93 225, Cummins 5.9 320 hp, 4 spd Allison, Pac Brake
I'm looking for some advice on a toad for my 225. We just bought it (from Jeff and Carol). It's been towing a 95 Jeep Liberty which weighs around 3,400#. When we bought it we towed our car home on a dolly. The combo weight was about 4,150# and it seemed to handle it OK. Anyhow, I was hoping to find a toad that weighs 3,000 or less but I'm having trouble coming up with the right vehicle (old and cheap). We used to tow an 87 Samurai with our C but of course, I sold that! Anyhow, I'd like to hear from anyone with experience with our combination (225 with the 5.9) and a toad. e.g. The guy up the street has a 95 Isuzu (Izuzu, EEsuzu) Trooper, five spd that looks good but it weighs over 4,000#. Thanks. I'm going to post something similar over at rv.net too.
jor
We tow a 2003 Pontiac Vibe (purchased new) that has served us very well. It is the base model, 5-speed std transmission and weighs just over 2700 lbs. FWIW it has Toyota Corolla running gear and, except for cosmetics, is the same car a Toyota Matrix. My mpg is 30 in town and 36 on the highway. BTW only the std transmission can be towed four wheels down.
You might look around for an old Saturn - fiberglass bodies that were fairly lightweight for towing, and most could be towed 4-down even with an automatic transmission. I'm thinking of the mid/late 90's SL1/SL2 sedans. Our first toad was a '95 SL1. Basic, beater car but it worked for our class C. You might even find one that's set up for towing, at least with the baseplate, since they were fairly popular toads in their day.
Downside is that they aren't very comfortable for long days of touring (being basic, no-frills cars) and now that Saturn is gone, not sure about parts availability.
Gen1 Honda CR-V might fit the weight requirement (Gen 2's like ours are around 3300 lbs), or an older (late '90's) Accord might be an option as well.
Michelle
Look at a 2003 element 2wd, just over 3000 lbs, reasonable, and no mods to tow four down other than hitch
If I were looking for a good light weight car to be the perfect toad, it would be none other than the ole VW Beetle, seems they run about 1800 lbs, and are the perfect toad.
Only side note, you should be handy with metric wrenches
For a list of vehicle which can be flat towed for each of the last 10 years, go to: http://www.fmca.com/motorhome/towing/204-towing-index (http://www.fmca.com/motorhome/towing/204-towing-index)
For older, Ford Escort 5 speed is around 2500 pounds, as is the Ford Focus 5 speed.
Brett Wolfe
John, I think my son still has a 1999 Saturn SC1 two door for sale. I have the brackets for a Saturn's tow bar. If your interested, I will call him to see if he still has it. Price is $2,200 if so. I will throw in the tow brackets. The car would be in Oklahoma City.
We had a 96 Saturn and towed it behind our U225. It weighed under 3,000 lbs., towed great and ran great. We got 34 mpg highway and it was pretty comfy to drive. Getting in an out was a little more of a chore.
Hey Kent!
We have been towing a 2001 Toyota Echo manual behind our very underpowered Isuzu Trek. It will soon go behind a Foretravel of some sort. Tows flat, weight very little, gets 43 MPG highway, lots of room, four doors. We have towed it for 50,000 miles with no issues. We have driven it 96,000 miles with no repairs but a battery, brakes, air filter, and plugs at 60,000 miles.
oldMattB
I think the best setup I've had was my 1985 VW Jetta turbo diesel 5sp. It was great on fuel approx 45 mpg around town and weighed 2500 lbs. I loved that car. At 425,000 miles the engine needed replacing so I sold it to someone looking for a project. I am actually looking for another one. I have also had a Grand Cherokee which was fine but a little heavy. But, I have most recently started pulling my 2500 4x4 suburban. That is a bit much...
I set up a 99 Acura to tow and also be the DW's car but when I acquired a 97 Saturn SL2 I quit towing the Acura, the Saturn is lighter and easier to hook up ( Roadmaster Bar ) and since I have little money in it it is expendable. Who cares about the sandblastred WS and the rock pits in the hood ?
Any of the mid nineties Saturn's (SC, SL, SW) are a great tow. The "2" indicates the DOHC engine which delivers spirited performance with good mileage. Cheap, and the plastic body panels don't ding.
Last year we were shopping for a cheap toad to replace our Bronco 2. A month before our planned trip to the west coast I lucked out and found a local guy that was getting out of the delivering motor homes work. He had a 2006 Saturn Vue for sale, diode wired, automatic locking Roadmaster tow bar ready to go for less than $7000.00 dollars. I bought the whole package and have towed it about 8000 miles so far and it tows great. The Vue has lots of storage and plenty of space for four adults (me and my wife are not on the light weight side). I looked at some Jeeps and the Vue was easer to get in and out of. This one has the V6 engine (a lot of pep), and is automatic and tows four down, like most Saturn's. Our requirements were (1) four door, (2) automatic transmission (3) four down towing (4) smooth ride and (5) a clean car. Being as it was a tow vehicle mileage was not an issue (it has 85,000 driven miles)
We have fallen in love with the Saturn, my wife drives it every day.
Donald
If I had a Cummins 5.9 in a Foretravel, I would use a Ford Super Duty pickup with one of the Power Stroke engines, along with the automatic transmission as a Toad / Pusher / Helper.
Hook up as usual like a Toad, but using an air throttle on the pickup and the engine running and in Drive, let it push you down the road. Sure make small hills out of them mountains.
We used this system to push Buses back to shop. When one broke down, just drive the pickup to where the bus is, hook up, and connect air throttle to unit in pickup. If bus engine was dead, used the gasoline powered air compressor in back of pickup to run the air system for brakes, and air bags etc.
Not real quick on the bus, but should be gang busters on the 5.9 coach even if the Cummins wont run.