What is best for towing, tow bar, tow dolly, or trailer

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Ned:

you are absolutely right as far as FWD vehicles are concerned, just dis-engage the transfer case and off you go.  It was not my intent to include those.  I was merely refering to front wheel drive automatic vehicles.  On those my opinion is the same.

As far as wheel bearings are concerned also same idea, your going to have the same wear and tear.  My whole aim was at TRANSMISSIONS.  Regardlees of whether or not a blown tranny has ever or never happend to any of you 4 downers, none of you can argue that the potential is there, it is just a case of when.  I choose not to wait for when, I choose to bypass the when.  You guys choose to tempt fate.  That is your perrogative.  Ain't America wonderfull????  We all have choices.  You have yours and I have mine.  The OP was asking, if I am correct, for just that, peoples opinions.  You have given yours and I have given mine.  Now he has all of the info he needs to make his own informed choice based on this info.  Mission Accomplished.

ALK 
 
Of all the things I worry about Al, blowing the transmission isn't in the top 10. But you're right, the possibility is there. I spent 31 years of my working life crawling into burning buildings, wrecked vehicles and going to sick peoples houses because they thought they were too sick to take themselves. I ain't afraid of the transmission blowing up. I am afraid of straining my back trying to move a tow dolly or trailer, it's scary.

I just hope neither of us finds out the other is right.  :)

Ken
 
That Honda Accord we towed for 70,000 miles was a front wheel drive automatic.  Many, many Accords have been towed for millions of miles with no transmission problems.  Giving an opinion is fine but being alarmist over a virtually non-existent problem is not.
 
One poster mentioned a benefit of trailer being that you can back it: is that also the case for a dolly or is a dolly just as "unbackable" as a 4-down tow.

(No intent to hijack this thread, but I thought it fit the discussion -- which I am similarly interest in as I consider my toad options  :)  ).
 
There are many discussions about backing while towing 4 down vs. dolly towing,  a search of the forum will reveal many of them.
 
Ironically, the only thread that comes up when I search any combination of "dolly" and "reverse, back up, back or backing" is this one.

But thanks for pointing out the search function. ;)
 
There are two search functions.  If you used the one in the upper right then it would only search within this topic (what some call this thread).  That would explain why you found only this discussion.  The second search button is more on the left across the top, between the Help and Blog buttons.  This second one searches across the entire RV Forum unless you limit it to specific boards.

ArdraF
 
My money is in the Roadmaster all terrain tow bar, diodes for the toad. Bought system on-line and saved. Had camping world install system on the toad which is towed all four down. I'm totally satisfied. It's a 2 min job to hook up or unhook while level or not. I love it!
 
If you used the one in the upper right then it would only search within this topic ...
Click to expand...

Not necessarily; The Search box in the top right of the screen is context-sensitive. See this topic for an illustrated explanation of our Search functions.
 
There may be a little less wear on the toad using a dolly or trailer, but then you're trading that "wear" for the wear on the trailer or dolly which also have to be maintained. I'd rather just deal with the mechanics on the toad and not have to deal with the mechanics on the trailer or dolly personally.
 
My Ford Focus has a procedure in the owners manual to reposition the solienoides in the transmission so no transmission fluid circulation is necessary. After following the procedure you disconnect the negative battery cable. The all terrain tow bar by Roadmaster connects to the toad in one minute. Disconnects just as easy. No stress, sweat, or back pain. My wife can do it. The portion that remains on the toad is safe because it comes with two pad locks and you can leave the toad apparatus on as long as you wish. The RV tow bar piece folds up and locks in place. It can also the locked to the RV.  You can remove the car apparatus in 30 seconds and install in maybe 1 minute. I encourage you to check this out.  Ford quarantees the safety of the transmission and will replace it free if it fails. I've towed mine since Dec 2012 with zero problem. I love mine and won't have anything else. From my observation a dolly is a hassle, big to move around and store. However, if your toad can't be towed on all four and is front wheel drive, you have to use a dolly or trailer.  Best wishes.
 
I had a 1991 Honda that I drove over 90,000 miles and I towed 4 down for over 70,000 miles over an eight year period of time. I now have a 2003 Malibu with 82,000 miles on the odometer that I have towed 4 down for 80,000 miles. I am on my third set of tires and have had the front end aligned once.  And no you can not back up.

Frank 
 
Gary, I agree about the transmission pump. Referring only to the toad I have experience with, the Focus doesn't need a pump because of the procedure that moves internal transmission parts before you disconnect the battery. That prevents the transmission from resetting until the battery is reconnected on the Focus.
 
4 Down here as well. Roadmaster towmaster bar for a 96 jeep grand wagoneer. Transmission in park and transfer case in neutral (so NO transmission issues ) RVI wireless brake system, diodes in lighting system, It took a total of about 4-5 hours to install the whole system and it works like a CHAMP!!!!(it may take longer if you are not so mechanically inclined) Takes about two minutes to hook up the toad and the same to unhook. wouldn't even consider other options of hauling the toad!!!! Tow package online was about $1000.00 and the brakes were another. Not sure a tow dolly with brakes is that much cheaper and a dual axle trailer with brakes is most likely more.....  So in total for my toad ready to pull was $4500.00. That is the 96 Jeep ($2500) tow package (bar/plates/wiring $1000) and brake system ($1000) Seemed VERY reasonable to me. But hey, that's MY opinion. Good luck in your decision. :)
 
Three toads and all were four-down towing.  After watching people struggle trying to get their cars off both trailers and tow dollies when they were caked with mud or the straps were wet, we decided that was not for us.

ArdraF
 
Just bought a 2013 AWD Ford Edge today.  Why?  4 down towing, the only way to go!  ;D

Steve
 
Lots of good info here. I just want to say that you need to be wary of vehicle weight with a tow dolly. We are now using a trailer because of weight limitations on a tow dolly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 844 (members: 13, guests: 831)

Forum statistics

Threads
132,151
Posts
1,391,098
Members
137,872
Latest member
gregcss43
Back
Top Bottom