Planning to Flat Tow

[docsouce]

I have a 2020 Jayco 26XD Class C just my wife and I.. I would like to start acquiring the equipment I need to flat tow a vehicle. First of all I need to pick up a vehicle. I'm looking at a 2015 or so Jeep Patriot 4x4 with a manual transmission. Weight 3200/3300 lbs. I'm not zeroed in on this vehicle but it looks like the weight and the manual trans is not limited by distance or speed according to the 2015 "Guide to Dinghy Towing". Opinions please. After that I need to pick up the equipment, tow bar etc. I have no idea what I need. I see items listed but I rather get my information from here on what works best. Example: all terrain tow bar vs regular tow bar, brake assists on and on. I'm not going off road but we boondock all the time. We are going on an extended road trip in early June to Sept. and hang out in the desert southwest, then north to US2 east to home. I'm thinking I might come across some of the tow equipment I need used from the folks we meet on the road. As always I appreciate your advise. And again, I'm very flexible on a vehicle to tow.

[ron_dittmer]

There is one thing people do not mention, nor have I.

Our rig has a short 158" wheel base with a long rear overhang. This can create a condition when towing that everyone should check after initial setup.

Drive out to a large parking lot and make a very sharp turn in each direction, done slowly with another person outside spotting you. Some tow vehicles are styled with a more blunt front bumper that just might make contact with your motor home under sharp-turn conditions.

If you find this an issue, or are simply uncomfortable with the close-call, add an extension. If you need a riser to level the tow bar, that accomplishes the same thing. The extra length moves the tow vehicle farther from the motor home.

You need to know what you have just in-case you get the idea of trying to back-up while in a sharp turn. You might make body damage.

[gidyupgo]

DocSource, we went with a 2018 GMC Acadia, AMD. Just put the selector in neutral and go. No fuses, etc to pull and it's an automatic! Start and let it idle during fuel stops. We use RVIbrake3 which is very simple to use. We did "add-a-bulb" to the tail lights for lighting. Blue Ox is our tow bar with a Protect-a-Tow to prevent rock chips. These were all DIY and you can too if you're into that type of thing.


Gary,
MidWest Georgia, 2017 Sunseeker 3010DS

[ron_dittmer]

bobndot wrote:
It helps for the rv and toad to be on level ground and in-line straight to hitch/unhitch. I like both my bars to click and lock when I hitch up. Most people get by just having one bar lock and the other falls into place when you start to drive. If that's the case, you need to turn the toad steering wheel slightly towards the unlocked bar, as you pull the rv forward that unlocked bar will lock into place as soon as you pull forward.

I agree that it is ideal to be on level ground and everything in good alignment straight forward.

I keep the tow bar in it's adjustable telescopic state as my wife drives our tow vehicle to the hook-up area. I then simply drop/attach the tow bar to the tow vehicle and signal her to back up until the tow bar "clicks" forcing her to stop. Most often just one of the two extensions "click" which is fine. I proceed to complete the balance of hook-up apparatus while my wife in the Jeep puts the transfer case in neutral, transmission in park, removes the smart key, inserts a dummy key to one click (to unlock the steering column), and she is done. I double check her work as she inspects mine.

When in a hurry under time constraint, we can unhook and have my wife drive away in the tow vehicle in less than 45 seconds. A hurried hook-up is done in less than 4 minutes. To speed up the entire process, I use exceptionally strong locks instead of Quick-Links for the tow cables, and smaller locks in instead of Linchpins for the tow bar. All locks are keyed alike for convenience. Using locks also deters tampering and theft.

[bobndot]

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/rv-tow-bar-comparison-guide-a/599.htm

If you go to YouTube, you can view the operational videos of the various tow-bars, that might help you decide which locking system might be better for you.
type in " blue ox towing part 2 towing hookup" is a good one that explains the operation.

It helps for the rv and toad to be on level ground and in-line straight to hitch/unhitch. I like both my bars to click and lock when I hitch up. Most people get by just having one bar lock and the other falls into place when you start to drive. If that's the case, you need to turn the toad steering wheel slightly towards the unlocked bar, as you pull the rv forward that unlocked bar will lock into place as soon as you pull forward.

500 miles is a full days drive I don't see that being any kind of issue of a restart. My automatic Chev Sonic has a 200 mi restart and I do that at fuel stops or a rest stop walk-a-round. 200 mi is 3.5 hrs of driving which is time for my young body to take a break.

When I gas up the rv I sometimes have to wait for a pump that allows me full drive-thru without having the fear of having to backup to get out of a crowded gas station . You can't backup with a toad, always be sure that you can 'escape the pump'. 🙂

[ron_dittmer]

docsouce wrote:
You Folks are Great. This is just the information I am looking for.
I found an interesting Reference article at Motorhome.com /Dinghy towing guides. It lists many autos from 2000 to the present, if they can be towed and restrictions for towing them. Like starting the car every 500 miles and such.

Vehicles with unique "500 mile starting" requirements, have the drive shaft spinning inside the automatic transmission while being towed. A vehicle that is a true 4x4 (not simply 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive) will have an additional transfer case that resembles an ultra-basic manual transmission found on an old lawn tractor. If such a vehicle has push-button selection into 2wd, 4x4high, 4x4low, & neutral, and can remain in neutral when the vehicle is turned off, then all such strange requirements of 500 mile startups and such goes away because the drive shaft does not spin inside the automatic transmission during towing.

Manual transmission vehicles most often have relaxed towing restrictions because there is no harm allowing the driveshaft spin inside the transmission. The thick gear oil is not pressurized and circulated like an automatic. It gets lubricated without the need to spin the input shaft on the engine side like an automatic.

[Bumpyroad]

your reference articles are fine for initial screening but check the owner's manual for "factual" information.
bumpy

[docsouce]

Any thoughts on whether the "All Terrain" tow bar is a better choice?

[docsouce]

You Folks are Great. This is just the information I am looking for.
I found an interesting Refference article at Motorhome.com /Dinghy towing guides. It lists many autos from 2000 to the present,if they can be towed and restrictions for towing them. Like starting the car every 500 miles and such.

[ron_dittmer]

Hi docsouce,

Here is my experience towing a 2006 Jeep Liberty 4x4 with automatic transmission.

Being now more "vintage" in years, it has the older manually operated 4x4 transfer case which I really like. Unlike the pushbutton convenience of current day 4x4s, I operate the transfer case with a lever to select 2wd, 4x4-high, 4x4-low, and neutral. Once hitched up, wired up, and ready to be towed, I place the 4x4 transfer case in neutral. This allows the entire drive train to spin from the tires to the transfer case, but not forward of it. The automatic transmission remains motionless in "park" while being towed. This assures it is protected.

I had chosen a "Unified" braking system which works very well, better than most others because it keeps the power brake booster charged for power-assist, and the system is seamless to manage during trips. But installation does require skill. I installed our Unified and lighting, but it is my forte'. I only wish the Unified was smarter to brake according to the amount of motor home braking rather than being a system that "brakes" the same amount, regardless of how gentle I am braking the motor home. I can adjust sensitivity when the Unified is activated which helps. I did a quick search on the Unified tow brake and wonder if it is no longer offered.

We use a Roadmaster Falcon-II tow bar which works well. For ease of operation during trips, I keep the towing setup and tear-down process as simple as possible by leaving the apparatus on the RV like this. The two iron pieces that remain on the Jeep are quickly removed by "rotation & pull-out", so nothing remains on the Jeep when we drive it, just like when we are back home.


Here is our setup. Note the offset hitch riser used to level the tow bar.


Our first trip towing, I did not use an offset hitch riser so the tow bar was set at an angle. This was horrible because the tow vehicle "bucked" badly with every minor bump in the road. Leveling the tow bar is "key" for a smooth and comfortable towing experience.

[clotus]

Blue Ox and Roadmaster seem to be the most popular brands, but you can certainly mix and match the parts. Just do you homework.

I tow my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee with no issues. We already had the Jeep so it was cheaper to outfit it than to get another vehicle. My dad tows a Honda CRV (they have to be pre-'15 I believe). If I were in the market for a dedicated tow vehicle, the CRV would be high on my list.

[Janss]

You'll fry like an egg hanging out/boondocking in the desert southwest in the summer :)...unless you go to high elevation places like Flagstaff, Grand Canyon NP, Bryce NP, etc. We go to the coast in the summer. Just be careful not to dehydrate yourselves. Very easily happens when you don't drink enough water.

During your travels, you may find a car for sale already set up to tow (used as a toad) from another RVer. Then you may just have to buy a tow bar (can also find used ones). This is how we bought and sold our previous toad via craigslist.

FYI, you can get adapter endpieces on tow bars to match a different brand car base plate. For example, We have a Roadmaster Falcon All Terrain tow bar that I hook onto a Blue Ox baseplate on our car.

By the way, we also bought our current toad (barely used) from a dealer here in AZ. It already had the base plate on it! The story the salesman told us was that a Canadian RVer bought the car new from them. But when they drove it back to Canada, found out they had to pay big bucks at the border. The RVer drove the car all the way back to AZ to return it and get a used car instead (less value). Meanwhile, the RVer had already installed a base plate onto the car. Lucky for us! Not sure we believe that story though.

[bobndot]

You need to find which tow bar mfg makes a mount for the car you choose.

You will be offered a choice as to the 12v hookup. I hardwired my cord and store it under the engine hood , zip tied and coiled in place. That way i cant forget or lose it.

I use a brake buddy II , that way i can swap it on any car.

Lights, running , brake and directions. i drilled holes inside the rear taillight housing to accept a simple 1157 bulb thats wired to my cord that i plug into my rv. If im running at night, i turn on the cars running lights as well to give addition running lights. I also ran a charge line to charge my cars battery. I need to keep the ignition to the acc position while towing. My car battery remains fully charged and i do not need to pull any fuses doing it the way i did.


Try to mount the break-a-way connector in a place where it wont get smashed by someone backing into your car while parking. Sometimes installers mount them so far out ahead of the front bumper where they get broken.

[MDKMDK]

docsouce wrote:
I have a 2020 Jayco 26XD Class C just my wife and I.. I would like to start acquiring the equipment I need to flat tow a vehicle. First of all I need to pick up a vehicle. I'm looking at a 2015 or so Jeep Patriot 4x4 with a manual transmission. Weight 3200/3300 lbs. I'm not zeroed in on this vehicle but it looks like the weight and the manual trans is not limited by distance or speed according to the 2015 "Guide to Dinghy Towing". Opinions please. After that I need to pick up the equipment, tow bar etc. I have no idea what I need. I see items listed but I rather get my information from here on what works best. Example: all terrain tow bar vs regular tow bar, brake assists on and on. I'm not going off road but we boondock all the time. We are going on an extended road trip in early June to Sept. and hang out in the desert southwest, then north to US2 east to home. I'm thinking I might come across some of the tow equipment I need used from the folks we meet on the road. As always I appreciate your advise. And again, I'm very flexible on a vehicle to tow.

Whatever you decide on (I'm all Blue Ox, RV dealer installed, pricey, very happy with it, works well) think about adding some way to charge the towed's battery if you go with a Patriot. It requires the key to be in the ACC position (probably to free up the steering?) and it will probably deplete your battery, unless the Patriot manual suggests otherwise, like adding a battery disconnect, or fuses to be pulled. Another reason for a charging method is auxilliary towed braking power. At that weight, most jursidictions will require it (insurers, too) and unless it's entirely mechanically operated, it will also draw some 12V DC power from your towed. My Blue Ox Patriot II 2016 braking unit draws 2A-3A when activated, but only milliamps when idle.