Hi all. I just made the jump from a truck slide-in to my first Class A. Although I wanted a diesel I settled for a 30' 2004 Holiday Rambler, Ambassador SE with a 6.8 V-10 (Ford) that I got at a great price from a family member. Always garaged and only 17,000 miles :) OK...now for the reason for my post. I'm looking for any information and/or advise on good tow vehicles. I'm told they need to be set up so the tranny fluid circulates even while in neutral to keep it from burning up. Thanks in advance for any input.Paw Paw M

No the Toad(tow) should be one approved for 4 wheels down towing.There are non approved toads. But they need a modification to be towed. Add on trans Lub pumps, drive axel disconnects.

Just to clarify, you're looking for a dinghy or toad. A tow vehicle would be one used to tow a trailer.Since you're driving a gasser, you're likely to be limited to 5000# so heavier vehicles are out. Most Jeeps are good candidates for towing four down, but verify that it has the right transfer case. There are lots of other candidates. Motorhome Magazine has a dinghy towing section with a list of makes and models that they've found to be towable. FMCA and Remco have similar information.I'm sure others will chime in with their preferences. I've towed a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and more recently a couple of different Grand Cherokees. They're all easy to setup and tow. You'll want supplemental braking of some sort. I prefer the system that's built in (Air Force One, etc) instead of a Brake Buddy. I recently bought my wife a 2011 Lincoln MKT that I'm pretty sure is towable, though we have no plans to tow it. The MKT is even supposed to be under 5000# and it's HUGE.

What you also have to know is how much your motorhome is rated to tow. That information should be in your owner's manual. You must also know the towing capacity of the hitch receiver on your motorhome so that your dingy/toad does not exceed that weight. That information is usually posted on the receiver.

Almost all Saturns can be towed. Chevy Malibu is a good choice as well. Jeeps are popular with a lot of folks. I have towed a Honda Accord for 40k plus miles with my ford 460 v8(see profile). Remcotowing.com has some of the best tow information that I have seen. You can enter the year, make and model and receive the needed info on most vehicles.

:) Told yah I was new to the Class A world. What's the difference between dingy and toad? I'm very familiar with tow ratings and such as I tow my equipment daily on 10k and 14k trailers for my business. I'd like to find a small to midsize vehicle that needs little to no modifications. Braking with be the new braking systems I've seen that set on the floor of the towed vehicle and use the towed vehicles own braking. I plan to upgrade in 2-3 years to a diesel but obviously have to consider weight as well as the capability of the V10 I have right now. Thanks for the quick replies.

Good Tow Vehicle? | Good Sam Community

DaveKirby
Explorer
Feb 22, 2014
Jeep, Saturn are popular. I know a few folks that tow a rear wheel drive vehicle and disconnect the drive shaft
JimM68
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
Kinda in order by popularity:
Any Jeep
Honda CRV
Saturn
Escape / Mariner / Tribute (AWD only)

As an aside, I've often wondered why most saturns are rated towable, as they use the same front wheel drive drivetrain as every other small GM car, most of which are not towable?
Snomas
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
Many people tow the Honda CRV which is in a lower wt class. I towed a 2004 Honda Odyssey for 9 years and over 40K mi without any problems but it weighs 4300#.
falconbrother
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2014
I have a Honda CRV as my toad. It is great. The V-10 Ford should pull it just fine. You will see a bunch of CRVs as toads. Plus, I have the Honda version of 4x4 on the CRV which I like. Mine is a 1999 with lots of miles so, I can testify to the reliability of Honda. And, it was completely manufactured in Ohio, body, engine, transmission, everything.
wny_pat1
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
kjburns wrote:
There is no real "best" vehicle to tow.
It use to be, back in the day, that the "best" vehicle to tow was the lightest, towable vehicle. Often thought of as the Suzuki Samurai/Sidekick or one of the GM's towable Saturns. Today people are even towing bigger and heavier SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade.
wallynm
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
We tow a 04 Mustang convertible 5 speed manual that is factory approved for towing 4 down with no additional modifications. We call it a FROG as Four Rolling On Ground.

HAVE A GOOD DAY.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Feb 21, 2014
Here's a great towing guide to get you started:

2013 Guide
kjburns
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
There is no real "best" vehicle to tow. Lots of vehicles are towable with no modifications and adding a transmission pump opens up another list. Given that, it comes down to what you want to tow and drive when you're out in the motorhome.

When I first started, I picked up the Cherokee since it was cheap and my initial choice was to buy a dedicated car to tow. Later, I decided to sell it and make my primary car the toad. I haven't had any problems with rock chips on the paint or windshield. My 2013 Grand Cherokee looks like new after about 4000 miles of towing. It gets dirty during a trip, but washing it takes care of that.
rvten
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
Toad and Dingy same. Some people also use a car Dolly. For cars that can not be pulled 4 wheels down.

I have a Ford Flex and a Brake Buddy baking system.
Two_Hands
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
A dingy and toad are the same thing. They are just different names for the same thing: a vehicle towed behind a motorhome.

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