Can a mini be hauled behind a motorhome not using a trailer? I believe there needs to be a way to disengage the driveshaft or something?

I'm not too familiar with it but I know that onyl certain vehicles can be towed that way (all 4 wheels on ground)

Any help would be appreciated. My dad is trying to find a good car to pull behind the motorhome.

 

My Dad tried to pull his MINI behind in his motorhome last year. We were told it could not be flat towed. I'm not sure about disengaging anything. I think general consensus is it can't be flat towed.

It could be towed in a trailer. However, when we talked to Uhaul, they wouldn't provide one and said it would be tough finding a trailer to haul the MINI. They said it was because of the low ground clearance, it couldn't make it up the ramp onto the trailer.

Then we discovered it could be towed with a dolly, with just the front two wheels lifted off the ground. That could be done, however we couldn't find anywhere that rented dollies that fit the MINI. My Dad could've bought one, but he decided to rent a car instead. It was a Mazda something or other. He said it was a "piece 'a junk."

My advice, if your parents are full time, or close to, RV'ers then invest in a good dolly. But do the research, and make sure it'll fit the MINI. They're awkwardly small cars, y'know.

 

Ah thanks for the quick response. And now I know it's called "flat towing" so I can actually use the correct termonology.

I'm pretty sure they are gonna be stuck getting an SUV of some kind. Most likely a Grand Cherokee.

 

We were at the MINI/BMW day at Lime Rock Park (great day!) and parked near an RV - they had a MINI with the prongs for towing. I believe they work for track security and hanl there a lot - hope this helps.

 

I was recently at a dealer (Crown MINI in VA) and saw a MINI with front tow things on it. I asked about them and the manager explained "The owners want to tow it behind their motor home."

They might be able to answer more questions, call them.

 

Perhaps it's time to trade in the motorhome and get one of these...



http://www.travelsupreme.com/product_page.php?product=5

 

I saw this at an RV show... if I ever get an RV you can bet it will have a dock for my mini, lol!

 

That is so cool!

 

I know of a few vehicles that can be pulled "four wheels down" The Saturn cars seem to be real popular with the RV folks and all the Jeeps can be taken out of gear, to free wheel so to speak, and they have been towed behind RV's for years.

I pulled a Jeep Grand Cherokee with our motorhome for the last few years, and the neat thing about the Jeep was when you took it out of drive, no mileage would roll up on the odometer.

 

Awsome RV. How much are those things?

 

Is that winched in? I mean how would you get out?


Paul

 

my guess is that it's winched in... unless you were crawling in the sunroof, lol

 

If the Ipod docks in the MINI, and the MINI docks in the RV, is the Ipod docked in the RV?

That is WAY cool BTW.

 

I figure you could lower the rear seats beforehand, and drive it in, and crawl out the back... or even just push it in (in neutral), then crawl through from the back to set the handbrake. Then, to get it out, crawl in, release the handbrake, and pull it back out.

Either way, yeah that's one awesome setup... if I EVER buy an RV, that setup will be HIGH on the list!

 

If you look carefully at the animation, the MINI pulls onto a ramp/deck, driver exits (not shown), and is loaded much like a rollback truck. I'm not sure whether this vehicle was ever a big success as a car hauler...something tells me that with the weight of a MINI, problems would have occurred with the system. That animation is from 3 years ago and with the more recent photo below, I believe that it has been retooled for smaller items like 4-wheelers, Harleys, etc.

 

I was going to say that I saw the RV mentioned in a Camper magazine, but a lot of others beat me to it. I guess that I'm not the only one that reads other magazines with mobile stuff in them. If I ever win the lottery, the RV will be a present for my MINI.

 

We were in Calgary Alberta this past summer and there was a chap from Quebec flat towing a 2004 S behind a Monaco. He indicated that he had toured the east coast of Canada with the Mini and was on his way to Vancouver. Unfortuntely I did not spend enough time speaking with him as to the mechanics of the set up but I now wish that I had done so. A good opportunity for selling Minis to second owners.
KAW

 

The standard transmission Minis can be towed flat. We are buying a MINI with the automatic transmission, which can't be flat towed, but we can get a nice dolly made that will fit the Mini, at a fair price.

The problem with the AM transmission is that the internal oil pump isn't turning as the car moves and the transmission will burn up.

 

Nothing with an automatic can be flat towed unless you disconnect the driveshaft (which means you need a rear wheel drive vehicle). There is a cable actuated disconnect that can be mounted inline with a driveshaft. I've seen it on an automatic S-10 that someone bought from an older couple that towed it behind their RV for years.

Rawhyde

 

Some automatics can be flat towed at highway speeds because the pump is turned by the output shaft. The Saturns are one example of this. When people look for cars to tow behind a motorhome, they generally look specifically for that and an odometer that won't count up miles when in neutral.

 

Oh man thats freaking sweet! However I know that I could never have one because I would try and do a Nightrider and pull onto the thing while it's going down the highway.

 

MiniMania sells the brackets and towbars that will fit a MINI. One of the reasons I bought a MINI (other than have always wanted one) was to tow behind my motor home........just haven't had the "guts" to have holes cut in the front. For about the same price as a good towbar setup, you could get a tow dolly, which would allow you to tow "almost" anything within reason. But then where to you store it? Also, check with your local states requirements about aux braking. Some states like Calif. have a 1500lb weight limit before you have to add assisted braking to the towed vehicle.

 

I know this thread is really old, but I am bumping this because the link / animation in post 6 is one of the coolest things that I have ever seen. Enjoy!