Best type of vehicle to tow behind a motorhome
Looking for suggestions on the best type of vehicles to tow behind a motorhome. All experience shared is appreciated.
Forum Discussion
The best vehicle to tow is the one that best fits your needs when you are not towing it. That will be a type of vehicle, not a brand or particular model. If you must drive a Lexus, Cadillac, Porsche or BMW, you might be in trouble on towing.
It is convenient if you can find a vehicle of the type you need that is towable with little or no modification, and is not too heavy for your motorhome. That is more of a struggle for vehicle types, for example if you must be able to seat 7, 8 or more people. Twelve passenger vans e.g. weigh about 6000 pounds empty and need modification for towing.
I towed a Ford Ranger. It was a second car, my wife's car was an Accord and it took car of all our general transportation needs, while the small truck saw service getting me around town carrying the stuff I needed for maintenance of rental properties.
When my wife died, I gave her Accord to one of my daughters, got rid of the truck, and bought a Honda Fit to be my daily driver and towable vehicle. With one less person to seat, it still could carry the either of my daughters with spouse and children, and the usual collection of people and luggage on airport runs. An alternative for me would have been a manual transmission Versa or Fiesta.
Subcompacts like the Fit or Versa are too small for many people, though a subcompact MPV will carry as many people as compact cars and small SUVs, seating is tighter for five people and there is not luggage space for that many.
Next up are compacts, sedans like Cobalt, Corolla, Civic, Sentra and MPVs like CRV, Element, Matrix/Vibe. CRV is a real popular tow because through 2014 it needed only a baseplate and lights, and was for many people the smallest thing they wanted to drive, while being the heaviest thing their motorhome could tow (many are stuck at about 3500 pounds_.
Some mid-size cars work, particularly GM sedans in the Malibu class with 4-speed automatic. These weigh about the same as the lighter of compact SUVs. SUVs built on Malibu-size cars, like Equinox, Vue, Terrain and Escape are roomier than the sedans but also heavier, so you need to be thinking whether your motorhome is OK to tow 5000 pounds, or are you limited to 3500.
If your motorhome can tow 10,000 pounds, and you need eight seats, you can tow a Yukon XL or Suburban, with proper equipment. If you need to haul a couple of motorcycles, your tow could be a long-bed 3/4 ton or one-ton truck.
If what you want to do with your towed vehicle is explore 4x4 trails, then the most likely candidate is a Wrangler, though some of Jeeps SUVs can be equipped for varying levels of off-roading.
The most difficult situation is when you are limited to about 3500 pounds on the tow and you regularly carry more than four or five people. Possible solutions include the manual transmission version of the Mazda 5/MPV, the first generation Honda Odyssey (the little MPV Honda still sells in Europe and Asia), and Suzuki's Grand Vitara XL7, which is getting hard to find. One iteration of the Saturn Vue was based on the Grand Vitara, but I don't think it had a seven seat option. The last Vue was an Equinox, and had at most five seats.
It is convenient if you can find a vehicle of the type you need that is towable with little or no modification, and is not too heavy for your motorhome. That is more of a struggle for vehicle types, for example if you must be able to seat 7, 8 or more people. Twelve passenger vans e.g. weigh about 6000 pounds empty and need modification for towing.
I towed a Ford Ranger. It was a second car, my wife's car was an Accord and it took car of all our general transportation needs, while the small truck saw service getting me around town carrying the stuff I needed for maintenance of rental properties.
When my wife died, I gave her Accord to one of my daughters, got rid of the truck, and bought a Honda Fit to be my daily driver and towable vehicle. With one less person to seat, it still could carry the either of my daughters with spouse and children, and the usual collection of people and luggage on airport runs. An alternative for me would have been a manual transmission Versa or Fiesta.
Subcompacts like the Fit or Versa are too small for many people, though a subcompact MPV will carry as many people as compact cars and small SUVs, seating is tighter for five people and there is not luggage space for that many.
Next up are compacts, sedans like Cobalt, Corolla, Civic, Sentra and MPVs like CRV, Element, Matrix/Vibe. CRV is a real popular tow because through 2014 it needed only a baseplate and lights, and was for many people the smallest thing they wanted to drive, while being the heaviest thing their motorhome could tow (many are stuck at about 3500 pounds_.
Some mid-size cars work, particularly GM sedans in the Malibu class with 4-speed automatic. These weigh about the same as the lighter of compact SUVs. SUVs built on Malibu-size cars, like Equinox, Vue, Terrain and Escape are roomier than the sedans but also heavier, so you need to be thinking whether your motorhome is OK to tow 5000 pounds, or are you limited to 3500.
If your motorhome can tow 10,000 pounds, and you need eight seats, you can tow a Yukon XL or Suburban, with proper equipment. If you need to haul a couple of motorcycles, your tow could be a long-bed 3/4 ton or one-ton truck.
If what you want to do with your towed vehicle is explore 4x4 trails, then the most likely candidate is a Wrangler, though some of Jeeps SUVs can be equipped for varying levels of off-roading.
The most difficult situation is when you are limited to about 3500 pounds on the tow and you regularly carry more than four or five people. Possible solutions include the manual transmission version of the Mazda 5/MPV, the first generation Honda Odyssey (the little MPV Honda still sells in Europe and Asia), and Suzuki's Grand Vitara XL7, which is getting hard to find. One iteration of the Saturn Vue was based on the Grand Vitara, but I don't think it had a seven seat option. The last Vue was an Equinox, and had at most five seats.
