Question Walk through for preparing a vehicle for flat towing

[MapNerd]

Whether you flat tow, trailer tow or dolly tow, you’re going to spend approximately the same amount on a setup. With dolly towing, as you’ve now seen, the bulk of the expense will be on the dolly. The same goes for a trailer. Flat towing, you’ll be spending on the additional equipment you need to add to your vehicle so that you can tow it, assuming the vehcile is towable in this manner. Yours is not.

there are cheaper tow dollys and trailers out there. I just have a personal preference for Roadmaster’s products.

to me personally, dolly towing makes the least sense. If you trailer tow, you still have to buy a trailer and that can cost about the same as a good dolly, but with a trailer you can back up. When you get to a compaground, dolly or trailer, you need a place to stash the gear. Not all campgrounds have overflow parking for this so sometimes that means your own site. That is really the only scenario where a a dolly is better than a trailer in my opinion. With flat towing, you avoid the need to stash any gear but you can’t back up and you’ll be adding a few aftermarket components to your vehicle.

it’s important that you take your time, consider the options and decide what’s right for you and your situation. The correct answer - all of them when it comes to RVing - are different for everyone because our situations are all slightly different.

good luck and don’t be afraid to ask more questions

 

[Joe Hogan]

We use a Demco dolly, towing a VW Passat sedan. Backing up with the Passat on the Dolly does not work well or for very far but a short distance in a pinch is helpful.
Backing up with the Dolly empty is relatively simple. Typically I unload the sedan and back the Dolly into a back in campsite.(Prefer drive thru campsites leaving the car on the Dolly but back in works)
We have used this combination for over three years and 25k. Works well.

Given the choice I'd prefer a Flat Tow. Just have not been able to determine a good setup that works for me.

 

[Hillman]

Whether you flat tow, trailer tow or dolly tow, you’re going to spend approximately the same amount on a setup. With dolly towing, as you’ve now seen, the bulk of the expense will be on the dolly. The same goes for a trailer. Flat towing, you’ll be spending on the additional equipment you need to add to your vehicle so that you can tow it, assuming the vehcile is towable in this manner. Yours is not.

there are cheaper tow dollys and trailers out there. I just have a personal preference for Roadmaster’s products.

to me personally, dolly towing makes the least sense. If you trailer tow, you still have to buy a trailer and that can cost about the same as a good dolly, but with a trailer you can back up. When you get to a compaground, dolly or trailer, you need a place to stash the gear. Not all campgrounds have overflow parking for this so sometimes that means your own site. That is really the only scenario where a a dolly is better than a trailer in my opinion. With flat towing, you avoid the need to stash any gear but you can’t back up and you’ll be adding a few aftermarket components to your vehicle.

it’s important that you take your time, consider the options and decide what’s right for you and your situation. The correct answer - all of them when it comes to RVing - are different for everyone because our situations are all slightly different.

good luck and don’t be afraid to ask more questions

While cost between dolly and trailer towing may be similar, the trailers I've looked at weigh about 1,000lbs or more over the Dolly, and if I'm looking at a 5000lb hitch, and a 4500lb van, I'm already pushing or passing my limit. I've removed three of the four rear seats of the van to save some weight, but no way can I shave a thousand pounds off from it. Gas tank only 1/3 full even. So with a Class A with a 5000lb hitch, I'm relegated to a light dolly if I want to tow my Grand Caravan. However, to tow my wife's Jeep Renegade, which is 1,000lbs less than my van, I might be able to trailer tow it. But even then, 3500lbs empty for the Jeep, plus 1500lbs for the trailer is right at the edge. After spending weeks trying to figure this out, I don't understand how I see so many people towing with their RVs. Am I just worrying too much? Or are they all upgrading their hitches? I saw a Class C pulling an F150 on a trailer this summer. Flat towing is out for my vehicles, which is fine. But it's either dolly tow my DGC or trailer tow the Renegade at this point. Our budget doesn't allow us to trade either of those vehicles right now, not if we want to keep to our financial plans.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Sadly, many of the RVs you see towing or being towed are doing so unsafely. They get away with it (until they don’t) and feel like everything is fine. Someone recently posted a link to an article (I couldn’t find it in a quick search) that claimed 50% of the RVs towing or being towed fell into the unsafe category. When people do that, they put themselves, their families and all others sharing the road with them at risk. I commend you for wanting to do it right. Thank you!

Unfortunately, we sometimes find ourselves in a position where ”doing it right” doesn’t mesh with the reality of the moment and we need to put things on hold. Given the combination of things you’ve mentioned, you may need to adjust your plans for the time being. Going with a smaller Class C and not towing a car is doable. Is it always convenient? No! But it can work and lots of folks do it. You can even rent a Class C to do that.

Given your vehicle situation and budget concerns, towing a lightweight pop-up (aka “tent”) trailer behind the Caravan might also be an option. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, again, thanks for being concerned enough to seek advice and do things right.

TJ

 

[Hillman]

Sadly, many of the RVs you see towing or being towed are doing so unsafely. They get away with it (until they don’t) and feel like everything is fine. Someone recently posted a link to an article (I couldn’t find it in a quick search) that claimed 50% of the RVs towing or being towed fell into the unsafe category. When people do that, they put themselves, their families and all others sharing the road with them at risk. I commend you for wanting to do it right. Thank you!

Unfortunately, we sometimes find ourselves in a position where ”doing it right” doesn’t mesh with the reality of the moment and we need to put things on hold. Given the combination of things you’ve mentioned, you may need to adjust your plans for the time being. Going with a smaller Class C and not towing a car is doable. Is it always convenient? No! But it can work and lots of folks do it. You can even rent a Class C to do that.

Given your vehicle situation and budget concerns, towing a lightweight pop-up (aka “tent”) trailer behind the Caravan might also be an option. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, again, thanks for being concerned enough to seek advice and do things right.

TJ

Thanks. While our budget can be adjusted, it needs to be done judiciously. This year is the perfect time, in our long term plan, for making this trip, so we WILL make it work, it's just balancing comfort, safety, fun, $$$, and what we want from our equipment for the future. I am looking heavily at all options. I know I can do it right at the limit of safety, but I'm trying to play it a little more conservatively than that. I know much more this time around than a few years back when we just bought a trailer off CL, hitched it up, and went. Definately didn't do it right that time.

 

[Hillman]

We use a Demco dolly, towing a VW Passat sedan. Backing up with the Passat on the Dolly does not work well or for very far but a short distance in a pinch is helpful.
Backing up with the Dolly empty is relatively simple. Typically I unload the sedan and back the Dolly into a back in campsite.(Prefer drive thru campsites leaving the car on the Dolly but back in works)
We have used this combination for over three years and 25k. Works well.

Given the choice I'd prefer a Flat Tow. Just have not been able to determine a good setup that works for me.

My concern was I heard you can't back up at all. So not even a nudge, if I have to readjust? Then I see maybe 10 feet, maybe a couple feet. I'm fine with that, really. I can live with swooping around when I screw up too much. I don't need to back anything up a long ways, I just didn't understand if you could back up like a foot or two in a pinch. Thanks.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

My concern was I heard you can't back up at all. So not even a nudge, if I have to readjust? Then I see maybe 10 feet, maybe a couple feet. I'm fine with that, really. I can live with swooping around when I screw up too much. I don't need to back anything up a long ways, I just didn't understand if you could back up like a foot or two in a pinch. Thanks.

You “probably” can back up a foot or two without an issue; “maybe” 5-10 feet in a pinch. “Probably” and “maybe” are the operative words here. I’m sure the dolly and tow bar manufacturers are being conservative with their recommendations for liability reasons. So, you “probably” don’t need to live in fear of having the dolly/towed vehicle back up a foot or two but the recommendation is to not make a practice of it.

That said, if damage were to occur to the towed or towing vehicle because you backed it up, just understand that no one but you will be “responsible.” Life is full of choices and each one needs to be measured before making it.

Please also understand that when you ask for guidance or recommendations on RVF, those of us who respond feel obligated to give you the best advice we can. We all want to see more folks enjoy the RV lifestyle and never like telling someone something they really don’t want to hear. However, if we didn’t give you the benefit of our experience in an honest way, we would be doing people a disservice.

Good luck on making the right choice for you and your family.

TJ

 

[Hillman]

You “probably” can back up a foot or two without an issue; “maybe” 5-10 feet in a pinch. “Probably” and “maybe” are the operative words here. I’m sure the dolly and tow bar manufacturers are being conservative with their recommendations for liability reasons. So, you “probably” don’t need to live in fear of having the dolly/towed vehicle back up a foot or two but the recommendation is to not make a practice of it.

That said, if damage were to occur to the towed or towing vehicle because you backed it up, just understand that no one but you will be “responsible.” Life is full of choices and each one needs to be measured before making it.

Please also understand that when you ask for guidance or recommendations on RVF, those of us who respond feel obligated to give you the best advice we can. We all want to see more folks enjoy the RV lifestyle and never like telling someone something they really don’t want to hear. However, if we didn’t give you the benefit of our experience in an honest way, we would be doing people a disservice.

Good luck on making the right choice for you and your family.

TJ

I absolutely appreciate the honest answers from folks with experience.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

My concern was I heard you can't back up at all. So not even a nudge, if I have to readjust? Then I see maybe 10 feet, maybe a couple feet. I'm fine with that, really. I can live with swooping around when I screw up too much. I don't need to back anything up a long ways, I just didn't understand if you could back up like a foot or two in a pinch. Thanks.

Here’s the problem with backing up with a FLAT TOW...
It’s all about “caster”. When a vehicle is pushed backwards, the front wheels will immediately flip to one side. Yes, I’ve tried it, and I couldn’t back up more than a couple feet before it happened.

The caster angle is set for forward travel. Even if a car is allowed to freely roll backwards, the wheels will have a tendency to turn. But, when being pushed, it amplifies the force, because the TOAD isn’t able to go in the path dictated by the wheels; instead, it’s forced by the tow-bar. So, the damage is likely to be at the weakest link, probably the tow-bar struts. I’m sure the front-end of the TOAD won’t be happy either, but I kinda doubt it would break before the tow-bar. But that’s not the point.

Our “emergency plan” is something I’ve never heard anyone talk about, other than from utter non-sense. IF we have to back up, with my TOAD (Raptor), the plan will be to start it in order to give power to the steering, then have my wife HOLD THE STEERING IN PLACE as I back up. HER job is to HOLD the steering just as it is. And MY job is to not make any radical turn changes with the coach. This will allow the coach and TOAD to back up in the same line and shouldn’t cause any problem.

I know this was a bit off the question of towing, but since you had a concern about backing up, I thought it would help to hear my thoughts.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Here’s the problem with backing up with a FLAT TOW...
It’s all about “caster”. When a vehicle is pushed backwards, the front wheels will immediately flip to one side. Yes, I’ve tried it, and I couldn’t back up more than a couple feet before it happened.

The caster angle is set for forward travel. Even if a car is allowed to freely roll backwards, the wheels will have a tendency to turn. But, when being pushed, it amplifies the force, because the TOAD isn’t able to go in the path dictated by the wheels; instead, it’s forced by the tow-bar. So, the damage is likely to be at the weakest link, probably the tow-bar struts. I’m sure the front-end of the TOAD won’t be happy either, but I kinda doubt it would break before the tow-bar. But that’s not the point.

Our “emergency plan” is something I’ve never heard anyone talk about, other than from utter non-sense. IF we have to back up, with my TOAD (Raptor), the plan will be to start it in order to give power to the steering, then have my wife HOLD THE STEERING IN PLACE as I back up. HER job is to HOLD the steering just as it is. And MY job is to not make any radical turn changes with the coach. This will allow the coach and TOAD to back up in the same line and shouldn’t cause any problem.

I know this was a bit off the question of towing, but since you had a concern about backing up, I thought it would help to hear my thoughts.

Excellent point, @CaptainGizmo! This is our unsaid policy as well. Further, our plan includes having the toad driver put it in reverse and gently apply a little throttle to keep rearward tension on the tow bar.

TJ