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Topic: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available (Read 9 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152309
Honda is again conspicuous by its absence. You can tow a Cadillac, but not a Honda? Sad.

Dick
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152314
Again?  Just purchased a 2014 Honda CR-V and its towable 4 wheels down. It's true that starting with 2015 that none of the Honda's will be towable.

Melinda
2011 27' MB
2011 Mid Bath
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152316
"It's true that starting with 2015 that none of the Honda's will be towable. "

I wonder if this is because of the CVT transmissions which seem to be prevalent in the new compact autos.

No manual transmission option?

Bob
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152317
No manual transmission option?

--- If I were in the market for a tow car, I'd get a white, two-door, manual transmission Toyota Yaris; very small and lightweight, a reliable engine, and a practical, fit anywhere run-around vehicle for one (or two) people.

As ever, YMMV!

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152318
"If I were in the market for a tow car, I'd get a white, two-door, manual transmission Toyota Yaris"

That's good advice for some, but it won't go up steep dirt fire roads very well. I like to think where the road ends for the LD, it starts for my Jeep.

Those old Suzuki Samurai's seem to work well as a toad, but the ride is too bouncy for an antique like me.

Bob
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152319
Every time I think about adding a toad to our 2005 RB (instead of driving our Sportsmobile campervan separately, or going sans toad as a single driver), I go through the motions of what it would cost to fit out everything to tow, to buy a new/used vehicle, and pay the extra insurance on it.  We already have a perfectly fine sedan for home use, so no need for a 'round town vehicle change out.

Compared to no toad:  This has a lot to do with lifestyle while camping, and frequency of trips.  If you wish to hop into an auxiliary vehicle and be able to go/come at any time, then a toad is pretty mandatory, especially in places where there is neither public transportation, taxis, nor rental agencies.  But what if you are the type of camper who stays in one place for quite a while - a week, a month, or more - and could have a vehicle brought to your campsite for use?  And you did this only a few times a year?  The relative cost of outfitting the whole shebang vs. the freedom from the vagaries of towing, and the expense thereof, might be a surprise.

Compared to using our current Sportsmobile:  We spent nearly ten years traveling in a 22-foot TK without a toad.  But we were more fit then, and used our bicycles some.  When we fulltimed in the hugemobile rig, and now in our current 26.5 RB, we usually bring along the Sportsmobile.  Have taken two multi-week trips in the RB with no toad and ran into problems only once when we couldn't easily get to a clinic to get a blood draw done.  It was lovely to have just one of everything to think about.

Doing the math for the Sportsmobile vs. a more reasonably-sized toad, I keep coming up with the fiscal parameters for our particular situation that suggests that I should change nothing so long as there are two drivers available.  The comfort, reliability, and extra storage that hauling around a campervan provides suits our lifestyle perfectly, and, as it is considered an RV in its own right, the insurance on it is minuscule.  It gets 18 MPG on the highway, but only 12 MPG in stop-and-go traffic within a city.  It provides food prep, shelter, bathroom facilities, and resting possibilities for day trips, or quick overnights to a place where even a smallish Class C is too large.  Our particular lifestyle requires these solutions, but not everyone would require them.

A fulltime RV'er's needs can be vastly different from a weekender's, or a part timer's.  There are just so many permutations of the lifestyle.  Combined with the withdrawal from the market of many formerly suitable vehicles, towing is becoming more and more problematic.

So . . . I ramble on like this to show that everyone's situation is unique, thus a solution must be carefully considered.  One size does not fit all.  Clearly Joan is correct - YMMV!  ;->

Virtual hugs,

Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152320
We have owned a bunch of Honda Accords since model year 1986. There were many years when Honda would not officially approve towing 4 down, but unofficially you could anyway. The last one we used as a toad was a 1988 Accord we bought used. It was a great tow vehicle. We towed it all over the U.S.

Dick
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152321
We used a variety of auxiliary transportation during our RV years.  Cars, Jeeps, motorcycles of various sizes and a Honda Elite 250 scooter.  Each has its advantages and disadvantages.  Probably the most fun was towing a Honda GoldWing on a trailer especially built for it.  For just running back and forth to the store, etc. it was hard to beat the Honda scooter.  We could also carry the scooter on the back of our Jeep Grand Cherokee, and pull the Jeep with the motorhome.  The best of both worlds.  About half of our trips were with just the motorhome.
 One time we towed a Honda Accord from Eugene Oregon to a campground in Prescott Arizona, left the motorhome in the RV park and drove to Houston to visit our daughter.  We had planned to stay in Prescott for a while, and it was just much easier to drive the car to Houston.  Not to mention better mileage.
 Another time we drove the RV to Houston trailering the GoldWing.  We left the RV at our daughter's house, and took the GoldWing to New Orleans and back.  There are so many different ways to use towed or carried vehicles.  That's part of the fun of using an RV.

Dick
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152323
Our 2010 Honda CR-V is our daily driver as well as towed vehicle so the towing outfitting costs have been easily amortized away. (Not sure that logic will stand financial scrutiny) It gets a workout - nearly 100,000 m in 4 1/2 years. The previous toad was a '96 Honda Accord which, as you say Dick, was a great towed vehicle.

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152326
Judie--

Thank you for your mental meanderings.  I've been betwixt & between about this, & for now will continue sans toad--though after Escapade in Tuscon I've thought about out how to rig the bicycle.  An Ed. professor I once had talked about the importance of modeling "think-alouds" in helping kids see how the cognitive process worked.  This is just one more reason why I love this site; this helps me so much as I learn from others.

Lynne LDy Lulubelle, '05 31' TB Lilly, 4-legged alarm
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152327
That is exactly it.  The 2015 Honda Fit, for example, can be towed 4-down with the manual transmission only.  The CVT automatic cannot (direct from the owners manual).  The 2013 Fit was the last model where the automatic transmission could be towed 4-down. There is no 2014 Fit. since the 2015 came out mid-2014.

I don't think Honda ever made a manual transmission CRV. Other models, yes.

Just because a vehicle is mentioned or not mentioned in the Dinghy Towing Guide,  you absolutely must follow the manufacturers recommendations in the car owners manual.  If dinghy towing is supported by the manufacturer, it will be covered in the Owners Manual.

-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis (towing a 2011 Honda fit, automatic transmission)
 
Motorhome 2015 Dinghy Guide available: CVT trans
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152328
According to the owners manual our 2013 Ford Fusion Energi plug in hybrid has a CVT trans and IS towable w/o modifications (we actually tow our 2005 Honda CRV).
Mike
2010 RB "Monty"  & currently: 2021 RB "Villa Verde"
2004 Born Free 26'
1998 Beaver Patriot 33'
1992 Barth Breakaway 28'
1982 Fleetwood Jamboree 23'
1982 Dolphin/Toyota 22'