Dinghy or Dolly?

We just bought a very nice 2002 Winnebago Adventurer 35U.  Due to some rotten weather we have not yet taken possession but I am trying to do research on how best to tow a small vehicle with us.  We have a 2012 Chevy Cruze, auto trans, less than 7000 miles and we are considering buying it when the lease ends in May because of the condition and low miles.  But research shows it is not a dinghy vehicle and must be dolly towed if we keep it.  So this morning I get all wrapped around the axle doing online research on dinghy vs dolly towing and which vehicles are suitable for each method (or not suitable as the case may be).  The Winnie has been towing since it was new so that is not a problem and the owner says he will throw in a tow bar (not sure of brand) but I know he has towed a Malibu.  If we should let the Cruze go and get something like a Sonic with auto trans, the charts all say the 1.8 L version is dinghy towable but I am wondering about the expense of all the wiring, tow bracket for the car, tow bar (if the freebie is not suitable), and most importantly, the braking system and extra lighting.  It just seems that a one time expense on a dolly with brakes would only necessitate some extra lighting and avoid the tow bar, bracket and portable brake system.  Your thoughts and considerations would be appreciated.

I saved a lot of money buy purchasing most all of my towing equipment on Ebay. Got a good Blue Oxe towbar, a baseplate that fits our Honda CRV, and finally a Brake Buddy supplemental braking system, I figure I saved over a thousand dollars this way. Have a look on Ebay

Bill

Thanks for the reply Bill.  eBay was going to be my next stop. Have checked out the local Craigslist but not much action there at this time.  The CRV (used) was also on my list as it showed up in the Dinghy Towing list as a good candidate and I think it would be more comfortable than the Sonic.

I  checked Remco (Google Remco Towing, or Click here

For the trim package I picked, and I assume all the other ones as well a 2012 Chevy Cruze six speed auto trans needs a lube pump (About 1500 dollars installed more or less depending on a few things) in order to tow it 4 down.

That plus 500 for the base plate and I bought the tow bars I use in 2005 so I have no clue what they cost. 

V/s the cost of the dolly.

But with the dolly you have to stow the blang thing, Hook up and unhook is harder, and .. Well it's a lot more "Hassle".

The decision is yours.

A dolly with brakes isn't cheap either, but the dolly is still cheaper than base plates plus a brake unit unless you find a used one. Hard to beat the convenience of 4-down towing, though.

Everyone to their own desires, but I borrowed a dolly years ago for a trip, I was intending to buy it.
I was so happy to return it and if I had to use it would turn one down as a gift. I find them awkward to load, store and use and not, to me, worth whatever savings.

I am sure there are others who feel the opposite as strongly

As expected there are definitely two sides to this coin.  I spent a lot of the afternoon surfing the web looking at mostly dinghy equipment and developing a large case of sticker shock.  Keep in mind the last tow bar I had was one a neighbor and I welded up out of angle iron and used to haul a 65 Ford Pickup behind a 71 Ford LTD wagon from California to South Dakota.  Total cost of that was $25 plus a six pack of beer for the neighbor.  But things are more complicated (and expensive) today.  I did find a near new Master Tow dolly on the local Craiglist for just over a grand and it has brakes and is the heavy duty model. The seller said he used it once to haul his car to the Gulf Coast where he wintered but really found not much need for the car and used bikes instead.  The website for Master Tow shows this model to look like a pretty substantial unit and very reasonably priced (several other new ones on eBay).  But too early for me to commit yet as the snow has just melted and there is probably more to come.

Sorry - I quoted John but hit post without putting in the message.  Checked the Cruze manual and call the local Chevy dealer and both say - NEIN to towing an automatic 2012 Cruse four down.  I can do it they say but forget the warranty.  Have no doubt the lube pump will work John but I really like the warranty too.  But then if we turn the Cruse in on the lease and get a Sonic, four down becomes an option again - but, from what I can find, a more expensive albeit much more convenient one.

Use a dolly to begin, switch to flat tow when you find a keeper. People are always buying and selling dollies, around here anyway.

Bill

Thanks all for some great inputs.  Here is what we decided after a lot of looking and long discussion.  This year we have plans for 6 trips - all to destinations such as our kids homes or to very local campgrounds (Branson, Mo) for a test hop.  Only at two places would we need a car that the kids could not provide and each of those has an Enterprise Rental Car outlet so that would be our solution there.  This would give us a full year to make a lot of miles without dragging the car and learn a lot about just handling the motorhome itself.  We can also avoid an expense of up to 3K or more while we take a longer look at the need.  Also give us a great chance to talk to fellow travelers who are towing both with dollies and dinghys.  So for now, it will be a matter of renting where needed and borrowing everywhere else.  At Branson, the wife can just drive the car down (30 miles) and we can still give a good wringout to the RV for a couple of days (and enjoy the area entertainment).  Great Forum and thanks to all who responded.  Believe me, your comments were all considered and filed in our head for future reference.

The warranty thing isn't as clear cut as the dealer and GM people would like you to believe. Adding a lube pump doesn't violate the transmission warranty, and has zero effect on any other component warranty. That's the law, whether GM likes it or not. The sticky part comes if you have a transmission failure after towing with the lube pump in place. Odds are the dealer and Chevy's first reaction would be "no warranty", but they are legally prohibited from saying that without citing some evidence that the lube pump had failed to provide protection that made it safe to tow. Of course, they have a fleet of engineers and lawyers to argue their side, so you may die of old age before actually getting warranty reimbursement.  The lube pump company (Remco?) would probably come in on your side (their continued business is at stake), though. They might even cover the cost of repairs if Chevy did not eventually do so.

Chevy is on record as refusing to agree that a lube pump makes for safe towing, but the only reason I have seen stated is that the pump could fail. They seem to stop short of saying the pump isn't adequate, probably because they don't want to get sued by Remco.

You could also try renting a tow dolly for a shorter trip to see how you like it.I tow 4 down and it works great. Didn't the Cruise originally come out as 4 down safe to tow?

My wife and I are getting ready to pull the trigger on a new motor home, and we currently own a 2005 Jeep Wrangler that we used as a towed on our previous Fleetwood Bounder 33U. Although I will have the wiring part of the SMI Braking System done to the MH, we too are thinking of leaving the toad at home for our trip to Oregon, where we can rent a compact car for a reasonable amount. One less thing to worry about on an 1,800 mile round trip.

Gary makes good points about the lube pump and it's effectiveness despite what Chevy says but I think if I am going to dinghy tow, I will just go to a 4 down vehicle like the Sonic instead of investing another $1500 plus the normal expenses of making a vehicle tow ready as a dinghy.  You could easily wind up putting up over 4 grand to do that and I am not that in love with the Cruze.

I would not tow the Cruze I have seen the effects of 4 down towing of the auto Cruze did not go well and cost the owner a Transmission after only 1200 miles of towing.  Good thing he had in writing from a mis informed sales manager that it was flat towable when he purchased. You can learn from my experiences

1st Toad VW bug on Dolly  First time out slipped while loading and scratched side. After finally getting it loaded on dolly 10 mins down road in camera I see the headlight assembly dragging under dolly from camera.  Turns out Assembly got knocked loose when I hit side on dolly.  $800.00 stupid tax and Car sold and dolly sold it was a PIA.

2nd Toad 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited this was easy to hook up with tow bar and unified brake system but was a heavy load on the Motor home and cut mileage down and besides DW hated the ride in the Jeep (Rule one Keep wife happy )

3rd Toad 2011 Chevy Malibu  this was nice but hated the speed restriction of 65 mph was always worried when going down hills and speed creeped up  and after 10k miles Tranny fluid looked burnt and seal was leaking. 

4th Toad 2013 Kia Soul with Manual Trans  best tow I have had light don't even know its back there and it has more room than the Malibu and no speed restriction and it was inexpensive. 

Moral get what you want first time set it up 4 down and Take it everywhere you go.  No one ever said owning a motorhome was going to be cheap 
 

I am currently using the LP-1 Lube pump on a 2001 Neon.. I will state,, I am not actually a fan of that pump either.. Though they do make it very hard, ALMOST impossible in fact, for a failure to not be detected and alarmed to the motor home driver..  I have heard of it happening. (I suspect they have improved things since).

But that said.... When you find a car you like and are considering, go to the link I gave above, do the drop down's and find out what is needed to tow it... You get the following options.

Just the basic tow stuff (Bast plate, arms, brakes, lights)

LP-q
Axle lock
Drive shaft disconnect

GO for an option 1  Example.. MOST Jeeps with manual transfer case (Tranny van be auto or manual, but the transfer case must be manual, no full time 4WD)  can bet towed with just the basics.

Many other vehicles can as well.

With our 24 foot motor home, we have traveled both with and without a 4-wheel-down tow vehicle, for two to four weeks at a time.  Each has it's own advantage and disadvantage pending planned activities.  Given our destinations are public lands like NPs, NMs, BLMs, etc. there isn't much space to work with at camp sites & other park areas.  I can't imagine dealing with a tow dolly or worse yet a trailer, and very rarely see others doing so in such places.

If such places are heavy in your plans, I'd stay away from a tow dolly or trailer regardless of cost.  Invest to make it work right for you and have no regrets.

I went thru your same decision process. Please do yourself a favor. This is only one person's experience, so here goes: I bought a new Ford Focus. The owners manual tells you how to tow it-four down. It's an automatic and requires no transmission lube pump. I bought the Roadmaster all Terrain tow bar (fantastic). Read about it on the internet. Got the base plate and diode kit put in by Camping World. It's really soooo easy to hook up and unhook you won't believe it. Then I bought the RVi 2 brake system. It installs and uninstalls within a minute or two. It uses the car battery to operate and brakes proportionately. Watch the video at their website. The diode kit that works with the Roadmaster tow system can be bought as part of the kit. Your brake lights and turn signals work off of the RV's plug in. Since you'll have diodes you won't need any light kit at all. The diode kit operates your car's lights. Great so far. The big bite is adding up the cost. Total for Roadmaster, base plate install, and the RVi 2 brake is going to be around $3K!!! I know that sounds like a big hit. If you can install the base plate and diodes you'll save over $500. Shop around for the RVi 2 brake and you can save another $200. RVi brake also just came out with toad tire pressure monitors if you want them. I've had to stop quickly a couple of times and I'm convinced the RVi brake prevented accidents. I'm a believer in you most always get what you pay for---I learned the HARD WAY; I'm 67 years old. My brother has a GOOD dolly and after seeing his solution compared to mine, the decision is easy. Dollies are okay for some people but not my bad back. Horseing them around is difficult, especially sticking your head and shoulders unders the fender wells to put the straps on. Your decision will impact your RVing experience in a big way. With a little research and asking some questions I'm so glad I went the way I did. Best wishes; I'm a happy camper and hope you will be also

This topic continues to be a good learning experience for me and I hope for some others wrestling with the decision.  As stated above, I have put off the decision for a year and intend to gather more info in the meantime but some of the posts here are very detailed and fact based and provide me and others with some good foundation to consider.  I posted on another board that I had talked to an accessory store owner who warned me that it is possible to deploy air bags with an improper braking setup for a toad (or dolly?).  Have never seen any posts on that but it's just another input to consider or reject.  I did learn that Camping World usually has some great specials in the month of January regarding installations so that is a factor to consider too.  The same store owner stated that he would not handle the Master Tow dolly with electric brakes - only surge brakes - not for any safety reason but because the surge brakes eliminate the controller.  Years (decades) ago I worked in an RV shop and we installed hitches and brakes and boy was that a crude setup.  Each hitch had to be fitted individually to the vehicle with a lot of welding and the brakes controllers functioned okay but required a cut into the hydraulic lines which usually resulted  in a lot of brake warning light problems requiring bleeding, etc.  Much better (and more expensive) systems now.