Towing a Ford Fiesta With 1997 Adventurer

[gypsy3]

Hello! We are driving from Ventura CA to Murietta GA along Highway 40 and will have to tow our Ford Fiesta behind our 1997 Winnebago Adventurer and have never towed a vehicle before. Can't find a tow bar rental anywhere and a flat bed tow seems too difficult. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Ray,IN]

FIRST! Find the "recreational towing" section in your owners manual and read it closely. Your car might not be 4-down towable.
Rental tow bars are only made for cars with steel bumpers, think 1970. A tow dolly and magnetic towing lights might be what you need.

[gypsy3]

Hi Ray,
Thank you so much for your answer.
It is extremely helpful.
Renting a tow dolly across country is very expensive.
Better to probably look for a used one.

[creativepart]

First, is your Fiesta flat towable? You must confirm this before you go any further. Only certain cars and certain model years are flat towable. Or perhaps it's a manual transmission and not an automatic.

Give us the details - model year, and exact model like Fiesta STS, or whatever it is.

That will give us enough info to determine if it's flat-towable.

Then you'll need a specific BASEPLATE. And that must be installed. That usually costs about $600 for the baseplate and $500 for installation unless you can install it yourself.

Then you'll need a Towbar - those cost beteen $800 and $1,200 depending on which one you buy.

Finally, you'll need an Auxillary Braking System this will cost between $1000 to $2000 depending on what you purchase.

You can buy a used towbar and a used portable Aux Braking System but you'll likely still pay $1000 or more for those two items combine USED. And, you'll still need a Baseplate installed. And those are seldom if ever available used as each on is unique to the car you want to tow.

Lastly, you'll need lights for brake lights and turn signals on the Fiesta. These can be magnetic and only $150 or so.

Getting your Fiesta - if it's eligible to be flat towed - outfitted to tow will cost you $3000 to $4000.

Buying a used Tow Dolly will be much less expensive, just more hassle. And, pretty much any front wheel drive vehicle can be put on a tow dolly. You'll likely find a used tow dolly between $600 and $1,000. You can rent a tow dolly from U-Haul, but it may cost as much to rent as it is to buy a used one that's you'd own.

You might find it much cheaper to drive the Fiesta behind the RV if you don't plan on towing the car for a number of trips.

[Morich]

As a totally alternate to consider all the personal details?
There are times when switching cars can be a better deal!
Expensive to drive a second car across country, possibly even much more expense to trailer it.
There are times when we might be somewhat near switching cars and this might be the right time to go with simple and avoid moving the second vehicle.
Lots of options and none are totally right!

[dickb46]

It looks like flat tow is out of the question from a financial stand point and a tow dolly is totally unusable, you can't back up two feet without the wheels jack knifing because they are setup to "follow" and are harder to use than a flatbed trailer.
I have a tow dolly, I know first hand, and it hasn't been used for over 15 years for anything other than recovering a broken down car.
I'd say drive the Fiesta if it's worth it, sell it, or buy a flatbed trailer.
dickb

[Bo Walker]

gypsy3, if you are not going to reside in Georgia, I'd suggest you rent a vehicle after you get to Murietta. I don't know where Murietta is. But if it is a small city, I'm sure there is a larger city near by.

[Skull]

I just bought a surplus U-Haul tow dolly for $1100. Has a bill of sale and metal plate welded over the date plate that is stamped “Not U-Haul property”. Now, I never have to rent one again!