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

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.

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

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

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. THANKSWell, 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

Thinking of switching to 4-flat towing | Good Sam Community

26 Replies

Dog_Trainer
Explorer
May 27, 2018
I just found a 2011 Chevy HHR with a low 51,000 miles on it. My previous 2008 HHR was a perfect Toad for me. It is a small wagon very easy entrance. Worth a look if you don't mind a little vintage.
derh20
Explorer
Apr 16, 2018
We have been towing a Ford Focus since 2012 without issues. We use the Roadmaster Invisibrake you mentioned. I really works slick. There is never anything to do. It just sits under our passenger seat. One downside is if you change your toad often. You would have to take it back to the shop and have it removed and re-installed in your new toad. We are going through that now. We are replacing the Focus with a C-Max. I took the Invisibrake controller itself out of the Focus and will have Roadmaster install it in the C-Max as well as a new baseplate and wiring. I am lucky, I live in Vancouver, WA which is where Roadmaster is located.
RedJeep
Explorer
Apr 07, 2018
2002 Land Rover Discovery 2. Using Roadmaster baseplate with Readybrute tow bar. I put a 10w solar panel on the roof so I don't have to worry about leaving ignition south turned to position 1. Very easy to operate this set up.

Only challenge is typical (horrendous) maintenance of Land Rover, but have toward 25k miles with this set up.
tropical36
Explorer
Apr 04, 2018
doc brown wrote:
On my third jeep towing 4 down. The first was a manual Jeep Cherokee 1998, my second was a 2008 4dr Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, my current is a 2014 4dr Jeep Wrangler Sport. Easy baseplate installation and light wiring. I pull a fuse so miles during towing are not registered. My first Jeep I used the Blue Ox box set up for the supplemental brake, hated it. The second set up on my Rubicon was the Ready Brake, did not like it. My current set up is Air Force One, which I prefer. I installed each of the systems myself, the AF1 was the most involved by far. If mechanically inclined you’ll save big bucks, plus it’s good to know how the systems work.

So, when did this start with the odometer reading mileage and especially with the ignition off and not in any gear?
Tntman
Explorer
Apr 04, 2018
Double post, sorry..
Tntman
Explorer
Apr 04, 2018
I tow a 2016 Jeep Cherokee, simple hook up with Roadmaster tow bar and Roadmaster Brakemaster brake system that runs off the air brakes on the MH. Cherokees have a problem with a "wobble" from the front wheels. If you decide on a Cherokee, make SURE that the dealership installs the "fix" for this wobble. The Cherokee must have a Quadra Trac II to be flat towed. Love the comfort and sport suspension of the Cherokee.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Apr 04, 2018
A post above reminded me that the Liberty does not accumulate miles when towed (not need to pull a fuse) and I installed the base plate myself in about 4 hours. Awesome instructions from Blue Ox.
jfskeet
Explorer
Apr 04, 2018
we tow a 2012 crv with no problems, Stay and Play brake system, just throw switch, run car though the gears, shut engine off and turn key to on put in neural and ready to go. We use a blue ox towbar and base plate.
doc_brown
Explorer
Apr 04, 2018
On my third jeep towing 4 down. The first was a manual Jeep Cherokee 1998, my second was a 2008 4dr Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, my current is a 2014 4dr Jeep Wrangler Sport. Easy baseplate installation and light wiring. I pull a fuse so miles during towing are not registered. My first Jeep I used the Blue Ox box set up for the supplemental brake, hated it. The second set up on my Rubicon was the Ready Brake, did not like it. My current set up is Air Force One, which I prefer. I installed each of the systems myself, the AF1 was the most involved by far. If mechanically inclined you’ll save big bucks, plus it’s good to know how the systems work.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Apr 04, 2018
The Jeep Liberty is very easy and it's also very comfortable with an amazing amount of space. It was replaced by the Jeep Cherokee which is a gorgeous vehicle inside and out. (Not to be confused by the Grand Cherokee). You can have lots of fun with a Jeep and it doesn't have to be hard core rock climbing - although that's fun, too!