ADD/What car - RV Dinghy edition.

Thinking about vehicles to pull behind a class A RV. In particular, something that can tow four wheels down. There will be pets in the RV, along with two adults, so I need enough room to transport all in the dinghy, should an emergency arise. The first thing that popped into my mind are the Suzuki body on frame trucks - Samurai, Tracker, Sidekick, Vitara, each in 4wd. I stopped off to look at a post-1980 Bronco on the side of the road, and I'm really liking this, but I'm concerned about weight and fuel cost. If I wanted handling, a Fit sounds like the choice, but I'm not sure about flat towing, and it's pricey. The answer isn't Miata, because I'm not going to Mitt Romney my dogs.

Any suggestions or insights regarding dinghies or the Bronco as a dinghy? I'd like to keep it under $5k.

I've seen quite a few small suvs like the escape as dinghy's

I would probably look at what can be flat towed. I believe the industry term is "toad" for these vehicles if you want to do some google fu on it

"tag car"?

It seems any small car will do. A couple I know who live in an RV full-time tow around her MINI.

Personally, I'd rather try to get a small enclosed trailer. The towed car will get the crap beat out of it., plus it would give you more secure space for things like bikes and whatnot.

Old school VW beetle...

Corvair? (seen it done)

You can have fun here...

But it seems that jeeps are a favorite. look for manual transmissions.

Saturns w/ auto trans were popular for this since the trans was such that just leaving it in neutral was sufficient unlike most auto trans which needs the engine on to move trans fluid.

Any Jeep with a real transfer case you can put in neutral.

1st gen Subaru forester with a 5-speed. Handles well on road, has room for everything you'll need, can handle light off roading, and I average 30-31 MPG over my 100 mile daily commute. Not to mention they're cheap and easy to work on.

Ian F wrote: "tag car"? It seems any small car will do. A couple I know who live in an RV full-time tow around her MINI. Personally, I'd rather try to get a small enclosed trailer. The towed car will get the crap beat out of it., plus it would give you more secure space for things like bikes and whatnot.

I'd settle for a small open trailer for a cool car. get a 3000lb trailer, and take an Answer. Nice cars for tooling around, I hear.

My father in law does the exact same thing...sans dogs. His dinghy of choice is a 4 door Tracker...I forget exactly what year, early '00s IIRC. But really, I think most any small car/SUV will work.

Javelin wrote: Any Jeep with a real transfer case you can put in neutral.

I used to think the best would be an older CJ with manual locking hubs on all 4 wheels, so when being towed only the wheels are turning.

If you do decide to go with a Fit, I have a Blue Ox tow bar for one that could be yours cheap.

The Suzuki Sidekick or Samurai fits the bill nicely. They have a true transfer case, so you can engage neutral, and early 2-doors even had locking front hubs IIRC. They are light and cheap and good on gas with decent room. Only two things to watch out for:

1) Most of them have rusted back to nothing
2) The Geo/Chevy version was much uglier, so avoid.

Best combo I've seen was a low mile, cherry Subaru Brat 5 speed. Towed behind a low mile, cherry GMC front wheel drive Class A.

We used a Meyers Manx (beetle), and then a Geo Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick). The Tracker was pretty much perfect.

IIRC, you can't flat tow modern Subarus.

saturn s-series, as mentioned. they're perfect i would think.

what about something boxy. Can you flat tow a manual Scion Xb? Or a Honda Element?

This is pretty wide-open. I like the 4wds because the mpg downside is negligible considering the context, and the 4wd could be a major upside to make your travel adventures more adventuresome. Not that a 4door Vitara has any better breakover angles than a honda civic.

How about a nice 98-up Cherokee? Perfectly decent back seat, super reliable running gear, and more capable off-road than a 4dr suzuki. Easily under $5k.

I always see RVs towing Ford Escapes for some reason.

So in general, anything with a true transfer case should be fine, right? Miata still won't work for two people, dogs and cats. The Cherokee looks nice. I've always liked the XJ, and they're not too pricey around here. I'm surprised the Subaru was mentioned. I usually don't expect any AWD cars support flat towing.

I've wanted to complete the White Rim trail for a while, so I'm favoring 4wd, but I'm not married to it.

Tip: not sure if you're looking at a poseur SUV? Do a Google image search for the name of the truck followed by "White Rim." You'll either get desert scenery or pictures of wheels that shouldn't go off road.

Javelin wrote: Any Jeep with a real transfer case you can put in neutral.

I am curious.. why? Does that uncouple the drivetrain from the trans?

Indeed it does. Only super important on Autos because autos dont get lube to the output shaft if the engine is not running (driving the fluid pump via the torque converter case), so turning it will burn up all the bushings in the transmission after a while.

Tom Suddard wrote: IIRC, you can't flat tow modern Subarus.

From Subaru's website.

Manual Transmission Models All-Wheel Drive vehicles can be towed with all four wheels on the ground in neutral or with all four wheels off the ground on a trailer with the transmission in gear. Never attempt towing with only two wheels on the ground or two wheels on a dolly. Front-Wheel Drive vehicles can be towed with all four wheels on the ground in neutral or with the two front wheels off the ground.

http://www.subaru.com/owners/resource-center/vehicle-care-tips/article.html?uri=/owners/resource-center/vehicle_care_tips/posts/03052011_0000/&tq=posts/vehicle-care-tips

ACVW of some configuration or any FWD manual trans crapcan.

First gen CRV is/was popular and tows well. The auto trans is flat towable. Just need to hit neutral from the forward/drive side instead of down the column from reverse.

I don't know if the pets would fit, but I saw this sort of thing on the highway once, and though to myself that it was the first reason to buy a Smart car that I could actually understand, if not totally agree with: