what car are you towing after motorhome?

[brightsky]

what car are you towing after motorhome? is it needed? any public transportation from RV parks to city and grocery stores?

Not every car can be flat towed. What is the smallest car that can be flat towed? thanks.

[CAG]

If you search with Google or using the search bar (gold at the top of the page) using TOAD or towing behind an RV. You will find a long list of information.


That is a pretty broad topic with a number of options from flat towing (my 2019 Jeep Wrangler) to dolly towing. Personally I would not want to be trapped in an RV park with no vehicle. We do a lot of trail riding, 4 wheeling and exploring plus you want to get out for dinner once-in-awhile.


https://www.caranddriver.com/researc...tow-behind-rv/

[msherw]

We successfully tow a 2006 TJ Jeep. Just got back from a 1500 mile trek in the Rockies. The Jeep is small, robust, easy to flat 4 tow, and can go anywhere you like when you arrive at your destination camp. Newer Jeeps are a little heavier with 4 doors and that is why we chose a vintage 2 door Jeep with an I-6 engine and great track record for longevity.

I was looking at using a dolly with a newer Toyota but felt having to deal with the dolly once we got into camp was a big negative.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by brightsky

what car are you towing after motorhome? is it needed? any public transportation from RV parks to city and grocery stores?

Not every car can be flat towed. What is the smallest car that can be flat towed? thanks.

We tow a Grand Cherokee, yes transportation is necessary.

Some RV parks are close to public transportation. Check before making reservations.

Rallied with a group this past weekend and one member flat toes a Fiat.

[Mahatnmacoat]

I struggled with this problem for a year. With out a long story and a lot of irrelevant details, I didn't want to deal with a dolly or a trailer, I have a modest budget and I couldn't flat tow my Ford 150. I sold the Ford and bought a '96 Dodge Dakota, four by four, V6 and a five speed manual transmission. The Dodge needs some shining up but it runs strong and it passed Delaware vechiel inspection. I've put a cross bed tool box on it. The girl friend insists we take her three wheel bicycle with us and I can put a twenty-five or so gallon water tank under the tool box, extra water for boon docking. The tow bar brackets bolt directly to the steel front bumper and folds up in front of the hood. It's a clean simple set up. I wired a four flat light harness to the Dodge so that tail, marker and turn signal lights work in concert with the rig lights. The whole set up works very well for us.

[Camper_bob]

Another resource for flat towable vehicles and accessories is Motorhome Magazine's Dinghy Tow Guide put out each year. You can find their archived editions on their website. It's not ALL-INCLUSIVE, but it does list quite a variety of vehicles capable of flat-tow, what they require to do that, weights, etc. Of course, that's just a guide, you'll want to verify all your own details.

As for the smallest dinghy? I'd say that would have to be a Smart Car. There's a member on here who towed one all over the place for quite a while. He sold it and is towing something else these days, but he seemed to have a good time towing the Smart.

I have always towed Jeeps. By far the easiest vehicles to tow IMO. They're not heavy, they're very modular (so you can configure them MANY different ways), by and large they only require the basics for flat-tow (but you can get as exotic as you want).

I've also seen lots of small trailers with motorcycles behind campers. I don't ride, and I don't want to have to deal with a trailer. But it would be nice to know I could back up (which you can't do with a toad). If I ever get heavy into wheeling off-road, I will seriously consider getting a trailer to haul my rig. You never know when you might snap an axle or something, and being able to still get the rig home would be good. For now it's light off-roading, so low risk of catastrophic failure in my toad at this time under current usage patterns.

ETA: Forgot to add that plenty of RVers use public transportation, rent with Enterprise, Uber/Lyft/[insert whatever ride-share platform here], etc. and so don't tow anything. Works great for them, and most of them swear by it.

It just depends on what you like to do, what you're comfortable dealing with (from both a budgetary and logistical standpoint) and where you're going...

[Stingray75]

Here’s a link to motorhome’s towing guide.

https://images.goodsam.com/newmotorh...yGuide2020.pdf

[rgolding]

2019 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with a cap over a 6.5 bed and heavily loaded with 1.5 inch scale ride on trains. The Seneca pulls it with no problem, with a portable brake assist like a "Brake Buddy" to help with the stopping.

[michael.g]

We don't have the motorhome anymore, but when we did, we had a 2014 Honda CRV FWD. It is the last year the CRV could be flat towed. Only had to pull a fuse to keep the battery from draining. I don't think any Hondas can be flat towed anymore.

The smallest car I've seen flat towed is a Smart Car.

-Michael

[Mnwelsh]

We tow a F150, don’t know its back there unless you look.

[Camper_bob]

All you guys with your Senecas make me jealous with your towing capacity. I swear, my next rig is going to be a Super C. Of course, that'll probably be my retirement rig, so I'm gonna go big!!

Of course, that's an important distinction too. What kind of motorhome are you towing with? An older Class C on the Ford E-450 chassis may have only 5,000 lbs capacity. Mine (2018 Greyhawk on a 2018 Ford E-450 chassis) has 7,500 lbs capacity. A Super C (like a Jayco Seneca or an Entegra Accolade or a Dynamax) could have 20,000 lbs capacity.

So, it makes a difference in what you're able to tow and how you tow it.

[2naEagle]

2019 Ford Explorer 3.5L Ti-VCT

[ledoyle]

I tow a 2001 Honda Accord V6 Automatic 4 down. Works well. The latest couple of Motorhome tow guides don't show any Hondas but if you don't have CVT transmission they work well. Towing with a 2007 Greyhawk 31' . I know it is there and lose 1/2 to 3/4 mpg so I choose whether to tow or not depending on our destination.

[Jay Matt]

I flat tow a 2012 Honda CRV. Limited to 65mph, but not really a problem as I would not go much above 70 even without. Sort of know it is back there, but I tow so much, it is 'normal'. Certainly does not affect the handling in any way, just a bit more to pull up a hill, but nothing the Ford V10 can't do easily. Loose a bit of gas mileage perhaps, but I want a car with me, not just my rig. Follow the directions in the Honda Owners manual before towing!
2016 Greyhawk 29MV. I have gotten in a situation where I had to disconnect a few times to back up, but not the end of the world. Very quick process with the Roadmaster commander. I like it better than messing with a trailer, plus it does not add any weight to the chassis axles. Been towing that car almost 30K miles since I bought my Greyhawk new.

[Silvernelle]

We went with a Jeep Cherokee. Not all Jeeps are towable so check the details. They have to be 4 wheel drive and the newer ones need the transfer case that you can put in neutral if it is an automatic transmission. You will see a little light on the gear shift panel, along with the tiny button that does the job. Also, we didn't buy a new one, and got lucky. Before 2019 the Cherokee was towable, but had a flaw that required a $1,000-2,000 fix in a harness that keeps it from wobbling down the road. Ours had it, as it had already been a toad. I've read that some folks don't have that and have no problem, so that might just be luck of the draw in which Cherokee you get. I understand Jeep fixed that in 2019 though, so a newer one shouldn't be an issue, luck or no luck.


Good luck with your search!! Happy trails.

[Retired mountain folk]

Originally Posted by brightsky

what car are you towing after motorhome? is it needed? any public transportation from RV parks to city and grocery stores?

Not every car can be flat towed. What is the smallest car that can be flat towed? thanks.

Of course, the favored car for towing, a 1999 Jeep TJ Wrangler, Manuel transmission. With an adjustable all terrain aluminum hitch. Just don’t back up, the hitch will bend. When you look at what car is being towed, more than 50% are Jeep wranglers. They are light, and very easy to flat tow. 48 ( I believe that was the last number I saw) of the states require you hook up an auxiliary brake to your towed vehicle. So be aware of that. Even though a lot of people don’t, we use an RVI break, easy to hook up but we hooked a charge line up to the Jeep so that the Jeep battery won’t go dead while towing. If you don’t have an auxiliary brake hooked up to your tow vehicle, and we’re to get into an accident, it is a possibility that your insurance company won’t cover your accident. So thought I’d make you aware of that. Good luck with what ever you decide.

[Jab55]

I flat tow a Fiat 500....it's pretty small....Has to be manual transmission. One of the easier cars to flat tow....no steering wheel lock to deal with. I set it up to flat tow myself....using the Ready brute system...it was about half the price of other tow systems....I think most people could do the setup themselves if they have some mechanical abilities.....

[Al1]

It also depends on the size of your RV. I have a 28' Class C so I don't tow anything. I stop along the way. At a campground I fold it up, go where I want & resetup. I have automatic levelers that makes it easy. When we have to go a long ways or into a city I rent an Enterprise small car. Renting a small car occasionally is more economical than buying one.

The idea of towing a car and not being able to back up doesn't appeal to me because I make too many mistakes.

[JudyB]

We recently traveled for a good 8000 plus miles for 4 months, no toad and rented a car for 3 days only in Maine. Never felt trapped in a campground. We ate out usually for lunch along the way, picked up groceries on travel days, boondocked alot and sought out campgrounds with laundromats once a week. Toad was not work the expense or trouble.

[Kate Camp]

Would this make a good tow vehicle? I'm selling it and wondering whether to advertise it that way. It's 4-door, manual transmission.