Flat towing a Mini Cooper

[DaveWat]

Anyone flat towing a Newer Mini Cooper, say 2015 and newer?

We have a Winnebago Minnie Winnie and want to flat tow something small and light
I called Mini USA and their official response is don’t flat tow any Mini, I know people do it without problems but I also know different models and different years can have different problems. We don’t have one, we will be buying a vehicle to tow so I am trying to do my homework to avoid problems. I know Jeep Wranglers are popular toads but I am trying to find something lighter
Thanks,
Dave

[eheading]

We towed a '14 Mini Cooper roadster with manual steering and no steering wheel lock. We could turn the ignition completely off and tow it. No fuses to pull, no worries. Worked like a champ.

I was told that "BMW did not recommend towing" the MINI. My strong belief is that this answer is based on the fact that they have never tested if for towing. I have talked with many people who tow them though, with no problems.

I have to suspect that Blue Ox and Roadmaster, makers of towing commitment agree with this assumption since they make the baseplate for the MINI. I was considering buying a Mitsubish car a couple of years ago, and that factory said DO NOT FLAT TOW. And, Blue Ox and Roadmaster do not make a baseplate for that car.

That is my experience for what it worth (not much!!)

[Hank85713]

when we bought our rv, the guy selling it was towing a cooper coachman I think (the station wagon type). Said it was not to be towed but that he was able to get the mounts for it from roadmaster. this was back in '13 so dont know about them since. We have a 13 hyundai elantra manual trans we tow. good room, rear seats fold 150hp direct injection engine. Good little car, tows well as it has a wide stance and adequate wheel base. weighs in around 2800 lbs. So if you want a small light car with some room this is my recommendation. I would advise against the smaller accent, versa and stuff like that as folks I know who own them (not towing) say they are greatly under powered and generally not very roomy. they are about same size as th fiat maybe a little bigger?

[BarneyS]

Moved to Dinghy Towing forum from Towing.

[bikendan]

here's someone who did but didn't follow a checklist:

https://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29954406.cfm

[Bob_E_]

Not sure about the newer ones, but I do know that that when you forget to take an original Mini Cooper S out of Reverse before you start towing it, within about a half mile, the inside of the engine revs backwards to an incredible speed and disintegrates into little tiny pieces and the supercharger, because it also spins backwards, turns from a blower to a sucker and neatly vacuums them up and deposits them inside of the air cleaner housing. ??

[Lwiddis]

I know people jump off cliffs but I won’t. Because people do things doesn’t mean they aren’t ruining their stuff. “Avoid problems” by following manufacturer’s recommendations.

[LadyRVer]

I towed a Fiat 500, manual. Great little fun car. I think the only restriction was not to tow over 65 m.p.h. No problem for me.

[naturist]

Manual transmissions, pretty much no problem. It's when toads have automatic transmissions that things get, um, interesting.

[phil-t]

Fiat 500. You can get the operators manual, on line, for any vehicle you are thinking of and read the section on Recreational Towing.

There are other on-line resources out there for towed vehicle info, but I like the owner's manual. Depending on the car value (and warranty), violation of the towing recommendations of the manufacturere will likely void any warranty.

I have also seen Minis in tow, some flat and some on dollies.