When you’re exploring the countryside in an RV, often, you will tow your car behind it. Such a journey can span hundreds of kilometers. If the car starts logging in those miles, it will certainly inflate the miles rating of the car. The question which we are going to highlight today is, does towing a car behind an RV put miles on it? I will answer this question in great detail to help you understand whether miles will be added or not
Does towing a car behind an RV put miles on it?
In dolly towing, miles are put on your car if it is a four-wheel-drive car. 2 wheel drive cars do not put up miles since the front wheels are on the trailer. In flat towing, cars with electronic odometers might not put miles as long as you’re putting it in neutral. In contrast, cars with mechanical odometers might put miles.
Towing a car behind RV will log miles on it or not will depend on the type of towing and the type of car being towed. Confused? I will go into the details of the same below.
Dolly towing:
Dolly towing involves putting two wheels on a trailer that is attached to your RV. In that case, if your car is a two-wheel-drive car, the car will not put up miles.
If it is a four-wheel-drive car, it will certainly put the miles on the car due to the rear two wheels moving on the road. As you can see, whether the car puts miles on it or not will be dependent on the type of car which you have.
2. Flat car towing:
Flat towing means that your car’s wheels will be on the road when it is getting towed by an RV. However, still, in that case, the miles don’t need to be put on your car. It depends on the type of odometer present in your car.
If your car was manufactured prior to 2000, it consists of a mechanical odometer. In that case, it is synced with the transmission drive as well as gear. In that case, even when flat towing, the miles will be added to your cart. You might be thinking,
what about the cars manufactured after 2000?
Such cars consist of an electronic odometer. The advantage of the electronic odometer is that they take into account the position of the car’s transmission shaft and the gear.
As long as you’re putting the car into neutral and flat towing the car, the miles will not be put on it. Thus, whether the miles are put on the car or not depends on whether you have an electronic odometer or a mechanical one.
With the mechanical odometer, even in flat towing, the miles are put on it. However, in the case of the electronic odometer, you can avoid putting the miles on the car if you’re putting the car neutral.
Now that you’re aware of the case where miles will be put on your car and when they won’t, you can plan the towing in a much better way. It is now time to understand if excessive towing can indeed damage your car or not.
Does Towing a Car behind an RV Damage it?
Only when you cannot attach the car properly to the RV can it damage the car. When you tow it appropriately, it will become easier for you to avoid any cosmetic or significant damage to the car.
You need to understand that there is always a risk of extensive damage if you do not drive your RV properly. Also, if you do not put the car on neutral, then the car might develop a mechanical snag.
In that case, you might have to contact a mechanic to fix it after you reach your destination. However, if you take the proper precautions like attaching the car to the RV appropriately and putting it in neutral, there will be no damage to the car.
Conclusion
So, with the help of my guide above, it is easy to understand whether your car with put miles on it once you tow it with the help of an RV or not. Our guide above also helps you understand how to avoid putting up miles on your car when you’re towing it with an RV
