Old Toad/New Experience

[draboo]

We are picking up this 1992 Geo Tracker 2wd MANUAL TRANSMISSION toad tonight. I tested it last night and it was a fun little "buzz-bomb", light and just enough room for us and our two dawg daughters.

We've never towed a toad before. Plenty of trailers across the country, but not a toad.

Not to set off a storm of controversy, but we are considering a tow dolly instead of investing in the various components for flat towing.

Any one else have experiences with toad towing on a dolly?

Thanks,eh?

Brad

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1fEie-t3g-1UTNZOE5JdnJKaUU/view?usp=sharing

[olfarmer]

draboo wrote:

olfarmer wrote:
If you can get set up to tow 4 down for $1100 and a dolly is $1399 why would you mess with the dolly??

Well, I can use the dolly for other vehicles, not just the Tracker.

And I'm not sure about installing the componants by myself. I d have to pay to have everything installed.

We are probably going to try the dolly this year and see how it goes. If it's not to our liking, it will get sold.

IF they ever start producing them..Our goal in 2016 is to own both an Elio trike and an Indian Scout and will be trailering both of these on an aluminum trailer. Total weight of all three is around 3500#.

OK, I see that if you have other vehicles to tow the dolly makes sense! As far as installation goes, I put a
Blue Ox baseplate on my Grand Cherokee and it was really quite easy. The brakes and lights were not too bad either.
Wishing you the best in what ever you do.
Ed

[bsinmich]

Just remember that whatever is loaded into the tracker adds weight also.

[draboo]

olfarmer wrote:
If you can get set up to tow 4 down for $1100 and a dolly is $1399 why would you mess with the dolly??

Well, I can use the dolly for other vehicles, not just the Tracker.

And I'm not sure about installing the componants by myself. I d have to pay to have everything installed.

We are probably going to try the dolly this year and see how it goes. If it's not to our liking, it will get sold.

IF they ever start producing them..Our goal in 2016 is to own both an Elio trike and an Indian Scout and will be trailering both of these on an aluminum trailer. Total weight of all three is around 3500#.

[olfarmer]

If you can get set up to tow 4 down for $1100 and a dolly is $1399 why would you mess with the dolly??

[Dachristianman]

I use a tow dolly with electric brakes. It's not that hard to pull the toad up onto the dolly and secure the straps. Since you have lights on your dolly, you're not required to have lights on the toad, although if I'm towing at night, I hook up a cheap set of lights that attach to the trunk (or hood) with magnets. I've towed vehicles forward and backwards and went as far as disconnecting a driveshaft, but that proved too difficult to do a second time.

With the dolly, I like having the brakes on the dolly and being able to adjust them to help with stopping, especially if you're getting close to the max towing on the rig. I'm sure you could set something like that up by towing 4 down, but I'm not sure how tough it would be. My opinion is that the most stress put on the motorhome is in a hard braking situation and having the extra brakes on the dolly takes some of the stress of the hitch and motorhome.

In addition, I didn't have to install any equipment on the front of my toad, and I can tow any of our vehicles with the dolly which makes it nice to chose what vehicle best fits our needs at our destination.

Many on here swear by 4 down, but at the end of the day it's whatever is right for you.

[draboo]

bsinmich wrote:
I have towed both ways. If I ever had to go back to a dolly I would give up RVing. Loading it on the dolly was always a hassle, moreso in rainy weather. There was always a dolly to store in a CG. Do you need brakes on a tracker? I thought they weighed under 2000#. Would you have brakes on a dolly?

Yes, the dolly we are looking at has electric brakes. The Tracker does weigh around 2000 lbs. Our motorhome is only rated to tow 4000 lb. I talked with Monoco, and learned the hitch itself is heavy enough to handle much more weight, it is the brakes and transmission that are the weak points. You get what you pay for. Heavier duty tranny and brakes, more towing capacity. And more money.


So, towing the Tracker either 4 down or with a dolly will be well within the weight limits of our mh. DW already has plans on what "stuff" she wants to pack into the Tracker.

Our first stop this spring will be in Myrtle Beach for a week or so. Here we will be disconnecting the Tracker and using it for transportation. There will be probably 1 more stop where I will unload the Tracker, and then once more at the campground we are hosting for the summer (May 15-September 15) in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

[bsinmich]

I have towed both ways. If I ever had to go back to a dolly I would give up RVing. Loading it on the dolly was always a hassle, moreso in rainy weather. There was always a dolly to store in a CG. Do you need brakes on a tracker? I thought they weighed under 2000#. Would you have brakes on a dolly?

[JimM68]

WyoTraveler wrote:

JimM68 wrote:
4 down is much easier, particularly as you've purchased a suitable toad.
Way faster hook / uphook.
Nothing to store (towbar stays on the back of the motorhome always)

Interesting. He is buying a 2 WD not a 4 WD. I have towed a Geo 4WD. I don't think you can tow a 2WD 4 down or on a dolly.

See the pos below yours above. OP specified 2wd manual trans.

[msmith1199]

Just remember draboo, your vehicle is rear wheel drive. So that means you still need to know if you can tow it without disconnecting the drive shaft. Based on replies here a couple of people have said they have done it and didn't have a problem. I guess you have to decide for yourself if that's what you want to do.

And the only reason I'd chose a dolly over four-down is for the ability to tow other vehicles. My main toad is my Dodge Dakota which I tow four down. But I now have a VW Jetta TDI and if I had a dolly it would be nice to take that along on some trips.

Also, on something light like a Geo Tracker I would not buy aux brakes for it. I know people are going to say you have to have them, but I don't agree. If you're pulling it behind a small Class C maybe, but if it's behind a DP I wouldn't use aux brakes.

[draboo]

The investment in a dolly vs tow bar setup is more reasonably priced. I did some figuring the other night and even with picking up a new tow bar for 300 bucks:TOW BAR,it still would cost a total of around 1100 including brakes. (tow bar:$300, brakes:$500, base plates:#300) plus installation. I might be able to do the installation myself,not too sure about that.

The dolly we are looking at is here:TOW DOLLY No installation needed and has the potential of having other uses other than just towing a toad.

I also looked at the Acme tow dolly because it is in the ballpark price wise ($1750 shipped).

Anyway..we will be going to look at the used Roadmaster dolly I linked to today. 🙂

[robatthelake]

We towed a 92 ,Tracker 2 WD with 5 Speed Manual Transmission for nearly 12 Years . The Book said it could Not be Towed 4 Down!

Our good friend and Mechanic looked it over and said that it would be no problem!

Apparently there were a few different Transmissions used ,Ours was the same unit found in Toyotas of similar vintage. The only problem that We ever had was the typical Synchromesh issue that plagued just about every one of those Tranmissions!

In all those years That wonderful little vehicle never let Us Down!

[msmith1199]

The 2wd 92 Tracker is a rear wheel drive vehicle. So if it can be towed 4 down it can also be towed on a dolly. But I have to agree with others in that why use a dolly if you can tow four down? Also, just because it's a manual tranny doesn't mean it can be towed for long distances. Like already suggested check your owners manual. 4wd's are different than 2wd's because you can put the transfer case in neutral and the tranny in park and that keeps anything in the tranny from spinning. But with a 2wd if you put the tranny in neutral to tow, the drive shaft is still going to be spinning the stuff in the rear of the tranny. Apparently some tranny's can handle that and some can't. The fact that somebody did it and never had any problems would not be good enough for me. I'd want to know what the people who built the vehicle say about it.

[BTPO1]

For me dolly towing is OK. It does not take that long to hook everything up with a little practice and it does get easier the more you do it. The only part that I don't like is having to hook up the connecter for the car lights. I am going to change that someday and use a separate system and then it will be easier. Hooking the straps to the tires for me is simple. No problem with storage, I keep it at my campsite. If I must move it I can move it with the car to a storage area. As I get older though my DW is starting to think that four down would be easier on my body. I bought my dolly used for $200 and I don't know where I could of got a car to tow four down for that price. I also have a Jeep CJ-5 that tows four down so for me at this point in my life it is a toss-up. JMO

[wa8yxm]

IF the car can be towed 4 down there are many advantages to doing so.
If you do it properly you only add around 100-150 pounds to the car/Motor home for the tow gear (including braking system)

The aux brake system brakes on ALL wheels thus shortening your panic stop distance (Dolly can only brake with the dolly wheels, NOT the car's so you have increased stopping distance.

Dolly is harder to climb up on than modern telescoping tow bars are to hook up

Added weight to tow (may exceed Gasser limits) and big thing to stow when you park.

This is why I tow 4 down

I have towed with dollies, and trailers.. but 4 down is way easier.