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. 🙂

[Dutch_12078]

DouglasC wrote:
All the Ford Motor Co. hybrids (Fusion, C-Max & Lincokn MKZ) have CVTs and are towable 4 down with no fuses to pull or battery cables that need to be disconnected. Have had 3 of them over the past 10 years and they tow great!

If more manufacturers would adopt a similar design, then we may be ok. As it is, several popular brands/models are already out of the running.

[DouglasC]

All the Ford Motor Co. hybrids (Fusion, C-Max & Lincokn MKZ) have CVTs and are towable 4 down with no fuses to pull or battery cables that need to be disconnected. Have had 3 of them over the past 10 years and they tow great!

[Dutch_12078]

As more manufacturers adopt CVT's, I expect to also see the pool of cars that can be adapted to towing with Remco transmission pumps shrink.

[Heisenberg]

Yes CVT $$$$

[John___Angela]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
From the manufacturer's point of view, why take chances? Recreational towing puts a lot of additional wear and tear on vehicles that does not register on the odometer. Who is to say the vehicle owner took all the necessary precautions (putting the transfer case in neutral, then shifting to park on a GM 4x4. I am sure other vehicles have different procedures) before yanking the towed vehicle down the road. It's a yearly occurance that someone attempts to drive off with the wheels on the towed locked up for one reason or another. That has to be hard on the internal parts. I am also sure that the front end doesn't appreciate the wheels being locked to the left and the rig being towed forward (also a yearly occurrence). Recreational towed vehicles is just too small a market for a manufacturer to be overly concerned with serving. I am actually surprised any manufacturer specifically allows it.

Exactly. Which kind of brings us back to Dolly’s. Will we see the humble dolly used more in the future. And especially for those driving EV’s who literally have no other choice. Is there a way to improve the dolly experience? (Which although it works, isn’t great).

[westernrvparkow]

From the manufacturer's point of view, why take chances? Recreational towing puts a lot of additional wear and tear on vehicles that does not register on the odometer. Who is to say the vehicle owner took all the necessary precautions (putting the transfer case in neutral, then shifting to park on a GM 4x4. I am sure other vehicles have different procedures) before yanking the towed vehicle down the road. It's a yearly occurance that someone attempts to drive off with the wheels on the towed locked up for one reason or another. That has to be hard on the internal parts. I am also sure that the front end doesn't appreciate the wheels being locked to the left and the rig being towed forward (also a yearly occurrence). Recreational towed vehicles is just too small a market for a manufacturer to be overly concerned with serving. I am actually surprised any manufacturer specifically allows it.

[John___Angela]

rk911 wrote:
plenty of gas options (Jeep for us) and we won't consider an EV until they have the same range as a gas vehicle and the batteries can be recharged in minutes, not hours.

Thats actually what they ended up with. They wanted New but ended up with a grand Cherokee a few years old. Nice shape though.

But it seems to me the pool of vehicles towable 4 down is shrinking and will continue to with electrification. From what I understand some of it has to with the type of transfer cases used on ICE SUV’s now as well. That and standard transmissions are getting scarcer.

[routeforty]

You're right, the selection has dwindled. We were looking for something to tow behind a Class C-couldn't find anything that fit the bill for us, so we just bought what we wanted now and will deal with the towing later. I'm thinking maybe there is a conspiracy between the tow dolly manufacturers and the auto industry(???). This has to be the reason. :B :B :B

[Lwiddis]

“Tesla supercharging stations charge with up to 145 kW of power distributed between two adjacent cars, with a maximum of 120 kW per car. That is up to 16 times as fast as public charging stations; they take about 20 minutes to charge to 50%, 40 minutes to charge to 80%, and 75 minutes to 100%.”

[rk911]

plenty of gas options (Jeep for us) and we won't consider an EV until they have the same range as a gas vehicle and the batteries can be recharged in minutes, not hours.