okienewbie
oklahoma
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Joined: 08/13/2008
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Hello everyone! Just bought my first motorhome and now comes the decision on what to tow and how to tow it. I think I want something small with good gas mileage. Now how do I tow it( dolly or 4 down)?
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Rvndave
Medina, Ohio
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Joined: 01/23/2004
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Why not a trailer with electric brakes. Just found a 3 year old car hauler with a 16 foot bed for my sister. Trailer weight is under 1,500 pounds and has brakes. Cost was $850, I spent around $100 for paint, primer, reflective tape, side markers, and rewiring for a 7 pin plug.
2003 Jayco 308fbs eagle 33' tt, towed by a 2003 Ram 3500 slt, quad cab dually, cummins diesel ho, trailer towing package, with 6 speed manual. Hauls better 1/2, 3 kids, myself, and a 2003 ez go clays car.. I have added so far, neon lights, clearance lights, back up lights, black light, lift kit, mud tires, and everything necessary to make the golf cart street legal. It's now ready to spend the winter in the garage for more mods. More neon, strobe lights, alarm, a pa system, maintance, and whatever else that comes along. This golf cart does wheelies and travels thru 7 inches of mud when need be. Two honda eu2000i gens twinned to supply the electrical power. Latest addition an 04 Honda Goldwing. [url]http://www.hometown.aol.com/rvnagain/myhomepage/profile.html[url]
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pulsar
Lewisville, NC
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Joined: 12/30/2001
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Moved from Forum Technical Support to Dinghy Towing.
2002 Adventurer 32V - Workhorse chassis
1998 CRV toad - manual transmission
Have you seen the RV.Net Blogs? You can subscribe at Blog.RV.Net
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enblethen
Moses Lake, WA USA
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Joined: 01/05/2005
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Four down costs about the same overall as Dolly.
Trailer in my mind is out of the questions.
Suggest if you do go dolly route, that you install hitch on toad to make it easy to move dolly around and if you run into problems with coach.
Bud
Suzuki XL7 pushing Pace Arrow
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Bobbo
Memphis, TN
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Joined: 09/16/2007
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I have had my rig for 11 months now. I got a dolly simply because the car I already had is only towable that way. I will use the dolly for another 2 or 3 years then trade off the car and dolly and get a car that is towable flat.
Bobbo, Linda and the furry kid (German Shepherd)
'07 Winnebago Outlook 31C on a Ford E450 Super Duty Chassis
NRA Life Member
Near N35 12 17 W89 50 57
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/28/2003
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In MY mind, a trailer is the best way to go, for many reasons.
I tow four down, also.
BUT, if I go out in the boonies and break the Jeep, if I am towing four down, I HAVE to fix it before I can go home. With the trailer, I just load it up (with the trailer mounted winch, if necessary) and go.
It really comes down to what you want to tow. A Front Wheel Drive car works GREAT on a dolly. Many Four Wheel Drives which have a Neutral position in the transfer case can be towed four down, but can NOT be towed on a dolly. Many rear wheel drive cars cannot be dolly towed OR towed four down without disconnecting the drive shaft. (some folks tow them with the rear wheels on the dolly, but the dolly manufacturers recommend against that). Many All Wheel Drive cars also cannot be towed on a dolly OR four down.
Anything can be put on a trailer, up to the load/size limits of the trailer.
It's your choice. Good luck.
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, Std. cab, LB, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 273,000 Miles
'99 Monaco McKenzie 32' triple slide
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
Daily driver: '06 Jeep Liberty CRD
Towed: '06 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited
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apr67
Tallahassee, Florida
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Joined: 02/14/2007
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I love my Manual Toyota Matrix. Last year during our summer vacation we drove the RV about 2500 miles and my Matrix about 2000 miles. Getting 30mpg on the highway was a plus.
But its not for everyone. Some folks don't like manual transmissions (I wanted a 4 down toad), it won't hold 5 adults (2 adults and 3 kids in car seats works pretty well IMHO and my wife and I are above average).
Don't take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here.
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2007 National Surf Side 34DE. Full timing since 1/06/08
2007 Toyota Matrix Da Toad
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b ubblerboy64
946 Ashton Shippensburg Pa 17257
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Joined: 10/18/2004
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I strongly cast my vote to flat tow unless there are extenuation circumstances. They have pretty much been listed. If you are starting fresh I'd buy a car which can be flat towed and not look back. I would suggest a Honda Fit to tow and I also like the Night Force Auto tow equipment. There are lots of cars you can tow. I like the Honda because of its great handling and lively engine performance. 30 miles per is not bad either. And that's around town.
John Heckman
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catman
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO
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Joined: 01/12/2002
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Congratulations on your new motorhome. Now that you made that decision, you need to think through what & how you tow. I started with towing an S-10, 5 speed, four down. Worked out great, but when the kids & grandkids came, there was not enough room in the S-10. I've flat towed a Jeep Wrangler the last couple of years & has worked Ok, except I can't take my honda scooters & it's not real comfortable for the longer day trips. It is nice to be able to take the top off. I recently purchased an 06 Canyon 4x4 crewcab pickup that I will soon be towing four down. Plenty of room, I can take my scooters & portabote. I have an aluminum car trailer, but don't use it for the toad. You really need to think about where you will be taking your motorhome. We go to Florida for the winter & there is no way I would take the trailer. Some campgrounds charge extra for the trailer & some do not have enough pull thru sites. I've never had a dolly, so I can't speak to that. It is very easy towing 4-down. I bought a great towbar (roadmaster sterling) & use a brakebuddy & I wouldn't use anything else. I read this forum & did alot of research. Good luck & keep asking questions.
Rick & Deb, 2002 Winnebago Sightseer 30B, 8.1 Vortec, Workhorse, solar, & satellite, 2006 GMC Canyon Crewcab 4X4, 2 Honda Elites, portabote
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