Anybody towing a mini cooper? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Anybody towing a mini cooper?

nervousnewbie · RV-Dreams Community Member

We want to use our mini cooper (manual trans) as our toad. Any words of wisdom?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

lots of them out there......I believe Technomedia also pulls one behind there bus!!

bigboomer · RV-Dreams Family Member

Aren't these things small enough to fit inside your coach???? biggrin

RVPAINTER · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had a mini cooper and if you check with mini cooper,they will tell you "If you tow with all four on the ground your warranty will be voided!" We traded our mini cooper for a Honda Fit.

If the warranty is of no concern that's another story.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Mike, you make me laugh!

Sherry

nervousnewbie · RV-Dreams Community Member

Yeah you guys are a couple of real cut-ups! You just met me and you're already giving me grief about my toad! wink Our Cooper is out of warranty so we're not worried about that, just the best way to tow it. I don't think it'll take flight!

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

Maybe Cheri from Technomedia will chime in. They tow their Mini C behind their bus.
I don't know if its a manual or auto though..

nervousnewbie · RV-Dreams Community Member

sorry for a dumb question...how do I find technomedia (Cheryl). I tried typing technomedia in the search box, but I just got threads that referred to her, not any that have how to ask her a direct question. Forum newbie, too!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Mark and Lisa,

Once you find one of their posts, you can click on their username at the upper left corner of that post. That will take you into their "Profile." Down towards the bottom of the profile is a link that says, "Send Message." That takes you into the "Private Message" format and allows you to send them a private message that is separate from the rest of the forums. All you have to do is type in a subject in the subject field at the top and then use the main box for your message.

Once the recipient logs back into the forums, there is a message that appears below their "Log Out" line that indicates that they have "X number of Private Messages." Then, they can click on that message and answer you directly via private message instead of taking up space in a forum thread.

Give that a try.

Terry

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi there!

Well for one.. my name is Cherie (not Cheri or Cheryl)... and our usename is TechnomAdia, not 'technomedia'. (it's a combo of 'technology enabled nomad') So that's probably why searching for us didn't work :)

And yes.. we tow a 2009 Mini Cooper, manual transmission. While MINI won't warranty the transmission if you flat tow, the manual model can be flat towed - as has by many. Ours has been for going on 2 years now (one by us, one by it's former owner who are dear trusted friends), with no problems thus far. The previous owner only had a base plate installed (we use the Blue Ox system, which does have one specifically for the Mini) and wired in some tow lights - with no other modifications. The weight is just under the minimum weight in which some states require supplemental braking - and since we tow behind a hefty highway bus, we have not installed any.

If you have any questions, let us know. Although, since we didn't setup the towing ourselves, not sure how much wisdom I have to impart. Overall, we find the Mini to be a most excellent toad for us.

- Cherie

nervousnewbie · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks, Cherie! So glad to hear from you. We were thinking of flat towing, but have been leary of altering our beloved mini in any way. Guess we're going to have to get over it b/c I don't think most campsites have storage for a tow bar or trailer. We'll look into the blue ox system and see what we can figure out. Thanks for your reply. I'm learning so much here! Lisa

Classy Lady · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are planning what towed (toad) vehicle we want to pull. The mini-Cooper is an attractive car. Did you decide to tow the mini C? What year? Warranty problems?

Classy Lady · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cherie, are you still towing the mini Cooper? We are looking at that as a possible towed vehicle (toad, as it is called).

ANN

WendysPhotos · RV-Dreams Family Member

Classy Lady The answer to your question is YES Technomadia is still towing their Mini Cooper. Look up them at Technomadia.com

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yup... still have our 2009 Mini Cooper.

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

You mean towing with a Mini Cooper, right?

Like this: www.youtube.com/watch

How about towing with a Smart Car:

Chip

-- Edited by Sushidog on Sunday 3rd of August 2014 03:04:03 PM

CCoach · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hello

I am new to this Forum, this will be my first post. We have a 2001 Country Coach and tow a 2008 Mini Cooper Countryman. The Mini is a fully loaded 6 speed Manual. The Mini has about 125000 miles.

Our last trip was from Houston to Mount Rushmore . The Mini tows great and light enough to not need brake assist. Next trip Houston to Northern California.. We put about 15000 mile on this setup yearly..

We have only had the Mini for a year but all works great....Prior to this we had a tow dolly and towed a ford Fusion...

I installed the Tow hitch and light wiring.. I used a BlueOX baseplate and tow bar. I used the Demco Diode Lighting wiring 9523010. If you have any questions in regard to installation or use drop me a line...

Easy install for me.. I do play with street rods but I feel anyone with that has worked on their RV and basic hand tools can do this job...

Hope this helps

Jim

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

CCoach wrote:

The Mini tows great and light enough to not need brake assist.

Jim

Don't you still need a brake actuator in case of a "Break-Away" situation?

CCoach · RV-Dreams Community Member

Before I decided to tow 4 down I spoke with a number of friends and all had same opinion.. NO need based on weight. I have rented trailers without brakes weighing more than the Mini..

The setup of Blue OX baseplate , Blue Ox tow bar and the safety cables they use ,I can not see the car coming loose. In my case the Hitch pin would need to break, I use locking pin.. Also the two pins on the BlueOx would need to come out . I use locking pins there as well.. The both cables would need to break.. I have towed Trailers all my life and never had one come loose...

I will tell you one experience last year we had in Las Vegas. We were coming back from California to Texas and stopped in Las Vegas for a couple nights.. We stayed at South Point casino their parking lot is extra large.. So we could park the RV with 24' car Hauler and my family was bring back our F350 with the lance truck camper towing a U-Haul car trailer with our BMW sedan on it.

Our check list before we leave is to check all compartment doors, tires and hitch contact points. When we checked the U-Haul Hauler some had un-screwed the hitch ball leaving the trailer just sitting on the ball. If we had driven off we most likely lost the trailer on first speed bump... That is why we check.. and I Use locking pins on everything.

Also we also use the tire pressure system on the Mini to alert me of high temp or pressure drop.. Same as the RV.. Gives me the peace of mind...

Jim