What car to tow?

[Dot]

Just wanting thoughts on what type of little car would be suitable take behind the bus at some stage. We will most likely be getting another small car in the near future, it doesn't have to be a 4x4 and it must be comfortable. Does what ever it is have to be a manual? This little car will be our everyday car so the typical Jimney won't do. Won't be doing the trailer thing either. I am liking the Suzuki, Mazda , size cars

[SteveW]

If I were you, Dot, .........I would do a lot of things, however, if you want to tow an automatic there is only one choice - and it is a good choice, The Suzuki Vitara or Grand Vitara. That is because they have a transfer case that when placed in neutral, the transmission does not spin. The Hitch,n,Go website has good information which, irrespective of what hitch system you choose, is useful information.

Even though the Vitara is 4x4, and you said you do not necessarily need a 4x4, it is a good reliable vehicle that is not too expensive to run and which is easy to get in and out of for someone with a bad back - good seat height.

A couple of ladies who live near us and who travel more than half each year in their Mercedes/Wirraway have a two door, near current model, Vitara and they love it. I have suggested they take a look at this site because they are "over" formal clubs where you have to have the correct colour bucket when you go to a meeting.

[Dot]

Thanks Steve sounds good, G likes his auto's but I don't mind either, I drive the auto like a manual when doing the hilly stuff.

[BernieQ2]

We have a Grand Vitara Dot its our second one, that's says a lot.
Bernie.

[Greynomad]

Dottie,
We bought a Suzuki Jimny in 2007 because (planning ahead) we wanted the lightest possible 4WD for towing behind our future m/h. At that stage, we hadn't even decided on which m/h, and didn't know how much towing capacity we'd end up with!
If we'd known that in 2009 we were to buy Girt (the Explorer) with 6.5 litre V8 diesel power, I think we'd have gone for the 3-door Suzuki Vitara and the bigger Tilta with dual axles to carry the heavier car.
We later bought the single-axle Tilta-Trailer when it came up on the Members Market. It is rated for a max load of 1500kg; the Jimny weighs 1060kg.
The Vitara although over the 1500kg mark, has a larger engine & more "car" luxury touches than the Jimny. Our Jim is a fairly basic 1.3 litre 4WD (for these days): only luxury touches are a/con & electric windows. Ride is a little choppier than the Vitaras, too, due to shorter wheelbase. However, it has been a most reliable little beastie, both when 4WDing and as a domestic shopping cart. Fuel economy with the 1.3 l engine & auto is phenomenal, although acceleration is in the 'leisurely' category.
If the Vitaras are of comparable quality & reliability (and I can't see reasons they're any different) then I have no hesitation in recommending either the 3-door (just for you two) or the 5-door (if you frequently carry passengers in the rear seat).
On the topic of flat-towing: I wonder why people are willing to wear out expensive 4WD tyres for no benefit dragging a little 4WD behind while travelling in their m/h, when - like us - they could be wearing out trailer tyres at half the price, and saving the 4WD tyres for serious use in Nat Parks etc.
Also, if you get caught on unfamiliar roads & have to do a 3-point turn, you can't reverse with flat-towing. You have to unhitch.
With our trailer, we've only had to unhitch once in three years OTR.

[generdawg]

... I wonder why ... they could be wearing out trailer tyres ...

That reversing benefit is a very strong one, but really it's horses for courses and personal preferences. Me, I hate the limitation of towing period, but concede the advantage of not having to break camp to go for a bottle of milk or do some sight seeing.

Then there is three rego's vs two. Wouldn't it be great if you could transfer the plate from the car to the trailer.

And crossing to Tassie the toad can be unhooked and both travel separately at a cheaper rate (based on vehicle length I think), where as that cannot be achieved with a trailer.

dawg (I'm sure there are others both pro and con I've not thought of)

[T1 Terry]

The pro's for a trailer is the car choice is by weight only. Not many vehicles can be flat towed without gearbox damage, automatics would require an electric pump to move oil through the lubrication system when flat towed and every part in the auto will be spinning, just at different speeds. A manual transmission uses the spinning gears to flick oil around via the teeth, when flat towing the gears do not turn, only the rear main shaft, so no oil is splash fed into the bushes and needle roller brgs between the main shaft and the gears or the rear main brg. The only way to get fresh oil across these brg surfaces is the let the motor run for a few mins every 100km or so to prevent damage.

To me, flat towing has a lot of advantages, to drop the A frame off the ball coupling and disconnect the cables takes less time than to unhitch the trailer. With 2 drivers a serious 3 point or 40 point turn can be achieved with the big rig and the toad simply makes a U turn and couples back behind the big rig, or if not far from that night camp, simply driven there.
When you need to make that 40 point turn with the big rig after the trailer is disconnected, how do you then turn the trailer around to connect it back onto the big rig?
The tyre wear when towing as well as the fuel ecconomy has merit, but 4 truck rated tyres on a serious car trailer aren't cheap either, a 2 wheel trailer is not a very pleasant creature if a tyre fails and you don't notice it till too late, just ask Brian about that one, he has just purchased a 4 whell trailer for that very reason.

A fully enclosed car float will be the only way to stone stone damage, now you are looking at serious $$ and fuel costs, the stone gaurds on the A frame have some success so this goes for flat towing and open trailer towing petyy well much the same for both methods, a frontal part cover on a trailer turns it into a kit or parachute behind the big rig and sucks the dirt in big time.

Now, the slide out tray under the big rig.....

[generdawg]

...how do you then turn the trailer around to connect it back onto the big rig?

Now, the slide out tray under the big rig.....

1) Simples Terry - unload toad (if not already done), turn carrier, hook up carrier, reload toad.

2) you mean the one between the axles? In yer dreams T1, in yer dreams.

[Dot]

We did a 5 mth trip (WA)with our winnie and 3 dogs and at no stage did we need a tow car might have been handy on a couple of occasions but that's all. On prev smaller 3 mth trips we had taken trail bikes then a 50cc scooter but they were barely used as well. With the car we are only thinking of taking it along rather than leave it home in the garage that is the reason for just a small car as this will also be our about home one as well. I would not consider a trailer at all I loved the quick unhitch that we have seen on Steve's rig as Lorraine did it all by herself and she is not blessed with a good back either. The small amount of wear and tear on tyres would be so minor it would not be worth worrying about IMHO (female). Hey Brad Terry does dream a lot so I have been told

[norman]

[quote="Dot"]We did a 5 mth trip (WA)with our winnie and 3 dogs and at no stage did we need a tow car might have been handy on a couple of occasions but that's all. On prev smaller 3 mth trips we had taken trail bikes then a 50cc scooter but they were barely used as well. With the car we are only thinking of taking it along rather than leave it home in the garage that is the reason for just a small car as this will also be our about home one as well. I would not consider a trailer at all I loved the quick unhitch that we have seen on Steve's rig as Lorraine did it all by herself and she is not blessed with a good back either. The small amount of wear and tear on tyres would be so minor it would not be worth worrying about IMHO (female). Hey Brad Terry does dream a lot so I have been told [/quote]
That,ll be a wet one methinks..