Toad questions...

[milkmania]

I've got a chance to buy a toad at a good deal...

2005 navy blue VW Beetle, 69,000 miles.

Would this be a good candidate to tow dolly behind my bus? (Gotta buy dolly)

Or should I just stay with 2x4 suburban and drop the driveshaft rear u-joint and tow 4 down? (Gotta install front row bar)

Very familiar with u-joints & driveshafts

[Goatherder]

You might consider a Cherokee XJ. Most have the 242 transfer case, which you can put in neutral (w/ trans in park) and tow 4 down. AND...they're relatively cheap and pretty good cars.

[turf]

tough call, imo

i had a vw golf for 20 yrs and it was pretty indestructible. i thnk vw's are great cars. the drawback is the tow dolly. flat towing would more desirable , but also setting a car up to flat tow is more expensive than buying a tow dolly.

if you like the toad, the car + dolly is probably the cheapest way to go.

[Mark_In_MA]

Yeah, I think its really a matter of what you feel like towing. . .

The suburban isn't small.
The beetle and tow dolly are small(ish).

Would you want to install a braking system on the Suburban? I know the bus is big, but that's still a lot of weight pushing on the back when you hit the brakes.

[Alan N]

Why a dolly?
Flat towing is a pain.
A dolly is worse.
If you are at all handy with a welder a tow bar and mounts are fairly easy to build.
A manual transmission VW will tow four down.
I wouldn't consider a vehicle that won't flat tow for a toad.
Just my opinion.

[somewhereinusa]

I agree with Alan N, it you tow with a dolly you also have to deal with the dolly when you get there. Any place I have camped there wasn't room for a dolly at the campsite so it would have to be taken somewhere else. And you still can't back up.
I towed a VW rabbit for a while, now my Land Rover. Pretty simple, unhook electrical cord, unhook towbar and good to go.

[Stu & Filo. T]

Correct me if I'm wrong, almost every state requires a toad to have it's own braking system & every tow dolly I've ever used has surge brakes so if you use a dolly doesn't that count for supplemental brake system instead of having to install a system on the towed vehicle??

[ol trunt]

I've rented and used many tow dollies over the years and have never had one with brakes. I never gave it a thought--probably should have. Even if a dolly had its own brake system I want the toad to have its own system just in case it were to become free of the dolly.

Even though it is a nuisance to deal with I equipped my toad with a brake buddy and always hook it up. Used brake systems can be had often for less than $500 and I'd consider that money well spent.

The following website provides toad brake requirements for all of North America--almost all states require them: Towing Laws | BrakeBuddy - Braking systems for motorhomes towing a vehicle

The Brake Buddy info is somewhat dated but you can bet the laws haven't become less stringent.

Hope this helps. Jack

[cadillackid]

I see a lot of people pulling Smart-Cars behind their RV's.. they flat tow very easily as the "automatic" in them is simply a manual transaxle automated, so putting it in neutral and towing it doesnt cause any transaxle damage..

thats the 2015 and older ones.. the new 16 and 17 have regular automatics..

-Christopher

[NowhereFast]

In the process of putting a smart car in the back of my bus, it just barely fits in my storage area.
I'll post some pics soon of it inside

[cadillackid]

thats one way to "tow" it.. if anything will fit, its that.. i love how i can park mine anywhere... its also fun to go from driving the smart to the bus then back again.

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

thats one way to "tow" it.. if anything will fit, its that.. i love how i can park mine anywhere... its also fun to go from driving the smart to the bus then back again.

-Christopher

Try bus to moped!

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Try bus to moped!

the acceleration is probably about the same

[EastCoastCB]

IDK, I'll have to actually find out now!
I'm betting on my green moped being slightly quicker off the line, but not by much!
My bus will do about 10 mph more on top than the moped, fwiw! lol

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by Alan N

Why a dolly?
Flat towing is a pain.
A dolly is worse.
If you are at all handy with a welder a tow bar and mounts are fairly easy to build.
A manual transmission VW will tow four down.
I wouldn't consider a vehicle that won't flat tow for a toad.
Just my opinion.

Automatic transmission

[Stu & Filo. T]

If your going with a Smart Car there is one minor modification you need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgwzHJo3IXM

Originally Posted by NowhereFast

In the process of putting a smart car in the back of my bus, it just barely fits in my storage area.
I'll post some pics soon of it inside

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Stu & Filo. T

If your going with a Smart Car there is one minor modification you need.

id be all fopr it but no way to hook an A/C to it... nevertheless thats a badass smart car

[Stu & Filo. T]

40 yrs ago I talked my mom & dad into letting me buy a go cart it had something like a 5 or 6 hp Brigs & Straton on it, I was only allowed to drive it around the yard & in the fields.

Well I purchased a 175 cc motor cycle engine for it & mounted it on there & that thing was a blast, I could do donuts & things like the Smart car with it. Then one day my dad was a few miles away driving down the 2 lane black top doing about 50 mph & I went by him so fast you would have thought he'd stop to take a piss along side the road. I lost my go cart.

[milkmania]

You should try a 52mph Batturn in a 1991-1994 Mastercraft ProStar 190, for a rush.....

I could spin out like the jet ski's, at full throttle

This guy did not execute it properly, but you get the idea.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yzkJop27al0

[M1031A1]

Originally Posted by Stu & Filo. T

40 yrs ago I talked my mom & dad into letting me buy a go cart it had something like a 5 or 6 hp Brigs & Straton on it, I was only allowed to drive it around the yard & in the fields.

Well I purchased a 175 cc motor cycle engine for it & mounted it on there & that thing was a blast, I could do donuts & things like the Smart car with it. Then one day my dad was a few miles away driving down the 2 lane black top doing about 50 mph & I went by him so fast you would have thought he'd stop to take a piss along side the road. I lost my go cart.

I was smart enough not only NOT to get caught by my dad, but the local cops as well...... My grandpa helped me hot rod an 8.5 horsepower B&S that topped out at 11 m.p.h. to go almost 40 with some modifications. Mind you this was in 1974........

Did those local cops HATE me. Dad NEVER saw me doing ANYTHING with my gocart. By the time he got home from work the cart was parked and engine was cool to the touch........ I knew how to play the game.