Topic: What tows best behind a Unity model? (Read 5262 times) previous topic - next topic

Thinking of buying a small vehicle to tow behind our Unity. Like some ideas on easy tows and your experiences.

A lot of people have their existing vehicle and if it flat tows it works with the right weight. My friends have a Tiffin Wayfarer and they tow a Jeep Wrangler and are very happy with it.

A Wrangler 4-dr (roughly 4400lbs) is pushing the limits when the Unity RV is loaded with personal gear. I was trying to get a toad under 4000lbs. I bought a 2021 Wrangler 2 dr hardtop and it was still a little over 4000lbs. But I haven't yet equipped the Jeep for flat towing. So I can't speak to how well it works.
Since I recently moved to a mountainous area with many close-by campgrounds, we've just driven both vehicles. If/when I get the tow equipment installed, I figure we could still drive both vehicles and only flat-tow over long level stretches once we get clear of the mountains. Maybe I'm over-thinking it?

Unity twin bed 2018.  Just purchased a 2009 Honda FIT five speed.  The manual clearly states that it can be dinghy towed.  At 2500 lbs. it should be no problem.  Still have to put tow bars on it.  Just my luck, I spotted a 2012 with tow bars already installed a week after purchase.  Nice little car.  Rear seats fold flat.  Gets 30 mpg.  Rides like a skateboard though.

For installing the base plate on the Fit, try a body repair shop.  They are very familiar with removing body parts.
It cost me about $150 to have it done, or do it yourself if you want a challenge, not really that hard.

Thanks.  I have seen the instructions online.  It is a little frightening to take off the front of the car, but not impossible.  Getting it done for $150 would be nice.

In 2021 we purchased a 2014 Smart Fortwo as a toad for our 2016 UMB.  The Smart only had 35K miles and the seller who lives and works in a small TX town was motivated.  At under 1800 lbs empty it has worked out well for us.  With a short wheelbase, it does have a rough ride, but it may compare with a heavier 2dr Jeep.  Since there are few Smarts on the road, it gets quite a few lookers.  Recently, I have spotted three others in our County seat, just 20 miles from our country place.

We tow a 2007 Hond Fit, weight 2600 lbs, easy tow.

Does anyone tow a Honda Element or drive one?  Just curious how they handle and perform.

We did some research and bought a 2021 Ford Escape Hybrid because of weight and fuel efficiency.  Also equipped it with the recommended tow plate, brake assist and tow bar recommended from e-trailer, a Roadmaster.  We;ve had both Blue Ox and Roadmaster previously and with other RV's towed everything imaginable except a two-story enclosed trailer.  The Escape curb weight is 3491 lbs. 

I have the 2018 twin bed with a 2009 Honda fit as a toad.  I called three body shops and none of them would install a tow bar base plate.  I was surprised by that so I did it myself.  The instructions were clear, but covered a range of years from 2007-2011 if I remember.  So, the instructions were not perfect.  The part about removing the front of the vehicle was tricky, but not as bad as I thought.  The headlights stayed on the car.  If there are fog lights, they have to be removed.  Lucky, I did not have those.  After that, it was really straightforward.  Just remove the "inner" bumper and bolt on the base plate.

The base plate has adapter tubes that stick through the grill.  On the 2009 Honda FIT basic model, no cutting is necessary.  The tubes stick out through the grill maybe 1/2" and are almost invisible.  On the sport model some cutting on the grill has to be done.  The front of the car, the grill, and air dam went back on surprisingly easily.  The only problem is that all of the little plastic push-in clips that hold it on broke upon removal.  I went online and bought 240 of them for $13.

The whole job took about three hours. 

Tim

The baseplate kit I used on the 2009 Honda FIT was a Road Master kit #521190-1

Do any of you that are flat towing have a braking system on the toad.  I talking about a “brake buddy” or similar.  Most states allow you to tow a trailer or toad weighing less than 3000 lbs without independent braking.  A few are lower.

Tim

I tow a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek with my Unity 24MB. The Crosstrek is a 6-speed manual drive. The only model that supports flat towing. I had a Blue Ox base plate installed. I use a Blue Ox Patriot 3 system for braking, and have an LED signal bar on the roof rack of the Crosstrek for brake, running, and turn signals. I live in Colorado and have towed several times across the continental divide. I still average 14.5 MPG while towing the Crosstrek.

I've heard good things about the Ford Maverick. https://www.ford.com/trucks/maverick/. At around 3,600 lbs, you can add 1,000 lbs of cargo and still be within the LTV tow rating of 5,000 lbs. For those looking for additional cargo carrying capacity, this truck (between the 4 door cab and the potential to cover the bed) offers a lot.

We tow a 2024 Buick Encore GX Avenir.  Blue Ox baseplate and tow bar, SMI Stay in Play Duo supplemental brake system.  No cheap date on any of it, but we’ve found it all to give excellent, safe and seamless results.  Had to give up beautiful 2021 Jeep Sahara Unlimited Eco-diesel when we went from our 2022 Class A Newmar New Aire - the Sahara was way too heavy for towing now with smaller rig with 5,000 pound toad weight capacity - but we love the Buick.  Deek

We have a 2023 Unity and bought a 2002 Jeep Wrangler TJ 2dr automatic. It is under the weight limit and already had the base plate and braking system. We had to replace the base plate to match our tow bar. We have now towed it for almost 10000 miles and it tows great. It is also easy to get into and out of towing mode and has the pro of that we can now get to any trail, slot canyon, back country location we want. The cons are that the gas mileage on the tow vehicle is about 14 mpg and it is not trivial to climb into. The tradeoff of being able to go anywhere has been well worth it.

They make adaptors for base plates to use other brand of tow bars!

In our case the base plate had a bar in its front that the prior owner did not give me. After lots of research, I figured out the brand and wrote the company. They said it would take 3-5 weeks to make the part and cost $300. I decided a new base plate made more sense. We have an internal Stay-IN-Play braking system for the toad and love it.
Deb