Trailer Towing a Car

[rcjays]

I have been towing a toad behind my Class A Diesel pusher for the past 13 years. It is very easy and I have had very few problems. My current toad is in need of replacement. My question is how big a headache is towing a car on a flat bed trailer? I have a small 16 ft aluminum tilt trailer that I could haul a vehicle behind my MH. It would allow me to take what ever vehicle I wanted without worry about 4 down towing and if I would hurt the trans. I don't see that loading and tie-down would be much of a problem. I see no problem when I park in a pull through camping spot. I am concerned with what I would do when I have to unhook and park in a small camp site. What do I do with the trailer. Do parks have places where I could drop the trailer? Is this going to be a big problem? Let me hear from folks that trailer their cars. Thanks. JDA

[bshpilot]

Ive done both trailered cars & pulled toad.

Pros of a Trailer:

Save wear and tear on the Toad (including tires & suspension components)
Easier to back up (than a toad)

CONS of a Trailer:

Storage costs & Upkeep (decking/bearings/straps/paint)
Won't turn as sharp as a toad
Terrible Tires (prone to blow out)
Where to Park the Trailer (most RV Parks don't have parking/trailer drop)
More Hassle to load/unload car

[tom076]

I have been using a 26' Featherlite Aluminum Tandem Axle Flat trailer to haul a 1996 Chev Trail Blazer on (the small one). We hook it up at home behind our 36' Coachman Santara and tie it down to the trailer, 10 or 15 minute process. Don't know total weight or really total length but I'm sure that I worry 70 ft. Navigator calls campgrounds as we approach asks about pull thru advises them that we are a 36 footer with a 24 ft trailer. Not ever been turned down.

[CVD]

One concern when towing a trailer is tongue weight. When towing 4 down, you add maybe 50 lbs of weight on the receiver. When towing a trailer, you add 10% (some say 15%) of the trailer + car. Ball park is 10% * (2,000 + 4,000) = 600 lbs. And, this is at the receiver, which is 6’ to 10’ behind the rear axle (meaning down pressure on the axle is even greater).
Bottom line – do the math for your situation and be sure your rear axle can handle the extra weight.

[zman-az]

I do both. I think it all depends on where you are going and the time of stay. It is way easier to hookup 4 down vs trailer so if you do a lot of short stays trailer may not be worth it. Also as mentioned location can be a factor. If there are pull thru's and you plan on staying for some time trailer wins hands down. If you have a tilt trailer even better because manual ramps can be a PITA along with hooking up straps.

Someone mentioned they feel the trailer tows better due to less drag than 4 down and I feel the same way.

[whitehouse20041]

We full timed for seven years, most of it pulling a sixteen foot flatbed trailer carrying a C4 Corvette. We had two occasions when we could not leave the trailer connected to the motorhome. The first, in California, the park host used a trailer ball equipped fork lift to move our trailer to special parking and return it to us in the morning. The second was in Oregon and they had an easy in/out trailer parkinng area.

In our current mode of part time RVing we are using a tow dolly, but I'd love to have an aluminum trailer such as you are considering.

[DSDP_Don]

I'll be honest.....I've never used a trailer, but I think I have enough RV experience to know that I would never want one.

For those who do not have a diesel pusher, weight quickly becomes an issue between the weight of the toad and trailer.

For those who say they rarely unhook, what happens to the trailer. The majority of campsites are back in sites. So now you're 20' of trailer is an issue and you are no where near the utilities. I think looking for a pull thru site everywhere you go would be a pain.

Many are saying that putting the car on the trailer is no big deal, but are forgetting to add that you have to hook the trailer to the coach. To me, that's double the work.

I'll admit that initially installing my tow gear takes some time, but after it's installed, it's easy to connect and disconnect the toad.

Lastly, the trailer needs to be licensed, insured and maintained, again, double the work and expenses.

[wa8yxm]

My primary concern is the cargo carrying capacity of that trailer.

But, This is what I have observed.

4-Down towing, I pull in behind the motor home, Sometimes straight (once I think) usually I am either off center or at an angle, No problem as the telescoping arms are good for the error.

I put the pins in, put it in neutral or put the transfer case in neutral (Right now that is not an option) hook up all the cables and off we go.

Dolly/trailer you have to be precise or rather close to it pulling onto the dolly or trailer (This applies to both by the way until the line I will set off) You then tie the car down, You have to re-check after a few miles to insure it's still tied down.. And you have to stow the trailer or dolly when you park..

And for DOLLYs only.. You loose the effect of the rear wheel brakes on the car when stopping.

In short, 4-down way easier.

[hotjag1]

randallb wrote:
I always towed on a trailer and only had to store once and disconnect once. Most of the time we got a pull through, leveled the RV and drove the car off. I could unload in under 5 minutes and reload just as quick. The advantages to a trailer is that all the wear is on the trailer not the car and you can back up if you find yourself in a tight gas station or parking lot.

I also like being able to back up if I get blocked in a parking lot or gas station(it has happened more than once at a truck stop). I towed 4 down for several years and then switched to a car trailer. The trailer only takes a few extra minutes to drive on and secure the vehicle compared to 4 down.

I have had to unhook the trailer and move it to a different site a couple of times, but that wasn't an issue since the trailered vehicle has a hitch on it(which I would recommend)and I wanted to use the vehicle for sightseeing and would have unloaded it anyway.

[randallb]

I always towed on a trailer and only had to store once and disconnect once. Most of the time we got a pull through, leveled the RV and drove the car off. I could unload in under 5 minutes and reload just as quick. The advantages to a trailer is that all the wear is on the trailer not the car and you can back up if you find yourself in a tight gas station or parking lot.

[enblethen]

"Total ength of over 70 feet"!
Where do you get the permits for over length?

[ferndaleflyer]

I started using a trailer in the late 60s---thats about 50 years ago---and the next park I go to that has a problem with trailer will be the first......People just make things more difficult than they are. My total length is over 70ft.....

[dkreuzen]

I have used a trailer for 10 years and 4-down for 3 years. If you plan ahead you will rarely need to disconnect the trailer. In those 10 years of travel I encountered one RV park that made me disconnect the trailer, not because there wasn't room for it, just because they didn't "allow" trailers, but they didn't tell me that when I called.
It's all about advanced planning by calling the RV parks and specifying the site length you want.
Now that I have done both I can say that I rather use the trailer because I like the ability to back up and the fact that there is no wear on the toad. In my situation, it is my opinion that the trailer is less drag than the flat towing.

[crasster]

Trailers area PAIN to use. Even with the ramps. There were just too many steps involved with heavy expensive things. Then many sites can't store the trailer.

Now if we tow, we'll tow a standard shift Toyota Yaris 4 down. It's a super fun car to drive. Imagine spending $27 to fill something up from empty to full after spending $$$$ filling the coach from empty to full 🙂

[robatthelake]

Trailers and Tow Dolly's can and do present a problem at most of the places that We have been to!
Better to get a vehicle that tows 4 Down!
Just My opinion!