This article is about dolly towing vs flat towing. So which towing method is best for you?

And we might ask, who needs to even consider towing another vehicle along with them on their RV travels?

Table of Contents

• Who Should Consider Towing Another Vehicle Behind Their RV?
• Do All Motorhome Owners Need To Tow Another Vehicle?
• What About Larger Motorhomes?
• Two Main Choices For Towing Another Vehicle
• Three Things You Need To Tow A Vehicle Successfully
• Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – The Pros Of Flat Towing
• Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – The Flat Towing Cons
• A Common Problem With Flat Towing A Vehicle
• Battery Concerns When Flat Towing
• What About When It’s Time To Sell Your Flat Towed Vehicle?
• Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – The Pros Of Tow Dollies
• Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – Tow Dolly Cons
• What About Storing Your Tow Dolly When Not In Use?
• Conclusion

Who Should Consider Towing Another Vehicle Behind Their RV?

Usually not anyone who has a towable RV, like a travel trailer or a fifth wheel.

And that’s because you have a tow vehicle that’s pulling it down the road.

So when you get to where you’re going, you unhook the RV. And then the tow vehicle becomes your daily driver that you use.

But if you have a motorhome, you might want to consider towing another vehicle with you. To be able to use it as your daily driver instead.

Of course, not all motorhomes require towing an extra vehicle though.

Do All Motorhome Owners Need To Tow Another Vehicle?

For instance, smaller RVs like Class Bs, some Class B pluses, and some smaller Class C’s may not require you to tow another vehicle.

That’s because they’re small enough that you can use that RV for both camping and as your daily driver.

But if you do that, there is a procedure you will have to go through every time you leave the campsite.

And that is that if you’re in an RV park or campground, you’re going to have to unhook each time you leave.

You’ll need to disconnect your electric line, your water hose and your sewer hose every time.

Then you can go make your errand or trip in your RV. Afterward, you then come back and re-hook it all back up again. Every single time.

Now as long as you’re okay with those inconveniences, it works just fine. And you don’t need to take another vehicle with you.

What About Larger Motorhomes?

But what about when we’re talking about larger motorhomes like large Class Cs? Or Class A and Super C RVs?

In that case, you really should consider taking another vehicle along with you.

Because using those big RVs as your daily driver is very cumbersome. It’s really difficult to get around in tight areas with an RV that large.

And it costs you more fuel wise as well. So the larger your motorhome is, the more you really should consider having a towed vehicle.

Two Main Choices For Towing Another Vehicle

So what kind of towing is best then? Well, there’s two main kinds of towing equipment that you’ll see out there being used by RVers.

The first is dolly towing. And that’s where the front wheels of your tow vehicle rests on a dolly as it’s towed.

The second popular method is flat towing. And that’s where the towed vehicle has all four tires on the ground for towing.

Now let me mention something before we get into the pros and cons of each towing method.

Three Things You Need To Tow A Vehicle Successfully

And that is that there’s three things you’re going to need for any form of towing.

#1- you have to have the method itself, either dolly towing or flat towing.

#2- you’ve got to have a braking system for the towed vehicle. Because you can’t expect all that weight to be put on your motorhome’s brakes every time that you go to stop. It’s just not safe to do that!

#3- you’re going to need a lighting system for that vehicle as well. In order to be legal in all states that you’ll travel in.

To learn more about these three things you need, click here to watch my video on the subject.

OK, having considered all that, let’s now get to the pros and the cons of each towing method.

Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – The Pros Of Flat Towing

And the number one pro of flat towing is that it’s so easy to connect and then disconnect your RV.

Yes, there’s really not a lot to it. There’s not a lot of time involved in that process.

Just a few connections and you’re off. And when you connect back up, it’s very simple and easy. So that’s a huge advantage for flat towing!

The second pro is there’s very little physical work that’s required to set up a flat tow vehicle. In fact, it’ something that almost anyone could do.

So if you have some physical challenges, flat towing may be your best solution.

Now the next pro is there’s very little storage required for the equipment you use for flat towing.

In fact, most of it can fit in a small box. And then you just store it away until you need to take the next trip.

Then you bring it out and set it up before you leave. And in between, not much storage space is used in your RV at all.

Then the last pro we’re going to talk about is that flat towing works kind of like a dream. Yes, it just tracks so well behind an RV.

And that’s because it has the same turning radius as the RV. So it really follows along well when you’re going around corners.

And you will really appreciate that because you don’t have to worry so much about it cutting off a corner on you as you turn.

Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – The Flat Towing Cons

OK, those are all pros of flat towing. But there are cons too!

And the number one con to flat towing is the expense. Because it can be expensive to get set up for flat towing a vehicle. Much more so than tow dollies.

Of course, it all depends on how you get your equipment for flat towing.

If you choose to buy used equipment, you can save quite a bit that way. Just be sure the equipment you buy is still in workable shape.

Also, the cost will depend on how you set up the braking and lighting system for the towed vehicle too.

If you hardwire those systems into the tow vehicle, your expense really goes up at that point. Mainly for the installation of those systems.

Now of course, it’s very convenient to have all of that equipment hardwired into the vehicle.

Because it makes hooking up and unhooking the vehicle go much quicker. And it’s easier as well.

But the expense of installing it that way can get costly very quick. Especially if you pay a qualified mechanic to install it for you.

In fact, these days you can expect to spend somewhere between $3000 to $5000 to set up a vehicle for flat towing that way.

And obviously spending that kind of money can a real issue for some RVers!

A Common Problem With Flat Towing A Vehicle

Now the next con is that you are limited in tow vehicles that can be flat towed. At least the ones that have that capability from the factory.

That means that you can’t just take any vehicle and pull it on all four tires behind your motorhome.

Instead, they have to be designed from the factory to be able to be flat towed.

And that is especially true of the transmission. Otherwise, you’ll just tear it up as you go down the road!

So that really limits the selection of vehicles that you can use for towing. Because the number of flat towable vehicles gets smaller every year.

Battery Concerns When Flat Towing

OK, the next con has to do with battery concerns for flat towed vehicles.

And that’s because when you have all four wheels on the ground, the front wheels need to be able to turn as you go down the road.

To do that, the steering wheel must be unlocked. And to do that, you often have to put the key in the ignition and turn it to the on position.

So then you’re going down the road towing with the ignition on the whole way. And obviously, that can be a real drain on your battery.

Of course, there’s ways of getting around that. And it’s not the end of the world to resolve that issue. But it is another consideration.

What About When It’s Time To Sell Your Flat Towed Vehicle?

Now the last con for flat towed vehicles we’ll consider has to do with selling that vehicle.

Because very often you’ll have hard decisions to make at that point.

Especially about the braking and the lighting systems on the towed vehicle.

Now if you’re using auxiliary brakes and lighting, the choice is easier. Because they aren’t hard-wired into the tow vehicle.

And in that case, you just transfer them to the next vehicle without much difficulty.

But if those systems are hard-wired instead, You have a major decision to make.

Are you going to let that big expense just go along when you sell that vehicle?

Or are you going to go to the time and effort it takes to remove it all instead?

Because if you remove the hard-wired components, you’ll need to do it right.

To make sure that the vehicle you sell functions correctly without them.

Also, when you sell a flat towed tow vehicle, it must have a faceplate that connects to your tow bar.

And that faceplate is made for that specific vehicle too. So when you sell that vehicle, you pretty much have to let the baseplate just go with it.

Then when you buy another tow vehicle you have to also buy another faceplate that matches it.

So as you can see, there are some cons when it comes to selling tow vehicles you have been using for flat towing.

Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – The Pros Of Tow Dollies

OK, now let’s move on to dolly towing a tow vehicle instead. And let’s talk about the pros and cons involved with that too.

So the number one pro on the list is the cost of setting up for dolly towing.

Because it’s often about half the cost of flat towing. And that’s huge for a lot of RVers. Especially those just getting started.

In fact, many tow dollies can be found for $1500 – $2000 or less for everything needed. And that is a real savings over flat towing!

Now the next pro is that there’s a wide range of vehicles that you can choose from for dolly towing.

It’s nowhere near as limited as the choices you have for flat towing.

So that makes it easy to choose a vehicle that you want and like for taking along with you.

The third pro is there are no battery concerns with dolly towing. In fact, you want the towed vehicle’s wheels to be as stationary as possible.

So they must be locked in place on the tow dolly. That means there’s no ignition key left on or any of that involved. And that is a nice thing!

The last pro we’ll talk about is that you can change the towed vehicle very easily.

And that’s because you really haven’t made any major alterations to that vehicle.

So you can just back it off the dolly, sell it, get your next vehicle and pull it onto the dolly. It’s really that simple in most cases!

And that means no big hard decisions that have to be made in that case when selling your towed vehicle.

Dolly Towing vs Flat Towing – Tow Dolly Cons

OK, now let’s talk about the cons of tow dollies. And the number one con is the time and effort it takes to set up and disconnect it from your RV.

Honestly, it really is a lot more time and effort than hooking and unhooking when flat towing.

It’s not the end of the world, but it does involve more time and effort overall.

Now the next con is that it not only requires extra time and effort. But it also calls for physical strength to set up and remove a vehicle from the dolly.

And that’s because first of all you have to move the tow dolly around to hook it up to the RV.

And tow dollies are not necessarily always lightweight. So it will require some real effort to move it around.

Then when you pull the vehicle up onto the tow dolly you’ve got to ratchet down those front wheels. And you need to really tie them down well.

So that while you’re going down the road it doesn’t loosen up and come off the dolly. That’s certainly the last thing you want to see happen!

And in order to do that it takes a certain amount of physical effort and strength.

So if you have some physical issues, tow dolly towing may not be your best choice.

What About Storing Your Tow Dolly When Not In Use?

Now the final con we’re going to talk about with tow dollies happens every time you stop to camp.

When you do, you’re going to need to find a spot for the tow dolly. And in some campgrounds and parks you’re kind of limited.

Because the space or the campsite you get may not be big enough to handle the size of the tow dolly.

At least not after you have parked your RV and vehicle on the site as well.

And in that case, you have to get very creative with places to store the tow dolly while you’re there.

Of course, this isn’t a super big problem though. You’ll see a lot of tow dolly users that have figured out very unique ways of storing their dolly. But it is another consideration.

OK, those are the pros and the cons of flat towing versus tow dollies.

Conclusion

So now let me condense it all down into a couple of short statements.

Number one – flat towing is easy. But it can be expensive.

Tow dollies are much cheaper, but they have some real challenges too.

So that’s really what it all boils down to. But let me say this as well.

Either method is fine. They both work very well to take other vehicles along with you.

And you’re going to see a lot of people going down the road that are flat towing their vehicle behind them and are very happy with it.

But you’re going to see a lot of other people going down the road with a tow dolly too. And they’re very happy with it as well.

So either way works fine. And what I recommend is go back and review the pros and the cons that I’ve covered in this article

Then choose the one that you feel fits your situation best.

Have safe and happy RV towing travels!