Offering 2006 Ford Explorer XLS 4X4 V6 w 72,000mi. Very clean, well maintained one-owner truck (one until I got it at Lakeside, CA FEB 23). drove it back to MI after failing to get the Foretravel Grand Villa I went there to get. It can easily and economically be made into a toad, essentially like a Wrangler or Liberty. I have the detailed instructions, to which the poster refers in this thread:
http://community.fmca.com/topi...1844__mode__threaded

Asking $10,800. If it does not sell soon, I will make it a toad behind Dr. & Mrs. Yale's Breakaway. However, wife and I reviewed our options and would rather tow our MINI S on an open Featherlite or equivalent trailer instead of the Ford as a four-down toad.

Not that I am trying to talk you out of it, because I do it all the time, but you might want to think about your options before deciding on the trailer idea. I trailer cars and cycles all the time for specific car or bike shows. This is also because I do not have a vehicle set up for 4 down yet and do not go out for extended periods of time. But, if I was going to travel with my Barth and see the country or go on extended camping trips, 4 down has a DEFINITE advantage. First, and formost, it is MUCH easier on the Barth to tow a 4 down vehicle than a trailer with a vehicle on it. Second, and just as important, when going in most campgrounds or RV parks(unless you get pull thru sites every time), you need to unload the trailer, disconnect the trailer and then leave it in a parking area and not on your site. When you leave you have to do everything in the opposite direction. Oh yea, but first you have to get your coach ready to pull out so you can then hook on the trailer BEFORE you load the car. If you have to do that, why not just disconnect your 4 down vehicle that you plan to use and then just hook it back up when your ready to pull out?

think about it.
toad ????
towd!

Dick, no such thing as "towd". As per Wikopedia:
"Towed vehicle or "toad"
A car or other vehicle that is towed behind motorhomes for use when the motorhome is set up in a campground and connected to utilities. Also called a "dinghy". Fairly common in the U.S. and Canada, less common in Europe, it becomes a virtual necessity for owners of motor coaches stretching 40 or 45 feet, difficult to maneuver in places like supermarket parking lots."
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Thanks, Bruce...Toad or Trailer... damned if I do, damned if I don't. Have trailered motorcycles and scooters behind car or SUV several times. have never towed anything behind a MH. Even though Yale's Breakaway seems to be coming to me with tow bar, I will have to spend many hundreds $$$ on vehicle-specific brackets and brake system. On the other hand, tandem axle trailers practically all come with electric brakes.
Indeed the Ford would make a good toad, not so for the MINI automatic. The Ford is worth about $10K and right now is a third passenger car my wife and I have. Featherlite open 14' for the MINI will be about $4K from discount dealer in WV. Another option is sell our very nice clean red 96 DeVille for like $3500. NOT selling the MINI. Decisions, decisions...

quote:

Dick, no such thing as "towd". As per Wikopedia:

No way that can be true!

I've heard Nick say it a hundred times. Like " Ahhh towd ya'awl not ta back intadat holla!"

Sho nuff... yo be rot agin

Just giving you a point of view from someone who tows a trailer quite often with their Barth. Lucky for me, most of the times when I am pulling the trailer I am parking in a field so I can leave everything hooked up. But I have gone to a few car shows and the campgrounds we stay at will not let the trailer on the site. We have to go through the unload and load thing, which at times can be a pain. But it does work!
Remember, if you do the trailer thing, you need to hook up a brake controller in the Barth and make sure you have a proper receptacle on the back to plug a trailer into. It can be very different then the one you plug your car into when pulling 4 down. I am in the process of doing this myself with Barth II. The new owner of Barth I got it already done by me. As a recommendation, the Prodigy Brake Controller is well worth the purchase. I have used them in many of my vehicles. You might think I would get smart and remove them before I sell the vehicle, but they are wired nicely for each vehicle so I leave them in for the next owner.

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Dubbs:
think about it.
toad ????
towd!

Dick Dubbs sent this to me. He was having a hard time posting it for some reason.

quote:

"Dick, no such thing as "towd". As per Wikopedia:
'Towed vehicle or "toad';"

A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin, brown coloration, and wart-like parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads, though common in popular culture, is not made in taxonomy, where toads are spread across families Bufonidae, Bombinatoridae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae, Rhinophrynidae, Scaphiopodidae, and Microhylidae. The characteristic features of toads are a result of convergent evolution in dry habitats. A group of toads is called a "Knot." As per Wikopedia:

towd (sic) tow'd


I haven't heard of anyone pulling an amphibian behind their MH except maybe an amphicar.
Is a parking lot at a camp ground called a knot lot?

'thanks' for passing it along, Bill. one in every crowd... seems to think I coined the term or wrote the Wikipedia entry. Forum threads too often go way off topic.

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Dick, no such thing as "towd".

Bruce Meyers, an early dune buggy manufacturer, made a model called a Tow'd or Towd. Can's remember which. It, of course, was meant to be towed.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Dick, no such thing as "towd".

Bruce Meyers, an early dune buggy manufacturer, made a model called a Tow'd or Towd. Can's remember which. It, of course, was meant to be towed.

Ah, yes. The Meyers Tow'd.

A little info for those interested:

quote:

Originally posted by The Manx Club:
The Meyers Tow'd was originally produced for off-road use only. It was an effort to diversify and expand the B. F. Meyers & Co. product base. The original Tow’d, aptly named as it was to be towed (get it?), had no hood or fenders. People thought it was so cute that they demanded it also become street-legal. Eventually the Towdster evolved adorned with hood, fenders and engine cover – even a soft-top for weather protection. The Tow’d in general had production problems however and never really caught on like the Manx. The body was smaller and lighter than the Manx and was built on a custom tube frame. One might say that the Tow’d was the predecessor of the modern sandrail. Bruce raced a Tow'd in the second Baja 1,000 and ended by crashing and breaking both legs. He is reminded daily by a worn out stainless steel ankle today, which is detected by his slight limp.

Thank you, Curtis.
We have learned so much about TOWED, TOW'D & TOAD.
It so happens that a nice couple bought the EXP yesterday, but have no intention of towing it.

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Thank you, Curtis.
We have learned so much about TOWED, TOW'D & TOAD

No problem! Vintage Volkswagens have always been a hobby of mine, with the Tow'd being one my favorite dune buggy. While I realize I wasn't directly contributing to the original posters topic, I still like to take the opportunity to contribute something!