Towing a Mini Cooper

[Tacouser]

I am looking to buy a 2016 Mini Cooper, manual transmission, front wheel drive. Mini says no to towing it any way. But I have seen them on the road being both dolly and 4 down towed. I just don't know what year they are.
So any of you out there towing a Mini, what year is it. And how are you towing it?

[DenverTransplant]

I had a 2015 Mini Cooper S (automatic) that we dolly towed for a couple of years before moving to a Jeep Cherokee we could tow 4 down. (I miss Mini but DW was done with loading and unloading the dolly)

The only issue I had was that about half the time after pulling it off the dolly it would throw up errors such as ABS Trouble, Engine Trouble and a few other scary messages. They would automatically clear after driving a mile or so. Eventually I tracked it down to the steering wheel not being fully secured (the dolly we used had a turntable). Once I got a better strap to secure the steering wheel, the errors never occurred again.

I mentioned it to my Mini dealer and was told "Don't mentions that to us again, especially if you are in for warranty work". The service rep said they don't support towing, even though the manual said only to tow with the front wheels off the ground.

Having said that, there are tons of people towing Mini's both on dollies (automatic) and 4 down (manual). I believe that Blue Ox sells baseplates for Mini's. The main thing is to never tell Mini that you have been towing. They seemed rather cool about it and had the attitude of don't ask, don't tell.

[Tacouser]

Its hard to find any info on the 2006 year mini, even on Google.
Thanks for the info on the 2015.

I forgot to say that I currently dolly tow a 2008 Mini Clubman with NO issues.
My concern is with a newer Mini. Don' know if antthing has changed on the newer model years.

[Norrirn]

Originally Posted by Tacouser

I am looking to buy a 2016 Mini Cooper, manual transmission, front wheel drive. Mini says no to towing it any way. But I have seen them on the road being both dolly and 4 down towed. I just don't know what year they are.

So any of you out there towing a Mini, what year is it. And how are you towing it?

We’ve towed our 2012 Mini Cooper 6 speed manual 4 down for about 4 years and some 20K miles with no issues. We use a Blue Ox tow bar and Patriot brake. I did have to wire an auxiliary power outlet direct from the battery in the Mini for the Patriot as all the Mini’s electrics are powered down when the ignition puck is removed from the car.

[Trkyte@msn.com]

I tow a 2008 mini 6 speed manual four down, no problems. I use a road master tow bar ball coupler with a drop hitch to keep tow bar level.

[SANDDOG]

Hey guys we have been towing 2013 cooper paceman for 2 months 6 speed manual about 3000 LB NO elect brake

[Yaktop]

Originally Posted by Tacouser

Its hard to find any info on the 2006 year mini, even on Google.
Thanks for the info on the 2015.

I forgot to say that I currently dolly tow a 2008 Mini Clubman with NO issues.
My concern is with a newer Mini. Don' know if antthing has changed on the newer model years.

Just bought a 2008 clubman to flat tow. Any pointers? Picking up the title tomorrow. The windshield is pretty straight up. Issues with damage?

[SANDDOG]

Originally Posted by Yaktop

Just bought a 2008 clubman to flat tow. Any pointers? Picking up the title tomorrow. The windshield is pretty straight up. Issues with damage?

Nice, good job and I am sure it’s a manual to tow 4 down. And with that said you have several opinions for the window. If it broke your comprehensive deductible will cover and will not affect your insurance rate. Secondly there are windshield guards that you can buy for towing, I’m sure someone here has a website for it. Thirdly there’s a guard that you can put on the very front end to help with additional protection. Have fun and enjoy the mini

[RV_Envy]

Can I ask how and where you wired your DC plug for the brake? Battery is hard to get at so am thinking of drilling into the glove box,,,?

Originally Posted by Norrirn

We’ve towed our 2012 Mini Cooper 6 speed manual 4 down for about 4 years and some 20K miles with no issues. We use a Blue Ox tow bar and Patriot brake. I did have to wire an auxiliary power outlet direct from the battery in the Mini for the Patriot as all the Mini’s electrics are powered down when the ignition puck is removed from the car.

[SANDDOG]

Originally Posted by RV_Envy

Can I ask how and where you wired your DC plug for the brake? Battery is hard to get at so am thinking of drilling into the glove box,,,?

Yep super pain to get at the battery . I do not use elec brakes as the car is about 3000’lb to tow. And with my Miramar I don’t even know it’s back there, if I had a jeep or a larger vehicle or a smaller tow rig then I would get electric brakes. I wish I had a better answer