Where to Find Flat Towable Vehicle Lists

[mschuitt]

I remember seeing a magazine that listed a year by year listing of cars that can be towed 4 wheels down. Anyone remember what magazine that was, or where I can see this type of listing? I need to buy a car to set up for flat towing and this would help considerably in choosing a vehicle. I believe it went back from current year to about 10 years old or so.
Thanks for your help.
Mike

 

[Tom]

I remember seeing a magazine that listed a year by year listing of cars that can be towed 4 wheels down. Anyone remember what magazine that was, or where I can see this type of listing? I need to buy a car to set up for flat towing and this would help considerably in choosing a vehicle. I believe it went back from current year to about 10 years old or so.
Thanks for your help.
Mike

That was probably Motorhome Magazine. Check out the links to lists here:

Towable Car Lists

www.roadmasterinc.com

 

[RayIN]

I remember seeing a magazine that listed a year by year listing of cars that can be towed 4 wheels down. Anyone remember what magazine that was, or where I can see this type of listing? I need to buy a car to set up for flat towing and this would help considerably in choosing a vehicle. I believe it went back from current year to about 10 years old or so.
Thanks for your help.
Mike

Do not trust any such list!!! I've found errors in lists by Motorhome magazine, FRVA magazine, and some others, verify data by a different source. The ONLY verified information is found in the owners manual for each specific vehicle, under recreational towing.
All those lists are a starting point only. motorhome magazine flat towing guide at DuckDuckGo

 

[Kirk]

From ROADMASTER:

We'd like to mention that we cannot stress enough that you check the owner's manual to be certain that the vehicle you are considering is dinghy towable. The manual should have a notation for "recreational," "four-down," or "flat" towing.

2025 Dinghy Towing Guide (RV Life.)
2024 Dinghy Towing Guide (RV Life.)
2023 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2022 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2020 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2019 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2018 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2017 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2016 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2015 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2014 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2013 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)
2012 Dinghy Towing Guide (Motorhome Magazine.)

Guides provided courtesy of their publishers.​

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Do not trust any such list!!! I've found errors in lists by Motorhome magazine, FRVA magazine, and some others, verify data by a different source. The ONLY verified information is found in the owners manual for each specific vehicle, under recreational towing.
All those lists are a starting point only. motorhome magazine flat towing guide at DuckDuckGo

I totally agree but have to add that the owner manual in my brand new 2007 GMC Acadia turned out to be very wrong. The SUV was indeed flat-towable but the procedure required to do so was totally incorrect.
An even worse example was a friend's 2010(?) Chevy Malibu, which turned out to be not towable at all. After losing two transmissions (under warranty), Chevrolet realized that the particular engine-transmission configuration in his Malibu could not be made towable, even though other Malibus were. BTW, Chevrolet gave him full credit toward another Chevy model of his choice. Kudos to Chevrolet for owning up to their mistake.

The moral of this story is "trust but verify" when shopping. That includes information from a sales person. Then check again in use, just to be sure.

 

[Tom]

When we were shopping for an SUV to replace our Suburban, I looked at the owners manuals of every vehicle. When a Chevy (don't recall the model) manual didn't mention toad towing, the sales guy brought out a list of towables & not-towables by model and year that was published by GM. What stood out were the models with the newer transmissions that weren't flat towable.

At the Ford dealership, the sales guy had no qualms about ripping off the protective covers on the manuals of several vehicles we looked at. I also looked for 'independent' verification before buying an Explorer.

 

[RayIN]

I totally agree but have to add that the owner manual in my brand new 2007 GMC Acadia turned out to be very wrong. The SUV was indeed flat-towable but the procedure required to do so was totally incorrect.
An even worse example was a friend's 2010(?) Chevy Malibu, which turned out to be not towable at all. After losing two transmissions (under warranty), Chevrolet realized that the particular engine-transmission configuration in his Malibu could not be made towable, even though other Malibus were. BTW, Chevrolet gave him full credit toward another Chevy model of his choice. Kudos to Chevrolet for owning up to their mistake.

The moral of this story is "trust but verify" when shopping. That includes information from a sales person. Then check again in use, just to be sure.

Thanks for sharing that Gary. I see you too like Ronald Reagan's quote.

 

[Trivet]

We're having to replace our toad. It's a 1999 BMW M-Coupe (manual transmission) and the manual says nothing about recreational towing. When we were looking into towing it 20 years ago, everybody all over the internet said it couldn't be towed. But we found one guy who'd towed his, and was selling his base plate!

The car now has 260,000 miles on the odometer, and over 100,000 more being towed. So despite all the naysayers, and no mention of recreational towability by the manufacturer, it was a successful toad.

The search for a replacement has been a royal pain, with all the misinformation all over the place. We're looking at a manual transmission Mini Cooper. They're very commonly towed four down, and Roadmaster and Blue Ox make baseplates for them. There's even a guy who has a business selling Mini Coopers that he's set up for flat towing. But they're not listed in any of the towing guides linked to above.

 

[mschuitt]

That was probably Motorhome Magazine. Check out the links to lists here:

Towable Car Lists

www.roadmasterinc.com

Thanks, what I was looking for!!

 

[jymbee]

Do not trust any such list!!! I've found errors in lists by Motorhome magazine, FRVA magazine, and some others,

Excellent advice as when I wanted to tow our van most sites didn't list it of if they did it was under the "NOT TOWABLE" column. Only when I chatted with someone online who has the same vehicle and has no issues did I make my decision.

Some time ago I created a post "What is/was your favorite 4 down tow vehicle? " when I was exploring other options. Lots of good feedback there.

At that time It occurred to me that if these kids of informed responses from regular forum members could be entered into a searchable online database with details as to which vehicle(s) they've has tow experience with, that could be a very useful tool.

After all, no substitute for first hand experience!