RE: How about a Smart Car
Please do not take the word of a car dealer or RV dealer! I trust car and RV dealers as much as I trust politicians! The only way to be sure is to check your owner's manuals and your state regulations (they should be on-line), as well as the regulations of any state you may be traveling in.
RE: Automatic vs manual for toads
do people still drive stick shift cars? why? just check the owner's manual for guidance on recreational towing.
bumpy
We drive stick shift cars because we like it!
RE: Best 'kind' of vehicle to tow behind RV?
Nissan and Toyotas with manual transmisions are flat towable. We bought a 2006 Nissan Maxima with manual tranny. Nothing else flat-towable without mods appealed to us.
RE: DW wants a new TOAD
2009 HHR 22 MPG city 32 MPG Hwy E85 Gas Automatic ready for 4 down 3,200 lb.
5 Star frontal & side-impact crash test ratings
But with E85 it gets 30% less mileage, and since it takes more than a gallon of fuel to make a gallon of ethanol, why would anyone burn E85?
RE: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid - flat towable or not ??
Ford owner's manuals are available online at:
http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirs/SPubs/
From page 205 in the Fusion hybrid manual:
RECREATIONAL TOWING
An example of “recreational towing” is towing your vehicle behind a
motorhome.
Note: Put your climate control system in recirculated air mode to
prevent exhaust fumes from entering the vehicle. Refer to the Climate
controls chapter for more information.
Note: If you tow your vehicle with all four wheels on the ground, follow
these instructions:
• Tow only in the forward direction.
• Release the parking brake.
• Place the transmission shift lever in (N) Neutral.
• Place the ignition to the accessory position (refer to Starting in the Driving chapter).
• Do not exceed 65 mph (105 km/h) but you should always obey local
speed limits.
• Start the engine and allow it to run for five minutes at the beginning of each day and at each fuel stop.
You also have the option of trailering the vehicle with its front wheels on a dolly, or trailering with all four wheels off the ground.
For other towing requirements, refer to Wrecker towing in the Roadside
Emergencies chapter.
2010 Fusion Hybrid (hfv)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
205
RE: Ford or Honda???
More lying car salesmen--wait--isn't that redundant?
Ford indeed makes a FWD version of the Escape--you can see it on the Ford website. The website will also tell you where you can find the nearest Escape FWD.
It is a well-known fact Honda approves the CR-V for towing. If you get handed that line again, ask to see the owner's manual.
It always amazes me how little car salesmen know about their product.
SOmetimes you have to cut holes in the front bumper for the towbar attachments--depends on the setup. If you are in the Salt Lake area, go down to Camping world--we had our Maxima set up there in 2000, and they can tell you exactly what needs to be done to either car.
As far as which car to get, test drive them both, and pick the one that has the equipment and options you like, and feels best to you on the road. You may want to check out the new 2010 Chevy Equinox also. Same category, and the old Equinox was towable--don't know yet about the 2010, but would assume so--again, check the owner's manual.
RE: A Different Reason for Toad Selection
Most the responses you get here amount to what the responder has is the best thing. What we have would not work for you, but one thing you may consider is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We thought it had a nice ride, but too gas-thirsty and too cramped in the rear seat for us.
However, Jeep has a new Grand Cherokee in the works that gets better mileage, and has more room. They have info on the Jeep website, and it should be out early next year, with previews probably later this year. If you otherwise was satisfied with your jeep, it may me worth checking out!
RE: My situation & if I should get a toad vehicle--opinoins?
So much depends on what you like to do while you are camped. A bike or scooter of some sort would be OK to get groceries and run small errand, but is a problem if the weather is bad. Would you like to stay camped while you go exploring rough trails? A jeep may be the thing. For most purposes your S-10 would be OK,, and there is towing equipment you can buy to set it up. Motorhome.com has a list of vehicles that can be towed flat, and Roadmaster has all kinds of setups to tow most any vehicle.
Give some thought about what you will want to do while on the road, and the answer will probably come to you.
RE: Lexus IS Series
so we're going for a manual Maxima.I don't think that is approved either. Just because it's a manual transmission doesn't make it towable. It depends on how the transmission is lubed.
Well, you're flat wrong on this one, Deen. The owner's manual clearly states a Maxima with a manual transmission is flat towable, as are other Nissans. BTW, the manuals are available on-line.
RE: Industry-First Winnebago Adventurer Hybrid RV Hits the Road
I find it interesting there is still so much lack of understanding, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to hybrids. Let me try to set a few things straight:
“Hybrids only help in the city”
A Honda Civic gets 36 MPG highway, the hybrid version 45 MPG highway
The Prius has no direct equivalent, but it gets 48 Hwy, Corolla 35, and Camry 33.
“Hybrid has two power sources - electric for stop/go, gas/diesel – highway”
The electric motors in current hybrids assist the gas/diesel engines when more power is needed, such as going uphill, thus the engine uses less fuel.
Batteries get recharged when going downhill recovering energy, and assisting in braking, thus saving service brakes.
“It's not about batteries (very eco-unfriendly) or fuel mileage, or CCC. It's all about being GREEN.
Wrong! I really don’t care a lot about the green aspect, although I respect mother nature. As far as the batteries being eco-unfriendly, how about the batteries in your present coach? You’re carrying hazardous materials around.
What it is about is fuel mileage. I have always thought it’s a good idea to get good mileage on a vehicle. There is only so much fuel in the ground, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Hybrids is the only currently viable technology to extend the amount of oil we have until something better comes along.
“They use just as much diesel as any other of our similar trucks when not running on batteries.”
So the fuel they save while on battery power don’t count?
Regarding the nickel mining operation: Only a small portion of the nickel mining goes to making hybrid batteries. Sorry, you can’t blame the operation of nickel mines on hybrids.
It’s true many European diesels get better mileage than a Prius. What is also true is that these diesels don’t meet our emission standards. What is also true is that the cars that get better mileage than the Prius are minicars that few here would buy.
There’s a lot of silly propaganda regarding hybrids, like the British reporter who ran a Prius flat out followed by a BMW, of course cruising leisurely. He bragged about the BMW getting better mileage under those circumstances. What he didn’t do is take both cars through London traffic, where the Prius would have decimated the BMW on mileage!
RE: Lexus IS Series
The IS is rear-wheel drive, so it shouldn't be towed on a dolly. Not a good idea to tow a car backwards. The question is whether you want to trust a $40,000 car to a lube-pump or driveshaft disconnect? The only approved flat towable Lexus is the IS 250 with the manual transmission. We considered an IS, but it is way too small, so we're going for a manual Maxima.
RE: Honda Odyssey - Yes I know again
For all you guys that are flat-towing a newer Odyssey in spite of Honda's recommendations, I admire your guts! Please keep this forum apprised of your experiences. We had an 06 Odyssey for about 18 months, and it was one of the greatest cars we've owned.
RE: How come.....all diesels have passenger door entries?
I have to laugh at the comments about how much further it it to walk to the kitchen from a front door vs. a side door. Walking the extra ten feet gives you some needed exercise.;) Besides, have these people never owned a home? Any home I have ever lived in had a lot further to go from where we parked to the kitchen. We have discussed this many times over the last 9 years. Typically, the people who have a side door think it's a big advantage, but few of the ones who go from a side door to a front door miss the side door.
RE: 2010 Kia Soul
Other Hyundais and Kias are shown as four-down towable if they have a manual transmission, so it's a good bet the Soul is four-down towable also with a manual tranny. However, I would check the manual. Just go to a dealer and ask to see the owner's manual for a Soul.
Tow car at last!
We finally found our tow car after a long and tedious search. We're buying a 2006 Nissan Maxima and we are having it shipped here. A little nervous about buying a car sight unseen, but CARMAX seems to run a pretty good operation. We were uneasy about buying a used car, but this car has low mileage (15k miles), and CARMAX swore up and down it had not a scent of smoking in it. We just could not find a new car that had the combination of luxury, decent mileage and relatively low weight that the Maxima has. Only bad thing is now we may have to wait up to 4 weeks to get the car, and you know how it goes, once you have decided on a car, you want to start enjoying it! Of course it has a manual transmission, but I enjoy the control a manual gives me, and we have other cars for around town driving. I just couldn't stand the thought of going back to a dolly!
RE: Towing a Nissan maxima
You got the right answers. I towed a 1996 Maxima for about 70,000 miles, but they were 4-down. Of course it had a manual transmission. I'm currently looking for an 04-06 Maxima to tow 4-down. Fantastic car! Hate to buy a used one, but Nissan in their infinite wisdom chose to discontinue the manual transmission in the Maxima. Some 4-door sports car!:R
RE: Honda Odyssey - Yes I know again
Just consider that the easiest way for Honda is to say that their cars (except for the Fit and CR-V) are not towable, so they will not be liable if someone does not follow the somewhat cumbersome towing procedures. I have looked at their manual transmissions, and nothing technical would prevent you from towing, since the output shaft runs in lubrication. But it does not take many law suits from someone who may not have followed instructions, before a company gets cold feet.
RE: Opinion on towing - 4 down or tow dolly?
Towing four downis definitely much easier to hook up, and takes less space when parked. That being said, I will probably get a tow dolly soon.
Why? I quite simply have a hard time finding a car with 4-down capability that I like enough to buy--ever since they stopped putting manual transmissuions in Nissan Maximas.
