Most reliable/easiest to hookup 4 down toad?

stepdad wrote:
Hey good folks,
I'm ready to get a toad and I like Jeep vehicles. Jeep vehicles really get slammed on Yahoo and other car sources for poor reliability and/or workmanship. Besides the Jeep vehicles what other 4 down easy to hook up vehicles are out there?

~Thanks, John

Are you sure the slamming you're seeing isn't more about ride and comfort? I had a Jeep Wrangler and it was a great toad and never gave me a problem. But when I've looked at those consumer report type things I just cringe because they rate it based on lack of comfort and road noise. Well duh!!! It's a jeep. It's off road design coupled with making it also street legal means it's going to have to compromise in both areas. My Jeep was just stock, and even at stock it was able to take me any place off road that I wanted to go in it. And it was very simply to hook up to tow.

I currently have a Dodge Dakota 4x4 and it's almost as easy as the Jeep to hook up. The only difference being the Jeep had a manual lever to put the transfer case in neutral. The Dakota is a push button next to the 4x4 controller that you have to push in with a pen or small screw driver while the key is on and the engine is off. You can hear it switch into neutral.

JimM68 wrote:
I gotta wonder exactly WHO is slamming Jeeps for poor reliability.....

...."jeep wehicles are unreliable" haha that has to be the joke of the year.

JD Power
Consumer Reports
Jeep Vid Review

JimM6, glad you've had good luck with your Jeeps. My brother - with a Wrangler and Liberty - has not. both were prone to breakdowns - used as daily drivers in the city.
And on his Wrangler, he had a recurring issue with a breaking strut mount. Just could not get it fixed to last. (And he was not even offroading it) He's moved on from those two cars.

If I had to choose, I'd love a Jeep Wrangler as a secondary car. But it would not be my primary driver.

We tow a 2014 Chevy Equinox and love it. It's easy. We also have blue Ox hook ups and equipment. It s much lighter than JEep models. My brother in law tows Jeep Liberty and he is a lot heavier for its compact size than us.

That's just crazy...

There's nothing at all wrong with Jeep vehicles.

The Wrangler has to be the single most common 4 wheel down toad out there!

I gotta wonder exactly WHO is slamming Jeeps for poor reliability?

We've owned 5 jeeps, 3 Grand Cherokee's and our current 2000 wrangler and 010 liberty.

The liberty is at 58k miles on nothing but oil changes. Never in the shop for anything. I'm starting to think about replacing the original tires and brakes, but not losing sleep over it.

My 2000 wrangler has 286,000 miles on it's original 4.0 six, auto trans, transfer case, and axles, and a whole lotta other stuff. I originally bought it to tow it, liked it so much I drive it every day. Thing is a rock. Never stops, ever. Doesn't nickel and dime me to death either.

We have both set up to tow behind the motorhome, with blue ox products.

"jeep wehicles are unreliable" haha that has to be the joke of the year.

stepdad wrote:
Hey good folks,
I'm ready to get a toad and I like Jeep vehicles. Jeep vehicles really get slammed on Yahoo and other car sources for poor reliability and/or workmanship. Besides the Jeep vehicles what other 4 down easy to hook up vehicles are out there?

~Thanks, John

Tell others to go to H*** and stay with the Jeeps

Are you looking for an automatic trans?

We've towed our 2002 Honda Accord, and our 2007 Honda Fit. Both reliable and easy to tow.
Also have a 2010 Ford Fusion that's towable, but too heavy for RoadAbode.
Shame the 2015 models of the Honda Fit are not able to be towed 4 down with automatic. The 2015 Fit optioned out is a nice little car!

Sure someone else will speak up, but quite a few Chevys and Fords are towable four down.
You and I have the same quandary - Reliability is so-so, but Jeeps sure are fun and versatile!

Here's a link to check out

John, we've had two Honda CR-V's, a '07 and now a '13. We have the AWD version but it is not truly and off-road vehicle. I feel it's perfect for bad weather, etc., as we don't go off road. If the front wheels lose traction, the power is sent to the rear wheels.

The 2014 Honda CR-V is the last one that is towable as the 2015 CR-V will have the Constant Variable Transmission. It might be that Remco might make a pump but I have not checked into it.

I looked at the new Jeep Cherokee the other day just to look and was a little surprised that a loaded 4x4 version was almost $38,000. A loaded CR-V is about $32,000 MSRP, but again, not apples to apples.

Good luck,
MM.