Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

Sandyc

13
OwnPC: Yes
NewUsed: Used
PurchDate: 10/16
Model: 3100
ModelYear: 2013
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ExtColor: Two tone brown
Location: Texas

Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« on: October 31, 2016, 11:33:59 pm »

Reference to a toad, dingy, pull-behind, whatever you call it, what vehicle do you pull? Been looking at Jeep Wrangler's. According to Phoenix, got to keep it under 5K. Thanks

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Pax

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2016, 05:58:59 am »

We tow a 2013 Ford Edge (AWD Limited). It's pretty heavy, but below the 5k limit and has plenty of room to store stuff. Lots to think about when choosing a toad.....the tow bar and base plate, auxiliary braking system, the limitations or requirements of the actual toad when towing.

We use and love the Blue Ox towbar/baseplate combo. The base plate is not very visible on the Edge until the removable tabs are placed on it when getting ready to tow. Our auxiliary braking system is the SMI Stay-IN-Play Duo, which is a semi-permanent system.....very reliable and easy to use. The requirements/limitations of towing the Edge: Cannot exceed 65 MPH while towing, must stop and run the engine for 5 minutes if towing for 4 hours straight. We don't have or use any bra or other protector for the Edge and have never had any issue with road debris kicking up from the PC.

- Mike

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TomHanlon

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2016, 08:29:13 am »

We tow a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. Like Mike, Our auxiliary braking system is the SMI Stay-IN-Play Duo, with the remote radio baking lights/signal in the PC cab. We use the Blue Ox tow bar system also. Last month on the way to Myrtle Beach, SC I bent my 13 year old tow bar and ended up replacing it with the new Blue Ox Aventa tow bar which is 2 inches longer. It works even better than the old bar when turning.

Some people have had a problem towing the Cherokee. It goes into a bad shaking until you stop. Jeep has a fix for this, but we have not as of yet so have not had the fix done. I have towed it from Maryland to South Dakota and down to Myrtle beach at the maximum highway posted speed limit, (read up to 80 MPH). We have found that the older Liberty and the Cherokee are better if you want to take another couple with you, say like out shopping or to dinner than the Wrangler. My buddy has one and every time we go out I get to drive.

« Last Edit: November 01, 2016, 03:08:43 pm by TomHanlon »

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HenryJ

205
All ready for the road
OwnPC: Yes
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Location: Florida near Tampa

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2016, 08:49:15 am »

We have a 2015 Jeep Wrangler. we had a 2008 2 door prior, this is 4 door. It tows well and has some built in modifications , the light diodes in particular so that these things do not have to be added. We used it 1 year with the traded in Class A... And it has done well. Our back seat is dog seat usually no people so leg room has not been a factor. Put shorter people back there and long les in front..

The wheel height on the jeep will determine what adjustments have to be made to get the vehicle to line up with the PC... So if you buy a car with 15" wheels you have a better chance than we did with the 17" ours came with. Sometimes changing the wheel size on a vehicle that is made for a certain size will affect the transmission we did not opt for that. Good luck. Patricia
There are DOT regulations on line up of tow car for highway use so we had ours checked out in Elkhart by a prof.

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Patricia
A new day has dawned now only traveling with Miss Elle . Jim will be watching over us.

keelhauler

560
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ExtColor: Sunlit - no paint
Location: Westlake, OH

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2016, 12:07:49 pm »

Honda CRV from 2007-2014 can be towed, four wheels down and is light enough. It is one of the most reliable small SUV's made.
They are changing the design for 2017, don't know anything about it.

« Last Edit: November 01, 2016, 03:31:01 pm by keelhauler »

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John

Dave

48
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Location: Florida

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2016, 02:03:50 pm »

we tow honda cr-v. 2013. 2015 and later not towable. we've towed it with no trouble. road master tow bar and brake buddy. we installed "toad charge" and cured the dead battery problem. nice car to drive with much stowage.

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RKS

84
OwnPC: Yes
NewUsed: New
PurchDate: 1/2016
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Location: Maine

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2016, 02:09:47 pm »

We tow a 2014 Honda CRV, which I believe is the last model year that can be towed as I think they went to the constant velocity transmission starting in 2015.
Like Pax's Ford the speed is limited to 65mph and the transmission needs to be manually exercised every 8 hours which is not a big deal. We do have issues with its battery going dead occasionally there are fixes for that and it's on my to do list.
We are set up with Blue Ox plate and tow bars which I am happy with. We use their Patriot braking system which I am not crazy about and if buying new would look at other systems.
Bob

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Bob and Michele
Previously owned a 2350 Sprinter

Doneworking

450
OwnPC: Yes
NewUsed: Used
PurchDate: September 2013
Model: 2350 Ford
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Location: Oklahoma City

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2016, 09:53:21 pm »

We have a Trailhawk like Tom in his post. Same brakes, different tow bar than Tom's. We shopped and explored a lot of possibilities before we bought the Traihawk. It is my iwfe's daily driver and I drive a Grand Cherokee. We spend a lot of summer time in the Rockies and the Trailhawk is perfect for that purpose. Also, when we flip down the back seats we have lots of room to haul stuff for our boondocking extended stays. Again like Tom, we never have any sway issues.

I think the Trailhawk may be the best driving Jeep we have ever owned in certain regards, the tranny being the most prominent. Nine speeds. Good mileage. Off road capability. Tow flat all day long.

Paul

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Ron Dittmer

5647
Ron and Irene
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ExtColor: Full Body Gray
Location: N/E Illinois

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2016, 01:03:21 am »

Hi Sandyc,

We have been towing a 2006 Jeep Liberty 4WD for 7 years now with a Roadmaster Falcon-II tow bar and Unified Tow Brake and are happy with the setup and ease of use. Our Liberty weighs 4300 pounds. We got so good at unhooking and re-hooking that when working together, my wife and I can unhook and send her off in the Liberty in 45 seconds. It takes 3 minutes to hook back up. We work together like a pit crew when we have to.

Having the manual shift transfer case with the 4 settings of 2WD, 4WD, Neutral, and 4WD-LOW, makes for a perfect tow. The main transmission gear shift lever stays in park so the transmission itself does not rotate while being towed. The transfer case goes into neutral so all the spinning action is safely done inside there. No fussing with running the tow vehicle through gears every few hundred miles as is common with other automatic transmission tow vehicles.

The Unified Tow Brake system is very effective, so much that I upgraded the Liberty's 4 rotors to performance drilled & slotted, and pads to performance ceramics. They further increase braking performance, so much that the Liberty slows down the motor home much better than when driving the motor home without the Liberty in-tow.

The Liberty tracks perfectly behind the PC. Once up to speed, we don't feel it back there. Watching it on the back-up monitor, it is very well behaved.

The only issue we have with our Liberty is a problem that may be common with many different tow vehicles. The inside edges of the front tires get worn quickly from doing sharp right-then-left, and left-then-right turns with our PC in parking lots & gas stations and such. The Liberty steering wheel doesn't seem to turn sharp enough when the vehicle is being pulled like that. Regular turns and such are perfectly fine. It's only a problem when doing that quick right/left thing with our PC. Our Liberty wheels and tires are both stock. If we had huge aftermarket tires and wheels with offsets, the condition would be much worse. Whatever vehicle you tow, I advise to keep the wheels & tires to the original specifications to keep the strange front tire wear under some control.

If considering a Wrangler, heed this. I knew someone who went through two rear PC windows because the Wrangler front fendors do not cover the wheels adequately. Stones get thrown forward at the PC breaking the rear window. I do recall his tires were very aggresive, able to capture then release large stones. You may want to invest in a towing shield.

Ron Dittmer

« Last Edit: November 02, 2016, 01:37:05 am by ron.dittmer »

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Ron (& Irene) Dittmer

Michelle Dungan

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2016, 09:14:18 pm »

Ron, that's a good warning for me to remember: I had no idea one could break the rear window of a motorhome by having rocks thrown forward by the toad's (towed's?) tires. We have an '03 Wrangler Rubicon and if we do buy a motorhome and tow it, I might mount some sort of shield or guard in front of the Jeep's tires, or have someone fabricate a fold-up cover for the rear window of the motorhome like the ones on the front windows of travel trailers.

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Ron Dittmer

5647
Ron and Irene
OwnPC: Yes
NewUsed: New
PurchDate: June 2007
Model: 2350 Ford
ModelYear: 2007
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IntColor: Cherry Green&Gray
ExtColor: Full Body Gray
Location: N/E Illinois

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2016, 06:23:59 pm »

Quote from: Michelle Dungan on November 02, 2016, 09:14:18 pm

We have an '03 Wrangler Rubicon and if we do buy a motorhome and tow it, I might mount some sort of shield or guard in front of the Jeep's tires

The people were towing a 4 door Wrangler which is the later version, right? Your previous generation might not have the same problem.

As I mentioned before, I believe the aggressive thread on their tires was so much that it was tossing much larger stones forward than normal Wrangler tires would. Regardless, maybe you could fabricate something. What comes to-mind are small shields made of thin light-weight durable plastic that clamp on the fenders with strong spring loaded clamps. Simply remove them when you disconnect the Jeep from the PC.

« Last Edit: November 04, 2016, 01:58:15 am by ron.dittmer »

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Ron (& Irene) Dittmer

Michelle Dungan

Re: Looking for the right vehicle to pull behind the PC

« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2016, 01:34:44 am »

Yes, ours is a "TJ" series, which is a generation earlier than the current ones. Any Rubicon comes with a noisy, aggressive tread that does sometimes throw stones but I don't recall ever seeing anything kicked forward, so the fenders are probably adequate. This would be something for anyone to keep an eye on, though, with any vehicle, and probably easy to check before towing on a gravel road and breaking a window: I'd assume towing on any rather dirty road in the rain should leave a distinctive grimy spray pattern on the back of the tow vehicle from the front tires of the toad if the is a problem, unless low mass road grime kicks differently than rocks.

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