Bumpyroad
Virginia
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Joined: 12/01/2005
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Hey if your MH was free, or at least only 28=40% for taxes on it, I would invest in a small vehicle that was towable 4 down myself. In fact, I paid for my MH and still use a toad 4 down.
bumpy
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Hjudge49
St. Augustine, Fl.
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Joined: 08/15/2007
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I've done both, and although I agree with the 4 down contingent, you already have a car. Easiest and cheapest fix right now is to get a tow dolly, use it until you replace the car, then get one you can tow flat. Make sure you getr electric brakes on the dolly, you should have excellent resale when you are finished with it.
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zmotorsports
Utah
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Joined: 11/29/2007
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My personal experience would be to tow 4-down. I have set up a few vehicles to be towed with the Remco pump and they work fairly well, however, with most vehicles they have speed restrictions and say to stop every 100 miles or so and start the engine and run the transmission through the gears and then shut off and your on your way.
Then you have the loading/unloading time of a car on a dolly vs. 4-down. We have some friends that we travel with once in a while and they use a dolly. It is a lot more work/inconvenience than flat towing. When we hit a pullout and want to go do some siteseeing or pull into a parking lot and want to take a small detour and see the sites we can have our Jeep unhooked in a matter of about 2-3 minutes and we are off. We were traveling past Devil's Tower last year and decided we wanted to stop because it had been a few years. Just outside the park is a large grassy area. We parked the coach there and unhooked the Jeep to drive the last mile or two into the visitor's center and then back out hooked up and were on our way. Our friends didn't want to unload their car from the dolly so they crammed into our Jeep with us because he said it was too big of a pain to hook/unhook for just a few minutes worth of driving.
We also have hauled our Jeep in our enclosed trailer from time to time depending on if we are bringing any other toys or what our trip consists of. I love towing the trailer however, it can be difficult to park at some campgrounds due to length. There have been more than a few times I have had to drop the trailer at an overflow area before being able to pull into our campsite. This isn't a big deal if staying for several days but it is an inconvenience if just camping for one night and then leaving early the next morning.
If you are looking for something to tow seeing as how you got such a great deal on the coach, then I would recommend about any of the Jeep products as they are fairly easy to set up and tow great. If you don't do any 'off-road' excursions then the Saturn's are fairly easy to set up and tow very well also. Mike.
Mike & Chrystal (F315002)
2003 Monaco Dynasty/ 26' Haulmark Edge trailer
1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee toad
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pfunk
Shelby Township, MI
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CONGRATS, we are going to tow with a dolly for the reasons of setup of a new vehical is nill with FWD, cost is cheap, can use it behind my truck if I ever need to, did I say cheap (1500 new) compared to 3500 properly set up 4 down modding the vehical myself and you MOD your vehical drilling holes and cutting fascia's is not what I want to do to the wifes minivan
2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor
300 Cat 6spd Ally
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Big Katuna
Deland, FL
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Joined: 12/27/2003
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pfunk wrote:CONGRATS, we are going to tow with a dolly for the reasons of setup of a new vehical is nill with FWD, cost is cheap, can use it behind my truck if I ever need to, did I say cheap (1500 new) compared to 3500 properly set up 4 down modding the vehical myself and you MOD your vehical drilling holes and cutting fascia's is not what I want to do to the wifes minivan
Granted, if your vehicle can't be flat towed without a trans pump, etc it costs more. But for our Honda CRV, it was $325 for a baseplate and $700 for a Ready Brute self-locking tow bar with built-in surge brakes. Another $40 for lights. A little over $1K and only $300 or so to change vehicles. Baseplate mounted in two hours with two holes drilled.
My Kharma ran over my Dogma.
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texasbaskets
Frisco, TX
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Joined: 10/06/2003
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Hjudge49 wrote:I've done both, and although I agree with the 4 down contingent, you already have a car. Easiest and cheapest fix right now is to get a tow dolly, use it until you replace the car, then get one you can tow flat. Make sure you getr electric brakes on the dolly, you should have excellent resale when you are finished with it.
I've done both and I agree with that as well. A good used tow dolly with brakes will sell quickly, and replacing a good car just to tow 4 down doesn't make sense to me.  
Congrats on the MH too.
Michael, Kay, Hans (our Mini-Schnauzer co-pilot) and Prissy (Hans' Malti-Poo co-pilot)
'05 Coachmen SportsCoach SE 372DS a.k.a. "Mana's Cabana"
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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I have used a tow dolly.
I have towed four down.
Now, I have a flatbed trailer.
Why a trailer? I'm SO very glad you asked!
Well, for starters, there is no discussion or argument or added expense for brakes. Both axles have electric brakes, AND a functional breakaway system.
Then there is backing. It is NOT recommended to attempt to back a dolly or a four down hitch. A trailer can be backed anytime, anywhere, for any distance, even around corners, limited only by the skill of the driver. Practice increases skill.
Then there is versatility. I can take ANY vehicle, up to the size and weight limits of the trailer, with NO added expense. Just load it up, tie it down, and go. No wiring, no lights to hook up, no base plate to buy, no disconnects or pumps.
I also have the trailer available for other purposes, like hauling rocks, or hay, or antique farm equipment to be used as "yard art", or project vehicles, or "stuff" (lumber, fencing, gates, etc.) that is too long for the truck, all that there stuff.
There are advantages and disadvantages to every method of taking a vehicle along. You (the OP) now have a car that can be dolly towed, or trailer towed, but not four down. With a little searching, you can probably find a good used dolly, WITH BRAKES, for $1000, more or less. Just my opinion, of course, but I would ignore the naysayers, and go for it.
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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bingoldsby
Oregon State Parks - somewhere
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Go buy yourself a Mazda Miata and enjoy it in every way imaginable, including the ability to tow it 4 down with no modifications what-so-ever. Roadmaster makes the hardware specifically for it.
It is a very lightweight car which has a reputation of being one of the most reliable cars on the road - ever. Mine has been behind me for many thousand trouble-free miles, and I love it.
Brian K7ZRZ
Campgrounding hosting - Oregon State Parks
1987 30' Holiday Rambler Class A
GL1800 Goldwing - Honda Scooter Mounted
2000 Silver Miata LS Toad
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RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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Tow dolly is the worst thing you can get. If you go to any private parks, it is hard to find a spot for the tow dolly. I used to have one and I lost the vehicle. Good thing I was coming to a stop sign when the tow vehicle went past me. I prefer the four down. It is so much better, that I highly recommend four down.
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JohnnyT
Goshen New York
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Joined: 07/15/2003
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Moved from class A forum
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