lighter weight four down toad?

[obie311]

I googled looking for a toad to use as a dinghy for a 3500 Sprinter Class C.

The recommendations were vehicles like Jeeps, F150 pickups, Chevy Colorado, Equinox.

That's heavier than I want. Aren't there some scooters like a Kia Soul or Honda CRV or HRv that'll flat tow? A Honda Fit or BMW Mini are a little too small.

The Honda Element seemed to be what I had in mind but they don't make them anymore.

[Mike_W]

I towed my Wrangler and likely will again. BUT, I have since learned you can two a Scion xA manual tranny and the darn thing weighs almost nothing. I was going to dump it when I get the next RV but now I may try to find a bracket for it instead. I know automatic xAs had issues, but this one is bullet proof/reliable.

[LadyRVer]

I towed a Fiat 500.. weight was around 2400. Fun car.

[obie311]

rk911 thanks for the TJ Jeep recommendation. I used to own a CJ8 Scrambler and have looked enviously at the Unlimiteds. I think I'll look at some TJ's and see how the prices are running.

[rk911]

obie311 wrote:
Yes that's exactly what my calculations revealed. The published 11,030 is the figure I found from Lichtsinn RV.

A 2022 Honda CRV curb weight is ~3600 lbs. + 90 lbs for 15 gallons gas + ~40 lbs (strictly a guess) for towbar and bracket would give me a gross weight of toad vehicle of 3730. Well under the 4,220 lb. figure. I'm an old pilot so I'm used to figuring weight and balances.

Now, back to my original query. I'm looking for a four down toad in a certain size and weight parameter.

Any suggestions??

i’m an old pilot as well.

we used to tow our ‘03 2d Jeep Wranger (TJ). tows really EZ with no speed/time/distance restrictions (unlike other mfgs). Jeep made the TJ between 1997-2006 with curb weights that are less than your max weight limit. the TJ models include an extended length version (still 2d) called “Unlimited”. they had curb weights around 3800-lbs IIRC. later model Wranglers started getting heavier bur i have no personal experience with them as we still have our ‘03.

[johnhicks]

Fiat 500 manual transmission, older 4WD Chevy Tracker.

[ferndaleflyer]

I have been towing a Smart car since 2009 but I use a dolly. The current one I have now is set up to tow 4 down with a Roadmaster tow bar. I used it a couple of times and for me it is a pia to hook up and unhook so I continue to use the dolly. I'll sell the Roadmaster cheap. Smarts are hard to find now and I will soon sell our older one as we don't need 2.

[obie311]

deleted

[ferndaleflyer]

I have been towing a Smart car since 2009 but I use a dolly. The current one I have now is set up to tow 4 down with a Roadmaster tow bar. I used it a couple of times and for me it is a pia to hook up and unhook so I continue to use the dolly. I'll sell the Roadmaster cheap. Smarts are hard to find now and I will soon sell our older one as we don't need 2.

[way2roll]

Scottiemom wrote:

obie311 wrote:
I googled looking for a toad to use as a dinghy for a 3500 Sprinter Class C.

The recommendations were vehicles like Jeeps, F150 pickups, Chevy Colorado, Equinox.

That's heavier than I want. Aren't there some scooters like a Kia Soul or Honda CRV or HRv that'll flat tow? A Honda Fit or BMW Mini are a little too small.

The Honda Element seemed to be what I had in mind but they don't make them anymore.

The CRV cannot be flat towed. In fact the 2022 dinghy guide from FMCA does not list any Hondas. They used to be one of the most popular.

The guide also gives the weight. Good place to look. If you are a member you can look at all the years' guides, all the way back to 1999.

Dale

I think pre 2015 CRV's can be flat towed. We have a 2011 and it towed just fine behind our previous class A's. Getting ready to buy a MBS class C and our plan is to tow it behind that.

[bob_nestor]

routeforty wrote:
We tow a 2021 chevy spark manual transmission 4 down behind our class c. A little over2k lbs. And seriously if it were not for the rear camera I would not know it was back there. Had the base plate put on at etrailer. The car is small but gets 40mpg and works perfect for the 2 of us.

Second that! But Sparks went out of production in Aug 2022. There are still boatloads of them being shipped into the US from the South Korea factory lots, but most of them are with automatic. Did finally manage to snag one (a 2022) with a manual and the dealer told me they're scrounging up and selling old ones with manual transmissions for MORE than what a new one with an automatic is going for.

The real problems are you can't order one any longer and GM is allocating remaining inventory to dealers pretty much without letting them know what they're getting or when. So dealers have them show up on the truck unexpectedly. Many dealers are marking them up way over MSRP because of the limited supply, but some dealers are letting them go pretty much at MSRP. And very few salespeople know how to work the GM inventory system to locate what you might be looking for. Luckily I found a salesgal in another State who knew how to work the system, remembered what I was looking for, contacted me when she had one show up and sold it to me at MSRP.

[Scottiemom]

obie311 wrote:
I googled looking for a toad to use as a dinghy for a 3500 Sprinter Class C.

The recommendations were vehicles like Jeeps, F150 pickups, Chevy Colorado, Equinox.

That's heavier than I want. Aren't there some scooters like a Kia Soul or Honda CRV or HRv that'll flat tow? A Honda Fit or BMW Mini are a little too small.

The Honda Element seemed to be what I had in mind but they don't make them anymore.

The CRV cannot be flat towed. In fact the 2022 dinghy guide from FMCA does not list any Hondas. They used to be one of the most popular.

The guide also gives the weight. Good place to look. If you are a member you can look at all the years' guides, all the way back to 1999.

Dale

[routeforty]

We tow a 2021 chevy spark manual transmission 4 down behind our class c. A little over2k lbs. And seriously if it were not for the rear camera I would not know it was back there. Had the base plate put on at etrailer. The car is small but gets 40mpg and works perfect for the 2 of us.

[JoeH]

I've towed a Tracker and a Ranger.... Tracker was about 2200 lbs. Fun car !

[JRscooby]

obie311 wrote:
Trailer hitch: 5,000-lb. drawbar/ 500-lb. maximum vertical tongue weight.
GCWR: 15,250 lbs.
GCVR: 11,030 lbs. 

Don't have a tow bar. Waiting to see what toad I buy,

I'm assuming this should read GCVWR 15250 and GVWR 11030, for the combination weight, and vehicle by itself.
If this is true, the first step is weigh the van, loaded ready to camp. If you are at the vehicle's rating, then 4220 is max, and that includes the bar. But if you are below max, say 10250, you have 5000 for toad.