Toad vehicle recommendations Please...

[JollyJim]

Newly retired... got our first motorhome... love it! Now we want see the USA... but we want to tow a car and everyone tells me the Jeep wrangler is the ticket!
But what if we don't want a 4WD high clearance vehicle?
I'm aware not all cars can be towed 4 down. Looking for ideas

 

[Gizmo]

Others with more experience than myself will chime in. But a manual transmission vehicle is the most likely, but check the manufacturers to be sure. If you are in the market for a used and older vehicle, there are some that can be flat towed with auto transmission. This link may also be of interest and help Dinghy Towing Guides

 

[John From Detroit]

I will second ye old Stick shift. or better yet A jeep with a manual transfer case..

one of the Motor head magazines does a "Bang for the Buck" contest for cars. And they get all the fancy sports cars Corvette. Mustang and so on and you know who beats the bucks off them. JEEP. every time.. Most "BANG" and least bucks. (Bang = Fun) Though my Jeep is not a "FUN" jeep
(There are two kinds of jeep owners Mine is a "I don't care what shape the roads are in" the other is "Roads? Who needs Roads?" and those are a lot of fun. ) Still A jeep with a manual transfer case.

Mine also can not be towed.

 

[Laura & Charles]

If you’re looking for a used light SUV/CUV automatic:
We just got a ‘22 Ford Edge ST. It and the sister Lincoln model (Nautilus, former MKX) can be flat towed providing they have the 2.7 V6. We teplaced our 2014 Honda CR V with that. All automatic CR Vs can be flat towed up to and including 2014. That Honda replaced our 2009 Saturn Vue. (All those were flat towable until they quit making them.)
There are, of course, others… individual owners manuals will be the ultimate source of truth.

 

[Isaac-1]

It is hard to tell you ideas when we have no idea of your needs, budget, etc. We have 2 TOAD cars, my wife's 2017 Jeep Cherokee Overland edition that was bought new with the intention of being used as a TOAD, and a 2007 Toyota Yaris that was bought used about 3 years ago from the original owner, having spent its entire life being used as a TOAD for $2,600. I much prefer towing the Yaris, it is easy to connect, light (2,300 vs 4,300 pounds for the Cherokee), and is already pre-dented so I don't worry about pelting it with rocks while its being towed, is easy to tow, .... The Yaris is a basic no frills car (manual crank down windows, cloth manual seats, etc.) with manual transmission, almost an oversized go cart, gets 40 mpg, and is reasonably comfortable for 2 people. Works great for us as a grocery getter, and general tourist transport. The Jeep is the opposite, heated / ventilated seats, adaptive cruise control, and comfortable enough to take on a multi thousand mile trip, it also had an MSRP of $44,000.

With the way we travel rarely staying in one place for more than 4-5 days, I will tend to pick taking the Yaris almost every time. The reasons are it being lighter makes it much easier to tow, it is so light I have to keep the rear view camera on to know its back there, this is not the case with the Cherokee. It is also much quicker to connect and disconnect, leave the key in the off position, hook up the tow bar, drop in the braking system, put the gear shifter in neutral, and release the hand brake, compare this to the 5+ minute long button dance in the Jeep Cherokee to put the transfer case into neutral position, enable the EPS anti-death wobble mode, and release the electronic parking brake (which automatically re-engages if you do something like open the door), making setting into tow mode, or taking out of tow mode a full page check list. A version of which somone posted here https://rvlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/RVLOVE-JEEP-CHEROKEE-TRAILHAWK-TOWING-STEPS.pdf

Take a moment to compare leave key in off position, gear shift in neutral, release hand brake to the process in that PDF and I think you will see why I prefer towing the Yaris. If we were snowbirds staying put for weeks or months, I would probably feel differently between the two.

 

[jymbee]

Others with more experience than myself will chime in. But a manual transmission vehicle is the most likely, but check the manufacturers to be sure. If you are in the market for a used and older vehicle, there are some that can be flat towed with auto transmission. This link may also be of interest and help Dinghy Towing Guides

That Dinghy Towing Guide might be a good place to start, but last I checked it misses a lot.

 

[8Muddypaws]

It's a mistake to assume that a car or truck with a manual transmission is towable. Some have transmissions that overheat (a lot) when towed.

In my opinion these are the best sources. What Cars Can Be Flat-Towed? | Edmunds

10 Best Vehicles to Tow Behind an RV [2024 List]

Want to know the best vehicles to tow behind an RV? Our guide reveals reliable, practical tow vehicles that will give you the freedom and joy on the open road.

www.effortlessrving.com

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-best-vehicles-to-flat-tow-behind-rv.aspx

 

[zulu]

It's a Honda CRV for us. I think it has to be a pre-2014 model. Whatever you decide upon, make sure your RV is able to tow it (weight-wise).

 

[stripit]

I own and tow a 2015 Cadillac SRX, very easy to make towable as to what we do inside the vehicle. Has been behind 4 different rv's now and will probably keep till we quit rving. I would look for something used that has been towed to save money as it is fairly expensive to make anything tow ready. Let the last owner spend that money and you get a good car that is proven to be towable. Depending on what weights your going to be looking for to tow behind your rig will determin what to look for used.

 

[jymbee]

It's a mistake to assume that a car or truck with a manual transmission is towable. Some have transmissions that overheat (a lot) when towed.

In my opinion these are the best sources. What Cars Can Be Flat-Towed? | Edmunds

10 Best Vehicles to Tow Behind an RV [2024 List]

Want to know the best vehicles to tow behind an RV? Our guide reveals reliable, practical tow vehicles that will give you the freedom and joy on the open road.

www.effortlessrving.com

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-best-vehicles-to-flat-tow-behind-rv.aspx

Good point about manual transmission vehicles.

But while that Edmunds site has a lot of general info about towing I don't see any kind of list or search. Just says, "The best way to make sure a vehicle is suited to flat towing is to check the owner's manual."

Maybe I missed something?

 

[Laura & Charles]

I own and tow a 2015 Cadillac SRX, very easy to make towable as to what we do inside the vehicle. Has been behind 4 different rv's now and will probably keep till we quit rving. I would look for something used that has been towed to save money as it is fairly expensive to make anything tow ready. Let the last owner spend that money and you get a good car that is proven to be towable. Depending on what weights your going to be looking for to tow behind your rig will determin what to look for used.

@stripit is spot on! I’ve set up 3 toads so far. The first 2 were traded in at dealerships that I doubt recognized the value of the toad setup. As such, they would’ve been a bargain to a customer looking for a tow-ready toad. Depending on the system you go with, the cost of having it done will run $4-5 grand. Doing it yourself will shave significant $$s off those figures, but being done right makes me willing to have it professionally done.
There are Facebook groups specifically for putting buyers and sellers of toads together.

 

[Gizmo]

It's a mistake to assume that a car or truck with a manual transmission is towable. Some have transmissions that overheat (a lot) when towed.

In my opinion these are the best sources. What Cars Can Be Flat-Towed? | Edmunds

10 Best Vehicles to Tow Behind an RV [2024 List]

Want to know the best vehicles to tow behind an RV? Our guide reveals reliable, practical tow vehicles that will give you the freedom and joy on the open road.

www.effortlessrving.com

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-best-vehicles-to-flat-tow-behind-rv.aspx

Thanks for these links.

 

[8Muddypaws]

Somewhere there is a master list of all the vehicles that can be towed. It includes which model, engine, transmission, options it must have as well as an overview of the setup required. I've been looking but still haven't found it.

Good point about finding a tow ready car. Our current towed was set up with everything except a battery cut off and a braking system. The braking system was big $$$$$!

RV life isn't for the light of wallet.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Other than Jeep, traditionally GM has had the most vehicles that are towable. Most of that is attributable to the GM transmissions that many believe are the best transmissions in the auto and truck world. Think Allison Transmissions in most DP motorhomes.

Looking for a vehicle used that a couple of posts have already mentioned as a good resource for this
would be RVT.Com or RV Trader. Here you should find a host of towable-ready vehicles of all makes ready to go. You'll probably see complete set-ups including braking systems and tow bars at a fraction of the cost as pointed out by Laura & Charles. I like Isaac's suggestion of the Yaris, so much so I may start to look for myself to get away from towing my wife's Kia on a dolly as shown in my signature.

 

[Isaac-1]

The only real problem with the Yaris is that so few manual transmission (flat towable) ones were sold in the US.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

We tow either the wife's 2022 Jeep Wrangler or my 2020 Jeep Gladiator.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Now we want see the USA... but we want to tow a car and everyone tells me the Jeep wrangler is the ticket!
But what if we don't want a 4WD high clearance vehicle?
I'm aware not all cars can be towed 4 down. Looking for ideas

The Jeep crowd is nothing but furiously loyal to their brand, but a Wrangler isn't for everybody. And you cannot assume that the Jeep logo on the front means a vehicle is flat-towable. That was true years ago, but not any longer.

In recent years the selection of flat-tow-capable vehicles has gotten quite limited, but there are still used models available in good shape. Within that set of towable vehicles, make your choice based on your transportation needs. Driver & passenger size, the usual number of passengers, space for gear, etc. An SUV is handy for its storage even while being towed - a handy place for lawn chairs and whatever.
Here's one source for a year-by-year Toad/Dinghy Towing Guide.

Dinghy Towing Guides

www.roadmasterinc.com

 

[Gizmo]

The Jeep crowd is nothing but furiously loyal to their brand, but a Wrangler isn't for everybody. And you cannot assume that the Jeep logo on the front means a vehicle is flat-towable. That was true years ago, but not any longer.

In recent years the selection of flat-tow-capable vehicles has gotten quite limited, but there are still used models available in good shape. Within that set of towable vehicles, make your choice based on your transportation needs. Driver & passenger size, the usual number of passengers, space for gear, etc. An SUV is handy for its storage even while being towed - a handy place for lawn chairs and whatever.
Here's one source for a year-by-year Toad/Dinghy Towing Guide.

Dinghy Towing Guides

www.roadmasterinc.com

I attached this link early in this thread, but it was mentioned this list is somewhat limited and others were suggested.

 

[Kirk]

This link may also be of interest and help Dinghy Towing Guides

Having towed 3 different vehicles behind 2 different class A motorhomes, I found that the best place to start is with the Motorhome Magazine towing guide. That will help to narrow the choices but before you buy any of them, use the owner's manual to verify that they can be towed on their wheels and what must be done first. Unfortunately the current owner of the Good Sam group of businesses has combined everything into a since RV Magazine and has put most of the guides into a members only area.

 

[Isaac-1]

These guides are a good starting point, however be aware they only show vehicles where the manufacturer endorses flat towing, there are also a number of vehicles people have successfully flat towed for many thousands of miles that are not on the list as they are not "officially" flat towable.