Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

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Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

June 14, 2013, 02:47:55 pm

Have to consider adding a Toad. Prefer all 4 wheels down. This will be our 1st. For 1997 U295 40ft.

Thanks for ALL Suggestions and Tips .......

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #1 – June 14, 2013, 03:00:57 pm

Honda Element. The Swiss Army Knife of toads.

best, paul

Quote

Have to consider adding a Toad. Prefer all 4 wheels down. This will be our 1st. For 1997 U295 40ft.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #2 – June 14, 2013, 03:02:59 pm

2003-2005 Honda Element or CRV

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #3 – June 14, 2013, 03:54:02 pm

4WD Jeep with transfer case neutral position.. Now have a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #4 – June 14, 2013, 04:00:48 pm

Element & CRV are great, but will not carry my ATV, so the F150 is best for ME .
dave M

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #5 – June 14, 2013, 04:30:58 pm

I wanted a convertible and my wife wanted a purple car.So we have a PT cruiser { it's our PURPLE TOAD Cruiser}. Light,cheap,and great for summer time sightseeing.Gam

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #6 – June 14, 2013, 04:34:13 pm

Chevy Cobalt - with a switch to bypass the fuse that needs to be removed otherwise. Simpe to get ready to go and light weight so no brakes required by TN law.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #7 – June 14, 2013, 04:36:55 pm

2007 Tahoe. Electronic transfer case.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #8 – June 14, 2013, 04:38:21 pm

Quote from: Tim Fiedler – June 14, 2013, 03:02:59 pm

2003-2005 Honda Element or CRV

Sounds like there must be a good reason for choosing that year range. Not that we're close to getting a toad (have to have something to tow *with* first); but I'd be curious to know what makes these years extra-good.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #9 – June 14, 2013, 05:22:50 pm

Alex,
We had a 2004 Element, toad many miles, would call it nearly idiot proof, just do the instructions and go.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #10 – June 14, 2013, 05:36:23 pm

We still have our 2004 Element. 120,000 miles and counting. Plus 40,000 miles or so towing.

We took 3 full-size bicycles to Mexico in it. It still had room for driver and passenger.

We have a stick shift tranny. It's fun going thru 5 gears.

best, paul

Quote

We had a 2004 Element, toad many miles, would call it nearly idiot proof, just do the instructions and go.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #11 – June 14, 2013, 05:40:55 pm

Go with the Jeep Wrangler. Not too heavy and can go anywhere. I have used mine on the beach and in the mountains on off road trails fire roads and in the snow. I was in Yellowstone adn looking at a bear and the ranger said if you were on the road you had to leave so I pulled across the ditch and watched the bear for a while. It is a great towed vehicle and no restrictions on it either.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #12 – June 14, 2013, 06:22:38 pm

1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD was hooked to the back of the 1997 U295 when we bought both vehicles.

Both vehicles still work. To tow, I have to hook the Roadmaster Stowaway to the ball on the coach, attach safety cables, brake cable, light cable, install electric brake actuator with two pins, put transfer case in neutral, and put key ignition switch in position to unlock the steering wheel.

4WD provides the transfer case to allow four-down towing. We found 4WD is nifty for driving in snow as well. Some time we may actually take it on some "off the pavement" adventures.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #13 – June 14, 2013, 06:23:14 pm

Quote from: jayncat – June 14, 2013, 02:47:55 pm

Have to consider adding a Toad. Prefer all 4 wheels down. This will be our 1st. For 1997 U295 40ft.

Thanks for ALL Suggestions and Tips .......

Four wheels down, 2 axle, Featherlite 24' car hauler:
Why?
"Think outside the Box"
Carries any car we happen to enjoy and a full dress, touring motorcycle as well.
Ours, at various times, has carried 2000 and 2004 Honda Odysseys, a 2001 Acura MDX AWD (all set up for towing as well), a 1986 Mercedes 420SEL collectible , a 2010 Lexus RX350 AWD, in combination with either a 2004 Honda Goldwing or a full dress Harley.
We spent just over six weeks coming north from FL this spring, stayed in 12 different parks/campgrounds ranging from state to national to low/hi end as well as Wal-Marts. We never uncoupled the trailer. The current car and bike stayed sparkling clean, received no road rash and accumulated no towing wear and tear.
Understand it's not for everyone, but if you like keeping things pristine, it's difficult to beat.
One just has to use the campground search tools and call ahead.
Neal

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #14 – June 14, 2013, 06:37:12 pm

2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited automatic (much improved over earlier years). 9K on road. 10K towed. Flawless. Our only car. Goes anywhere. Does everything but only 20mpg combined. Very easy to hook up unlike Honda CRVs we've towed. Had a CRV a few years ago but transmission failed at 3K miles after following manual exactly. Honda USA refunded purchase price. Bought a Saturn. Excellent.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #15 – June 14, 2013, 06:53:16 pm

We finally decided to try the Remco Transmission Pump. We wanted a Chrysler, Town & Country with "Stow and Go" seating so we can overnight in some of the small old National Park and State Park campgrounds where the 40 footer won't go. The only way to tow four down is with a transmission pump. So far 2000 miles and no problems. The transmission pump opens up many vehicles that otherwise can't be towed four down.

Hook up was relatively simple. A monitoring unit at the drivers location is needed. We used the existing front to back extra wires originally installed by Foretravel. The pump is powered by the coach starting batteries through the pig tail wiring. If for any reason the transmission pump fails an alarms goes off and a red light shows up so one can pull off of the road before damaging the vehicle transmission. Although the pump on this van was already in place, it appears that installation would be very easy and take just a couple of hours.

Just go to the Remco website, Recommended Vehicles : Remco, to see what vehicles can be used with the Transmission Pump.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #16 – June 14, 2013, 06:57:53 pm

We've towed a 2007 4X4 Dodge Dakota for 6-years or so. Just replaced it with a 2010 Dakota. Like the Dakota its size/weight, and for the absolute ease of selecting neutral on the transfer-case; other than our '01 Jeep, couldn't be easier.

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Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #17 – June 14, 2013, 07:17:54 pm

We have a 1998 Jeep Wrangler, 5 spd, transfer case with neutral position, removable soft top, good heater, goes anywhere we have wanted it to go. It cost $6000 two years ago. Probably won't change value for several more years. We use a StowMaster tow bar and a NSA ReadyBrake receiver/brake system. This lets us tow the Jeep with the coach or any other vehicle that has a 2" receiver and have braking.

Bottom line ... Flexibility for all of the things we want a towed vehicle to do for us. Everyone's needs and uses of towed vehicles is different. Figure out what your's are and get the best fit.

Roger

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #18 – June 14, 2013, 07:22:51 pm

I have a 2005 Dodge Dakota 4x4, tows great but did buy a Jeep as I got tired of using my daily driver as a tow vehicle.......Jeep is more fun also!

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #19 – June 14, 2013, 07:43:14 pm

Quote from: Paul Smith – June 14, 2013, 03:00:57 pm

Honda Element. The Swiss Army Knife of toads.

best, paul

I have to agree. It has to be a pre 2006 model as after that Honda did not sanction 4 down towing. We've now added a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited to the toad garage but still need to have the towing hardware installed.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #20 – June 14, 2013, 07:50:48 pm

Honda CRV 2011 is towable per owners manual.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #21 – June 14, 2013, 07:54:31 pm

2013 Toyota Carolla - manual trans.

We chose this vehicle because it is less than 3000# and does not legally require braking system in most states.

jack

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #22 – June 14, 2013, 07:57:56 pm

Hi Steve;

We have an '01 Wrangler, but it's 90% an off-road vehicle; lifted, 33" mudders etc. Not really practical for towing, thou I "can" tow it if we really need or want to. I like the Dakota for the reasons stated. Our '07 was t-boned by a (testing) red-light runner and insurance totaled it. I went through the "what do I really want" scenarios, but found a very nice super-crew 2010 Dakota with 20K miles, so ....... M bed-extender, all my Roadmaster and most of my Blue-Ox hardware fits, too, which is nice!

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #23 – June 14, 2013, 08:44:02 pm

I tow a 1992 Mitsubishi Montero 5 speed manual transmission running on 33" tires. It's my on/off road vehicle. It's setup for overnight trips also, to old to sleep on the ground anymore.

Re: Which Toad Did You Chose for All 4 Wheels Down, AND WHY???

Reply #24 – June 14, 2013, 09:19:19 pm

We've towed two Subarus, a 99 Legacy and a 10 Forrester. Both were standard transmissions. Put it in neutral with switch on Accessories and you're good to go.

Had a Samarai tin top. Lots of fun but uncomfortable and real slow.

Now we're towing a 98 Cherokee auto. Transfer case in neutral, trans in Park, key on Accessories.

For convenience and comfort the Subarus are hard to beat. Good luck.
jor

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