Is the pool of 4 down towable vehicles diminishing??

[John___Angela]

Maybe it’s just me but I recently had to help someone find a new 4 down towable toad. It seems the choices have diminished since we went thru the process 15 years ago. For those who have wanted to buy a NEW toad in the last year or two, was it difficult to find something you like?? What is the go to solution right now.

As well, it is obvious now that we are at the very bottom of the S curve of electric vehicle sales that will play out in the next 10 to 20 years. None of the current manufacturers of EV’s make a 4 down towable toad. (We have to tow ours on a trailer). Do you think this may be an issue in the next decade or so. Will Dolly’s become more common as a result.

The conversation is open. 🙂

[Jayco-noslide]

I suspect that some vehicles where flat towing is not permitted according to the manual actually could be anyway but not sure how one would know without taking the costly gamble. I've towed a 2012 Chevy Sonic for 31/2 years and it tows great and is a great car also. They are still towable except the RS but the hook-up point is rather low. I think next I will go to Focus; a little bigger.

[Jayco-noslide]

I meant without modifications. I assume many are flat towable with trans. lube pumps, etc.

[Dutch_12078]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
Definitely diminishing. Honda and Toyota have NO flat towables I'm pretty sure even the sticks. Same for VW, Mazda. Chevy has several models for now as does Ford. But you have to be careful and actually consult the owner's manual for different models and equipment. You can't go by the towing guides. Almost all of the towables have 1 model you can't tow; eg,, Sonic RS, Fiesta ST, etc. Some but not all of the problem is the spread of CVT's of which I think none are towable.

The 2017 Toyota Yaris is 4-down towable. As is with a manual transmission, and with a Remco lube pump on the automatic.

[Jayco-noslide]

Definitely diminishing. Honda and Toyota have NO flat towables I'm pretty sure even the sticks. Same for VW, Mazda. Chevy has several models for now as does Ford. But you have to be careful and actually consult the owner's manual for different models and equipment. You can't go by the towing guides. Almost all of the towables have 1 model you can't tow; eg,, Sonic RS, Fiesta ST, etc. Some but not all of the problem is the spread of CVT's of which I think none are towable.

[MRUSA]

lj2654 wrote:
The new car"the Elio" three wheeled auto with an 85 mpg fuel rate is supposed to go into production in 2019. And I have been questioning the engineers about that being four wheel down towing capable. They have now finally said it will be.

Hmmm... A three wheeled vehicle that can be towed four wheels down. Where does the fourth wheel come from?

[hone_eagle]

chevy volt

Before anyone asked I looked him up ,smart guy .

[hone_eagle]

hr_sea wrote:
With the resale value of the Nissan Leaf so low, I was looking at getting one to tow around as a portable battery pack. It has a 20 some-odd KW battery pack. Could run the motorhome roof AC for hours at a time at night when dry camping and still be able to drive around national parks, etc. (in practice it won't work because the 12V converter can only put out 74 amps at 13.6V, 1KW which isn't enough to run the AC)

I know a guy that is using Volt battery pack for just that purpose in his showhauler motorhome.

[lryrob9301]

Speedy921 wrote:
So....other than Jeep. Too pricey. Which vehicles are 4 down capable without loosing battery etc. ? We really wanted a Wrangler but looking at car trader they want a lot of money for something with over 100,000 miles. I need one to have automatic transmission.

Look for a Chevrolet Equinox V6 or GMC Terrain V6. One fuse to remove, put in neutral, Key to off, ready to tow.

[Speedy921]

So....other than Jeep. Too pricey. Which vehicles are 4 down capable without loosing battery etc. ? We really wanted a Wrangler but looking at car trader they want a lot of money for something with over 100,000 miles. I need one to have automatic transmission.

[rjstractor]

From a vehicle marketing perspective, I don't think 4-down towability is on any manufacturer's radar at all. Just too small of a market. If car manufacturers thought that there was a significant market for 4 down towability, we might see options such as factory integrated baseplates and braking systems. The engineering would be relatively easy, but the market just isn't there.

[debandi]

We tow a 2012 Ford F150 with axle disconnect, easy to use.

[John___Angela]

hr_sea wrote:
With the resale value of the Nissan Leaf so low, I was looking at getting one to tow around as a portable battery pack. It has a 20 some-odd KW battery pack. Could run the motorhome roof AC for hours at a time at night when dry camping and still be able to drive around national parks, etc. (in practice it won't work because the 12V converter can only put out 74 amps at 13.6V, 1KW which isn't enough to run the AC)

I think with the right engineering you could get an inverter that runs off the main battery buss. I don’t know what that is but it would be kinda cool. But I think it would be easier to get a pack from a wrecked Leaf and make a compact sled on a trailer. Used packs are not much cheaper than cars though from what I understand. I also think the pack that comes out of smart car electric is a lot more compact. Sooner or later someone is going to do it.

[hr_sea]

With the resale value of the Nissan Leaf so low, I was looking at getting one to tow around as a portable battery pack. It has a 20 some-odd KW battery pack. Could run the motorhome roof AC for hours at a time at night when dry camping and still be able to drive around national parks, etc. (in practice it won't work because the 12V converter can only put out 74 amps at 13.6V, 1KW which isn't enough to run the AC)

[time2roll]

Page 13 shows 2018 Fords that go 4 down with limitations etc.

http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/Ford_Linc_18RVTTowGuide_Sep21.pdf

Ford towing guides 2003 to 2018