Hi folks, While I am not new to campers and towing them, this is the first class C I have owned. I am considering towing a small vehicle behind the rig. I would like to know the pro's and cons to using a dolly, or tow bars. The only time I have towed a vehicle four wheels down was my car behind a rental truck. Found it to be a pain the the neck, as every time I pulled out of a parking lot, or side street, the cars front wheels would go the opposite direction of the way I was turning!Bandaid

Your previous towing experience was not correctly done. 4 down is preferred. You don't have to store, register or maintain brakes and tires on a tow dolly. Setting up a 4 down towing system will be about $3k. You’ll need to choose the appropriate vehicle to be towed. The vehicle manufacturer will offer that info. If you want to tow a FWD car that does not allow 4 down towing , then you need a tow dolly or flatbed trailer. With the correct 4 down car : That vehicle will need a base plate installed on the front of the car. The tow bar attaches to the base plate then to the 2x2 receiver on the rv. You need to add , Safety chains, electrical hookup and a break-a-way cord and a brake system for the car. I use a ‘Brake Buddy 2’ because i can use it on any car in the future. Its portable not a hard-wired braking system. I find it easy to use while towing my Chev Sonic automatic at 2700 lbs. The hatchback model offers addition 47 cu ft of interior storage, roof rack for canoe or additional storage box. For car lights : You can buy a harness specific for your car to operate running, brake and directionals. OR, you can drill a hole inside the taillight lens and install a 12v 1157 socket and bulb. Wire the sockets to a cord to the rv 7-way trailer plug. ** You can also run a charge line in that trailer cord to keep the car battery charged. Usually the trans is in neutral with the key on ‘ACC’ position. Doing ACC position opposed to ‘run’ position will normally NOT record your towing mileage on the cars odometer while leaving the steering wheel unlocked. Some automatic cars need to be started to idle for 5 mins to circulate trans fluid every 200 towing miles. Go to youtube and view, “ 4 down towing behind an rv. “. See how to install and use the system.

Or if you’re good with a Jeep Wrangler and no toad brakes, couple hundred bucks gets you a tow bar and some magnetic tail lights. Easy peasy.

Good information above, generally speaking a tow dolly with brakes is much cheaper than flat towing. Some cars can be towed on a dolly and some cannot. Some cars can be flat towed and some cannot.There are pros and cons to both and to trailer towing including an enclosed trailer. There is a trend towards reduced vehicles that can be flat towed. My 04 CRV AWD was a great flat tow car. In 2014 the transmission was changed to increase fuel mileage and can no longer be towed as just one example. Make absolutely sure you have written mfg conformation that your vehicle can be flat towed.

Your prior experience suggests worn or out of line suspension or some design limitation. Read up on alignment castor which causes the front wheels to follow the car, same as a grocery store cart.

Flat tow is easiest to hookup and disconnect. Expensive to setup car for towing and if you swap cars, you get to do it again. You don’t need another piece of equipment to maintain and find a place to store. Dolly gives more flexibility as to what car to tow, more effort to hookup, have to deal with the dolly at campsite.

which way? | Good Sam Community

bobndot
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2021
Your previous towing experience was not correctly done.
4 down is preferred. You don't have to store, register or maintain brakes and tires on a tow dolly.

Setting up a 4 down towing system will be about $3k. You’ll need to choose the appropriate vehicle to be towed. The vehicle manufacturer will offer that info.
If you want to tow a FWD car that does not allow 4 down towing , then you need a tow dolly or flatbed trailer.

With the correct 4 down car :
That vehicle will need a base plate installed on the front of the car.
The tow bar attaches to the base plate then to the 2x2 receiver on the rv.
You need to add , Safety chains, electrical hookup and a break-a-way cord and a brake system for the car.
I use a ‘Brake Buddy 2’ because i can use it on any car in the future. Its portable not a hard-wired braking system. I find it easy to use while towing my Chev Sonic automatic at 2700 lbs. The hatchback model offers addition 47 cu ft of interior storage, roof rack for canoe or additional storage box.

For car lights :
You can buy a harness specific for your car to operate running, brake and directionals.
OR, you can drill a hole inside the taillight lens and install a 12v 1157 socket and bulb. Wire the sockets to a cord to the rv 7-way trailer plug.
** You can also run a charge line in that trailer cord to keep the car battery charged. Usually the trans is in neutral with the key on ‘ACC’ position. Doing ACC position opposed to ‘run’ position will normally NOT record your towing mileage on the cars odometer while leaving the steering wheel unlocked.
Some automatic cars need to be started to idle for 5 mins to circulate trans fluid every 200 towing miles.

Go to youtube and view, “ 4 down towing behind an rv. “. See how to install and use the system.

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