Thinking of switching to 4-flat towing

We bought a new, 2010 Pontiac Vibe (the last one made) with 4-speed manual tranny. It's easiest vehicle to tow. Using a Roadmaster All-Terrain (6,000 lb tow rating) we just hook up, connect the lights, put the transmission in neutral and turn the key to half-way between off and accessory and go. We have towed this little jewel over 50,000 miles with no issues. It's also a great everyday driver.

kemer wrote:
considering going to 4-flat towing. looking for a toad that requires very little in hooking up. Don't want to have to disconnect wires, fuses, put in a lube pump or all that. Thinking of something like a 4wd jeep. Wondering what people have found to be easy. Also will need a aux braking system for toad. Wondering if Roadmaster's Invisa brake is good. Again, don't want to have to mess around setting it up everytime we tow.

THANKS

Well,
First off, you're gonna have to perform a few "steps" in prepping for towing, no matter what kind of vehicle. Some vehicles required more, some less. Jeep Wranglers, (Wranglers being the most general terms) all the way from the later "YJs" (YJs having the square headlights) to the latest JKs, are all flat towable, as long as they are 4WD (very, very few produced that are not 4WD). '

Almost all "TJ" models have a steering lock which requires the key to be turned one click from the off position but, that does not energize any of the electrical system so, there's no battery run-down and, no need for a "charge wire" being routed to the battery.

If I recall, there's at least one year of JK that DOES require the key to be in the ignition and, one turned on one click and DOES energize some of the electrical system. But, that was way in the early years of the JK models. If I recall, somewhere around maybe '09 and later, you can prep the JK for towing and then, when ready, you can remove the key altogether and not worry about leaving it in. That's what we and many others do.

Some go crazy in wiring them with auxiliary lights, magnetic ones and more. I've tied into the factory lighting on all 9 of our Jeeps and never, ever had any issues and all the lights work the exact same when towing them as they do when driving them. There are companies that produce lighting harnness's that plug and play right into the factory wiring that takes care of all your lighting worries for the later Jks.

Another well used toad out there is the Honda CRV. You can tow any and all of them all the way to the year 2015. the '15s and up have different transmissions which, are not flat towable. But, prepping a CRV for towing, (doing the steps in the car) are about as simple as one gets. Again, some make big deals out of wiring them for lights but, I did it again, tying right into the factory wiring and, all those lights, including the AMBER turn signals worked flawlessly for towing when we had our '11 CRV EX-L.

Those are the two most dominant toads out there. Obviously, the CRV is a tad lighter by about 1,000 lbs. or so, depending on all kinds of circumstances. Your choice.
Scott

Having done the dolly and 4-down. I pick 4 down. 5 minute hook-up or unhook.

I currently have 2 Jeeps and a Taurus I tow 4-down.

WW

We have towed four down since the day we got our first motorhome in April of 2007. We bought a new '07 Honda CR-V and had the M&G supplemental brake installed with all the Blue-Ox towing equipment and baseplate.

We then moved up to a '13 Honda CR-V and had the Air-Force One supplemental brake system installed because it fit better with the restyled Honda's engine compartment. Both Honda's towed perfectly, I had a switch installed that disconnected the NAV system in both cars. Otherwise, all I had to do is run through the gears and stop in neutral. Easy.

When we decided to go with a new tow vehicle, I would have gone with another Honda but they are not towable now with the new automatic transmissions (didn't want a manual gearbox).

So, we moved up to a '17 Lincoln MKX (Ford Edge clone). I had the Air-Force One braking system installed but switched to a Roadmaster towbar a baseplate. Blue-Ox didn't make the baseplate for the Lincoln at the time but they do now. The Roadmaster is fine but it has more components to attach to the front of the tow vehicle.

The Lincoln has a 'tow-neutral' mode making it easy to tow, no fuses involved. I would think the Jeep is the easiest to tow and set-up (unless something has changed). I had two new Jeep Grand Cherokee's in the past (before motorhoming) and didn't have wonderful luck with reliability as both had to be towed back to the dealer for defects. On the second Jeep, the Quadra Trak four wheel drive system had to be totally rebuilt under warranty and wasn't perfect when I got it back which gave me a bad taste for Jeeps. I'm sure, and hope, that they are better now.

Honestly, I would have bought a new Honda again if they were towable. I was wanting a new tow vehicle to match the color of the new motorhome better :p and the Lincoln's 'Ruby Red' matches a stripe in the motorhome.

Safe Travels,
Mark

I tow a 2013 Jeep wrangler 2 door with invisi brake and roadmaster tow system. Easy hook up and disconnect. 30,000 miles towing no problems.