Thought it would be an easy car to tow behind a motorhome. I ordered the Clubman S, but couldn't find any set up for flat towing, I ordered a tow dolly. When it came it talked about locking the steering wheel once on the dolly. MINIs do not have locking steering wheels. Any suggestion? Has anyone towed a MINI? Do the emergency brakes work off the front or rear wheels?

Anyone with any towing experience with the MINI I would be appreciate your thoughts.

 

I have dolly towed two different MINIs across country. No problems with the dolly tow. Locking the wheels or not isn't a big concern. You check the harness every time you stop.

I currently flat tow a manual Clubman. I use the Roadmaster base plate, and tow bar. The base plate will fit the frame on both the Clubman and the S, the bumper cover has to be cut for the connectors.

I know how much NAM members like to debate, I will not debate this. It can be done, it works well, and I don't particularly care what anyone's MA said.

Good luck, enjoy the Clubman! The lack of locking steering wheel is great for flat towing. Just hook up, put it in neutral, and go.

 

That frame would make for a WONDERFUL light bar mounting - to hide the tow frame itself... just a thought...

 

towing a mini can certainly be a challenge. a tow dolly is not a wise choice, only because the tow dollys carry the car with the two wheels off the ground. it would be a better idea to get one of the full sized auto transports, these have all four wheels off the group. you can get a pretty good priced one, used from uhaul. they sell out their old rental equipment. just an idea!

 

There's another couple that flat tows a yellow clubbie. I met them at MOTD: Fuzzy and AprilWhine (i think I spelled them right). Nice people and what a great setup! A cool RV and a MINI!

 

I am planning to tow a MINI behind my GMC Conversion van on a 700mile trip. UHAUL has car dolly rental (front wheel goes on it, rear wheel stays on the road, like this one).



My GMC Savana exceeds towing capacity required to do this. So that's fine.

But is this good for a Mini? I read conflicting comments on this. Being a FWD car, I don't think it'll be an issue, but I'd like to hear some comments/suggestions.

Do I need to put the car in Neutral (and strap tires to the dolly) when doing this?

Also, if you tow it with all 4 wheels on the road (like the original poster) does the Odometer accumulate?

 

Jim Ray = Fuzzy.

 

Not exactly. For example, the stated weight for my JCW is 2888lb. The front/rear weight distribution is 58/42. So, 42% of the weight of the car is supported by the 2 rear wheels, or 1212lb; same as it would be if rolling on 4 wheels. The dolly would support the remaining 58%, or 1676lb.

 

personally, i'd rather keep all 4 wheels off the ground... im picky, i feel like it would put unnecessary wear on the car (tires, pebbles, etc) but i really dont know much about towing.

 

How did you connect your tail lights to work with your tow rig wiring? Do you disconnect your battery and rely on the RV to provide powder to the Mini's tail lights?

 

i always tapped into the lights of the towed vehicle because I liked integrating the RV and toad (I'm a tad ****). Over the decades I have set up several vehicles this way, until I started towing my 2011 S Clubman. Vehicle electrical systems and communication started getting really complex and 10 years ago I went with these folks . I have used their system for over 10 years and am very happy with the company and their product. For ease and simplicity wireless is the way to go..

If your towing a Gen2 Mini using a BlueOx baseplate, please PM me.

Gary

 

"MINIs do not have locking steering wheels". Maybe yours doesn't but mine does!