Cars to avoid?

Deleted. Duplicate post.

Yeah, on my previous Jeep I had the Roadmaster "A" frame towbar that I just folded up and tied to the windshield tiedown loop on the hood. It also had a pin that kept the towbar in the up position. I used that for 7 years all over the country. I even left it on when using as my daily driver at home. Had many folks tell me it was not legal but fortunately none of them were LEO's. I never had a problem with it. It would look kind of silly on just about anything but a Jeep. My new Jeep uses a Ready Brute Elite. More expensive but a cleaner looking installation.

hohenwald48 wrote:
As far as I know, all commercially available towing setups are disconnectable in a matter of minutes. The vast majority (if not all) leave the tow bar itself with the towing vehicle when disconnected.

Not quite. There are still ball hitch tow bars available. My Roadmaster Stowmaster 6000 lb. tow bar folds up on the front of the towed vehicle, or two pins can be pulled to remove it completely.
My previous tow Bar was a fixed arm adjustable width towbar by Reese that could be removed by pulling two pins, or it could be stood up on the front of the Jeep and secured in place. Yes, I have heard that in CA that isn't legal. It is legal in Montana.

Also make sure that the towed vehicle is light enough to be towed by your towing vehicle without overloading it. Some Jeeps and 4X4 trucks can be heavy. You also might need to have a supplemental braking system in the towed vehicle. Look into the Ready Brute Elite towbar to make that simpler.

hohenwald48 wrote:
As far as I know, all commercially available towing setups are disconnectable in a matter of minutes. The vast majority (if not all) leave the tow bar itself with the towing vehicle when disconnected. I'm still not sure what the poster is wanting that is out of the ordinary.

OP here.

I did not know they were that way.

As far as I know, all commercially available towing setups are disconnectable in a matter of minutes. The vast majority (if not all) leave the tow bar itself with the towing vehicle when disconnected. I'm still not sure what the poster is wanting that is out of the ordinary.

swimmer_spe wrote:


I would love to find a manual transmission vehicle. And it sounds like that would be my best option.

Make sure you do your homework... Not all manual transmission cars can be towed 4-down.

tatest wrote:
You have two choices. The towbar can stay on the towed vehicle, or it can be carried by the towing vehicle. Both choices require a towbar pinned to a baseplate on the towed vehicle, which is usually bolted to the frame or sub-frame, not welded (there is little to weld to, on today's towable vehicles). There are towbars that mount to brackets on the bumpers of utility vehicles like older Jeeps, but even these are bolted on, not welded.

There is a wide (but shrinking) range of vehicles towable four down, including many older 4WD utility vehicles, many manual transmission front-drive subcompactsedans, many years of GM and Saturn compacts with 4-speed OD automatics, and a few compact or mid-size pickups with manual transmissions. My own towable vehicles have included a manual transmission 2001 Ford Ranger and a 2012 manual transmission Honda Fit.

What to avoid? Anything that can't be towed four-down. That list is a lot bigger than the list of what can be towed.

Thank you. Bolting/welding is irrelevant. Basically, I don't want to have to struggle to hook up, but I also don't want to leave the hitch on the car.

I would love to find a manual transmission vehicle. And it sounds like that would be my best option.

You have two choices. The towbar can stay on the towed vehicle, or it can be carried by the towing vehicle. Both choices require a towbar pinned to a baseplate on the towed vehicle, which is usually bolted to the frame or sub-frame, not welded (there is little to weld to, on today's towable vehicles). There are towbars that mount to brackets on the bumpers of utility vehicles like older Jeeps, but even these are bolted on, not welded.

There is a wide (but shrinking) range of vehicles towable four down, including many older 4WD utility vehicles, many manual transmission front-drive subcompactsedans, many years of GM and Saturn compacts with 4-speed OD automatics, and a few compact or mid-size pickups with manual transmissions. My own towable vehicles have included a manual transmission 2001 Ford Ranger and a 2012 manual transmission Honda Fit.

What to avoid? Anything that can't be towed four-down. That list is a lot bigger than the list of what can be towed.

I would think a small truck, Toyota or a Colorado so that you could load the canoe and gear easily.