Toad

Hands down it is Four down! We've towed our Liberty for 9 years and it has about half as many miles towed as it has driven! We figure roughly 45k towed and about 90k on the Odo. Hook up is very simple, we have a built in brake system, not a suitcase. I wanted to have as little to do as is possible when getting ready to go. I have nothing to store except a small canvas bag with the cables and pins in it. Do read the Guide and then verify with the MFG. Do get a Toad that you like to drive. Then go out and enjoy.

I have only towed 4 down on a couple different cars. Jeeps are perfect for towing and then they are fun to drive around in when you get to where you want to go. There are also places you can get to with 4 wheel drive that you can't with 2 wheel drive. Also, I have seen places, Blue Water Key for instance, by Key West that requires you to park your dolly in a separate area, at a charge.

Heisenberg wrote:
"what should one consider" The "toad" weight your RV will allow has to always be the first consideration.

absolutely! i was remiss in not mentioning that.

you need to know and understand the various weight ratings and actual axle weights of your fully loaded and ready to travel MH before purchasing a toad.

the amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:

- the gross combination weight rating of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded and configured for travel (the sum of the gross weight on each axle).

- the weight rating of your hitch

- the weight rating of your tow bar

"what should one consider" The "toad" weight your RV will allow has to always be the first consideration.

machunt wrote:
when considering the type of toad what should one consider? rather on a dolly or not?

we've been flat towing our Jeeps since 2003 and while I have no experience with any other method flat towing is certainly the easiet with the least amount of hassle. it may be a bit more expensive to set up your toad for flat towing and the list of flat-towable vehicles is certainly smaller than those that can be dollied but the offset in simplicity and convenience is, IMO, well worth it.

me? I'd look at Jeeps. just make sure that the model has a manually selectable neutral position in the transfer case and check the Recreational Towing section in the owner's manual as not all Jeeps can be flat towed. other than that there are no time/speed/distance restrictions with Jeeps.

Dinghy guides. Tells you pretty much what you need to know. If it's not in here you would need to refer to the owner's manual of a vehicle. Do NOT rely on the dealer to tell if you a vehicle can be towed 4 down. They've been known to be wrong or will tell you what you want to hear to sell a vehicle.

Dinghy guides

I have heard there are some vehicles you can tow with 4 down without modifications. and some you can.t

This post comes up frequently. I would have suspected being a member since 2006 you may have seen a few. I have done both. Dolly is a good method when you have a vehicle that can't be towed 4 down - that's really it's only redeeming value. That and it can be used on different vehicles - maybe. Dolly's are a hassle to hook up, big and heavy and another item to maintain. I could not wait to get a vehicle to tow 4 down and get rid of my dolly. 4 down is soooooo much easier. I can hook up our CRV and get it ready to tow in about 1 minute - literally. According to CRV manual I have to let it idle for 3 minutes, usually I hook up while it's doing that and have to wait for a minute or so for the idle time to lapse because it takes me so little time and effort to hook up. People will tell you they love their dolly and it's not much hassle and I say they are making themselves feel better. If all vehicles were able to be towed 4 down, the dolly market would decline to close to nothing pretty fast. People who have a dolly only do so because their vehicle can't be towed 4 down. Unless you enjoy lugging the dolly to the hitch, hooking it up, hooking up the wires, trying to line up the ramps, drive up on them (good luck with that if the ramps are wet), put on the straps around the wheel (pretty dirty job), tightening the straps, and then driving for a while and stopping to tighten the straps again - and undoing it all when you get there. Add to that unhooking the dolly and lugging it to store it somewhere. With 4 down, drive up close to the bars, put in 2 pins, attach the cables, plug in the lights and done.

First, get a vehicle that YOU like, and second get one that does NOT require any modification (other than lights and braking) to be towed.
I have used a dolly, and found that much of what is said against them is purely personal opinion. I didn't have much trouble at all with the dolly.
I have towed Jeeps and a Dodge Ram 1500 four down. The Jeeps I towed with a fixed arm adjustable width 5000 lb. capacity towbar, which some people say is just too much trouble, and nearly impossible to hitch by oneself. I didn't have any problems.
The Dodge was a little bit heavier than the Jeep, so I found a used Roadmaster Stowmaster telescoping towbar with 6000 lb. capacity. The telescoping arms were not much improvement over the fixed arm towbar, IMO.
Yes, lube pumps are available for many automatic transmission vehicles. This is the type of modification I want nothing to do with, along with driveshaft disconnects. In fact, our PT Cruiser has a lube pump installed. I have never checked it for operation. It is too easy to put the car on a dolly, and I don't have to mess with the front end to install towbar mounts.
I have also used a flatbed trailer to haul a vehicle. It works, and the trailer was very handy for hauling hay. A trailer can also be backed up, whereas backing a four down toad or a dolly is not recommended (some folks do it anyway).

I have only had jeeps as toad vehicles, manual Cherokee and two Wranglers with automatic transmission. I'm not a fan of extra stuff like a dolly.