I have a 92 loyale wagon 4wd stnd that I would like to use as a 4 wheel down toad or dingy. Has anyone ever done this, or have any useful information on this?

 

Thanks.

 

-Richard

First of All: Welcome!

Second: I`m not Sure what is an 4 wheel down toad or dingy... Have you Some Pics About?

RV "Toad"

"A 'toad' is a second vehicle that is towed behind a motorhome. This provides a convenient runabout vehicle for shopping or sightseeing, while leaving the motorhome at the RV park."

 

Had no idea what a "toad" was until I Googled it. I guess you learn something new every day! I'd think that as long as the car was left in neutral and in FWD/2WD mode you'd be fine. "Toad"-away with the Loyale!

Thanx pisces_0

captainkf: Why You wanna Use a Loyale as a Toad?

Baseplates are available to attatch to your Loyale.

 

I remember reading people who have done it. One thing to watch is the front wheels getting cocked and not straightening out when they should. This is the area you want to find more info on and beware of.

 

hth

 

Doug

 

Edit:Towing World (www.towingworld) says the following.. "SUBARU (85-90

2WD/4WD): This car will occasionally opposite lock when starting from a

curb at low speed on a surface with poor traction. This has been

verified by our own testing as well as discussions with SUBARU who has

an extremely strong anti-towing posture.

 

This is copy from an old Usenet post. Just something to keep in mind.

The 4wd will not cause any problems if you put the selector in FrontWD before you tow it.

a loyale toad is a damn good idea. my grandparents had an 88 gl10 sedan they used as a toad. a hatch would be neat to see i think.

As long as its manual, it should be fine.

Make sure it's in FWD, neutral on the stick (seen a guy blow up a VW bug this way) and the key is in it to release the steering lock.

The reason I would like to use the Subaru as a toad is because we have a converted bus that we use to tour around. It is nice to be a bit more free when we get to a location to access various area's for touristing or biking. The toad allows us that freedom and adds very little resistance or milage increase, so why not. We can also keep our bikes on the roof of the subie while we drive so no having to move back and forth.

 

Here is the bus:

http://www.skoolie.net/gallery/v/Skoolies/The-Doodlebus/

 

My concerns are the front wheels not tracking properly, it jumping or grinding into gear when left in neutral (as it's a 5 spd), damaging the ignition being left on for long periods, and any strange things I haven't thought of yet.

 

Many standard vehicles have a drive shaft disengagment device to ensure no damage to the transmission.

 

Thanks for all the info so far. If you have aby questions so far, post'em.

 

-Richard

Hi Richard,

 

The transmission left in neutral isn't going to be a problem. You just have to make sure it's not in gear while towing. So don't worry about that.

 

The first click of the ignition will unlock your steering and nothing will be on to run down the battery. No worries here either.

 

The tracking...well I would just keep in mind what could happen and keep an eye on it. Mabie install a camera. Forewarned is forearmed.

 

State laws for braking on a toad varies. Check this out. You have lots of options if you need them. Some people would tow this without them. Your call.

 

Doug

love the bus!

OP - My GL wagon was used for years as a toad behind my Grandparents RV. Aside from the pretty stout bumper/hitching stuff that was added only a couple small things were done when pulling it.

 

First, make sure the 4wd selector is all the way down in FWD.

 

Second, make sure the stick is in neutral.

 

Third, place a key in the ignition and turn it to position that first unlocks the steering wheel. Its either Acc, or On. If it is the ON position, do pay attention to anything that is left on, and could cause a drain on the system.

 

I've towed my car lifted, behind a chevy pickup truck... and it still tows great. Heck, you hardly know its there!

 

I would reccomend having the hitching assembly stuff done professionally... if you PM me I can get you some pics of whats on my car. Also, the same professionals that put the hitch on, wired the car for turn signals/brake lights/running lights. These worked flawlessly except for one thing... When the car wasn't plugged into the tow vehicle, the STOP LAMP illuminates on the dash. This is because the circuit has been extended, and appears OPEN, and triggers the dash light. I've since stripped this wiring out of the car, but I still occasionally get the STOP LAMP illuminating at weird times. IE, sometimes just when braking, sometimes on all the time, sometimes not at all.

 

I've just learned to deal with it.