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"Towing 101" - An Introduction to Towing with
an RV
Towing
a vehicle behind your motorhome can be a pleasant
experience and allow you the flexibility to enjoy your
lifestyle to its fullest. When it comes to seeing the
sights, running to town for supplies or taking day trips,
your towed vehicle will allow you a convenient option.
Towing
Options
There are three ways to bring your towed car with you
and you need to decide which option best suits your needs.
Transport
Units/Trailers
The first one is using a trailer that allows you to
raise all four wheels of your towed vehicle off of the
ground. These are most commonly used with vehicles like
Corvettes, Lexus or classic cars. Transport Units will
vary in price from $1500 to $6000.
Tow
Dollies
The next option is a tow dolly. These get the front
wheels of the towed vehicle off the ground. There are some
advantages to using a dolly:
-
By
putting a front wheel drive vehicle on a dolly you
will not need a lube pump or other device to make the
vehicle towable.
-
Tow
dollies are useful for vehicles you don’t want to or
can’t tow 4 wheels down.
-
Dollies
are a great option if you intend to use it with
multiple vehicles or want to time-share it with
friends.
If
braking is a concern, be sure to check if the manufacturer
has this option available for immediate or possible future
use.
Tow
Bars
The final & most popular choice is to tow all 4
wheels down using a tow bar. The main reason for choosing
a tow bar is convenience. Tow bars give you the least
amount of equipment to deal with to tow your vehicle. The
biggest disadvantage with dollies and trailers is what to
do with them when you get to the campground. Many
campgrounds do not have room to let you park a trailer or
dolly on your site along with your motorhome and towed
vehicle. In most cases you would have to unhook the
trailer and park it somewhere away from your campsite.
With a tow bar you can unhook and the towing equipment
will fold up and stay with your motorhome or your car and
not take up any additional parking space. A tow bar is
also lighter to carry than a dolly or trailer and prices
for a tow bar start out lower than either a dolly or a
trailer.
There
are three general types of tow bars available: (1)
Self-Aligning Motorhome Mounted (Blue
Ox Aventa II or Aladdin), (2) Self-Aligning Car
Mounted (Blue Ox Acclaim)
and (3) Rigid A-Frame (Blue Ox
Ambassador). When choosing a tow bar, dolly or
trailer be sure to check on the support that will be
available as you travel across the country. Some smaller
companies do not have the dealer network or ability to
help you after the sale.
Rigid
A-Frame
Rigid tow bars, as their name implies, are a solid
welded tow bar without any adjustment to give you help
hooking up. When you hookup you must drive the towed
vehicle to the exact spot which will allow you to put the
tow bar’s coupler on the ball of the tow vehicle. It is
often a two-person job, one driving while the other holds
the tow bar up and guides the driver. Rigid tow bars are
the least expensive and generally some of the lightest tow
bars you can buy. If you are in good health and have a
driver you can trust that can help each time you hook-up
this may be an option for you. Also, if you only tow once
or twice a year this may be the type of tow bar for you
situation. Rigid tow bars generally have to be removed
from the car and stored when you are not using them.
Self
Aligning
Self-aligning tow bars provide you with the
opportunity to hook up by yourself. The self-aligning
feature allows you to drive up close to the motorhome and
then let the tow bar adjust to the vehicle’s position.
Then the tow bar will extend out to its rigid tow position
as you pull ahead with the motorhome. Many users have
called these tow bars temper savers and marriage savers.
The choice between car mounted or motorhome mounted is a
choice you will need to make.
Car
Mounted
Car mounted self-aligning tow bars were the first
folding self-aligning tow bars built. They were the
industry standard for several years. When you are not
towing with these tow bars they will fold and stay on the
front of your car. Most models also have a quick release
system so they can be taken off quickly and easily. This
type of tow bar has served people who deliver new motor
homes and trucks or rental trucks very well. Hitting a
pole or a wall in parking lots or other people parking in
front of your car are common ways to damage the tow bar
and possibly the bumper of your car. Being with the car
may leave the tow bar in an area where it can be easily
stolen off the car while you are gone. Also, leaving the
extra weight of the tow bar on the front of the car
affects the front suspension. Another disadvantage to this
type of tow bar is cosmetics. Most people do not want to
strain with the weight of these tow bars, so they will
leave them on the car and this takes away from the look of
your car.
Motorhome
Mounted
Motorhome mounted tow bars are the latest & most
popular innovation in tow bars. The main advantage of a
motorhome mounted tow bar is the replacement of the ball
coupler with a swivel joint. This allows the tow bar to be
used without a drop ball mount, which in many cases hangs
low enough to drag when a motorhome drives through a dip
or starts up a ramp. The storage of the tow bar on the
motorhome leaves the front of your car look much nicer
when you are not towing. The motorhome is less likely to
be left in a place where theft is a major problem and the
tow bar can be locked into the receiver hitch of the
motorhome to deter theft. This type of tow bar is also
lighter and easier to handle than its car mounted
counterpart.
Baseplates
When researching a towing system, do not overlook the
baseplate. The baseplate bolts to the frame and is custom
designed for each specific towed vehicle. Different
baseplates will show significantly more than others will
and a few require cutting of the bumper for installation.
Some of the newer models have removable attachment tabs,
which allows you to remove all exposed parts from the
front of the vehicle. Baseplates come with all the
necessary hardware to install them and will bolt to a
secure place on the towed vehicle. On occasion you will
need to drill holes in the frame to attach the baseplate,
but no special tools are needed.
Accessories
Available
Blue Ox provides all
of the accessories that you may need or want for towing.
For safety purposes, federal law requires RV activated
taillights and safety cables. Also, most states and
Canadian provinces have laws on the books concerning
braking for trailers. Brakes are required on trailers with
GVWR’s as low as 1,000 pounds in some states.
Enforcement of these laws has not been followed most
places in the United States. Interpretation of the law’s
application to cars in tow has probably been a big reason
why these laws have not been actively enforced. British
Columbia province in Canada has been actively enforcing
this law, stopping people, writing tickets and making them
drive the tow car separately if they do not have the
proper equipment. The main thing to remember with
auxiliary braking systems is that they are just what they
state - auxiliary brakes. They are not meant to stop your
motorhome any faster. They are designed to assist in
slowing down the towed vehicle and reduce the stopping
distance that was changed due to the addition of the towed
car.
Towability
Issues
Most front wheel drive manual transmission
cars can be towed with all four wheels on the ground with
no modification. Most front wheel drive automatic
transmission vehicles will need a lube pump or similar
device in order to tow it four wheels down. Rear wheel
drive automatics will require a device to disconnect
the driveshaft in order to tow four down.
There
are some front wheel drive automatic transmission
vehicles that can be towed without modification. Here are
some examples: All Honda and Acura vehicles; All Saturn
vehicles; 1995 and newer Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac
Sunfire with 4T40E transmission; 1997 and newer Chevrolet
Malibu and Olds Cutlass with 4T40E transmission; 1999 and
newer Pontiac Grand Am with 4T40E transmission. Also, some
4 wheel drive vehicles can be towed (both automatic and
manual transmission). Refer to your vehicle's owners
manual for specific instructions and limitations.
Towing
Safety Checklist
Inspect the tow bar, dolly or trailer for loose bolts
and worn parts. Tighten loose bolts and replace worn parts
before hooking up. If you have bolts that are consistently
coming loose, use Loctite or put on a double nut to keep
them tight.
During
hook up:
1.
Hook up on a flat smooth surface.
2.
If you have a coupler style tow bar; check the fit
of the coupler on the ball. Adjust the coupler if
necessary.
3.
Hook up the tow bar.
4.
Set up the towed vehicle’s steering and
transmission to tow.
5.
Check your parking brake to ensure it is
disengaged.
6.
Latch the legs on a self-aligning tow bar.
7.
Attach the safety cables. Cross the cables between
the vehicles and wrap the cables around the tow bar legs
to keep them from dragging.
8.
Attach the electrical cable.
9.
Check the function of all lights on both vehicles.
10.
Locate your spare key and lock the towed
vehicle’s doors.
11.
Drive with care and remember your vehicle will be
about 25 feet longer while towing.
Each
time you stop, check the tow bar, base plate and cables to
make sure they are still properly attached. Check the
tires of the towed vehicle to make sure they are not going
flat. If you are using a dolly or trailer, check the
wheels to make sure they are not hot to the touch. If the
wheels are hot, it may indicate a brake or bearing
problem.
Each
day before you start check the lights to make sure they
are working properly.
Between
trips clean the towbar and cables to keep them in good
shape. Also, clean and lubricate the tow bar as
recommended by the manufacturer’s instructions.
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