Choosing a Toad for Navion 24J: Ford Maverick Hybrid vs Jeep Gladiator

[surfsun]

Good day all, 25 Navion 24J, I'm looking to add a toad this summer, I'm leaning towards a Ford Maverick and unsure of hitch. Any recommendations and do's and don'ts ? Thanks

 

[creativepart]

What do you mean you are unsure of the "hitch". This is just a simple matter of purchasing the correct baseplate from one of 3 or so manufacturers - BlueOx, Roadmaster or Demco. And then a corresponding towbar. Of course, you must also insure that you are purchasing a model that offers recreational flat-towing. For instance, the Maverick Hybrid does, but their other models do not. The same is true for Jeep models some are and some are not flat-towable.

If you are unclear I suggest you Google "Dinghy Towing Guides" and search for the appropriate models, years and options for flat towing.

Oh, and of course you need to consider your Navion's tow hitch ratings and GVWR ratings as well.

 

[surfsun]

I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your help in pointing me in the right direction. With over 40 years of towing experience, I thought I had a solid grasp on things, but having just acquired my first RV about a month ago, it has been quite an adventure! The first week was a bit overwhelming, so I decided to rent a spot in Florida for the month, which has really allowed me to familiarize myself with the RV and work out some of the kinks.

Now, as I prepare for my first official road trip, I’m excited but also want to make sure I make the right choices moving forward. I'm planning to purchase a Maverick Hybrid this summer and realize that I need to educate myself about baseplate options and manufacturers. Thankfully, I have about four months to do some research and make an informed decision.

Thanks again for all your support and guidance. I truly appreciate it!

2025 Navion 24J

 

[l1v3fr33ord1]

surfsun-

There's a recent thread over on iRV2 called "GCWR- Please Check My Math and My Understanding" (link is here). In it, the OP (Original Poster) finds out that his Sprinter-based motorhome can carry very little cargo before it goes over its GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), and that the Maverick he wants to tow may be heavier than he expects. I suggest you read the entire thread, look for the OCCC for your coach, and run the numbers for yourself, as I did for the OP in post #17 (link here).

 

[Pointyears]

I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for your help in pointing me in the right direction. With over 40 years of towing experience, I thought I had a solid grasp on things, but having just acquired my first RV about a month ago, it has been quite an adventure! The first week was a bit overwhelming, so I decided to rent a spot in Florida for the month, which has really allowed me to familiarize myself with the RV and work out some of the kinks.

Now, as I prepare for my first official road trip, I’m excited but also want to make sure I make the right choices moving forward. I'm planning to purchase a Maverick Hybrid this summer and realize that I need to educate myself about baseplate options and manufacturers. Thankfully, I have about four months to do some research and make an informed decision.

Thanks again for all your support and guidance. I truly appreciate it!

2025 Navion 24J

Just remember, only the Maverick hybrid is flat-towable. The Ecoboost Mav is not.

 

[RayIN]

There are several flat-towing guides available-HOWEVER, only the specific owners manual for that make and model and trim package, is the final authority.. I have found towing guides that contain erroneous information.
The hitch maximum rating can affected by the towing vehicles actual gross weight.
I think you'll find this etrailer.com MH towing tutorial informative.

 

[Morich]

From doing the mods for several tow cars, I find one of the bigger issues and something to consider before buying the car is how the wiring needs to be set up!
The tow bar si petty much set but the wiring can vary a whole bunch. The best cars to set for towing were straight old standard manual transmission!
Newer have all kinds of kinks in the works to avoid. Things like needing fluid flow to transmissions can get awkward to wire!
I might suggest looking at how and who to do the wiring may be far more important than the less complex tow bar part.
Some of the things we have run into involve simple stuff like how to set the car for towing!
Do the front wheels lock in a parking setting when the key is off? Or do you have to have power to some functions of the car electronics left on but NOT connected to the lighting?
We have found it is far better for me to have that wiring done by folks who do RV tow setups as a major part of their business. Way beyond what I want to relearn for each time I swap cars or RV, so I now look for pros on this as there are hundreds of different setups, depending in which car!
Things I have learned to avoid? Dealers who do stock/cargo trailers! They tend to not be well trained as craft folks and do things like they would for a cattle trailer! Things like mounting a part on the cover of the fuse panel without considering where that screw "they always use" goes inside the fuse panel? If it goes inside and through a relay, it gives you weird results!
I now go only to folks who can show me they do RV connections before they get hands on my car and RV! If they have to study the issue before knowing what items they need to do the work, I move on!

 

[RayIN]

I agree with morich; todays vehicles have so many computers that adding or splicing into the wiring is not a simple task.

 

[SeeTheUSA]

Curt Manufacturing makes wiring harnesses for some vehicles to set up for being a toad … installation complexity will vary depending on which particular vehicle. Check here:

Custom Wiring & T-Connectors

CURT custom wiring is the easiest way to equip your vehicle with a standard trailer wiring connection. Custom wiring is vehicle-specific and requires no cutting or splicing. Select your vehicle to find custom trailer wiring for your unique year, make and model.

www.curtmfg.com

 

[Bones2003]

A friend of mine has a Ford Maverick Hybrid as his toad. One issue is that to install the baseplate, they had to cut and/or remove some of the automatic shutters on the front of the vehicle. Those shutters help with heating and cooling the vehicle. All of the baseplate manufacturers that he looked at required modifications to the shutters according to his installer. Some were more drastic than others. I don't know if modifying those shutters would impact the vehicle warranty.

 

[egmhe36]

On my 7th Jeep. Have never had to align one. Love the positive feeling of placing gears into neutral on Wranglers.

 

[NavOwner]

I have a 2021 Navion....I tow a Cherokee (4200 lbs). Based on this I'd say the Gladiator is too heavy. You'll be sorry when you are going up mountain passes.

 

[moabdds]

The Gladiator is usually 400 to 600 pounds heavier than a 4-door Wrangler. I have a good friend who recently switched his Wrangler for a Ford Bronco. It was lighter and tows better, in his opinon.

 

[fanrgs]

Keep in mind that the View/Navion hitch receiver is rated for 5,000#, but the actual towing capacity is 4,200#. And I personally would knock 10-15% off that as an added safety factor before selecting a toad. We had planned to use our 2011 Ford Escape as our toad, but decided that even that SUV was more weight than we wanted to tow. The reason was readily apparent--we live in Colorado and must traverse 10,500-12,000' passes or tunnel and 6-8% grades every time we go camping. We towed our Mini Cooper on a dolly for a short time (automatic tranny that couldn't be flat towed), but quickly decided against a toad. Our Navion plus two E-bikes are now our mode of travel as it fits in any busy parking lot, gas station, or USFS dry campsite with no unhooking or backing a dolly required.

 

[Mosnowman]

Good day all, 25 Navion 24J, I'm looking to add a toad this summer, I'm leaning towards a Ford Maverick and unsure of hitch. Any recommendations and do's and don'ts ? Thanks

Just a quick mention of another Toad option. We have a 2023 Vista 29V and are flat towing a 2023 Ford Bronco. (full sized not Sport) It tows really well and we love it! We have flat towed it over 12,000 miles thus far. Pre 2022 Broncos had some potential flat tow issues, but those were corrected. Just a thought to consider. Good luck and Safe Travels!

 

[kamphiker2]

A friend of mine has a Ford Maverick Hybrid as his toad. One issue is that to install the baseplate, they had to cut and/or remove some of the automatic shutters on the front of the vehicle. Those shutters help with heating and cooling the vehicle. All of the baseplate manufacturers that he looked at required modifications to the shutters according to his installer. Some were more drastic than others. I don't know if modifying those shutters would impact the vehicle warranty.

Depending on year of the Maverick Hybrid some Base Plates require less modifications to the Shutters & Shutter shroud. Demco Base Plate at least for the 2025 / 2026 Model Years require only removal of 2 shutters (Not cut them out but pop out from the sides). The Roadmaster install is much more invasive.

 

[kamphiker2]

I have a 2021 Navion....I tow a Cherokee (4200 lbs). Based on this I'd say the Gladiator is too heavy. You'll be sorry when you are going up mountain passes.

Agree. The Maverick is a better weight choice. My 2025 Maverick Lariat HEV is 3,900 lbs base weight

 

[RV_Lee]

I've seen a sprinter class C towing a 2dr Wrangler before and thats the only Jeep I'd tow with one.