what car are you towing after motorhome?

[Nodaker]

Towing an '11 Chev Colorado LT Crew. Easy electronic xfer case to neutral. Good capacity for bulky items in box.

Towing with '10 Melbourne 29D.

[Leon]

Some people don’t like dealing with trailers I had a dolly tow with my Seneca 37k I hate not being able to back up so I sold it got aluminum car trailer much nicer to maneuver the cost of a dolly trailer was cheaper but towing a vehicle behind with the brakeS and all things needed buying a car trailer was almost the same anyway and you can’t back up.Also I was towing an AWD GMC Terrain the GM dealer said I could shift 2WD and I could tow the Terrain no problem but I ask General Motors they said not recommended only FWD vehicles .
So I can back up with a trailer that’s fine

[unzinators]

IMHO Jeeps are the way to go. Look at what’s behind 75% of motor homes and you’ll see a Jeep!

[Atlee]

Agree, but I can't afford another vehicle.

Not going to give up my car for a jeep, and i need the truck for other things around the house.

Originally Posted by unzinators

IMHO Jeeps are the way to go. Look at what’s behind 75% of motor homes and you’ll see a Jeep!

[MoToYel]

We tow 2014 Honda CR-V. Last year for a towable Honda. Never saw a shuttle service in any park we stayed.

[gymracer]

We have a Seneca 35GS and we tow our 2015 Mini Cooper S. Unlike many that flat or dolly tow we use a trailer. Can load and unload quickly and I can back the trailer if needed. Most of our RVing is visiting family in other states. We find a nearby campground and use the Mini to visit and site see. The motorhome is then a motel room. Not interested in actives at the campgrounds. We do sometimes just take the motorhome only like a recent trip driving the complete Natchez Trace.

[Crossingover]

2013 Mini Cooper w/manual gearbox. Replaced a Jeep Wrangler that was a an easy toad too but couldn't stand the Jeep's bouncy/jouncy/wallowing ride as a daily driver. Before that had a Honda Fit manual. We could be enticed into a new Bronco though if its ride composure is superior to the Jeep's.

[Crossingover]

Originally Posted by unzinators

IMHO Jeeps are the way to go. Look at what’s behind 75% of motor homes and you’ll see a Jeep!

Jeep's are irritating daily drivers IMHO. So if you use your Jeep strictly for RVing, then I agree they are a surprisingly expensive choice for RV toad duty.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Crossingover

Jeep's are irritating daily drivers IMHO. So if you use your Jeep strictly for RVing, then I agree they are a surprisingly expensive choice for RV toad duty.

I'm curious, what makes you say that?

My Grand Cherokee was an absolutely fabulous daily driver, and it towed behind my MH very well, AND it was off-road capable. I daily drove a YJ for about 5 years (granted, I was much younger then and would have no desire to daily drive that vehicle today, but only because it has a rough ride and no air conditioning; both of which can be changed if I desire to expend the money and effort to do so). I daily drive my Jeep JLU now, and love it. Fuel mileage is respectable, it's comfortable, rides VERY nice, it's smallish and very nimble, will do 85 on the freeway easily (yes, we do have areas where that's the posted speed limit, and yes I drive them frequently). It's also fun to take the top and doors off, and it is VERY capable off-road (and yes, I've used my drive train, she's not a pavement queen ALL the time). Jeeps can be configured nearly infinitely, so you can make it exactly what you want it to be relatively easily.

Sure, they can get a bit spendy. And if you're ONLY interested in a commuter you can tow behind your motorhome, a Jeep (especially the Wrangler models) is probably not your best logical choice.

But if you use your vehicle like I use mine, Jeep is one of VERY few choices that checks almost all the boxes.

[Dgibbster]

The jeep is the easiest for tow with versatility and off-road use capabilities. Yes jeeps don’t come cheap. I also have to say that having owned a ‘95 yj wrangler for 10+ years and using it as a daily driver was a rough bouncy ride. Now owning a ‘16 jk wrangler 4 door the world has changed as the ride is very nice. Just as long as you get the vehicle you will need and want for your use is what matters. We are explorers and it is either the trailler with OHV or the jeep behind the motorhome.

[Crossingover]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

I'm curious, what makes you say that?

But if you use your vehicle like I use mine, Jeep is one of VERY few choices that checks almost all the boxes.

Our Jeep was a 2016 JKU Wrangler, no suspension mods. We don't off road as a sport, so that box didn't mean much to us. I get the whole Jeep Wrangler cult thing. But when you're used to vehicles with great road suspensions (think Mini for example), the expectations bar is set way high and JKU didn't deliver as daily driver FOR US. We thought we could adjust but it became obvious that a JKU as a daily driver was not enjoyable. I'm sure the other Jeep offerings have much more compliant suspensions, but at the time we weren't interested in Grand Cherokee's. The list of toads is narrowing especially with the continued shift away from manual gearboxes in new builds. We will see how the Bronco changes the pricing strategy Fiat has enjoyed for so long with their Wrangler monopoly. They are surprisingly expensive but do retain top tier resale value.

All I'm suggesting is that if you choose a Wrangler for double duty, make sure you're going to be happy with the ride.

[Silvernelle]

As mentioned we have the Jeep Cherokee which is our toad and a daily driver. Knowing what we know now about the Jeep is that for exploring far and wide, especially out here in the west, there are far better options. They are hard to find though. We have a range of only 300 to 350 miles on the jeep because it gets lousy mileage (compared to say a Subaru) and has a teeny tiny gas tank (compared to much smaller vehicles). Wouldn't be bad except in that range you are often only near itty bitty towns where gas is priced far above the national average.



It's really too bad so few vehicles are now listed by the manufacturers as towable four down. Seems like one of them besides Fiat (Jeep) would jump into that niche.


Ah well. At least the Cherokee is comfy.
Happy trails!!

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Crossingover

Our Jeep was a 2016 JKU Wrangler, no suspension mods. We don't off road as a sport, so that box didn't mean much to us. I get the whole Jeep Wrangler cult thing. But when you're used to vehicles with great road suspensions (think Mini for example), the expectations bar is set way high and JKU didn't deliver as daily driver FOR US. We thought we could adjust but it became obvious that a JKU as a daily driver was not enjoyable. I'm sure the other Jeep offerings have much more compliant suspensions, but at the time we weren't interested in Grand Cherokee's. The list of toads is narrowing especially with the continued shift away from manual gearboxes in new builds. We will see how the Bronco changes the pricing strategy Fiat has enjoyed for so long with their Wrangler monopoly. They are surprisingly expensive but do retain top tier resale value.

All I'm suggesting is that if you choose a Wrangler for double duty, make sure you're going to be happy with the ride.

"if you choose a Wrangler for double duty, make sure you're going to be happy with the ride" is spot on IMO, and true no matter what vehicles show up in your decision matrix.

But expecting a JKU to handle like a Mini Cooper is just unreasonable. They're TOTALLY different vehicles for TOTALLY different purposes. Apples and oranges. I think it's also unreasonable to say that Jeeps are "irritating to drive" because they don't handle like a sports car or a sedan. If you expected your JKU (with solid axles, true 4 wheel drive, suspension designed for off-road performance, high profile, etc) to handle like your mini (with 4-wheel independent suspension tuned for on-road performance and handling, and possibly AWD, with a low center of gravity/profile), you were severely misled somewhere down the line.

FWIW, I'm not saying the mini is bad, or the Jeep is good here. I'm just saying you can't really compare those two vehicles directly in any category other than "is it flat-towable".

I will agree that it is important to understand what you are willing to accept or expect in terms of road manners from your vehicle (no matter what it is). You also need to understand how you will use the vehicle. If you don't need off-road capability, no real logical reason to choose a Jeep; there are better options. Even if you DO intend to use the vehicle off-road, there are other options out there (GMC Canyon) that can be pretty solid off-road performers.

And I also agree that the fuel tanks on Wranglers are woefully small (in my own opinion), but my Grand had a nice sized tank that would give me 400 miles of range pretty easily under normal circumstances (not off-road, mostly highway, etc).

FWIW, the JLU is quite a lot more "compliant" and has really good "road manners" for what it is. Better than any generation of "Wrangler" before it.

It is indeed a shame there are fewer and fewer options out there. And I'm also encouraged by Ford's offering in the Bronco. I look forward to that taking FCA down a notch or so in their "comfort" in the market. Hopefully pricing gets a little better/more competitive, and more importantly, I hope the competition encourages BOTH companies to step up their quality game.

[Johnaprov]

This is an interesting topic, as I've been in a similar situation before. In my experience, the smaller the car the better. I recently sold my Doll Trailer and got an aluminum car trailer instead.

[Docsouce]

I just finished setting up a 2014 Ford Fiesta with a manual transmission for flat towing. I took it out this last weekend for a test ride. Went 50 miles or so and all went well.
The Fiesta weighs 2600 lbs and my 26XD class C pulled it nicely. Next up is setting up a rock guard, but that's another thread.
We started RVing in 2015 with smaller Class. We never thought we needed a toad until last summer. I guess we just decided to try something different. I'm laying out our trip for next summer and can already see how having a car on hand is changing our plans, for the good.
For example: We are going to stay at Mesa Verde for 2 weeks and travel around that area in our little car. When we were there last summer we stayed there for 1 week and as others here have said, we felt having to break down the RV every time we wanted to move was really limiting our visit. We'll see.

[MoToYel]

We tow a Honda crv 2014 automatic. This was the last year they made these towable. Having a blue ox bar to tow is much better than a dolly. Only because the older we get the harder it is to tighten straps on a dolly.

[Travel]

We have a 2022 30X and flat toe a 2022 Jeep Cherokee 4XE. It is pretty heavy but so far we’ve had no problems. It has an automatic transmission and does have the neutral switch for the transfer case which is important. We just got back from a trip from Houston to South Carolina and it pulled great.

[Leon]

Yes awd drive or 4x4 are ok for that …just the ones with independent suspension can be damaging ,and also ,you should be able to neutral the transfer-case check your operating manual . Some I remember you hold 2 buttons together transmission in neutral or something can remember exactly

[gymracer]

I agree, trailer way to go. When we not racing and just vacationing take our Mini Cooper S in an open trailer. It's a manual transmission but lots less trouble to run it on the trailer and go.

[SmokeyBear]

Originally Posted by gymracer

I agree, trailer way to go. When we not racing and just vacationing take our Mini Cooper S in an open trailer. It's a manual transmission but lots less trouble to run it on the trailer and go.

Let's get real. I've spent a lot of time hanging around paddocks at races and it's never "run it on the trailer and go" as you suggest. A lot more is involved.

1. Unload the ramps.
2. Put the ramps in place.
3. Align the car with the ramps.
4. Re-align the ramps.
5. Drive car onto trailer, very carefully. A few inches either way can be catastrophic.
6. Secure left front wheel with tie-down strap.
7. Secure right rear wheel with tie-down strap.
8. Secure right front wheel with tie-down strap.
9. Secure left rear wheel with tie-down strap.
10. Re-check each tie-down strap making sure secure.
11. Re-load ramps on trailer.

I'm sure I may have missed something.

Then when you get to the destination, reverse the process. Repeat over and over.

Now, to give you credit, since you said, "when we not racing", I assume you have a race car and have done this so often you could do it in your sleep. I'll give you that.

Off topic: What do you race?