a pickle so plan accordingly. Any 4x4 wrangler can be towed 4 down with auto or manual fyi it’s the t case you put in N the trans stays in gear.

AlanTerry · 03-20-2025, 12:28 PM

Flat towing

Dutch Star Don · 03-20-2025, 12:39 PM

I would never entertain a trailering a toad. However, your question was....which would be easier to handle for a driver towing for the first time. The four down towing is actually easier as the vehicle tracks exactly behind the RV. No concerns with running over curbs or tail swing.

You're correct, a vehicle being towed with a tow bar cannot be backed up. However, the size of your coach and the towable weight limits of your coach, will keep your rig to a reasonable size and you won't find too many situations where backing will ever be needed.

I know it's not a cheap process to change or add a car. However, if you'll be doing a lot of RVing, try and find a toad that can be a comfortable daily driver. There are many nice cars that can be towed.

kenandterry · 03-20-2025, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J Ringo

The biggest con against a trailer in my experience is most park spots wont have room for a trailer and a car. Flat towing is nice bc no trailer to mess with but you cannot back up very far if you get in a pickle so plan accordingly. Any 4x4 wrangler can be towed 4 down with auto or manual fyi it’s the t case you put in N the trans stays in gear.

Most people that tow ……do whatever in order to flat tow.
Trailer towing is not nice for so many reasons.

Bigceasar · 03-20-2025, 12:44 PM

The three towing options are:

4 down: Easiest and fastest limited vehicle choices

Dolly: limited to front wheel drive vehicles. Most parks can accommodate, jockeying the dolly around takes some physical effort.

Trailer: can accommodate any vehicle. Some parks will not accept, some have very limited availability, some require trailer to be parked elsewhere, trailer is an absolute pain to move. Some trailers do not track in line with RV opening up potential to cause damage. Overall length may exceed legal limits.

Unless your vehicle is a specialty item you really want or need to be with you I would strongly recommend not going the trailer route if you intend on traveling.

Alpine36 · 03-20-2025, 12:48 PM

Is you Subaru an automatic AWD? If it’s a manual transmission you may be able to flat tow it. You wouldn’t like trailering any toad.

MemByTheMile · 03-20-2025, 08:37 PM

A few years ago, we started RVing and dove in head first - full timing.
We had a personal car we loved, but was not flat towable, so we got a trailer.
Loved it and have been all over the country with it.
Good points: we have tons of storage (extra storage in trailer), have a car we love, car and tires are protected from road rash, and I can back it up without having to disconnect (we also overnight in rest areas and truck stops).
Negative points: the extra length of the trailer requires more work to find campgrounds where you can fit, more phone calls, and sometimes driving an extra few hours when the campground that swore their sites could handle 80’ actually were less than 65’…
This year we made a choice to sell the trailer and go with a flat tow. Sold the car we loved… time will tell how it works out for us.
What we are looking forward to is being easier to find campgrounds where we fit and hopefully being less of a gawk item at campgrounds.

dons2346 · 03-20-2025, 09:10 PM

There are Jeeps with automatic transmissions that can be flat towed

**Lt Dan** · 03-20-2025, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TOP13

In order to flat tow we would need to buy a flat tow-able vehicle...maybe an older Jeep with manual transmission, then add the tow bar hook up, brake system, insurance, etc.

Just for info, you don't have to have a manual transmission Jeep to tow. Any Jeep with a manual transfer case that can be shifted into neutral can be flat towed whether manual or automatic. I've towed four different Wranglers with auto transmissions.

DFord · 03-20-2025, 11:08 PM

I've tried using a dolly and 4-down towing but never considered a trailer. Flat towing is my preference. The dolly weighed 500 lbs. by itself and was awful to deal with at the campsite. It couldn't be backed-up. It took 45 minutes to unload, disconnect, turn the motorhome around, reconnect and reload. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to deal with a heavy trailer in a campground. Very few sites I've been on could accommodate a trailer and my 32 ft. motorhome let alone a 45 ft. MH so you really limit your choices.

Presently, I tow a '97 Ford Aerostar using a driveshaft disconnect by Remco and braking system is a ReadyBrake by NSA. Connecting and disconnecting don't take long at all. I wouldn't consider any other method of bring a towed vehicle with me.

Where-2 · 03-21-2025, 05:14 AM

As another factor, check the RAWR, GVWR and GCWR of your 2005 Coachmen Concord 225RK E-450 to see how much towing capacity you have. A quick web search shows about 6000lb assuming you are close to the GCWR when loaded for camping. Your RAWR is only 9450lb, so you will need to make sure you don't exceed that as well. The trailer's tongue weight will end up on that rear axle. Then look at trailers that are rated to hold your Forester and how much they weigh. Add the weight of your Forester, the hitch, anything you have in the vehicle, and the tie downs you may find that you are exceeding what your MH can safely tow. An aluminum trailer would help keep the weight down, but they are expensive. The extra weight of the trailer and tongue weight on the rear axle will also factor into the wear and tear on your 20-year-old coach's engine, transmission, and rear suspension.

I personally wouldn't trailer tow with a MH that is that light. A trip to the CAT scales with the camper loaded for camping to see how close you are to the RAWR might be a good place to start. If you don't have at least 750lb to spare, I wouldn't go the trailer route.

wildtoad · 03-21-2025, 05:17 AM

Tow dolly gives you more options as to what you use for your toad. From what I’ve seen, you can dolly toad rear wheel drive vehicles with the rear tires on the dolly. If you swap cars frequently this is a good option.

I’ve flat towed a Chevy Sonic, Wrangler, and now a Gladiator. All towed well. However each vehicle required a new baseplate and light wiring. Not an inexpensive proposition.

Of note, Jeep says to flat or trailer tow. Dolly tow prohibited.

fcb1313 · 03-21-2025, 07:48 AM

After flat towing for a while now, there's no way I would want to go back to any other method. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people will agree that flat towing is the easiest, but the next conversation is what tow package and break system. When that discussion starts bring out the popcorn because we all have very strong opinions on which way is best.