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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.
Motor
Home
Mounted
Motor
home
mounted tow bars are the latest & most popular innovation in tow bars.
The main advantage of a motor home 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 motor home drives through a dip or starts up a ramp. The storage of
the tow bar on the motor home leaves the front of your car look much nicer
when you are not towing. The motor home 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 motor home to deter theft. This type of tow bar
is also lighter and easier to handle than its car mounted counterpart.
Base
plates
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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