need 4 wheels down vehicle recommendation

New member and wanted to say hi to all.  Had 5th wheel for several years, but my wife and I just purchased our first motorhome.  Think I have her convinced to give up her little front wheel drive convertible so that we can tow 4 wheels down.  Now I have to start my research for a good vehicle that fits the bill.  FYI, the motorhome is 40' with 400HP Cummings diesel.  Any suggestions or opinions will be appreciated!

You first need to figure out what sort of vehicle you prefer, e.g. a sedan or SUV, large or small, etc.  And also what your coach's tow weight limit is, e.g. 30,, lbs, 5000 lbs, 10,000 etc. Then you can hunt through the Dinghy Towing Guides for vehicles that will suit your wants & needs. Motorhome Magazine (Good Sam) publishes one annually, as does the FMCA (available to FMCA members only).

http://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/

Ford's annual Towing Guide also includes info on towing Ford vehicles as dinghies.

Remco Towing has a look-up service on their website that gives the towability status of most any vehicle, and that can be helpful in verifying that what you are considering is indeed towable.
http://www.remcotowing.com/vehicles

If none of those suit, many vehicles can be modified to make them towable (that's Remco's business, for example). It's not inexpensive, though, usually well over $1000.

You can also tow a front drive vehicle on a tow dolly, e.g. one like this:
https://www.mastertow.com/towdollies
It's not as convenient as 4-down towing, but usually less expensive and handles many common vehicles.

Thanks for your reply Gary...I'm sure the links you provided will be very helpful.  Our tow limit is 10,000 lbs.  Looking for something about the size of Jeep Grand Cherokee or 1/4 ton pickup, and something that does not have a towing speed restriction or requirement to stop periodically to crank the engine and circulate fluids.  Thank you again for your advice!

What we have done is get a car-dolly for our Chevy AVEO's front wheels to sit on & tow it on it's rear wheels that are only bearing & shaft...
Most all newer vehicles can NOT be towed for long distances like a trip.  Nissan told me that I could not toe this 2014 Frontier PU on all 4 or put the front wheels in a dolly for towing.....  with out dropping the drive shaft...  I would have thought a standard 5 speed/manual transmission, I would have been able. 
Anyway you tow an vehicle, all 4 or 2 wheels down there are extra problems & extra work to do.  Be careful, contact a MFG-Dealer service before buying & ask.

Any "New" vehicle cannot be towed the way vehicles use to be towed; they've simply created too many parts that are integral to the "Start Engine"condition. Nowadays you simply cannot "hope" it'll be ok.

Older model Jeeps are perfect (70's & 80's). You shouldn't even entertain dragging the rear end on a rear wheel & all-wheel drive vehicle simply because you've disconnected the driveshaft. There are too many other parts that we don't know about that'll simply shred the differential & other parts.

Buy a trailer, why be cheap at this point, an ENCLOSED trailer. One painted to match the bus, adding inexpensive LED's all along the bottom; this will help you keep track of it in your mirrors at night making sure it doesn't start bouncing or take off on you into a jack-knife. Doing so enables you to buy any vehicle, tow it, and have it ready to go. Likewise insure your trailer & make sure you make it clear that it's transporting a vehicle, ergo although the vehicle is insured, you want maximum insurance on the trailer. If something happens everything is paid for.

The Chevy Equinox transmission was specifically designed for the vehicle to be flat towed and there is even a section in the owners manual for it  "Recreational Vehicle Towing" "Dinghy Towing".

Feed The Beagle said:

Buy a trailer, why be cheap at this point, an ENCLOSED trailer.

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This works for some, and looks great going down the highway, but there are things to think about. You'll now have 3 "vehicles" once you back the car out, and you absolutely are going to have issues at many campgrounds as to where you're going to park everything. Unless you always get pull-through sites, you'll have to use the motorhome to move the trailer to a parking area, then come back. (Or unhook motorhome, hook toad to trailer, move trailer to parking and unhook, then move toad back to campsite.) Even many pull-throughs aren't going to accommodate a 40' motorhome plus trailer plus car. Again, there are people this works for but when I considered a trailer I rejected it for this and many other reasons. I can hook/unhook the Jeep in about 5 min by myself and I'm done.

One thing some people like about a trailer is the ability to backup and turnaround just like any trailer. At best with a 4-down, you might be able to very carefully backup a very short distance in a straight line. (Some will say you can lock the steering wheel and treat your "toad" like a trailer - I'm queasy about the strain on towbar and other components so have never done this.)

After years of observation and reading discussions on this subject, I've come to the conclusion that both tow dollies and trailers can be a pain, not only in using them but then storing them in campground sites that are only large enough to handle an RV and a car with no room for a trailer or dolly.  Most of us think four-down towing is the easiest - which is why you see so many on the highways.

As to the type of toad, we've found that a four-wheel drive is more fun.  We happen to like our Jeep Grand Cherokee which rides more like a car, but others prefer a more trail-oriented 4WD.  Think about how you want to use it.  We enjoy "light" off-road trails while some of the group are "heavy-duty" off-roaders with Rubicons, TJs, etc.  Most sedan-style cars aren't suitable for off-road activities, including bad weather with snow or mud.  We like being able to explore an area without worrying about our car "bottoming out" or getting stuck in mud.  Also, do you like to have other people accompany you when going out to dinner or exploring?  If so, you'll want a four-door instead of a two-door.  A lot of the decision has to do with the level of comfort you want and how you plan to use it.

In any case, salespeople often know very little or nothing about towing a car and using it off-road, so be wary of salespeople who tell you "it" isn't a problem.  The most reliable resource is the car's manual and the information might be hard to pin down.  Sometimes it's under Recreational Towing.  If it's under Towing, it probably refers to the car doing the towing (such as pulling a boat), not the car being towed behind a motorhome.

ArdraF

Any "New" vehicle cannot be towed the way vehicles use to be towed;

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That's true of some, but not all. My 2015 Wrangler is even simpler to tow than my 2003 Wrangler was. Granted that there are now some Jeeps that cannot be flat towed, but many can. There are others (not Jeep), too, such as the "Chevy Equinox" mentioned above.

Buy a trailer, why be cheap at this point, an ENCLOSED trailer.

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I can't drive a trailer around, and I don't need to tow the extra few thousand pounds it would add. Many coaches don't even have the capacity to do that, not and put a car or SUV in it.

Three words: Jeep Grand Cherokee.

^^^^^What he said. We tow our 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it is simple and doesn't have to be started after so many miles and there is no speed restrictions. We only travel at around 60MPH. It is trail rated so it is quite capable of going off road maybe not serious rock crawling but I'm not into that anyway. I like going into the forests traveling forest service roads to see where they go. It is a capable rig for our usage.

Also Congrats on the new rig, enjoy it.

A Traveler said:

One word: Jeep.

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There.  Fixed it for you.  8)

Three words: Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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One word: Jeep.

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I have some sad news for you Jeepaholics: Not all Jeeps are towable. Not even all Grand Cherokees are towable. And perhaps you haven't heard of the Wrangler "death wobble" towing issue?

For example, the automatic Patriot and Compass models are NOT towable 4-down at all. Nor are Grand Cherokees that do not have the 4WD Quadra Track II driveline.

Sorry, but "just get a Jeep" is not good advice.

Looking for something about the size of Jeep Grand Cherokee or 1/4 ton pickup, and something that does not have a towing speed restriction or requirement to stop periodically to crank the engine and circulate fluids

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There are quite a few choices in that genre. A Grand Cherokee with the Quadratrac II 4WD should meet your needs. So will the GM mid-size SUVs (GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse), or the smaller GMC Terain & Chevy Equinox.  Ford Explorer or Edge  or C-Max as well.

No need to be concerned about speed restrictions if 65 or more, since you really shouldn't be driving the coach & toad faster than that anyway. Most modern vehicles will state some restriction, e.g. run the engine at a fuel stop, but you probably only make fuel stops every few days anyway. Any automatic transmission vehicle is vulnerable to heat build-up under extreme conditions, so most now include some CYA restriction to cover that possibility. That's more a reflection of increasing awareness of towing issues by the engineers than of a change in transmissions.

Also, many (most?) newer vehicles will require a fuse pull or battery disconnect while towing. That is a result of the ever-increasing use of electronic controls and computers in newer vehicles.  Installing a switch on the fuse line makes that a simple task. You can make your own fuse switch, or buy a commercially-made switch harness. Here is one such:
https://www.rv-partsplus.com/rving-fuseswitch

4WD Quadra Track II

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Definitely!  Required for Jeep Grand Cherokee towing four down.

ArdraF

Gary RVer Emeritus said:

I have some sad news for you Jeepaholics: Not all Jeeps are towable. Not even all Grand Cherokees are towable. And perhaps you haven't heard of the Wrangler "death wobble" towing issue?

For example, the automatic Patriot and Compass models are NOT towable 4-down at all. Nor are Grand Cherokees that do not have the 4WD Quadra Track II driveline.

Sorry, but "just get a Jeep" is not good advice.

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I'll modify that the "just get a Wrangler".  All Wranglers are towable 4 down and don't require anything other than putting the transfer case in neutral.  I've towed the TJ, and now a JK - simplest out there and very common, so there are a lot of choices for base plates, lighting harnesses, auxiliary brakes, etc.

My first choice is my Jeep Grand Cherokee with Quadratrac II because of driving comfort but we also have a 2014 Honda CRV which tows nice but requires it to go through a procedure each day before towing which is really pretty simple. 2014 was the last year for the CRV to be towable 4 down. I like the Grand Cherokee because it is much easier on my back when driving long distances and only needs the transfer case be put in neutral to tow.

I tow either a 2012 Grand Cherokee or a 2005 Jeep Wrangler, depending on whether DW thinks we need to take people with us at our destination. Both tow very well, though the Wrangler (changed after 2005) does require the key in the column to unlock the steering wheel. Tow set up cost for them was about equal.

When I bought our Grand Cherokee I made sure the it had the Quadratrac II.

Just put the trans in neutral and push a small object down on the Neutral button. It shifts the transfer case into neutral. Then just push the button to shut off the rig. Mine is a push to start so that is the reason for the push the button.  This puts my transmission in Park where it is supposed to be for towing. I don't need to leave the ignition on because the steering does not lock. In my center console I have a 12VDC plug that is hot when the key is off so this takes care of my power needs for my IRV2 supplemental brake setup.

Just a few minutes to set it up to tow.

I sympathize with your frustration.  We would like to keep to two vehicles plus the RV.  One us already AWD so that one is out.

We are replacing the second one and would like a new Pathfinder.  We would have to dolly and Front WD to make it work (I assume that would work) but with the Pathfinder over 4000 pounds (around 4300) plus dolly weight (around 450) plus with it packed and I am guessing curb weight doesn't include fuel we may be over 5000 pounds which is our tow limit.

Very frustrating to have the tail wag the dog when purchasing a vehicle.  We would rather have an AWD Pathfinder.  And no way am I adding an enclosed trailer for the previous posts reasons -cost, weight, complexity, etc.

It would be neat if some dolly manufacturer figured out a safe way to get all four off the road easily and safely for long distances.