SUV for a Toad

Gmdjeb · 04-20-2016, 05:05 AM

Greetings all,

We have a nice Chevy Sonic for a toad now, but when I toss the wife and 2 'lively' Golden Retrievers in the back seat it gets a bit difficult ... For the wife ...
:-)

My mother-in-law gets the front passenger seat ... She is not as mobile as she used to be! :-)

Anyway, we are looking for an SUV under 5k pounds to tow behind the Greyhawk ... With enough room behind the back seats to keep the pups happy and comfy enough for my OAO in the back seat.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Regards,

John

snowbird47 · 04-20-2016, 06:40 AM

I tow a 2012 Ford Edge (V6, the 4 cylinder is listed as not towable) behind my rig with no problems, and It has a decent amount of room.

Camper_bob · 04-20-2016, 07:15 AM

I see a lot of Honda CRVs out there as Toads. My friend owns one (not as a toad) and she loves it. Plenty of room for the family and her "extended" furry family.

Robbbyr · 04-20-2016, 05:58 PM

When the grandkids and/or others are with us we tow our 2014 Ford Explorer Sport. Although the Sport is the "hot rod" EcoBoost version, most of the Explorers of that vintage and newer can be flat towed. Ours has second-row bench seat so it is considered a 7-passenger vehicle. The third-row is tight for adults, but the grandsons fight to see who gets to sit back there! According to Ford it weighs about 4,500 lbs.

Ours has pushbutton start, so there is no steering column lock to contend with. You just shut it off in neutral, then hit the "Start" button again without stepping on the brake, that puts it in the "Accessory" mode. Ford says 65 mph maximum, and at the beginning of the day and every 6 hours of towing you should run the engine for 5 minutes to circulate the transmission fluid. No fuses to pull or disconnecting the battery, but I do have a charge line from the motorhome connected so that the battery stays charged especially since I use an EvenBrake.

I formerly had a Chateau Class C (E-450) and it did a good job towing the Explorer. Now we have a Seneca and we don't even know it is there!

canuckowner · 04-20-2016, 06:50 PM

wow... Seneca is so huge the toad can park under the awning... sweet :-)

Camper_bob · 04-20-2016, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canuckowner

wow... Seneca is so huge the toad can park under the awning... sweet :-)

I can park my Ram 2500 4x4 under the awning on my Jay Flight. Did it so I could install my step bars in the shade. Sorry, I have nothing more to add to the toad discussion.

Gmdjeb · 04-21-2016, 05:24 AM

Thanks everyone for the quick replies! Lots of good things to think about!

I'll post the results of out search!

Regards,

John

2JayBirds · 04-21-2016, 07:05 AM

Here is a nice guide to which ones can flat tow as well as towing tips. I can say from experience that the Dodge Durango flat tows very easy, put transmission in neutral and vehicle in park and go. With its 3 row seating and split middle seat you can have plenty of room for 3 people and your dogs. Plus with the right engine and driving it properly you can get between 24/26 mpg's. Need something larger, with the right Chevy Tahoe you can flat tow also. This guide tells you which one you need to do so.

http://towingworld.com/resources/2015DinghyGuide.pdf

Gmdjeb · 04-22-2016, 06:04 AM

Thank you very much for the information and the link!
Regards, John

Boudreaux · 04-25-2016, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gmdjeb

Greetings all,

We have a nice Chevy Sonic for a toad now, but when I toss the wife and 2 'lively' Golden Retrievers in the back seat it gets a bit difficult ... For the wife ...
:-)

My mother-in-law gets the front passenger seat ... She is not as mobile as she used to be! :-)

Anyway, we are looking for an SUV under 5k pounds to tow behind the Greyhawk ... With enough room behind the back seats to keep the pups happy and comfy enough for my OAO in the back seat.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Regards,

John

We recently purchased a 29MV and decided to sell the 13 Avalon and replace it with a Subaru Forester (manual Trans) for a daily driver and as a TOAD. I had read "many" pros and cons about this vehicle as a toad, (even the dealer didn't know), so I went straight to Subaru web site with my questions. YES, it is a great TOAD. (3300 lbs). We just yesterday returned for a 1150 mile trip towing the Forester.

Plus, while we were on the trip, we carried another couple to dinner one night, The other couple were rather large people, and expressed how comfortable they were in the roomy forester. Don't forget all the room behind the rear seat. You really should check the Forester (Manual Trans) before you consider something else.

"It may very well surprise you".....

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