Toad shopping

RVMommaTo6 said:

IB, I was looking at 2010 Journeys through 2014 but I don't have to stick to those parameters.

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I think the Journey is a good option for you unless it won't work as a toad. It is a good kid hauler, gets decent gas mileage for a crossover, and has a decent amount of horsepower for merging onto interstates and passing slow pokes. Looks like you've done your research.

I really appreciate all the information. I have to sleep on it.

While pondering whether to tow 4 down or not another towbar/ brake system to consider is a ReadBrute Elite towbar. A few here use them and really like'em.

If you go 4 down, there is no reason tn to buy a Journey that requires a $600 lube pump. There are plenty of cars that don't require one.

Ernie

How many will be traveling in the Journey when used? A Mom and 6 will be very tight, my 2017 will seat only 4 comfortably!! You need a Grand Caravan for that gang!!!

My thoughts for pondering.  If definitely towing with dolly, consider a Grand Caravan.  FWD, and has the stow n go seating.  We have one and love it.  However, what is your RV rated for towing?  typically for a gas A 5000 lbs.  The tow dolly adds about 4-600 lbs. 

I do not tow mine, I tow a car that can be flat towed, although we kind of miss having our van with us. 

Buying used, check with the local RV dealers, they often take in cars in trade that are set up for flat towing, make a friend in sales to keep an eye out for you, offer a finders fee.  Watch local ads.  My toad I found on Craigslist and was all set up.  Also watch eBay or local for a brake buddy type system,,  easy to use, no mechanic needed. 

If you find a car you like that fits your needs, but no baseplate, decide whether or not you want to make the investment in one.  Install should be done by pro, it is quite involved.  I work as a tech in a dealership and have watched the job.  Some cars can take a full day.  This is why I suggest getting a car with it installed.  (dealerships usually wholesale the cars out, they aren't in car sales business, but will sell if you can get that in with someone. 

4 down is so much easier than dolly.  I work mainly in new owner instruction and one of my customers just bought a dolly.  Nice one, but he could not move it.  On pavement, not bad but in gravel just about impossible.  You would ned to carry along a dolly-dolly.  A wheeled device so you don't have to lift the tongue by hand. 

The issue of where do you store the dolly when you get to destination, where do you put it.  Some places you have to store off your RV site, some you can keep it with you.  If you do go the route of a dolly, be sure to set the car up for towing so you can move it around.

Brakes on the dolly, there are surge, where the weight of the dolly pushing against the hitch as the rv brakes, will apply braking to the dolly, and there is electric brakes, requiring wiring in a controller on the dash of RV.  These run about $100 - $200 plus install.

Used units are out there, make sure to check tires and overall condition, especially the straps.  Plus check straps after a few miles of deriving, they almost always will loosen up a little, and check every 100-200 miles as well.

Good luck in your search.

My head is spinning! I just don't know what to do. I really didn't want to spend the money on the towing equipment for 4 down just to use it for 10 months. I guess I could always sell the Journey afterward and rebuy one without the tow package. If this were something I would be doing long term, I would do it in a heartbeat. But that's so expensive for just a 10 month trip.

As for the journey or a caravan, the Journeys I'm looking at are 7 seaters. I chose it due a combination of weight, seating capacity, gas mileage, and life expectancy. I'll look to compare the van to the Journey and see if they're comparable. I really was hoping for as small as possible because my plan was to keep it as a second vehicle (actually third) after the trip.

The cost is a big factor for just a year of use. A good tow dolly is cheaper upfront vs 4-down and it can be resold more easily than the full set of 4-down gear. A tow bar and portable brake unit are an easy resale, but the base plates and lighting stuff is essentially a write-off.  A 16 YO boy should be able to manage the dolly load/unload well enough as long as Mom can convince him to be rigorous about the procedures.  A mistake or shortcut could lead to an expensive or dangerous event!  I think the tow dolly is viable for your needs, but the load & unload is enough of a chore to be termed a pain for an overnight stop or a quick run to the grocery store.

The more frequently you move to a new site (load & unload), the more you appreciate 4-down, so that's a major parameter.  There are inexpensive, A-frame  type tow bars, but they lose more than a little of the convenience advantage, so I'm going to restrict my thoughts to the RV-mount type that stays on the motorhome.  This article gives  brief but comprehensive overview of what is needed.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-towing-a-vehicle-overview.aspx


IF you can find a used RV-mount tow bar and a portable brake (Brake Buddy, RVI, etc), then the additional cost for 4-down is the cost of the base plates (the car adapter to connect the tow bar) and the toad light wiring, probably about $600 or so.  You should be able to get a nice tow bar and brake unit for about the same cost as a decent used dolly ($800-$1000). Used dollies are fairly common, though, while used 4-down equipment is rarer and gets snapped up quickly when it comes on the market.  An all-new 4-down towing system is probably more than you can cost justify for a limited time use.

Here are a few tow bars on Ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/bhp/tow-bar

" I guess I could always sell the Journey afterward and rebuy one without the tow package."


No need to do that, just keep driving it. The tow package doesn't hurt anything. Besides you are going to be thoroughly hooked on RVing and will need all the stuff you've purchased.

RVing is worse than drugs. 

Arch Hoagland said:

"
No need to do that, just keep driving it. The tow package doesn't hurt anything. Besides you are going to be thoroughly hooked on RVing and will need all the stuff you've purchased.

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My point is that if it's more valuable for having the tow package, I would rather sell it and buy another equal car for $3,000 less, therefore getting the money back for the tow package. I just think that's an absurd amount of money to spend for a 10 month trip.

I already know I'll want to keep it but I can't Radford to do that, I took everything out of my savings account to buy it for this trip. I'll be selling it after the trip to replenish my savings. We actually have 2 other RVs as well, a TT and a pop up.

The tow gear on the vehicle is rarely more than $400 or so new, and adds little or nothing to be value of the used vehicle. Some potential buyers would consider it a negative (it was towed!), so some dealers may actually downgrade the price a bit.
If you know of another RVer who needs a toad, they might buy the whole package from you, car, tow bar and brake unit, but that is probably no more money in your pocket that selling piecemeal. Maybe quicker, though.

Do you trust your son to load and unload the toad correctly?  If so, offer him $500 for taking care of the toad and tow dolly for the trip.

After your trip, the car will be worth the same amount with or without the lube pump, base plate, etc, unless you get VERY lucky and find someone looking for a 4 down toad.

My son was highly motivated by some extra cash.  When was about 10, he had a very loose tooth that refused to come out and was blocking the new one from emerging.  Dentist said in one week,  she would pull it - for $25.  We offered Steve $10 if that was not needed.  2 hours later, he came into the family room holding the tooth in his hand.

When we installed the pool, (he was 14) we also needed a deck.  It needed 14 post holes.  It cost $40 to rent power post hole digger.  I asked him if he would dig them for $40.  He asked where I wanted them.  We measured and marked the locations, and 1 ? days later, I had 14 smartly dug holes.

Amanda, you can get a tow dolly to lift front wheels off the ground that has electric brakes on the wheels for about $1,560 plus shipping/tax.  That is the way I'd go.  https://cosprings.craigslist.org/fod/d/brighton-new-2018-tow-dolly-stehl-tow/6792748056.html is a weblink for an example.


I would not tow without some type of brakes on the trailer either electric (my fav) or hydraulic.  THe cost and complexity of flat towing aren't worth it for your trip and desire to recoup some of your life savings.

I had a tow dolly that I wished I had never sold.  It sold on craigslist in a day when I decided to get rid of it.  Make sure if you buy a used dolly that you get a title or manufactuer statement of origin as some states may require you to register and plate the dolly while others don't.

Don't forget to get a rear camera so you can check on things back there when towing.  I met someone who had a huge diesel pusher that was flat towing his Jeep and a tire blowout didn't get noticed until a the vehicle was nearly totalled from the damage-front wheel blew and I think the wheel or axle also failed.

Another tip if you tow with front wheels up, don't forget to unlatch your parking brake ;-)

With your situation a dolly may be the better option financially.  I agree about the electric brakes vs. surge, but realize you hacve to also add in the controller on the motorhome.  You should already have a rear camera on the ACE.  I will say though, you can see it is there, but I had a flat on my toad (4-down), couldn't tell by driving and couldn't tell casually, a trucker directed my attention. 

Pay attention to motorists pointing backwards.

Watch Craigslist, and also make mention where you bought your motorhome, some dealers take dollies in trade and wholesale them out.  Do this now, and keep an eye out for one.  Try  not to buy a new one.

You will get most of your money back after a year on a used, about half on a new.

If your current vehicle is capable of towing, rent a tow dolly and rent or borrow a car to hook up.  You really do not need to pull it.  Wait for bad weather and have your 16 year old hook the car up then unhook the car.  I had to use a tow dolly in bad weather once, which is why I now tow four down. 

I sooo appreciate everyone's advice, seriously, all of it. Here's the new plan; I showed 2 of the kids, they'll be 16 and 17 on the trip, a video of someone hooking up to a tow dolly and reminded them that it will sometimes be raining or cold or windy and offered them $20 a month each if they shared the job of taking care of that. I explained that this will be above and beyond their other chore (each kid has a chore for the road, the 16 year old will be hooking and unhooking sewer/ dumping, the 17 year old will be pumping gas)

Just curious,  Have you looked into buying something that is already setup to tow 4 down?
In my latest Family RVing magazine there is a section labeled "Towed Vehicles"

There is a 2009 Chrysler T&C That is listed as Ready to tow for $7500.  That's just an example.

That would save all the work of getting a vehicle ready to tow and then having to sell it's parts later.

Just a thought for you.  Is you head still swimming?  ;D

That actually never crossed my mind. I will look, however, i won't expect much because not only would have to be 1- set up for 4 down towing, but also 2- in my price range and 3- a 7 seater or more. I think being a 7+ seater is going to be the issue. But I will certainly look! You never know!

RVMommaTo6 said:

My point is that if it's more valuable for having the tow package, I would rather sell it and buy another equal car for $3,000 less, therefore getting the money back for the tow package. I just think that's an absurd amount of money to spend for a 10 month trip.

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Don't assume you can get much back for the tow package when you sell.  If you're lucky there will be an RVer in the vicinity who is interested but if you trade it in at a dealership the first thing they're going to do is remove the baseplate and all evidence that the vehicle had been towed.  Think about it, would you be interested in a used car if you knew that it had been towed for possibly thousands of miles that don't show on the odometer? 

After we traded our Malibu to purchase our CR-V we happened to see our car on the used car lot a few weeks later.  All traces of the towing package and the hitch receiver we had installed to hold our bike rack were gone.  No buyer would ever suspect that it had been towed ~25,000 miles

Not to be a mean person but if you are planning on reselling the journey it may take awhile since they aren't popular on the list..a Used Grand Cherokee may be a better choice.