RV Towing: Dolly vs Trailer vs Flat Tow -- Which One Should You Choose?

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Are you thinking about towing a vehicle behind your RV? What options do you have? What will work best for you? In this video we talk about the different ways to tow a vehicle behind your RV and which one you should choose. You may surprised at what you hear!

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[EndlessRVing]

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[danaharris]

I use a Master Tow dolly with electric brakes behind our 2015 Coachmen Concord class C. Takes me about 5-7 minutes to dolly and strap it. I also can dolly any of the 3 different vehicles we currently own. Cost was $1, 200 complete.

[joefriedman]

We looked at all 3 options. Another reason for choosing a trailer is that you can back up a motorhome/trailer combination; but the other two can't back up more than a couple feet because there's 2 pivot points instead of one. We flat tow a 2020 Honda Fit with a manual transmission. Fit Automatics cannot be towed, but manuals can. They're just very hard to find.

We've been towing for about two years with over 18, 000 miles towed. We have a Roadmaster baseplate with a Roadmaster All Terrain non-binding tow bar. We installed a Demco Stay-in-Play Duo supplemental braking system. The advantage of the Stay-in-Play is that it's permanently installed so all we have to do is flip a switch under the dash whenever we go on tow. (If we forget to switch it off, it's no big deal UNLESS the breakaway pin gets pulled!) Because we also have to put the Fit ignition switch in Accessory position (which drains battery power more quickly), we installed an RVi Towed Battery Charger Plus. This takes the +12V power coming from the coach via the umbilical cord and uses that to trickle charge the battery. Finally, we purchased a Tow Car Shield from Coastline Manufacturing Company (www.RVandOffRoad.com) which is basically a "car bra" that extends all the way up over the windshield. That along with side mirror covers keeps the kicked up rocks etc from damaging the front of our originally brand new Honda Fit. If all we need to do is disconnect the Fit from the coach, eg for an overnight stay, the piece over the windshield folds down to give sight lines from the drivers seat without completely taking it off. My wife & I have gotten very good at teaming up to get the tow car set up or dismantled and can generally do either in about 5 to 7 minutes - less if we don't have to remove the tow shield.

The only installation issue we had was when they installed the supplemental brake system. Even though the instructions very clearly (in red, bold print) warn not to puncture the brake booster, the installer did exactly that. We finally found a Demco certified installer 150 miles away that figured out the problem and fixed it. Fortunately, the original installer stood by their guarantee and reimbursed us. This is a classic example of how being calm, cool, collected and unperturbed can be helpful! I'm sure it I had been a jerk either during the install or when investigating the issue, they would have come up with some reason not to reimburse. It's well worth calling Demco and asking for a certified installer somewhere near you.

We did have an issue with the trickle charger. The original 6-pin connector installed on the Fit didn't give me a good enough connection to the +12V line. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn't. Because the tow shield kept us from easily opening the hood and taking a look, we never knew if it was charging or not. I have just recently replaced the connector with a more substantial one and hoping that makes the difference.

Otherwise, we lube the tow bar now & then when it seems to start getting sticky. Everything else works like a champ! Thanks for sharing! Oh! And a quick safety tip: never stand between the towed vehicle and the coach, especially if the tow is a manual transmission! One inadvertent pop of the clutch and that car plows into the back of the coach with you in between! A friend of mine had both knees crushed that way. :-( (And I just took the prize for longest reply!! Haha)

[bellevue]

I think a jeep wrangler is a perfect toad. As far as I know they are all flat towable, you can get manual or automatic, 2/4 doors, its a convertible, 4 wheel drive, goes easily on a wide range of terrains. Great overview video!

[justindulong]

We used to use a tow dolly....big PIA. Stressed me out everytime we used it. Now we tow our 2021 Chevy Blazer with the NSA Ready Brute system. It's only been a few hundred miles in a few months, but so far no problems.

[billm]

Great advice about tow vehicles. Have either of you seen the picture of the 45ft Class A diesel pusher flat towing a Ford F450? The back of the F450 has a giant window decal that says "Don't mind me I am just pushing this RV."

[dennycappetta]

We were lucky to have a vehicle that was flat towable when we purchased our motorhome. It was a seven passenger Ford Flex 2012. NSA tow bars were not available at the time. We got the Blue OX 10, 000 pound model with the Blue OX Patriot braking system. The dealer installed everything but the costs was $5000 bucks.

[roydavis]

We have a 20ft. enclosed trailer. The reason is because the vehicle we will take is dependent upon where we're going and how long we'll be gone. I have a 20k towing capacity so that's no concern. With certain cars, I can take my golf cart as well. A con of a trailer you didn't mention is that there may be times you have to park the trailer in a parking lot or overflow area. The pro is you can back up a trailer. Try that flat or dolly towing.

[eddiedoherty]

Using a tow dolly for over a year. Wife and I have the process down pretty well. It’s the least expensive and quickest option. Biggest downside is moving by hand after disconnect around campsite. If you are strong and agile no problem. Right now finding a flat towable vehicle is impossible, unless you want to pay big dollars. Very few new cars are FT so while I want FT, I might be stuck using a dolly for many years.

[onetpa]

Great video, nicely done, MJ and Izzy! Ideally, I would like to protect our towed vehicle from damage, but a trailer is just too impractical - what do you do with it when you get to the campground? It complicates traveling. We have been flat towing our 2017 Jeep Wrangler for 4 years now with a 10, 000# Blue Ox system, never had a problem. There is a reason why you see so many Jeeps behind motorhomes. Takes about 5 minutes to setup and our coach doesn't know it's back there. One negative - I am told you can NEVER back up when flat towing, so be sure of where you are going, don't get jammed in some place requiring backing up, else you have to disconnect - done that a few times!

[aaronmay]

Good info. I have a tow dolly setup for now. Eventually, I would like a setup like yours. Waiting for the right vehicle to appear on the market.

[doncanaday]

Tow dolly. We have two cars we tow. Both are front wheel drive and it just works for us. The extra maneuvering at campsites keeps me in shape!

[wildwestmt]

2018 Ventana towing my 2017 Ram with nighthawk tow bar, and AirForce 1 braking. Works great!

[Prokillier]

Good video. We dolly tow our pruis and it takes me about 10 minutes to load it ....but you're right storage of the towing equipment is far superior flat towing.

[wesleywilson]

I use a tow dolly with brakes. My RV is a e 450. I tow a Mazda 6. You have to put the seat belt through the steering wheel. Because the colum doesn't lock.

[sherriweber]

Thank you Izzy and MJ for thus video. Glad you explained the difference of the two. The tow you use looks easy to hook up. If Mj can do it I can. Lol!

[susanm]

OMG this is perfect timing! I'm just starting to figure this all out. Thank you!!!

[harperfamilyadventures]

Thanks for the information, we purchased this exact setup after seeing this, discovery 44b towing ford raptor, thanks again

[ckschnabel]

We flat tow a '20 Jeep Grand Cherokee. This is the 3rd Gand Cherokee that we've used for flat towing. We use a Roadmaster Sterling tow bar (bought used), the RViBrake2 and a wireless light bar. Since I was changing cars every 3 years, I did not want a permanent install for lights and brakes. Benefit of the Jeep is that it is super easy to set up (just need to switch the transfer case to neutral) and ignition can be off, so only minimal battery drain from the LED light bar and the braking system, which only activates during heavy braking and no electrical connection needed from the RV to the Jeep. I like the RViBrake because it is very compact and allows for proportional braking. IMHO, a trailer can be difficult to deal with if you frequent smaller RV parks or State Parks. Usually sites aren't big enough to also hold the trailer and storage facilities are limited. One of our friends uses a dolly for his van and that seems to work for him. The dolly is a lot more compact and can be moved around by hand, but it's still much more involved to load and unload.

[DoubleTFishing]

I went with the etrailer tow bar, installed the onboard air brake system, not an easy install. If I were to change vehicles it would be a portable brake system