I need a toad.

[Kober]

I sold my 5th wheel a year ago and been pretty happy with the Class C towing a trailer with either my motorcycle(s) or my UTV. This coming spring the wife wants to go NE and we'll need a toad of some sort to get around. I'm thinking Honda CRV and I'm told 2010-2014 are the easiest to do flat towing with.
I'd like to hear some other suggestions. Oh, and it will not be a daily driver when we're home.

[Grit_dog]

Kober wrote:

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Buy a dolly and tow any front wheel drive only vehicle. We have towed our 2018 CRV, Toyota Camry, and 2014 Smart car. Mostly the Smart. Easy to use and is so much more versatile.

I recently used a rented dolly from Uhaul for a trip around Colorado for 2 weeks and will never use a dolly again. The contraption had to be repaired twice and then at the last stop, the wife overshot the well and it took 3 hours to get the car off the dolly.

Lol
Uhaul historically has absolute junk equipment. Not sure how that influences buying a dolly other than to reinforce the decision vs renting from U haul.
Although if loading the car is a challenge then, idk…

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

way2roll wrote:
If you're not going to use it as a daily driver and it's for one trip in the spring, I would just rent a car at your destination(s).

I agree! "Lot Rot" is a real thing. Ages ago, with our first Class C, we would rent a car for visiting a National Park, for example.

But then we camped in Moab, where they had a Wrangler for rent for exploring - and we got hooked on "going topless".

Now we have a new Class C and Ed just found a used JLU Wrangler: it will be our toad, but also will be my daily driver simply because they are fun 🙂

[klutchdust]

way2roll wrote:
If you're not going to use it as a daily driver and it's for one trip in the spring, I would just rent a car at your destination(s).

X 2 If it was going to be used otherwise a Jeep is a fun vehicle as you can explore different areas.

[way2roll]

If you're not going to use it as a daily driver and it's for one trip in the spring, I would just rent a car at your destination(s).

[Tom_Anderson]

I tow a 2018 Ford Fiesta with a manual transmission. It doesn't get any easier. The only "prep" it needs for towing is to put it in neutral and release the parking brake, and it's so light that I don't even notice it. Only problem is that when you get to where you're going, you have to drive a Ford Fiesta, lol. But I already had it, and I wasn't about to spend the money for a Jeep to tow around.

[bobndot]

Dollies also require a registration/state inspection plus maintenance, tires, brakes, bearings and electrical. You also have to think about where you will carry a spare tire for it.
A dedicated tire rack , either on the dolly or a hitch rack carrier on the rv or toad’s hitch , inside the toad or inside an rv storage compartment. Its a personal choice , dollies have their place as does flat towing.

[camperdave]

For the first 5 years we owned our motorhome, we did a combination of renting at our destination, uber, and u-haul dollies. All worked and had their uses. The u-haul route worked well for us on longer trips to a single destination, cause we'd do two one way trips dropping off and picking up the dolly close to our destination so we didn't have to store it at camp.

Ultimately this year we set up our Ford Fusion Energi to flat tow. It's fine, but something we already own and use as a daily driver. If I were to pick something specifically for flat towing, it would sit higher off the ground, and be a simpler/lighter vehicle. CRV or Wrangler probably.

It cost me around $1500 to set up our car to flat tow (and that was buying most stuff used). That's a lot of renting/ubering. But it's also SO convenient having the car with us and being able to hook up/disconnect in a few minutes.

[ronfisherman]

Did car dolly for 5 years before going to flat tow. Something else to store. Did it work. Yes. But if you are going to use a dedicated vehicle. I believe flat towing is better. I used a Demco Kar Kaddy 3.

[RetiredRealtorR]

Kober wrote:

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Buy a dolly and tow any front wheel drive only vehicle. We have towed our 2018 CRV, Toyota Camry, and 2014 Smart car. Mostly the Smart. Easy to use and is so much more versatile.

I recently used a rented dolly from Uhaul for a trip around Colorado for 2 weeks and will never use a dolly again. The contraption had to be repaired twice and then at the last stop, the wife overshot the well and it took 3 hours to get the car off the dolly.

I fully agree with ferndaleflyer. I've always used a dolly, but U-Haul dolly's are heavy and clunky, and most of them are very, very old. Buy a decent dolly. Then, you're not limited as to what you can bring along, as long as it's a FWD vehicle.

Since I was in the automobile business, it was great, because on some trips I'd want to take along a minivan, some I'd want to take a convertible, and some I'd want to take the most fuel-efficient car I could.

Since your toad is going to sit idle most of the time, unless you're made of money, buy something reasonably priced, buy a decent dolly, and go for it.

[Kober]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Buy a dolly and tow any front wheel drive only vehicle. We have towed our 2018 CRV, Toyota Camry, and 2014 Smart car. Mostly the Smart. Easy to use and is so much more versatile.

I recently used a rented dolly from Uhaul for a trip around Colorado for 2 weeks and will never use a dolly again. The contraption had to be repaired twice and then at the last stop, the wife overshot the well and it took 3 hours to get the car off the dolly.

[Kober]

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
You say it will not be a daily driver when it's home. Will it strictly be a toad, and sit idle otherwise? That would have a very strong bearing on what I would buy.

Yes, it will sit idle otherwise.

[ferndaleflyer]

Buy a dolly and tow any front wheel drive only vehicle. We have towed our 2018 CRV, Toyota Camry, and 2014 Smart car. Mostly the Smart. Easy to use and is so much more versatile.

[wildtoad]

If you want a nice little car to tow, I can echo the Chevy Sonic mentioned above, ours was 2013 Hatchback automatic. Easy to tow, easy to setup to tow. After going out to Monument Valley, we wanted a toad more capable to go places that the Sonic would not allow. Found a gently used Jeep Wrangler and would tow nothing else. Get the NSA Ready Brute Elite package and you will enjoy towing the Jeep and seeing the sights.

[Janss]

We love both our cars, though we have not set up our 2013 Honda CRV for towing. I assume you know that from 2015 on, the CRV is not flat-towable. We mostly drive our CRV while home and on long car trips because it gets better gas mileage than our other car.

We do tow our 2012 Suzuki Grand Vitara. Suzuki no longer sells cars in the U.S., but maybe you can find a good used one, if interested. The only issue I don't like is that you are not supposed to tow faster than 55mph (though I often do).

Before you buy any car, make sure the "recreational towing" section in the car's owner's manual states that it is flat-towable (with directions to do so). Don't just go by some list of flat-towable vehicles.