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Forum
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RE: How big a toad?
Like every issue, there are differences of opinion. I owned a tow dolly 30 years ago. Used it for one travel season & hated it! Every time I got to a campground I had an extra piece of equipment that I had to find a place to store - - a real PITA. Then I had to find a place to store it at home. Left it in my backyard and the next spring I went on vacation in my car and when I came back, low & behold the tow dolly was gone - - stolen! All my friends wanted to know who I paid to steal it because they knew I hated it - - LOL!
I took the insurance money and got my Ford Escort wagon set up to tow 4 wheels down -- loved it! Since then (1993) I have outfitted 8 vehicles to flat tow. Yes, I spent a lot of money to do this but for me it's money well spent. And BTW, I can hook up my tow bar, safety chains, electrical connector and Brake Buddy and be on the road in well under 10 minutes! And I've never had a problem with "wheel wobble" either.
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DouglasC
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03/25/23 07:47am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: dingy induced sway
I have a similar setup towing a 2019 Ford Fusion Energi with a Ford E450 Class C motorhome. I am amazed that you need a 10" drop hitch. The rear of your motorhome must sit rather high. My Roadmaster tow bar goes directly into the hitch receiver on the rear of my motorhome and the tow bar is within 2" of being perfectly level. Bottom line - - I have experienced none of the issues that you seem to be dealing with and I've towed my Fusion Energi over 12,000 miles with this setup. Sorry to not be of more help.
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DouglasC
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11/13/22 01:26pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: No electric at rear receptacle for toad
Yep - - it was a blown fuse. But the fuse sure didn't look blown, which made it hard to fine. Thanks everyone who responded for your help!
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DouglasC
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06/23/22 06:12pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: No electric at rear receptacle for toad
It's almost certainly some blown fuses that you haven't found. Your motorhome might have separate fuses if you have a factory Ford towing package on the chassis, and it's also entirely possible that the motorhome builder wired up the trailer plug with its own separate fuses. I would try to find those wires to the trailer plug and follow them to the front of the motorhome and look for inline fuses, or possibly a fuse block.
Thanks! I believe the problem is a blown fuse as well. Will keep working on that theory. I now have access to the 2006 E-450 trailer wiring diagram. That should help me sort it all out.
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DouglasC
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06/23/22 04:42am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: No electric at rear receptacle for toad
Yep - I have a Ford E-450 chassis. Checked the fuse box inside to the left of the driver's wheel well. Also the fuse box under the hood on the right side as you face the hood. None of the fuses that supply power to the trailer (in this case my toad) seem to be blown using a visual inspection. May need to do a continuity test on the fuses.
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DouglasC
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06/22/22 04:24pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: No electric at rear receptacle for toad
The problem has to be in the motorhome since there is no 12V power at the Bargman receptacle at the rear of the motorhome when MH running lights and/or emergency flashers are on. (Thankfully, running lights and emergency flashers work fine on the MH.)
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DouglasC
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06/22/22 09:57am |
Dinghy Towing
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No electric at rear receptacle for toad
Tail lights on toad no longer work when hooked up to motorhome. Checked out the wiring harness for continuity - - all good. Then checked the Bargman receptacle on rear of motorhome - - no power. On closer inspection of the wiring harness, I discovered a couple of places where the wires had become bare from rubbing on the tow bar. Figured that a bare wire must have shorted out the circuit. Checked all the fuses in the motorhome that seem to have anything to do with towing. No blown fuses. Also checked for loose wires under the motorhome - - found none so far. I'm stumped!
Any ideas on what to check on next?
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DouglasC
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06/22/22 08:48am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Tow dolly or not?
I think that the saying "to each his own" works here. As for me, I started out using a tow dolly 30 years ago. That lasted a year! Turns out that the tow dolly was stolen from my back yard while I was away on vacation. All my RVing friends wondered if I had paid someone to steal it! That's because I continuously complained about having to use the tow dolly to haul my car around. What a pain to load and unload the car and then store the tow dolly at a campsite. I took the money the insurance company paid me for the stolen tow dolly and had my car outfitted for towing 4 down. Never looked back!
Have now outfitted 9 vehicles over the past 29 years to tow them 4 wheels down. In my opinion that's money well spent, but of course some would disagree. Anyway, that's my story and I'm stick'n to it!
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DouglasC
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04/18/22 02:13pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: US31 from South Bend to US24
Great road in good condition. Have traveled it many times. Will travel it again in 2 weeks.
The road has been upgraded in recent years. Many sections now limited access. Just south of South Bend the speed limit is 65 MPH for the limited access section and then 60 MPH south to US 24.
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DouglasC
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04/08/22 02:28pm |
Roads and Routes
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