Four wheels down towing

[HWilson]

Hello,
Any help or advice would be appreciated, we own a 2018 Thor synergy and was considering getting a Mini Cooper or small car to use as a toad with four wheels down, I know only the manual transmission styles can be flat towed.
My question is any body towing a small car like the Mini Cooper or similar car with four wheels down and what kind of hook do you have.

We have been renting cars when we go, but that’s getting to be a hassle at some places.

Thanks in advance for any info

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by HWilson

Hello,
Any help or advice would be appreciated, we own a 2018 Thor synergy and was considering getting a Mini Cooper or small car to use as a toad with four wheels down, I know only the manual transmission styles can be flat towed.
My question is any body towing a small car like the Mini Cooper or similar car with four wheels down and what kind of hook do you have.

We have been renting cars when we go, but that’s getting to be a hassle at some places.

Thanks in advance for any info

Not all cars or trucks with manual transmissions can be flat towed. A very few 2 wheel drive cars with automatics can be flat towed. Here is the best guide for what can be flat towed. <https://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/>. As for the tow bar, wiring, base plate, braking system, and hitch e-trailer.com is a good place to start.

[Bob Denman]

The last series of Smart Cars with automatic transmissions can be towed "four-down"... (2016 and later ICE cars)
But we're putting ours on a trailer in order to simplify things for us!

MINIs are so Huge...

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/at...1&d=1581527944

[Mr Sunshine]

Agree that the Motorhome magazine dinghy tow guides are generally your best resource. I checked 2016 and 2018 and didn't find Minis on the list. The Fiat 500s are, so that might be a possibility.

We tow a Miata, which never showed on the guides as towable, but several folks online have successfully towed their Miatas. Must be a 6 speed manual. The current one is a 2011, before that we towed a 2002. Great little cars, more smiles per mile!

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by HWilson

Hello,
Any help or advice would be appreciated, we own a 2018 Thor synergy and was considering getting a Mini Cooper or small car to use as a toad with four wheels down, I know only the manual transmission styles can be flat towed.
My question is any body towing a small car like the Mini Cooper or similar car with four wheels down and what kind of hook do you have.

We have been renting cars when we go, but that’s getting to be a hassle at some places.

Thanks in advance for any info

I believe the Minis have to me manual to be towed 4 down - check the user manual.

The smaller Chevy automatic cars can be towed 4 down (Sonic, Cruze, maybe Malibu?) but the Spark must be manual. Some of the smaller Ford vehicles with auto can also be towed 4 town - check the manual.
Some SUV/CUVs with automatics can also be towed 4 down depending on the engine/transmission combo - check the manual.

See a pattern here? You can browse the guides to get a feel for what you might want that's towable 4 down but before you pull the trigger - check the Owner's Manual.

My Sonic is about the same size as a Mini (2700 lbs, 4 door sedan) and it works great as a daily driver (80K+ miles so far) as well as a toad (another 15K+ miles so far). It has a huge trunk that gets even bigger when you drop the rear seats, but easily seats 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 kids. I use a Roadmaster baseplate and a Reese Towbar.

[dubh]

Originally Posted by HWilson

Hello,
Any help or advice would be appreciated, we own a 2018 Thor synergy and was considering getting a Mini Cooper or small car to use as a toad with four wheels down, I know only the manual transmission styles can be flat towed.
My question is any body towing a small car like the Mini Cooper or similar car with four wheels down and what kind of hook do you have.

We have been renting cars when we go, but that’s getting to be a hassle at some places.

Thanks in advance for any info

We have a 2011 ford fusion hybrid. Pulls fine with our thor A30. We did have one issue and that was the car would not come out of park. Ended up being a fuse.

[M&LTing]

Hi we have a 2017 KM24 3500 Sprinter chassis. We tow a 2016 fiat 500, manual transmission, 4 down. We have a Ready Brute Elite tow bar system. It's been working great.

[alarmingfriend]

Check with the manufacturer, I assumed Jeep had to be a standard transmission but I was wrong. Clink the link and the answer will appear https://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/

[momartens]

We tow a 2019 automatic transmission Chevy Equinox four wheels down. It's the perfect size for us, as we carry our chairs and other bulky stuff when towing, have room for us and our two dogs when camped, and it's small and lightweight for towing.

[dbcassidy]

Towing a 2019 Honda Fit, 6 speed manual, four down. Blue ox hitch, RVI brake controller. Hooked up to the Thor Gemini, the set up works great. The hitch is Blue Ox, the brake controller is RVI3. Very happy with the Fit, we found the quality, handling, and price to be better than GM or Ford products.

DBCassidy

[Badmanrick]

I just purchased a Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit 4x4 8speed automatic transmission, v8 and it is ok to flat tow 4-down. Any Jeep with a two speed Hi/Lo transfer case with the Neutral button can be pulled 4-down.
I am very happy with our setup.

[Smokeater1]

We tow a 2018 Jeep Wrangler with our 3500 Sprinter chassis Fourwinds. It’s an automatic and must have the xnsn in Park with the rear axel in I 4wd...
We use a Blue Ox tow bar and braking system ...

[Ninjatoto]

We’re towing a 2017 Lincoln MKX fwd and it has neutral towing built into the settings menu. Using a 2015 Thor ACE 27.1

[richbam]

Originally Posted by dbcassidy

Towing a 2019 Honda Fit, 6 speed manual, four down. Blue ox hitch, RVI brake controller. Hooked up to the Thor Gemini, the set up works great. The hitch is Blue Ox, the brake controller is RVI3. Very happy with the Fit, we found the quality, handling, and price to be better than GM or Ford products.

DBCassidy

We have pretty much the same set-up as this. Ours is a 2017 Fit with 6 speed manual, plus Blue Ox and brake controller. The Fit is a great small vehicle for two people and has a surprising amount of space inside. Another nice feature is that the odometer doesn't register when you're towing.

[Bschue10]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

I believe the Minis have to me manual to be towed 4 down - check the user manual.

The smaller Chevy automatic cars can be towed 4 down (Sonic, Cruze, maybe Malibu?) but the Spark must be manual. Some of the smaller Ford vehicles with auto can also be towed 4 town - check the manual.
Some SUV/CUVs with automatics can also be towed 4 down depending on the engine/transmission combo - check the manual.

See a pattern here? You can browse the guides to get a feel for what you might want that's towable 4 down but before you pull the trigger - check the Owner's Manual.

My Sonic is about the same size as a Mini (2700 lbs, 4 door sedan) and it works great as a daily driver (80K+ miles so far) as well as a toad (another 15K+ miles so far). It has a huge trunk that gets even bigger when you drop the rear seats, but easily seats 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 kids. I use a Roadmaster baseplate and a Reese Towbar.

We have the same, 2013 Sonic Hatchback auto. Have a fuse switch to disable, auto battery charger and Plug and Play brake system. Put in neutral and go

[Smokeater1]

I should have said the xfer case in neutral to tow, with the xmsn in Park....

[curryd]

A Chevy sonic is nice and small and tows four down without a problem. We have a blue ox hook up.

[swd2479]

We use a 2107 30D Thor Chateu (E-450) to tow 2017 F150 4x4 short bed.
The p/u weighs about 4k when empty. Use roadmaster equipment. No issues.

[ejlerette]

I have a 2019 Nissan Versa Manual transmission. Have Blue Ox tow bar. Have to put car i neutral, ignition switch in Neutral, brake off. Had installer add line to charge battery from RV. Have to stop every 500 miles and run car in neutral for 10 minutes. This is not a problem since I only travel no more than 300 miles per day.

[SemperFi]

We flat tow a 2018 Subaru Forester six-speed manual (the last year the forester was available in manual) with a Roadmaster Falcon All Terrain, Non-Binding Tow Bar - Motorhome Mount - 2" Hitch - 6,000 lbs. We use the Roadmaster InvisiBrake Supplemental Braking System. It tows very well and does not impact the MPG.