Mini Cooper Towing 4down Options

[brican]

I sold the Acme EZE Tow Dolly. It didn't work with our Mini Cooper S.

I bought a Roadmaster All Terrain Tow Bar and Roadmaster Even Brake. The Roadmaster base plate arrived and I'm researching the installation details.

What other pieces do we need to be ready to tow?

Do we need a 'Roadmaster 154 Universal Wiring Kit'-or, other wiring kits to make the installation complete?

Thanks.

[ThomB]

We tow a Cooper S Roadster and opted for this tow bar light rather than trying to wire up the car. There is an adapter that plugs on the RV side and the light secures to the car. Assuming that you're not driving a convertible you could just plop this onto the roof or trunk lid (if you're in a roadster or coupe.



https://www.amazon.com/Towmate-TM22G...ywords=towmate

[brican]

Yes, we have a Mini Cooper S Coupe. This would be great. Thanks for letting me know. I'll research it...

[Lotus 7]

We got a 2015 4 door S 10 months ago and I was told (and maybe the book said too) that towing 4 down was not authorized and would probably, if not definitely, void the warranty. Is that an overly conservative factory rule that practically is not needed? Just curious actually (for now anyway) since I have an open trailer and tow with it.



TIA

[ThomB]

Originally Posted by Lotus 7

We got a 2015 4 door S 10 months ago and I was told (and maybe the book said too) that towing 4 down was not authorized and would probably, if not definitely, void the warranty. Is that an overly conservative factory rule that practically is not needed? Just curious actually (for now anyway) since I have an open trailer and tow with it.

TIA

That IS the official stance of BMW. I'm out of warranty anyway, didn't have a trailer and have heard that most of the dolly's on the market are just a bit too tall and tear up the bottom trim so I went with the 4-down. It's also probably the quickest way to tow. (about 5-minutes and we're rolling down the road)



After my most recent visit to the dealer for service I'm not really sure I'll be going back. I was a bit irritated that I wanted to have my radiator flushed/ refilled and got a hard time from the service writer when I was basically saying "take my money". I've been to about 6 dealers across the country and the one closest to my house doesn't seem to want to work on my car.

[Lotus 7]

Well Thom, that is surprising. My sense, which goes back 50 years to a mechanic (a WWII German pilot) working on my VW bug, is that the German attitude about your car (and probably all mechanical equipment) is that it's like your beloved pet, you take care of it with a spare no expense devotion.



I hear you about the time savings of a tow bar. I spoke to my shop (German car specialists) and was assured that the rear wheels on a FWD car spin freely so a tow dolly makes absolutely no difference to the running gear.



However the message is mixed about flat towing. Flat towing 4 down, as you do, is apparently OK with at least one customer who claimed he did that for years without a problem. They didn't say but I'm pretty sure it would have been an FWD manual trans.



Auto or manual trans? It seems clear that the auto has more issues/risks than a manual trans. For an auto, if not a manual, the differentia is lubricating with pumped circulated gear lube, not just passively bathing the gears as it does (or used to) in a RWD. So flat towing would take it's toll over time even if it seems fine in the short run.



I have an auto, so it's a tow dolly or keep the trailer for me.

[ThomB]

Hey Ted,


Yes, I'm working with the 6-speed manual trans.

The tow-dolly issues that I've heard of are with the dolly coming up too close to the trim when loaded and bouncing coming together.
We're 2 years and about 24K miles in flat-towing (full-timing) and just getting ready to depart FL for the next year before going back into our house and hope to have more good luck towing.

[brican]

Here is an update on our setting up to tow 4down with our 2013 Mini Cooper S Coupe (2 door hatchback).

I decided to not butcher the Mini wiring and go with magnetic tail lights (WoneNice Magnetic LED Submersible Trailer Tail Light Kit, $28-no longer available). The lights will be mounted on the hatch. The magnets are covered with a fabric to they won't scratch the paint.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I ran a cable for the magnetic tail lights through the firewall. I removed the battery that exposed a plastic cap that covered a rubber bladder. The rubber bladder had a nipple (about 1/4" diameter) that I snipped off to allow the wiring for the lights along with a 12 volt charge line and ground from the RV.

I wired up a 12 vdc auxiliary plug (from the 12 vdc and ground from the RV) for the Roadmaster Even Brake that I bought on craigslist ($150). I also ran a cable from the break away switch mounted in the grille area going to the Even Brake controller.

I bought a Roadmaster Falcon All-Terrain tow bar ($140) on Craigslist and bought the base plate from eTrailer. I installed the base plate myself after getting a quote from Camping World for over $4000 for parts and installation including lighting kit, relay, base plate etc. I figure the savings was around $2000. The installation was not without headaches. Removing and replacing the front of the Mini was complicated by a radiator replacement by a previous owner and damage caused by the Acme tow dolly. I plan to have a body shop replace the tongue and air dam that was damaged by the tow dolly for around $300.

Everything has tested good in the garage. The next step is to hook everything up to the RV and do a road test to make sure the Even Brake actuates properly.