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Old 09-27-2016, 04:30 PM   #1
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Question Difficulty deciding on car to tow

I have a 35 foot 1991 International Thomas skoolie with an Allison tranny and 7.3 diesel. I am looking for a vehicle to tow behind me, but there are a few complexities. First, there are 7 of us (5 kids) so it needs to have a 3rd row seat, or something. Secondly, the towing kit on the bus from the previous owner is not that great. It doesn't look very well done, and I've been told not to trust it with more than pulling, say, a small boat. I plan to have a welding shop redo the towing kit. Third, would be my budget. Part of the money will be borrowed from family, so I really need to try to keep it at or hopefully significantly below $4,000.

Anybody else towing a 7 seater behind their skoolie? Any ideas for me?

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Old 09-27-2016, 05:49 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by minty View Post
I have a 35 foot 1991 International Thomas skoolie with an Allison tranny and 7.3 diesel. I am looking for a vehicle to tow behind me, but there are a few complexities. First, there are 7 of us (5 kids) so it needs to have a 3rd row seat, or something. Secondly, the towing kit on the bus from the previous owner is not that great. It doesn't look very well done, and I've been told not to trust it with more than pulling, say, a small boat. I plan to have a welding shop redo the towing kit. Third, would be my budget. Part of the money will be borrowed from family, so I really need to try to keep it at or hopefully significantly below $4,000.

Anybody else towing a 7 seater behind their skoolie? Any ideas for me?
you will need a mini van, not sure if any can be towed 4 down so a dolly will be needed. I have a small car that I planned on towing, but as time went on I find driving the bus not so bad around town etc, now were thing about not towing anything and just keeping the scooter on the back, just something to think about, might be much easier then towing.
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Old 09-27-2016, 06:00 PM   #3
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It might be cheaper to check with U-HAUL? They sell a lot of hitches and towing accessories.
Ask for a hitch for a medium duty truck and see what they offer? Probably cheaper than a weld shop charging you for building more than what you need?
I know I weld and build for a living and everything I make is overkill but I know I will never have to touch it again but then again most manufactured stuff of less than what I make things out of have been put through the test by me and many others and hold up well.
I would start with a U-HAUL medium duty truck set up and work your budget from there? A weld shop is going to build a hitch to pull a train or an excavater for there hourly rate plus material and if they areset up to make a hitch they can do it in 2-hours but charge a 6-8 hour minimum.
Good luck
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Old 09-27-2016, 08:21 PM   #4
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What about those SUVs/wagons that have a third row seat?
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Old 09-27-2016, 09:13 PM   #5
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Add a third row to a Geo metro. Light weight fuel efficient. maybe toss in a roof raise.

https://s.yimg.com/fz/api/res/1.2/S7...-rear-side.jpg
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Old 09-28-2016, 06:56 AM   #6
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It's getting harder and harder to find vehicles that can be flat towed. Basically anything 2WD that has an automatic transmission NO. 4WD that have a manual transfer case that can be put into neutral, mostly yes, full time 4WD NO. Standard transmission vehicles, mostly yes with some exceptions and some with extra requirements.

There are all kind of lists available that will give the required info.
https://www.google.com/search?q=4+do...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Unfortunately, for your seating arrangements, I'm afraid the list is going to be quite small. Probably something in the Jeep lineup might work. Make sure you carefully read the owners manual before you buy. My Land Rover has seating for 7 but 2 are jump seats in the rear.
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Old 09-28-2016, 10:28 AM   #7
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i think most GMC vehicles are towable 4 down, Dodge durangos, and all but the smallest jeeps are too. should be easy to find a vehicle.

the set up for the bus and the equipment to tow 4 down is gonna cost 2-3k + the car. thats been my barrier of getting a toad. the hookup is more than i want to pay for the car. i want a 3k car, hard to just ify putting the same amount in it to make it towable.

check out full timer forums, some have for sale sections. google "rv toad for sale" or something similar. getting a car already set up for 4 down towing is going to be the easiest route, but maybe not the cheapest.
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Old 09-28-2016, 03:37 PM   #8
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Quote:
the set up for the bus and the equipment to tow 4 down is gonna cost 2-3k + the car. thats been my barrier of getting a toad. the hookup is more than i want to pay for the car. i want a 3k car, hard to just ify putting the same amount in it to make it towable.
I got a nice towbar and brake assy for less than $200 each. I made my own brackets for front of towed and receiver for back of bus. I don't have $500 in the whole thing.
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