Best Tow

[chamberlain]

Quick question.... Looking for the best type of tow vehicle and setup for the $.

[earljan34]

I have found that JEEP is about the easiest to tow, Hook up put transfer case in netural tras. in park and go! :D Lots of JEEPS around for cheep money.

[RJ82much]

I tow my 2-door, offroad, ZR2 Blazer around. I use the Demco Aluminator tow bar, Roadmaster base plate, & Blue Ox Apollo brake system. -lots of $'s just to keep my ride with me.

Easy to hook up, transfer case & transmission in neutral, key just off steering lock (detent just before accessory) & she's ready to follow behind. Oh yeah, I have the separate tail-light sockets installed in the reflector side-by-side with the regular auto system. No diodes required, powered from the RV.

The good news is, the Blazer cleans up real nice for a luxery ride to town for a dinner date, or out-of-the-box will take on most any mountain trail you throw at her. The bad news is, they don't make them anymore & you'll have to buy used.

[GStream40]

There will be a lot of opinions on what is best. What is best for one, will not be the best toad for another.

We tow a Ford Explorer. Easy to prepare, just have the engine running, put in neutral, turn key to 1st off position with foot on brake, a LED light flashes 3 times mounted under the dash then comes on steady. When it stays on steady then it is ready to tow.

I installed the Blue Ox light kit in the tail light housing so that no diodes or power is sent into the Explorer main wiring as recommended by our Ford dealer and Remco. Too many sensors in the Explorer that could be damaged according to Ford from feedback. Motorhome powers the extra lights that were installed with the Blue Ox kit.

But I believe the best tow bars are made by Blue Ox due to their great support at rallies. Blue Ox goes to many rallies, including the Gulf Streamers Back Home rally held yearly. Blue Ox inspects the tow bars on your coach and replaces any worn components, lubricates what is needed all for NO additional charge. Now that is service after the sale, they stand behind their products 100%. They will do this without you having to ask and many times if no one is even at the coach. They will leave a report of what they did on your door so that you know it was done and what they did.

Ron

[RJ82much]

Now that's impressive about Blue Ox. I hadn't heard that before. Customer support & service without even asking (let alone begging)? What a concept.

[GStream40]

Now that's impressive about Blue Ox. I hadn't heard that before. Customer support & service without even asking (let alone begging)? What a concept.

Yes, It is. But Blue Ox is well known for taking care of their products at rallies. I have attended 3 Gulf Streamers Back Home Rally in the last three years and at each rally the Blue Ox team were there and inspected/rebuilt/lubricated our tow bar. Twice when we off during other things at the rally. They just leave a service sheet letting you know what was done to the tow bar.

This year I caught up to the Blue Ox tech later and asked him about the required clearance between the toad and coach, since our hitch sits farther back under the coach than our previous. He came back to the coach, looked at it. He said if I would feel better about more clearance he would install a longer part of the tow bar that inserts into the hitch. I told him," Yes, I would".

He installed the longer insert, No charge.
There again, That is service and customer satisfaction. If I ever need to purchase another, without a doubt it will be a Blue Ox.

Ron

[Retird2Golf]

:D Blue Ox called, yes called !, me at home. Told me if I sent my
Apollo Brake back to factory, for $20.00 they would Replace the Mother Board with the newest version and check and replace anything needed.

I received it back in about 10 days via UPS and they had even
replaced the Power Cord with an "on-off" switch and lite.

So, Yes Blue Ox Rocks !! :lol:

[ronbo]

Several comments were made about towbars. I'd like to relate a story...

I used to have a brand *** towbar and a regular ball-type hitch. Having gotten quite used to seeing my Wrangler dead-center in the backup camera, you can imagine my surprise (a really calm word for it now) when I glanced down one time and saw it over to the right of the screen. I slowly-slowly-slowly eased the rig down and to a stop on the shoulder. Seems somehow the little assembly that grabs onto the hitchball itself had gotten fatigued/bent/twisted (no way I coulda hit something, I'm talking about the part inside the coupler itself) and allowed the ball to work itself out. All that held us together was the cables, and luckily they held the towbar from dropping to the ground and catapulting the Jeep over my head. Fortunately there was minor damage to the rv or Jeep, but the coupler was history.

Immediately after that episode I went out and bought a Blue Ox, mainly because all of the joints are bolted and pinned, not simply captured or held in place. I want the security of KNOWING it's together and going to stay together until I unlock it.

I bring all this up not to diss any brand (which is why I didn't list who it was at the beginning), but to implore everyone to do some research and get a GOOD unit, and to inspect it often. Pulling a toad ain't like dragging around your little red-wagon when you were a kid, these things are big and expensive!

Seeing an off-center Jeep is bad enough, but I have nightmares about looking out the side-window of the rv one day and saying "Hey honey, look at the Jeep going down that ravine. Sure looks like ours, but with a lot more scratches and dents".

Thanks!
Ron

[Snowbird 2]

I have had 2 Saturns in the past few years that we towed and found both of them fully satisfactory. The first was an SL1 4-door, 4 cylinder automatic which is quite light and very economical to drive. You wouldn't ever know it was behind you. Now we tow an L300 Saturn and find it considerably heavier and notice the weight especially on long uphill climbs. It is much more comfortable on road trips and definately not as economical as it has a V-6. If you don't mind being less comfortable and only want transportation when you get to your destination, go for the smallest, lightest vehicle you can get at our high gas prices!

I have always used a steel homemade towbar, homemade and I can assure you it is much stronger than any bought one. I welded brackets for a baseplate which are bolted to the frame and these are much stronger than the kits I have seen for a fraction of the cost. The towed vehicle can't move either way an inch with this solid towbar.

[dancote]

We've had excellent success with first a Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4 automatic and now a Suzuki XL-7 4x4 automatic. Tows with the transfer case in Neutral, transmission in park, and no mileage on the odometer.

[TSoul]

I tow my Jeep Wrangler and love it. Easy to tow and fun to take anywhere. On road, off road, top up or down and the weather is never an issue. Thats my vote. Happy Camping.

[davmac]

We towed a Saturn for several years and were very happy then for one year switched to a Nissan Pathfinder manual transmission. Found that the amount of off-road driving didn't justify the lower MPG of a SUV. Now we pull a Nissan Sentra manual transmission.

All three were pulled using a Blue Ox towbar and baseplates with the exception of the Sentra needing a roadmaster baseplate because Blue Ox hadn't engineered one for the 05 Sentra. A roadmaster adaptor works great with our BlueOx towbar.

I believe there is a site http://www.towingworld.com/ that lists special conditions for various makes/models of cars.

[Retird2Golf]

:P I'm still gonna stick with my Jeep Liberty, Power, comfort and ease of towing with the Blue Ox setup ! :P :P :P

[GStream40]

Well then, I guess I will have to stick with my Eddie Bauer Explorer for the same reasons with the Blue Ox setup. :lol: 8)

The battle of the toads...... :lol: :roll:


Ron

[Retird2Golf]

:P :P Ree-Deep, Ree-Deep a real "croaker!" :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Beaufort NC]

We've been towing a rail motor car around behind ours. It's a little hard to steer when you're going out on the town, but it works great if you can find some trax!!

Pete
06 Crescendo