We are looking for a new toad,tow car,dinghy, so lets talk toads!

[Randy Dupree]

We are looking for a new toad,tow car,dinghy.
We ave been using the chevy astro vans for a long time,we have had 3 different Astros and they have been good to us,but its time for A change.

Question is,what do we get?

We want something that does not require any fancy pumps,special driveshafts etc.
So,that leaves Jeeps,Saturns and some chevys and i have no idea what else.

We thought we wanted a jeep,but DANG!
Jeeps are not cheap!

Then we thought maybe an HHR chevy,they are flat towable but they have only been around for a few years,so they are not all that cheap but I can buy a newer one for less money than a jeep.

Saturn cars are out of the question,but the Saturn Vue may not be so bad,even though it looks a little girly!.

So,what to do?
What do you guys tow?
Do you like it?
Would you buy it again?

[Rob Robinson]

I know price is always a major concern but if you could get one of the bigger Hondas like a CRV cheap you might have enough room for passengers and some flea market buys as well. Many Honda models (even automatics) can be flat towed.

[NH Bill]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda...item415b1ca6da

Randy,

How bout something like this or a Pilot if the Odyssey is too girlie. I think pre 2005 are tow rated.

NH Bill

[thudpilot1]

We had a saturn wagon which we loved then got a 2006 CRV which we loved better until it was totalled (not by me) and replaced it with a 2005 CRV. Since it's my wife's car she suggested we buy used vs NEW cuz we tow thru some ???? roads - smart lady cuz we had about $3000 damage when we drove thru a newly paved (covered with stones) road near Wind Cave, SD.
The all wheel drive has taken us over some not super hairy roads and fills our needs vary well. We don't run mucho off road!!
Mileage is great and the 3 minute engine run before towing is simple enuff. Key point is ALWAYS move gears from Drive to Neutral and NEVER from Reverse.

[fxdwg]

Being a Phord phan, I'm partial to their suv's. The Explorer (4WD) is flat towable without modification, but you do have to have a dealer turn on the neutral position with his computer. After that, just push a couple of buttons and she's ready to go. No fuses to pull, nothing. Although the computer is putting the car into neutral, (which I'd prefer to do it manually) almost everything newer out there is going computer controlled transfer cases. Even the Jeeps are moving to electric transfer cases, albeit slowly. You can haul 4 people failry comfortably in an Explorer, but it's not overly huge to pull behind you. You can drop the rear seat to gain a bunch of room if you need to haul something larger. You can get them with tow packages, to tow a decent sized trailer if you need that capability. Downside- fuel mileage. But none of the midsized suv's get much better. With my V8 and a heavy foot, I get 14.8 or so, mostly around town. Here in OK, it's easy to run 75-80 once you leave the city limits and the car is able to do that comfortably. It's got decent creature comforts and in the first 50k miles I put on her, required minimal maintenance (oil, brakes). I've got the rear AC system, which does work very well in cooling the car quickly in 105 heat. But if it goes out, you're looking at a $2000 repair bill.

I thought about trading for a Jeep and found a really nice Liberty. It has the manual transfer case and got really good fuel mileage (diesel), but I was giving up a moderate amount of room and a bunch of the creature comforts. So I decided to stay where I was. The diesel was rather peppy and the front seats were fairly good, but I would have lost all the fancier stuff the loaded Explorer has, a fair amount of rear seat room (much tougher to carry 4 adults) and a bunch of rear "carry room".

I'm thinking this will be a which tire/oil/battery discussion!! Good luck!

[Ex18C]

When we had our Wanderlodge we flat towed a Honda Odyssey Mini Van (bought it with the bus). We actually just welded the tow bar to the front of the van frame and poked the hooks for the Blue Ox out the front spoiler. You could hardly even tell it was there. That van towed really well. We kept it to put behind the next one.

[JD33]

Hey Randy, I don't flat tow as I am a "put it in the trailer" kind of guy. However you mention the Saturn Vue, my friend has one that he flat tows back and forth to Arizona every winter and he loves it, he likes it so much he is on his second one.

[Stoensing]

2011 Scion XB, manual. I know its boxy but so is the bus. Simple durable Toyota 4 cyl.

[Ernest Ekberg]

I'd get something that wouldn't make ya feel like a sardine. Small is nice- but I needs me space

[Turbokitty]

Originally Posted by Randy Dupree

We are looking for a new toad,tow car,dinghy.
We ave been using the chevy astro vans for a long time,we have had 3 different Astros and they have been good to us,but its time for A change.

Question is,what do we get?

We want something that does not require any fancy pumps,special driveshafts etc.
So,that leaves Jeeps,Saturns and some chevys and i have no idea what else.

We thought we wanted a jeep,but DANG!
Jeeps are not cheap!

Then we thought maybe an HHR chevy,they are flat towable but they have only been around for a few years,so they are not all that cheap but I can buy a newer one for less money than a jeep.

Saturn cars are out of the question,but the Saturn Vue may not be so bad,even though it looks a little girly!.

So,what to do?
What do you guys tow?
Do you like it?
Would you buy it again?

Randy what was that vintage brown or green(?) car ya had in your yard? Wasn't it like a Nova or Duster or Valient or something? I know you got a photo album just for it

FWIW, my buddy bought a new HHR and said it was thee biggest piece of DooDoo he ever had owned and just as nice as Saturns are, they are out of business aren't they?

I know a few people that tow the older Jeep XJ Cherokee's and love 'em. 1984~2001.

O'h ya, Don't cut yourself short with regard to garage sale'n carrying capacity