Vehicles To Tow

What is the best vehicle to tow behind a class A?

 

Jeep Grand Cherokee

 

Can't say - I pull a 5er... but if I were driving a bus, I'd pull my truck behind it so I could put a golf cart in the back of the truck!!!

 

The "best" vehicle to tow has a lot to do with personal preference and the kind of tow vehicle you want. We have a Saturn sedan and it has been a great first tow car. Very reliable, low cost, durable plastic body panels, tows very very well with no issues. It also gets great mpg and is very fast. We have the V6.

After towing the Saturn sedan for 2 1/2 years it would be my opinion that a small SUV is a very good choice for a tow car. Saturn makes these, so does Jeep, Honda, Chevy, and Ford.

What I would really like is a Jeep Wrangler I can take the top off. What may keep me from getting that is I know it is going to ride harsh on the street, get poor mpg, and not be all that comfortable. I still want one.

Based on the high cost of fuel large tow vehicles like big SUVs, Trucks, Hummers, and so on are too heavy for my next towed.

Saturn has been closed by GM.

 

QUOTE(5vrme @ Mar 6 2012, 12:14 PM) [snapback]28948[/snapback]

What is the best vehicle to tow behind a class A?



I've been towing my Jeep Wrangler since it was new in 1998. My best guess is that it has about 40000 miles un-registered. It's been behind three coaches now and we love it. It's very compact so when we are out touring it's easy to park etc. It is very light so you don't even know you are towing. We don't find any difference in performance of the coach towing or note any extra fuel usage. We also like going into the back country so the 4X is a plus. It has a stiffer ride but I don't really consider that much of a hindrance. There are no modifications that have to be made to tow with four wheels down and we can have it connected in less than thirty seconds.

The negatives are....it does get poor mileage. When we have the soft top on you cannot safely lock and valuables in it. If you are planning to go somewhere where you need to get dressed up a little, my wife tells me that it's difficult to enter and exit wearing a dress.

What ever you decide on please make sure that you have it properly equiped to tow.

Darrell

 

Best is a matter of personal needs and desires. Do you want to tow four down or with a dolly? What is your weight limit? Do you want a vehicle that can be towed four down without modification, or are you willing to put a transmission lube pump or drive shaft disconnect on it? Do you need 4WD? Do you want new, or is used ok?

The most popular autos for towds seem to be Jeeps, Honda CRV, and older Saturns, but we have seen just about anything towed. We are starting to see more Smart cars, and even a Prius or two. We tow a CRV and, for us, it has been great. Jeeps, for a number of reasons, would be a horrible choice for us but for others they are perfect. FMCA publishes a towing guide towing guide. Perhaps this would be a good place to start your search.

 

QUOTE(joez @ Mar 7 2012, 07:30 AM) [snapback]28968[/snapback]

Best is a matter of personal needs and desires. Do you want to tow four down or with a dolly? What is your weight limit? Do you want a vehicle that can be towed four down without modification, or are you willing to put a transmission lube pump or drive shaft disconnect on it? Do you need 4WD? Do you want new, or is used ok?

The most popular autos for towds seem to be Jeeps, Honda CRV, and older Saturns, but we have seen just about anything towed. We are starting to see more Smart cars, and even a Prius or two. We tow a CRV and, for us, it has been great. Jeeps, for a number of reasons, would be a horrible choice for us but for others they are perfect. FMCA publishes a towing guide towing guide. Perhaps this would be a good place to start your search.



We tow a 2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4 (standard) behind our 38 ft. Its small but has 4 doors and a cargo area and is peppy with a V6. Its easy to drive, easy to hook up and gets great gas milage. We hardly know its behind us. Only downside is every 200 or so miles you have do a run through the gears. Hasn't been much of a problem though as we usually stop about then for a break anyway.

 

We have used our Honda CRV for a lot of years now and it works great. Weight is only 3100 lbs, and we have M&G air braking system on the Honda. No problems over the years with his 1999 CRV.

 

JDollen - How do you get a Jeep hooked up in 30 seconds? I have to putz around with my Saturn for at least five minutes. I have the roadmaster hookup and brake system.

 

QUOTE(RFCN2 @ Mar 7 2012, 09:57 AM) [snapback]28971[/snapback]

JDollen - How do you get a Jeep hooked up in 30 seconds? I have to putz around with my Saturn for at least five minutes. I have the roadmaster hookup and brake system.



I guess we have it down to a fine art. My wife drives the Jeep while I direct. We have a SOLID tow bar (not a blue ox type). Once the tow bar is connected to the hitch my wife positions the Brake Buddy while I connect the wiring cable and safety chains. By the time I have completed that the Brake Buddy's compressor has completed it's charge. I bleed it then shift the Transfer Case into neutral, Drop the shifter into park, shut the engine off and we are gone. Pretty simple. The longest wait is for the Brake Buddy. I don't know how the Road Master sets up but my Brake Buddy just sits on the floor with an arm to the Brake Pedal. It rests against the front of the driver's seat. It seems to work very well.

The Jeep does not require any special modifications to tow four down. Shift the transfer case into neutral and thats it. You must leave the steering wheel unlocked but you have to do that with any other vehicle as well unless you use a dolly.

 

Having a 4 wheel drive really expands your opportunities when you are camping, We have a 4 wheel drive pickup and have taken it everywhere from the deserts around Quartzite to the mountains of the Smokies. I was recently in Custer State Park on a Off Road only drive and ended up surround by a herd of buffalo. Stunning. Mine is a crew cab. If I had to do it again, I would get a 4 door midsized 4 wheel drive pickup.

http://www.linandnancy.com/custerstatepark1.html

 

QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Mar 8 2012, 11:53 AM) [snapback]28981[/snapback]

Having a 4 wheel drive really expands your opportunities when you are camping, We have a 4 wheel drive pickup and have taken it everywhere from the deserts around Quartzite to the mountains of the Smokies. I was recently in Custer State Park on a Off Road only drive and ended up surround by a herd of buffalo. Stunning. Mine is a crew cab. If I had to do it again, I would get a 4 door midsized 4 wheel drive pickup.

http://www.linandnancy.com/custerstatepark1.html




I have to agree Lindsay. Last October we were in Death Valley. I had read about Race Track Playa and wanted to see it. It was a hard drive even for the Jeep. The road doesn't look all that bad but it was washboard, sharp rock and boulders all the way. Was the trip worth it? You bet. Would I do it again. No. Once is enough but not having the Jeep, or like vehicle, would have limited me to just reading about it.

 

QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Mar 8 2012, 11:53 AM) [snapback]28981[/snapback]

Having a 4 wheel drive really expands your opportunities when you are camping


I also have to agree with Lindsay. We have had a 6 cyl, 2WD pickup that we've used as a toad for five years. We opted for manual transmission instead of 4WD because it gets better mpg and all we have to do is hook it, put it in neutral, and turn the key to acc.

Pickups are pretty tough and we have been places that we would never think about going in a car. The added bonus is that I can throw alot of stuff in the bed that I would normally have to pack away in the rig and I don't care how dirty it is.

I have a friends who tow Saturn, Honda, and Chevy HHR. They are all happy so I guess it's whatever one intends to use it for when it's being towed.

 

My toad is 2006 5 speed stick shift Nissan Fronter with 4 wheel drive and an electronic selector for shifting from 2 to 4 wheel drive. Many of the 2006's were nontowable 4 wheels down, but we made sure on ours before buying it. I also have the Blue Ox toad brake which is all under the hood and requires no setup when going from driving to towing except for plugging in the light plug. I set the gear to neutral and the selector switch to 2 wheel drive and am ready to go. I figure we are approaching 500 times of setting up to tow, so it has surely paid for itself. If I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same except for getting the real back seat. An ideal would be the back seat model and extended bed mode. We have forded streams and taken our 4 wheel drive into unbelievable places.

 

QUOTE(Lindsay Richards @ Mar 9 2012, 11:33 AM) [snapback]28995[/snapback]

My toad is 2006 5 speed stick shift with 4 wheel drive and an electronic selector for shifting from 2 to 4 wheel drive. Many of the 2006's were nontowable 4 wheels down, but we made sure on ours before buying it. I also have the Blue Ox toad brake which is all under the hood and requires no setup when going from driving to towing except for plugging in the light plug. I set the gear to neutral and the selector switch to 2 wheel drive and am ready to go. I figure we are approaching 500 times of setting up to tow, so it has surely paid for itself. If I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same except for getting the real back seat. An ideal would be the back seat model and extended bed mode. We have forded streams and taken our 4 wheel drive into unbelievable places.




Okay, but what make are you talking about????

We tow the dreaded Ford Escape, but we have not had a problem with it, (knock on wood). Read with interest about the problems others have had with this vehicle. We have towed it over 5000 miles..."A" okay so far. It is a late production 2009, and have followed Ford's requirements to the letter.

 

I have a HUMMER H3 and it is the easiest thing to tow or hook up. Just press the 4X4 buttons on the dash and it goes into neutral. The 2 pins for the tow bar and 1 plug for the lights. Maybe 1 minute is all it takes. I do not use a Brake unit as I don't really feel it behind my diesel pusher.
Most brake units will not work for the H3.

 

Most states have a requirement for a braking system for toads over 3,000 pounds. If you have a wreck of any kind, the opposing attorney will make it you fault, if you don't have one. Sad to say, but this is the world we live in. There are places on the internet where you can get a state by state summery of the laws and hopefully somebody here will post a link. Don't leave home without it.

 

All tows 3000 lbs or over need a braking system per the laws in most states and some states a lot less weight. If you have a wreck the other persons attorney will love to see you in court. We have a DP and our tow is 3100 so I have the M & G air brake system in place. We all need to run legal out on the road. In some cases one more second of stopping time would have saved you from that impact. My last close call was on I-10 on that long 18 mile bridge over the swamp near Henderson, LA. A local car moved over into my lane and I had a 1/2 sec to slow down before I hit him, it was close

Here are the towing laws listed by state.

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

 

QUOTE(Ron Bernstein @ Nov 13 2012, 04:28 PM) [snapback]31889[/snapback]

I have a HUMMER H3 and it is the easiest thing to tow or hook up. Just press the 4X4 buttons on the dash and it goes into neutral. The 2 pins for the tow bar and 1 plug for the lights. Maybe 1 minute is all it takes. I do not use a Brake unit as I don't really feel it behind my diesel pusher.
Most brake units will not work for the H3.



The safety factor I would worry about is if your Hummer broke free from your hitch. Can you imagine the damage it could cause barreling down a highway out of control? A tow brake set up could save many lives. They are not that costly. I hope you change your mind and have one installed.

 

Just started Motorhoming from a 5th wheel. I did all the research and I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee. With the Blu Ox tow bar set up I can hook it up in less than 1 minute, if I have my tool bag out and ready. Did not want a car that I needed to keep the key in the ignition to tow. Towing a toad without a braking system is "STUPID". I live in TN and it isn't required here but even if it isn't required in your state you can be ticketed in any state that does require a braking system. That being said, "Better safe than Sorry"..... Just my 2 cents