Quote:
Originally Posted by vkb
Jamie...I know you have been towing for some time. We just bought a used Jeep Sport to tow...giving up on the motorcycles at this stage in life.
We know our Jeep can be towed 4 down...but know nothing about it. The tow bar...the brakes (this is our biggest question)
We also, had someone recommend a trailer...which has its good points.
What is your thinking on this matter?
Thanks Kay
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The main thing is to check to owners manual for Recreational towing. Sometimes it will vary from model to model and year to year. Basically you need to put your transfer switch in neutral in order to tow but there again each vehicle will have its own thing.
As far as what you need for towing along with what you mentioned you will need an base plate adapter for your specific vehicle. Each make / model has its own base plate that may not fit something else. I put mine in myself, but it is a good idea to have it done by the pros since this is what is going to hold everything together.
From there you need a braking system for the towed. There are several options, A brake buddy type of system that you set a big box in the drivers floor board and hook to your break pedal, I personally don't care for this type just for the fact that you have to store the break buddy which takes up room and is one more thing to have to carry around and it still has to be wired in like the Play-N-Stay (see next paragraph) and at the time I got mine was around the same price for either one.
I use the Play-N-Stay. It is a small box that mounts under your hood and a even smaller box mounted inside out of the way. It hooks directly to your break pedal and you never have to mess with it, other than to turn it on and off, which is no big deal if you forget to turn it off. There is also one called Air force One for Pushers. I personally want one that works just off of the trailer plug power so I can tow with any vehicle.
Next you will need a wiring harness for your lights. I use one from camping world that although you have to run the harness to the rear of the vehicle ( which is really no big deal and very easy to do) once there you never have to think about it. It has some diodes that will allow the lights from your MH to be duplicated on your tow using your normal lights of the towed with out feeding back and damaging something.
As far as Tow Bars there are many to choose from just make sure it matches up to your base plate of the towed. I found a used one and saved a bunch of $$$ but there again a road master won't fit a Blue Ox so make sure that you match them and that they will work together. I have a blue Ox and like it, but there are a lot to choose from. The main thing to look for is the ease of hooking and un hooking. Some of them will get in a bind if your MH and tow are not level and straight, others are more forgiving and will allow some more wiggle room. You can plan on having to unhook at times that you can't straighten out and if your tow bar is in a bind well lets just say you may discover a few more choice words! Also if your rigs are not level when you release the pressure on the tow bar your tow will roll one way or the other, so make sure your not in the way!!!
That is about all I can think of right now, just ask a lot of questions and explore all the choices. It really is not that complicated as I may have made it sound, it's just better to make an informed choice and to know why this one is better than that one and which will work for you.
Good luck I hope this helps.
Don
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