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Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Thu May 23, 2019 11:21 am
by Yrjan
Iulia and I are looking for a vehicle we can set up to flat tow behind our motor home and are looking for recommendations.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Thu May 23, 2019 3:45 pm
by TJDave
Honda CRV, Mazda Miata manual trans, Honda Civic manual, Geo Tracker, Jeep Liberty, and of course, Jeep Wranglers. I'm pretty sure all of these do not require any special transmission disconnects or other BS. I'm positive the Wranglers don't.


I just got the JK all set up for my flat tow vehicle. Have not decided on a supplemental braking system yet.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Thu May 23, 2019 4:47 pm
by Yrjan
I neglected to mention it must be an automatic as Iulia does not know how to drive manual and has no interest in learning...

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri May 24, 2019 6:28 am
by Wrench
My wife just got a 2019 Honda CRV and it is a fantastic car. They said it is flat-towable. The turbo sure is fun. Amazing how peppy a little 1.5 liter can be with a snail hooked to it...

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri May 24, 2019 8:36 am
by Roman
You can't just get a tow bar mount for Iulia's car?

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri May 24, 2019 9:00 am
by Roman

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri May 24, 2019 10:54 am
by Casey
The Cherokee I’m selling is set up to flat tow!

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 3:39 pm
by dutton
Another good friend of mine recently got a CRV and it has been doing great. He mentioned it is capable of flat-tow.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 9:00 am
by Yrjan
Cheapest solution I could come up with.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 10:13 am
by Yrjan
Picked this up at Trailer Boss in Pasco for $1599.00. It has electric brakes and weighs less than 600#. Either of our Nissans should work perfectly with this setup.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 10:16 am
by TJDave
8) Cool. I was looking at those trailer boss dollies. Nice to be able to tow different vehicles.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 7:43 pm
by Yrjan
TJDave wrote:8) Cool. I was looking at those trailer boss dollies. Nice to be able to tow different vehicles.



That’s exactly what we were thinking. It’s like $2000+ to set up a vehicle for flat tow these days. With the brake buddy that’s required and all. This way we can pretty much tow almost anything behind without doing anything but driving into the dolly. It just made sense to us.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 3:30 pm
by scumby
Yrjan wrote:
TJDave wrote:8) Cool. I was looking at those trailer boss dollies. Nice to be able to tow different vehicles.



With the brake buddy that’s required and all.


Baahhhh! brake buddy, schmake buddy. i think danny researched this and if i remember correctly, a trailer over 1500 lbs needs brakes. his argument was a flat towed vehicle is not a trailer.

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2019 6:18 am
by Wrench
I do not believe that WA law requires a braking system on towed vehicles, and no, they are not considered "trailers".

Many other States DO require a towed vehicle braking system. Canada does. I heard they check at the border and wont let you through without it.

Those car dollies are the most economical option. Don't ever try to back them up, though! The biggest problem I have seen with these tow dollies is people ignoring the age of the tires, since they barely get used enough to wear the tires out...

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2019 6:04 pm
by scumby
Wrench wrote:I do not believe that WA law requires a braking system on towed vehicles, and no, they are not considered "trailers".

Many other States DO require a towed vehicle braking system. Canada does. I heard they check at the border and wont let you through without it.

Those car dollies are the most economical option. Don't ever try to back them up, though! The biggest problem I have seen with these tow dollies is people ignoring the age of the tires, since they barely get used enough to wear the tires out...


good point, i wasn't considering other states. but when was the last time you saw a MH pulled over?

Re: Recreational towing recommendations

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2019 7:26 pm
by TJDave
Pretty sure more states require a breakaway system than they do a full on supplemental brake for flat towing. Ready Brake makes a pretty good breakaway cable (similar to their braking system) that you can install cheaply on its own. Of coarse lots would have to fail for it to even activate. Hitch and/or tow bar, and safety cables. I have considered this.
As for an actual supplemental brake for the Jeep, I drive lots of different stuff everyday that takes way more distance to stop than my motorhome towing a little ole Jeep. As with driving anything of size: Plenty of following distance (5sec), always look ahead 1/4 mile, and leave yourself a way out of trouble.
We stay in WA and OR where added brakes are not required. Someday when retired, I may rethink this.