Best Dingy to tow, With all 4 wheels down Options

[kenandlinda]

We need your best advise on which dingy to purchase to tow with all 4 wheels on the ground and no modifications!!

Your comments will be greatly appricated.

Ken & Linda

[Ray & Wendy]

We need your best advise on which dingy to purchase to tow with all 4 wheels on the ground and no modifications!!

Your comments will be greatly appricated.

Ken & Linda

They will all need at least minor modifications to hook up brake/turn signal lights and some sort of brakes. Besides that, most 4x4 and/or manual transmission vehicles can easily be towed 4 down.

[Not A Clue]

We need your best advise on which dingy to purchase to tow with all 4 wheels on the ground and no modifications!!

Your comments will be greatly appricated.

Ken & Linda

Maybe you could give us a little more detail on the type of vehicle you are looking for.
four door?
jeep?
daily driver also?
That would give us a better idea of what to suggest

[George Stoltz]

What is the best dingy to tow will vary from driver to driver. You have a lot of options. You should really get a copy of Motor Home magazine's annual list of vehicles that can be towed with all four wheels flat on the pavement.

Then you decide which of the many choices works best for you. You might want to consider the storage capacity of the towed vehicle. We have found that our Honda CR-V works well for us. It offers optional storge space and we use it for our Blue Ox tow bar connections and cables, extra water, a folding step stool and two folding chairs. And we still have plenty of room for groceries.

There are plenty of other considerations: MPG, comfort, will you take longor short trips and most of all, think about buying used. Let someone else take the depreciation.

[BUZZZ]

JEEP...

[Jim2]

We need your best advise on which dingy to purchase to tow with all 4 wheels on the ground and no modifications!!

Your comments will be greatly appricated.

Ken & Linda

There are so many good vehicles that tow 4 wheels down, that it really depends on what your needs & wants are for the vehicle when its not being towed. Some folks want a 4x4, some like to have a pickup truck, some like to be able to transport 4 adults, and some just want cheap, economical transportation. So its hard for us to say whats best for your preferences. Take a look at the Motorhome Magazine 2009 Dinghy Guide, they list every vehicle that the manufacturer says can be towed 4 wheels down. Pay attention to the footnotes, some vehicles require a lower speed limit when towing, some require stopping every few hours to run the engine and exercise the transmission, some require pulling a fuse, some require leaving the key in 1st position to unlock the steering, and some have no special requirements.

PS: I tow a GMC Canyon 4x4 automatic mid-size pickup truck and am still very happy with it after 4 years.

[mrfrank]

4X4 Jeep! Which means either Commander, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, or Wrangler (4X4 Versions, they all come in 2WD variations). The Compass and Patriot are Dodges in Jeep skin, front wheel drive, or all wheel drive, but no way to disengage the drive line.

[dosbeagles]

Saturn Vue is what we tow room for 5 plus room in back for 2 beagles or groceries, drives good and is reasonably comfortable. Had a Jeep Liberty catch fire while hooked up towing- very scary. Also the Saturn is much easier to hook up than the Jeep- don't have to worry about disengaging the 4-wd just hook up put the ignition in the on position disconnect a fuse and but tranny in neutral then go. You can hook up on a slope or flat. This is our second Saturn- too bad GM dropped them.

[Kirk]

Both the Saturn Vue and the Honda CR-V can be flat towed in any configuration with just the modifications needed to connect the tow-bar and to have lights. Most 4WD vehicles can as well, so long as the unit has a transfer case that has a neutral position. Many, but not all, manual transmission vehicles can be towed as well.

We just last week bought our second CR-V. The first one was a 2001 that we towed 45K and drove 152K miles. In that time we had only two mechanical repairs.

[kenandlinda]

Thanks to all for your replies.
Currently, I have a 2003 Chevy Tahoe with 148,000 miles and my thought is to sell it and buy something smaller/lighter to tow behind our new (to us) MH.
Had been thinking about the Honda CRV and the Saturn Vue.
The "tow" car will become my everyday car.
Would you suggest I go to Camping World for the tow bar and instalation?
Thanks,
Ken & Linda

[FlyingDiver]

Would you suggest I go to Camping World for the tow bar and instalation?

If it was me, I'd look for a shop in your area that specializes in hitch work. Many of them also have a lot of experience in installing base plates. And I don't mean U-Haul.

joe

[Mike & Pat]

We need your best advise on which dingy to purchase to tow with all 4 wheels on the ground and no modifications!!

Your comments will be greatly appricated.

Ken & Linda

2005 Chevrolet Colorado 4 cyl, 5 spd, crew cab.
With that said any vehicle you get will require modification, base plates for the tow bar, wiring for lights whether external (removable) or internal (installed into the factory light housing), supplemental braking (air, hydraulic, brakebuddy type) at a minimum.

[Bruce T]

Chevy HHR.
An excellent everyday, cheap, economical, light, good looking toad. Can be towed manual or auto.

BUT.

We do a lot of hiking and go up some pretty bad dirt roads.
Our poor HHR is taking a real beating due to the very low front clearance.

[Not A Clue]

If it was me, I'd look for a shop in your area that specializes in hitch work. Many of them also have a lot of experience in installing base plates. And I don't mean U-Haul.

joe

Yeah we had ours installed at this place, I am not sure were you are located, but your profile said SoCal until Jan.

Here is the link, small shop but they do good work. Broken Wheel RV

[dosbeagles]

Ken & Linda,

I have had 3 vehicles adapted for tow at Camping World and have never had a problem. Good thing about Camping World over a local mom and pop place is that there are locations all over the country and as long as they stay in business they give a lifetime guarantee on their work (the install) not the parts they sell.

Chris

[footloose]

We need your best advise on which dingy to purchase to tow with all 4 wheels on the ground and no modifications!!

Your comments will be greatly appricated.

Ken & Linda

We tow a 2009 Honda Fit Automatic and I installed the Roadmaster Eazilock Towing brackets myself in about 3 hours.
All you have to do is hook it up and go through a simple shifting procedure (same as all previous Honda Automatics) and it's ready to go.

We have probably towed ours at least 3000 miles behind our Lazy Daze and you would never know its back there.

BTW: It is currently getting aroud 37 MPG as a daily driver....

[footloose]

We tow a 2009 Honda Fit Automatic and I installed the Roadmaster Eazilock Towing brackets myself in about 3 hours.
All you have to do is hook it up and go through a simple shifting procedure (same as all previous Honda Automatics) and it's ready to go.

We have probably towed ours at least 3000 miles behind our Lazy Daze and you would never know its back there.

BTW: It is currently getting around 37 MPG as a daily driver....