what vehicles are best for flat towing ?

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack Fan

We were researching the same to pull behind our 34' gasser with the 8.1 Chevy motor. Seems that almost all of the jeeps are flat towable, though considering their reliability ratings I'd personally opt for the Honda CRV.

I have 03, 04, 05, 07 and 11 Dinghy towing guides in .pdf format from Motorhome magazine. Not sure why the gaps in the years. I downloaded them from somewhere a while ago. Shoot me a pm if you'd like. I'd be happy to email then to you. Each one is less than 1mb in size.

Reliability ratings? You must be reading consumer reports.
Our toad is a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, auto. 98,000 miles. Short of a cracked header and a couple of service bulletins, we have never owned a more reliable vehicle.

[bonabob]

When we first bought our 38ft Damon Challenger we didn't think we would be towing a vehicle behind us. We utilized Enterprise rentals and it was really cheap. Our total cost for a long weekend (pick up Fri drop off Mon) was $40.00 for a sub compact car, but we always got something bigger on arrival because the sub was not available. The only problem was the time consumed and the inconvenience of picking the vehicle up. Sometimes we waited over an hour after arrival. Then we had to drive, sometimes miles out of our way to get to the campground and then the return drop off was as inconvenient.
We ended up looking for a toad. I first looked at vehicles that required a tow dolly. That seemed really inconvenient. We then began looking for a 4 down toad. Somehow my eye caught a VW Cabrio with a manual transmission. There was enough room for the two of us and the two grand kids to fit in the back with their booster seats nicely. It would also be fun to have a convertible here in S. Florida. We ended up purchasing a beauty. We had the blue ox tow plate installed and purchased an easy to use blue ox tow bar. The Cabrio weighs only 2,700lbs and is real easy to tow. Once hitched up, we disconnect the battery (battery switch) put the key in the ignition and turn it to release the steering wheel. Off we go. The first time we used it we couldn't believe how convenient it was to have a vehicle ready to go as soon as we arrived. Oh yea, the weather was great, so down came the top and off to the beach we went with the two tikes in the back booster seats.
To sum it up, determine how much room you need in a tow vehicle before you begin your search. Once you size it up, you will find exactly what you need and enjoy motor homing that much more.

[nakerr]

Originally Posted by Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376

Reliability ratings? You must be reading consumer reports.
Our toad is a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, auto. 98,000 miles. Short of a cracked header and a couple of service bulletins, we have never owned a more reliable vehicle.

Consumer Reports seems to have it in for Jeeps as they do not match the basic and "they all look the same" econobox vehicles. They have a hard time believing that some people choose to go a different way.

Norm

[KylenCindy]

Will be towing a 2013 Chevy Spark with manual trans. what i like is it is 2240 lbs I don't think the MH will feel it back there. And it gets over 38mpg and holds the two grandbabies. I know it is new but MSRP is around $12,850 which you cant find most used cars for that price

[Chillbilly]

I have also researched this topic because I had planned to tow a Honda Civic. From all that I could determine, Civics are flat towable, however Honda does not support it because of the liability. I'm now waiting until the warranty runs out, then will also try to tow it.

[wanderso]

We enjoy towing our 2003 Chevy tracker 4x4, auto. Easy to flat tow and plenty of fun options when we reach our destination.

[Gormleys]

Ford posts both the flat towing and dolly towing information for a number of years for all of their vehicles under their "fleet" area at https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/.

[stonekeepers]

We just bought a 2013 Ford C-Max SE Hybrid and had it set up for towing with Blue Ox equipment. The car is awesome, comfortable, and gets great mileage. it's also an automatic, quiet and very fun to drive. It seats five comfortably and the rear seat folds down for a large storage area.

We are really pleased with how it tows and how it works for us as a run-around vehicle.

[stuhly]

If you have the power a 4x4 Chev Tahoe tows very well plus has lots of room. Heavy at 5100#

[ChallengerRN]

Towed a ford ranger pick up manual trans (15,000) mile. Then a VW manual trans. (20,000 mile). Then a Chev trailblazer automatic 4 x 4 (10,000 mile). Now a 2009 Chev Cobolt automatic (40,000 mile). All depends on what your need are at your destinations. Number of people to haul around--do you need to off road-- I have towed the above vehicles. All served their purposes very well. Now I'm traveling more out West and wish I had a 4 x 4 again. Guess that will be next. My Cobolt has 30,000 miles on odometer and another 40,000 being towed. Ha

[rvjimmy]

07 Saturn Ion now and before we had a SL2 Saturn both pull and pulled great. Hook up put her in neutral pull a fuze and go. Jim

[archrist]

I am on my 2nd Jeep Liberty. Had 2002.. now a 2012. Both are easy to tow and have no issues. Wish better gas mileage.

[drindone]

We tow a 2007 Mini Cooper S with manual transmission. It's light (under 3000 pounds), fun to drive, and even our small kids can fit in the back. It's perfect for a weekend or TOAD runabout.