What is/was your favorite 4 down tow vehicle?

[Lou Schneider]

I really liked my 1986 Ford Bronco II, just put the 4WD transfer case in neutral, the automatic transmission in Park, unlock the steering column and it's good to go. I would consider a Ranger or other midsize 4WD pickup that is equally easy to tow 4-down.

 

[Kirk]

My favorite would be my 2009,Honda CR-v, all wheel drive.

 

[Bigred12]

We've towed a 2004Explorer, a 2016 Ford Focus and since 2021 tow a 2016 Lincoln MKX 2 wheel drive with no issues with any vehicle.

 

[LarsMac]

I really like my Saturn Vue.

 

[Quit RVing]

I used to tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee, 5,500 pounds of HEMI-powered steel. Heavy.

I now tow a 2017 Mini Cooper Countryman S, with the All4 AWD system and the 6-speed manual. I hardly know it’s back there.

 

[CamperAL]

Hello,

We've towed our manual 6 speed Kia Soul for almost 9 years now. We like it because it's light in weight but has plenty of room in the car for four adults. Since it is not an automatic, you have to like driving a stick which isn't a problem for us.

We put some items in the car for storage while traveling and to keep weight off the axles on the RV. We've never had problems in the mountains while traveling with our gas RV.

 

[Domo]

2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk - looks okay, can go anywhere off road or on. Still servicing us well at eight years old.

 

[Brooster44]

I’ve got a 2019 Honda fit with a manual transmission. About as light of a toad as you can find.

 

[Tom]

We towed a 1984 full size Bronco, then a couple of Suburbans (c 1990 and 2005), and finally a 2018 Ford Explorer - all 4x4 automatics. The Bronco and the Suburbans were pretty much like Lou described (but didn't need to unlock the steering in the later Suburban - just remove the key), but the Explorer has a sequence to go through before towing and before driving solo again. Nowadays we tow the Explorer so infrequently that I have the page bookmarked in the owners manual.

 

[bigb56]

1986 Suzuki Samurai…. The only TOAD I’ve ever had…. Light weight, simple and will go anywhere…
Butch

I would love one but finding a nice one isn't always so easy and they can sure be pricey. I bought a Jeep instead but I wish it weighed the same as a Samurai.

 

[CharlesinGA]

This would not be too bad to have. Might be hard for a 70 yo to get in and out of though. Saw this in Hotsprings SD in the Blackhills in 2017.

Charles

 

[PancakeBill]

Hmmm, Towed a Honda Accord wagon, it was easy, then a VW Westfalia, very easy, and fun to have, then a Suzuki Grand Vitara, easy setup, and finally a Jeep Grand Cherokee. another easy unless you can't find the poker for the little hole. I went backwards though and now have a truck camper and a PT Cruiser convertible, this I need a dolly for. Easy but the little hassles of the dolly. Fun once we get to where we are going though.

 

[youracman]

Like Camper AL (post 26) I towed a 6spd manual Kia Soul.......almost 7 yrs. Never a hiccup of any kind.

Had to change to a different toad in order to haul 2 foldable electric bikes. Got a '24 Maverick Hybrid for that job. Only tried it for a 20-mile ck ride so far but I can tell the difference when I pull out from a stop sign........just a bit heavier. Bikes are side by side under the camper cover in their giant plastic "tote" boxes......out of sight and out of the weather so it'll work.

 

[ButchW1]

I would love one but finding a nice one isn't always so easy and they can sure be pricey. I bought a Jeep instead but I wish it weighed the same as a Samurai.

The Samurai makes a great TOAD... It's very small, weighs a little over 2100#s, true 4WD with transfer case and hi/low range... It's not a car I would want to drive on a long ride, but for short jaunts and going anywhere, and I mean anywhere, It is fantastic... If you fold the rear seat up you have a pretty decent storage area... They are an old car and finding one that is in good, unmolested shape is hard to do... Some were used as toads and they can be pretty nice, but they were so cheap at one time, people just beat the **** out of them or made them into off rod vehicles, unfit for street use.... Mine...
Butch

 

[Gizmo1137]

Either my 2007 honda element sc or 2007 honda civic

We have a 2005 Honda Element, our first toad pulling experience but it has been a breeze. Ours has auto transmission, but Honda has a very easy to do brief process before towing.

 

[bigb56]

The Samurai makes a great TOAD... It's very small, weighs a little over 2100#s, true 4WD with transfer case and hi/low range... It's not a car I would want to drive on a long ride, but for short jaunts and going anywhere, and I mean anywhere, It is fantastic... If you fold the rear seat up you have a pretty decent storage area... They are an old car and finding one that is in good, unmolested shape is hard to do... Some were used as toads and they can be pretty nice, but they were so cheap at one time, people just beat the **** out of them or made them into off rod vehicles, unfit for street use.... Mine...
Butch

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That Samurai is beautiful! I get first dibs if you ever sell it! We went to a monster truck show once and there was a guy with a little Samurai and at first everyone was laughing until he proceeded to beat the pants off all the big trucks.

 

[jymbee]

all 4x4 automatics

We put some items in the car for storage while traveling and to keep weight off the axles on the RV.

Interesting. We put things in the coach to keep the weight of the toad down.

 

[jymbee]

We're towed our 2012 Honda Odyssey Van for 7 years now with no issues. Just need to go through a certain shifting sequence to set up.

 

[CamperAL]

Hello jymbee,

We usually only put 200 to 400 lbs in the car. It's just a bit less weight we have in the RV. The RV has a capacity of 3,100 lbs. After fuel, water and LP that leaves 2,100.lbs.
The extra 200 to 400 lbs just gives us a bit more capacity. We usually run about 300 to 400 lbs under our maximum.

 

[UTTransplant]

I loved our 2018 Grand Cherokee Trail Hawk. Super comfy SUV with lots of nice tech, but a suspension on air bags that can air up to quite impressive ground clearance. We have gone over a number of 4WD roads others told us we couldn’t take. Of course, there definitely are 4WD roads we can’t take due to the width and the length of the GC. The GC is still our primary around-town vehicle at home, and my daughter steals it every time we go on a trip. We now mostly tow an F-150 since we bought a UTV. You have to be careful with the width and weight that fits in the bed of the truck, but our little 50” RZR fits the bill. The truck is comfortable, but the ground clearance is not nearly what the GC could give us. That’s ok because we now have the RZR which is great fun.