Old Lady & tow dolly. Can this relationship work?

[Getup_ngo]

Yikes! Think I've made a big mistake.

Last week I got all, "I've got to do my part to save the planet!" and traded in my flat-tow Honda CRV for a Toyota Prius -- for which I will need a tow dolly. I was just watching some YouTube how-to videos on tow dollies, with the explanations being provided by hunky, strong men. My question is whether I will be strong enough to do all that. In theory it seems simple. But there is a lot of ground-crawling and cranking. Do any of you use tow dollies? Or will I need to buy a second vehicle to flat-tow?

I'm a healthy, 5-foot-tall, 66-year-old woman. I've been motorhoming (is THAT a verb?) it solo for a dozen years, always flat-towing a CRV. But now I am in (impulsive) unknown territory.

Any suggestions (or reassurance??) from those two-wheel tow-ers?

[Big_Katuna]

I have towed CRVs and Elements for years. The fuse switch is all you need.

Also replace battery every 2-3 years.

[tropical36]

Tell me more about this umbilical

Here's a link to a 7 pin which you should have on the coach end, at least... Wiring
Whether or not you have a spare on the toad end, I can't be sure, but an alternative is to just wire tie an extra run of #12, alongside the umbilical and attach a separate one pin connector on each end.
I did this once on a factory cable that I didn't want to change out and for running a dash indicator light, telling me when the toad brakes were being supplied.
In your case, the coach end would then run to the chassis battery with an inline fuse attached at the pos terminal and the same for the toad's battery.

[tropical36]

OK, something went wrong here, so will have to start over

[Getup_ngo]

tropical36 wrote:

Getup'ngo wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

Getup'ngo wrote:
Yikes! Think I've made a big mistake.

Last week I got all, "I've got to do my part to save the planet!" and traded in my flat-tow Honda CRV for a Toyota Prius -- for which I will need a tow dolly. I was just watching some YouTube how-to videos on tow dollies, with the explanations being provided by hunky, strong men. My question is whether I will be strong enough to do all that. In theory it seems simple. But there is a lot of ground-crawling and cranking. Do any of you use tow dollies? Or will I need to buy a second vehicle to flat-tow?

I'm a healthy, 5-foot-tall, 66-year-old woman. I've been motorhoming (is THAT a verb?) it solo for a dozen years, always flat-towing a CRV. But now I am in (impulsive) unknown territory.

Any suggestions (or reassurance??) from those two-wheel tow-ers?

I've never heard of anyone going from flat towing to a dolly, that was happy, but one never know. As for what it takes, you'll become as good at it, as the the next person, I'm sure

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. After a few days of "turd shopping" trying to find a good older-model tow, I made an executive decision. I bought back my Honda CRV trade-in and will get a fuse switch to save the battery.

(Now, I need a garage stretcher ...) 😉

So I've scheduled my next trip, flat-towing again. Life is good. (And I don't have to change my rv.net signature)

Are you saying that you copped out on the deal or do you still have the Prius?
As for the battery, an extra wire in the umbilical cord, connecting both batteries and with a fuse on both ends, should keep your toad, well charged.

Yes, I kept the Prius. It's fun to drive and I got 480 miles on 8 gallons of gas. Tell me more about the umbilical. Is this a special one you can buy?

[tropical36]

Getup'ngo wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

Getup'ngo wrote:
Yikes! Think I've made a big mistake.

Last week I got all, "I've got to do my part to save the planet!" and traded in my flat-tow Honda CRV for a Toyota Prius -- for which I will need a tow dolly. I was just watching some YouTube how-to videos on tow dollies, with the explanations being provided by hunky, strong men. My question is whether I will be strong enough to do all that. In theory it seems simple. But there is a lot of ground-crawling and cranking. Do any of you use tow dollies? Or will I need to buy a second vehicle to flat-tow?

I'm a healthy, 5-foot-tall, 66-year-old woman. I've been motorhoming (is THAT a verb?) it solo for a dozen years, always flat-towing a CRV. But now I am in (impulsive) unknown territory.

Any suggestions (or reassurance??) from those two-wheel tow-ers?

I've never heard of anyone going from flat towing to a dolly, that was happy, but one never know. As for what it takes, you'll become as good at it, as the the next person, I'm sure

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. After a few days of "turd shopping" trying to find a good older-model tow, I made an executive decision. I bought back my Honda CRV trade-in and will get a fuse switch to save the battery.

(Now, I need a garage stretcher ...) 😉

So I've scheduled my next trip, flat-towing again. Life is good. (And I don't have to change my rv.net signature)

Are you saying that you copped out on the deal or do you still have the Prius?
As for the battery, an extra wire in the umbilical cord, connecting both batteries and with a fuse on both ends, should keep your toad, well charged.

[CA_Traveler]

Getup'ngo wrote:
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. After a few days of "turd shopping" trying to find a good older-model tow, I made an executive decision. I bought back my Honda CRV trade-in and will get a fuse switch to save the battery.

(Now, I need a garage stretcher ...) 😉

So I've scheduled my next trip, flat-towing again. Life is good. (And I don't have to change my rv.net signature)

Good plan.

I did not need a charge line on my 04 CRV w/o a navigation system. In checking the voltage it was apparent there was some drain. So when the opportunity arose I upgraded from my 4 wire cable to 6. Wire #5 was the charge line and wire #6 lights a cab light when the toad aux brake is applied.

The Grand Cherokee (purchased used and was set up for towing) has the identical wiring but the charge line is not used nor needed. And the aux brake is air so no battery drain.

[Getup_ngo]

tropical36 wrote:

Getup'ngo wrote:
Yikes! Think I've made a big mistake.

Last week I got all, "I've got to do my part to save the planet!" and traded in my flat-tow Honda CRV for a Toyota Prius -- for which I will need a tow dolly. I was just watching some YouTube how-to videos on tow dollies, with the explanations being provided by hunky, strong men. My question is whether I will be strong enough to do all that. In theory it seems simple. But there is a lot of ground-crawling and cranking. Do any of you use tow dollies? Or will I need to buy a second vehicle to flat-tow?

I'm a healthy, 5-foot-tall, 66-year-old woman. I've been motorhoming (is THAT a verb?) it solo for a dozen years, always flat-towing a CRV. But now I am in (impulsive) unknown territory.

Any suggestions (or reassurance??) from those two-wheel tow-ers?

I've never heard of anyone going from flat towing to a dolly, that was happy, but one never know. As for what it takes, you'll become as good at it, as the the next person, I'm sure

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. After a few days of "turd shopping" trying to find a good older-model tow, I made an executive decision. I bought back my Honda CRV trade-in and will get a fuse switch to save the battery.

(Now, I need a garage stretcher ...) 😉

So I've scheduled my next trip, flat-towing again. Life is good. (And I don't have to change my rv.net signature)

[tropical36]

Getup'ngo wrote:
Yikes! Think I've made a big mistake.

Last week I got all, "I've got to do my part to save the planet!" and traded in my flat-tow Honda CRV for a Toyota Prius -- for which I will need a tow dolly. I was just watching some YouTube how-to videos on tow dollies, with the explanations being provided by hunky, strong men. My question is whether I will be strong enough to do all that. In theory it seems simple. But there is a lot of ground-crawling and cranking. Do any of you use tow dollies? Or will I need to buy a second vehicle to flat-tow?

I'm a healthy, 5-foot-tall, 66-year-old woman. I've been motorhoming (is THAT a verb?) it solo for a dozen years, always flat-towing a CRV. But now I am in (impulsive) unknown territory.

Any suggestions (or reassurance??) from those two-wheel tow-ers?

I've never heard of anyone going from flat towing to a dolly, that was happy, but one never know. As for what it takes, you'll become as good at it, as the the next person, I'm sure

[rockhillmanor]

On my tracker the instructions stated to start it every 250 miles. Which for years I did just that and everything worked just fine on the Tracker.

Then on my last leg of a trip I thought what the heck I'm close so I didn't stop to start it at 250 miles.

Well the battery was dead upon arrival. So I guess the starting it every 250 miles also was also charging the battery back up.

To OP: That decision has to be yours and basically it seems you are committed since you already bought the car!

[Groover]

tropical_ron wrote:
I'm surprised no one has chimed in with the proven solution for flat towing later model used crv. We tow a 2010 crv. After several instances of dead bettery we bought a remote fuse switch that solved the problem. Note newest year Honda's cannot be flat towed because of different transmission now being used. Do a search for honda towing and you will find many posts.

It seems to me that running a battery charge circuit from the motorhome would be relatively easy too and you would not have to mess with the fuse.

[Heisenberg]

Hard to beat a CRV.

[FunTwoDrv]

We used a Demco SS to tow our VW. I installed longer safety chains that allowed me to thread them through the wheels without having to lay on the ground. With that simple mod, I could drive it up, attach everything without getting down on the ground.
As far as moving it, that was pretty simple and rarely necessary. We use pull through sites as much as possible and if it's a back-in, we either just push it back or leave it attached and back in.
Good luck,
Gary

[rockhillmanor]

Getup'ngo wrote:
Yikes! Think I've made a big mistake.

Last week I got all,

"I've got to do my part to save the planet!"

and traded in my flat-tow Honda CRV for a Toyota Prius .....

What you didn't take into account was you WERE already saving the planet!!

By flat towing the Honda behind your RV you were just 'dragging around the Honda not running'! Just think how much carbons you saved the planet from! :B

[gbopp]

If you think you're old at 66, you should turn in your drivers license and go on a cruise. :B