Toad or Trailer – That is the Question

[lvmci]

hi Gary, stayed at Oak Creek in Sedona, with a trailer, the place I had to park the bike trailer was about 400ft away. lvmci...

[Paso One]

I also concur 4 down by far. I had a breakdown once and had to go back for the car dolly as of coarse the car on the dolly didn't have a hitch on the back LOL

[Scott & Heather]

Nuther vote for 4 down. 1998 land cruise triple locked.



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[goutoe]

Definately 4 down I will never own another caddie, 2002 Tracker, manual transfer case.

[Dave5Cs]

4 down easy peasey...
Dave5Cs

[HB of CJ]

Another point of view that seems to be ignored.  How far can you back up?  Can you back up while turning?  Can you make a U-turn backing up?  All of these naggy questions MUST be addressed if one wants to safely drive your Bus Conversion.

Not that you might have too.  But CAN you?  Pull your personnel vehicle behind your Bus Conversion with a trailer.  You MUST be able to safely back up.  Most likely with a spotter, but sometimes in an emergency just backing up quite a ways all by yourself.

If this exceeds your driving ability or hits your comfort zone then perhaps you have no business driving your Bus Conversion at all.  You must practice emergency backing.  We did.  You must be able to back up quite a ways very quickly.  A necessity.

Folks, you may never need to in an emergency, but consider the results if you can not back up at all.  Dollies may be death traps.  Towing all wheels down also a death trap if you can not exhibit the ability to use the reverse gear or gears provided. Yep.

In our old long gone Crown Supercoach wanna be Bus Conversion we practiced boot legger back ups and reversing.  We could run in H reverse at 25 mph.  Then turn quickly.  Perhaps overkill but we did also practice U-turns and figure eights.

If you insist on pulling your personal vehicle behind your Bus Conversion, get a proper and safe trailer and put your car on the trailer.  Forget the dollies.  Forget all wheels down toad options.  With both you CAN NOT safely back up at all.  Basic safety.

[Prevost45]

Backing with a towed can be done , tow dolly is a wreck. More than once in 20 years  45' coach towing Jeep Wrangler. In emergency I've just put it in "R" and start creeping back, you feel the jeep go full lock steering keep going watching for it to show up in the mirrors, chase it as necessary. It's not pretty it scuffs the tires , put it in Drive your gone , out of whatever you got into.

More time less tire scuff get out start the jeep for power steering, tie the seatbelt thru the steering wheel & latch it. Reverse as necessary chase it like a trailer make turns park it like a pro. It backs like a spread axle trailer. I've done this many times zero damage to Jeep.

I know many say it can't be done , this isn't for everyone.

[lostagain]

You really have to watch where you go, knowing you cannot back up. And when you get stuck, which happens, you get out, unhook everything, turn around, and re-hitch. What would be an emergency that would require backing up immediately, with no time to unhook?

JC

[gumpy]

Guess I'm just a young punk, but in my 40+ years of driving, I've never had an instance where I had to do an emergency back up.

I did have to back up once after a dog ran out in front of my pickup and got himself hit. Evidently my front wheel stopped on his leg or tail. He was  on the right front corner a yelping and howling and as I started to get out to see how bad he was hurt, a crowd was forming and they all started yelling at me to back up. I did. The dog took off.

I don't subscribe to the theory that pulling a vehicle 4-down puts you in any kind of danger by not being able to back up immediately.

[kyle4501]

I do believe that if I can drag it behind me, it can be pushed out of the way in an emergency.
 - Just like anything else that happens to be in the way 

[DoubleEagle]

As I mentioned in my previous post, backing up with anything other than a trailer is a problem. If the combination is straight you can backup a short distance until the front wheels cross uneven ground or obstructions and the wheels begin to turn out of line. You are then forcing the vehicle back with the wheels severely cocked wasting good rubber and putting stress on the wheels that can bend them or dismount the tire if you go long enough and fast enough. If you are turning as well, the vehicle can jacknife at a severe angle that can cause damage to both vehicles and the hitch. The front wheels of the towed vehicle are castored to run true when going forward, not in reverse. Sure it is convenient and easy to tow 4 wheels down, provided the driveline and transmission are not harmed from lack of lubrication, but if there is a need to back up for any reason there will be difficulty even if the steering wheel was secured. If someone was in the vehicle to keep the steering steady there would still be difficulty when making a turn. Having a vehicle on a trailer solves all the backing problems provided you are skilled at driving that combination, but then you might face length problems at campgrounds and have to store the trailer away from the site. If you are parking late at night in a truck stop and the only spaces left are back-ins between two tractor-trailers, only the trailer setup will get you in. (I am assuming that many of you are former or current tractor-trailer drivers and know exactly what I mean).

There is no simple answer to the question of which method is best, it depends on what you can do, what equipment you have, and how much inconvenience you can put up with. This is why some people have gone through the expense and trouble of putting cut-down vehicles in cargo bays, as well as motorcycles, mopeds, ATV's, etc. One fellow that was featured in Bus Conversions Magazine years ago had his bus modified to have the rear cap go up hydraulically, and ramps folding down to drive his Suzuki 4X4 up and in the back (I think it was an Eagle, if I remember correctly).

[Scott & Heather]

I've backed up with a toad 4 down. Can't go far, but sometimes a couple of feet makes the difference. I've had my wife sit in the toad and steer while I back up. Works too.


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[chessie4905]

If you need to back up more than a little bit unhook and move toad. I would recommend to seriously consider a back up camera. When my father towed his Chevette, he had a bungie cord through the steering wheel. Could easily back up the 4104 with it attached a car length or two. Now with a 40 ft x 102, better have a camera at least. As far as which, the number I've seen over the years, would be about 50/50towed 4 down vs. trailer. Toters less than 2%. I've towed cars several times over the years with toters and it is a royal pita to back up more than acar length or two. Many corrections and this is with a pickup. Daughters/cars,but that's another story. Also having to unhook toter with car on it......
Plus, you have that pesky trailer to deal with when not towing.For a serious traveller putting on a lot of miles, then I'd seriously consider an enclosed trailer; you can carry extra items that way which you can keep better security over. I see  more coaches with enclosed trailers than in years past, however who knows what they're hauling.

[Dreamscape]

We've towed 3 different vehicles 4 down and find it's the best way. Of all of the RV'ers we've seen on the road it's the most popular choice. Easy to hook up and unhook, no trailer or dolly to store or deal with and less to have to keep up with maintenance.

It really depends on your needs, with a trailer you can haul more stuff that you can't live without! 

[oltrunt]

I've used each method from one sea to the other.  A trailer is the simplest to use, but a pita to park and store and often exceeds the allotted camp space length.  A dolly is less trouble to store but is a PITA to back up and often troublesome for other reasons--I had one that chipped off the Dots Dots between freeway lanes and chucked them into on coming traffic because the permanent ramps pivoted with the trailer ball.  It was funny to see, but it sure pissed off the other drivers.  I am towing 4 down now and with the help of the rear vision camera and my tongue pressed in my left cheek, I can back slowly as far as I need. I've had issues with surge brakes on car trailers and no brakes on dollys. For my 4 down toad I adapted a Brake Buddy to operate using the compressed air on my bus so I don't have to worry about the little 12 volt compressor in the Brake Buddy failing.  Attaching and releasing the 4 down toad takes about 30 seconds--though I do have to stop every 100 miles or so to deal with lubrication issues with this particular toad.  Jack