All About Dinghy Towing Part II – Tow Equipment & Supplemental Brakes

All hooked up and ready to go!

I’ve kept you in suspense all day (I’m sure), but finally we come to the 2nd exciting part of our towing mini-series. This is where we get to the guts of the topic, so to speak, and talk about how you actually attach your tow vehicle to your motorhome. There are a ton of ways to do this and I won’t cover all of them, but I’ll try to go through the most popular choices and finish off with what we went went with in our set-up. Oh and be warned…this is loooong…

1/ Towing Options

A typical tow dolly. Image from AdventureRV.net

There are 3 main kinds of tow options out there for your car.

• Towing “4-Down” – If you have a car that can tow “4-down” (all 4 wheels on the ground) then it makes sense to  exercise that option.
  PROs – Towing 4-down is (by far) the easiest way to tow a car. There’s less fiddling in camp and minimal external equipment.
  CONs – Towing 4-down can be a more expensive option and requires an attachment on your car, plus potentially other installed equipment. Some cars may need special modifications (e.g. drive-shaft disconnects or lube pump) to allow 4-down towing.
• Using a Dolly– For cars that can’t be towed “4-down” or for those looking for a more flexible option  a dolly may make sense. Dolly’s are designed to lift the front 2 wheels off the ground, leaving the back 2 down.
  PROs – Dolly’s can be used on any front-wheel-drive automatic without modifications to the car. One dolly can be shared between multiple cars.
  CONs – More fiddling in camp and an extra piece of equipment to carry around and store at your campsite.

• Using a Trailer – In this case you drive the car into a separate trailer and tow that behind the RV. This is a popular option with classic cars.
  PROs – Any kind of car can be towed this way without modification, and the trailer provides protection from road damage.
  CONs – A large, bulky extra piece of equipment on the road which affects your overall weight (GCWR) and may also limit where you’re able to stay.

As you can imagine, we went with the 4-down option. In our mind it’s the easiest and most compact way to tow your car. There’s no extra equipment to haul around, nothing to “store” in camp and set-up/take-down is a cinch easily handled by one person. For the rest of the post I’ll focus on the equipment for 4-down towing.

2/ Chosing a Tow Bar

The Blue Ox Aladdin tow bar

If you’ve decided to tow 4-down one of your first questions will be what kind of tow bar to get. There are 5 main things to look for in a tow bar:

• Weight Ratings – Make sure to chose a tow bar that matches or exceeds the weight of your tow vehicle. This should be true of all your tow equipment.
• Rigid vs Self-Aligning - The cheapest type of tow-bar is a rigid A-frame, but this is bulky and requires the car to be precisely aligned behind the frame before you can hook-up. Most modern towbars are “self-aligning” meaning that you can adjust/extend the arms individually to line up with your car. The self-aligning types do not require precise alignment, are far easier to use and can be folded up compactly when not hooked up.
• Car Mounted vs Motorhome Mounted – Some tow-bars are mounted to your car while others are mounted on the motorhome. The car-mounted bars fold up and stay on the front of your car when you’re not hooked up. Motorhome mounted bars fold up and stay on the motorhome. The motorhome type are (by far) the most popular kind these days.
• Release Handles - The newer tow bars all have some kind of quick-release handle that allows you to easily release the “lock” on the tow bar once you decide to unhook. This allows the towbar to be easily unhooked no matter what the angle of the bar or car. RVers without this option often complain about the car getting “stuck” and having to fiddle around to get it loose. In my mind having this little feature is key.
• Baseplates – If you chose a motorhome-mounted bar, you’ll need some kind of baseplate on your tow vehicle to which you attach the bar. Baseplates are custom designed for each tow vehicle and some are more visible than others. The most visible type are bolted right on the front of your vehicle. The least visible are custom deals welded neatly underneath the car.

The two most popular tow bar makers are Roadmaster and Blue Ox. Both have excellent reputations and you really can’t go wrong with either.

3/ Supplemental Braking

The portable Patriot 500 braking system. This has to be installed everytime you use it,.

Once you’ve decided on a tow bar your next challenge is whether or not to get a supplemental braking system. The way this works is that when you brake in the RV, a brake is also applied to your tow car. There’s alot of debate on this topic amongst RVers. Some states legally require them (over a certain weight), but some do not or the towing laws are ambiguous/confusing. 10 years ago supplemental braking was unheard of and many RVers have gone for years without.

Personally we considered this a “must have”. Our 400hp diesel engine is more than capable of handling the load but I do not like the idea of 3,500 lbs pushing on the back of the RV, particularly in an emergency braking situation.  When we drive in the mountains I can feel the effect of the supplemental toad brakes, and if we’re ever in a situation where the car gets loose from the motorhome I know our system will stop it dead. It’s a peace of mind that I wouldn’t go without. Here’s some things to consider in a system:

• Portable vs Permanently Installed – Some braking systems require that you set-up and remove equipment inside the tow car everytime you use them. These are portable from one car to another, but it does mean that you haul around the equipment. Others systems are permanently installed. These require more serious up-front installation, but have the advantage of no extra equipment and easier set-up/take-down in camp.
• Pre-Set vs Proportional – The simplest systems are pre-set braking systems. These simply apply a pre-set (fixed) amount of braking upon receiving a signal from the RV that its brakes have been applied. Proportional systems go one further and will brake in proportion to either the rate of deceleration or the pressure applied on the brake in the motorhome (so the harder you brake up-front, the harder the brake applied in the toad). The latter provides some extra safety margin and is worth having in the mountains.
• Direct vs Vacuum Assist – If you’re going for a permanent installation you have the option of getting more fancy with either direct or vacuum assist systems.
  -> Direct Systems provide proportional braking, but with a little extra pizzaz. They connect directly into your motorhome’s air or hydraulic brake system providing much better/faster response time. These kinds of systems are a good choice for heavier tow vehicles. 
  -> Vacuum (Power) Assist Systems are another slant. They activate the power-assist function of your tow vehicle’s brakes which means the brake pedal is depressed with the same intensity as if you were physically behind its wheel at the time. They are not typically proportional systems (there is one exception I know of – see below), but they allow for much smoother braking with less wear and tear on the toad. This is a popular choice for long-distance towing.
• Sensitivity Adjustments – Most new braking systems allow you to set thresholds on when they “kick in” and/or control the sensitivity of braking pressure that gets to the toad. Some allow you make this adjustment from the motorhome.
• Breakaway System - Most of the nicer braking systems offer an in-built breakaway system that stops your car dead if it separates from the motorhome. On some systems this not available or is an optional add-on.
• Audible & Visual Communication – The better braking systems give you some kind of audible and/or visual alarm in the motorhome when they activate the brakes or if the toad gets loose. Communication from the toad to the motorhome can be wired or wireless. This is a really nice safety feature that lets you know exactly what the brakes are doing.

There are several manufacturers of braking systems including SMI, Blue Ox, Roadmaster, Brakebuddy, US Gear and others. This page provides a good intro to supplemental braking and this page has a neat overview of manufacturer choices.

4/ And Our Answer Was….?

Assuming you’ve survived reading the post I’ll give you the drumroll and reveal our choices. 

Our Roadmaster Tow-Bar folded neatly up on "the beast" for in-camp use

For tow-bar it was a bit of a toss-up between the 2 “big” manufacturers. In the end we chose the Roadmaster Falcon All-Terrain. It can handle 6,000 lbs (more than enough for our 3,500lb CR-V), is flexible, has self-adjusting arms and includes that all-important easy-release lever (Roadmaster call it the “freedom latch”) .

For our baseplate we chose a custom option welded directly onto the under-frame of the CR-V. It’s barely visible and rock solid.

For supplemental braking the choice was alot more complicated. We knew up-front that we wanted a permanently installed system and we really liked the idea of vacuum assist, but we also wanted some kind of proportional braking as well as the ability to adjust sensitivity and have audible alarms in the motorhome in case of issues. An impossible wish-list perhaps? As it turns out the US Gear Unified Tow Brake (TV-1000) provides it all. US Gear are, in fact, the only manufacturer I know that provides both vacuum assist and proportional braking (sensed via deceleration rate of the coach). Not the cheapest option out there, but a really neat and elegant solution. By the way the alarm system was key and has already saved our toad from accidental damage a couple of times by alerting us to a bad hookup and an unexpected application of the brake (without the alarm our toad brakes would’ve fried).

The custom baseplate on our car. It's nicely inconspicuous.

The entire lot was installed by County RV in Santee Lakes, CA.

So far we’ve been very happy with our system. Set-up is a simple matter of attaching the flexible arms of the tow-bar, plugging in the wiring harness and inserting the breakaway line. It’s visually a very simple solution, doesn’t require us to haul around any extra equipment, packs away easy and works flawlessly.

And if you read all that to the end I salute you. Back to regular programming tomorow….

All About Dinghy Towing Part I – Toads

To tow or not to tow...that is the question...

Recently I’ve had several blog followers ask me about towing and toads (tow vehicles that is, not bumpy, green amphibians. By the way this is sometimes also called “dinghy towing”). The idea marinated in my brain, as these things do, and I decided it might be helpful to dive in and do a couple of quick articles for those interested. So, as we hang out here in SW CO we’ll take a break from our scheduled program to do a mini 2-part series on towing. Here we go:

1/ Do I Really Need a Toad?

95% of the sightseeing we do is thanks to our toad

There’s a mass of debate on the whole question of towing on RV forums. There are people who go towless, and there are people who would never live without. We are most definitely the second kind and for full-time RVing I think having a toad adds significantly to lifestyle enjoyment. Given our ”beastly” size it’s hard to plan stops (even stores) that can accommodate us and almost impossible to plan any real sightseeing. Towing a separate vehicle gives us the freedom to set-up “the beast” in one location and use the smaller car to run errands, grocery shop, sightsee and get around. We use our toad almost daily even if it’s just a short drive to get to a cool trail or lookout.

 

Given all this there are people who do go without and they usually fall into one of two categories:

• “Beast Size” - Toadless RVers with bigger rigs plan their stops at major stores (e.g. Walmarts) or stick to areas that have RV parking or are walking/biking distance from an RV park. Some will rent tow vehicles on the road and this is a real option, especially if you stay in one spot for longer periods.
• “Smaller Size” – Those with smaller RVs take the whole enchilada with them to see the sights and will simply set-up/take-down whenever they need to go. The smaller your RV, the more flexibility you have in places to go and see.

But for us, having a tow vehicle is a “must” and something we wouldn’t live without.

2/ How Do I Choose The Right Vehicle?

We wanted a light tow vehicle that could handle getting a little rough and dirty

First of all let me point out that just about any vehicle can be towed or modified to tow depending on how you do it, so if you’re dead set on towing your grandmother’s 1959 neon pink Mini you can certainly do it. But if you’re new and just getting started there are a couple of key criteria that are worth looking at as you make your choice:

• Weight & GCWR - One of the very first things you need to be aware of is weight. No matter what you chose you *must* be aware of your GCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating) = the maximum total weight that your motorhome can handle. Simply put your motorhome weight PLUS your toad weight should never exceed the GCWR. One of the first things a new RVer should do is load up your motorhome (with all things like water, fuel, propane, you etc. that you plan to carry on a regular basis) and get it weighed. Then you can do the math to figure out how much you can tow. Outside of GCWR, obviously a lighter tow vehicle will put less stress on your main engine and brakes (think emergency braking distance) as well as have less impact on fuel mileage. We’re nowhere close to our GCWR and like to have that extra safety margin.
• Towing “4-down” – You’ll hear people talk about 4-down and what they mean is that your tow vehicle can be towed with all 4-wheels on the ground. This is not the only way to tow (as you’ll see in tomorrow’s post), but it certainly makes life easier. Some cars are designed specifically to allow 4-down towing while others are not or can only tow with modifications (e.g. drive-train modifications). Check with the manufacturer before you commit on buying so you know what you’re getting into.
• Off-Road Capabilities – It’s important to think about how you’ll be using your tow vehicle while on the road. Many outdoor locations offer lots of road opportunities from scenic drives to full-bore 4-wheel off-roading (especially in the southwest). If you’re into the 2nd kind, you definitely what a toad that can handle that kind of driving.
• Repairs and Reliability – No matter what kind of tow vehicle you buy it’s always worth looking at how it stacks up in terms of reliability and repairs. Obviously comfort and gas mileage are other good considerations.

3/ And Our Answer Was…..?

Our Honda CR-V goes just about anywhere, and can tote the bikes along too.

We decided to tow our 2009 Honda CR-V. The CR-V is a popular choice amongst RVers. It has all-wheel drive, gets good gas mileage (~25 mpg), weighs only ~3,500lbs, and is specifically enabled for towing 4-down (there’s actually a separate tow-section with set-up instructions in the owner’s manual). We’ve been extremely happy with our choice.
For those seeking off-road capabilities Jeeps are a popular choice.
For those seeking max. gas mileage some of the new hybrids are promising.
And…there are lots of other choices.

Useful Links:

• Motorhome Magazine comes out with a dingy towing guide every year and is probably the single best online resource for chosing a toad.
• Consumer Reports offer some of the best reviews on vehicles, both used and new. Once you’ve got a few toad choices, this is a good resource to narrow down your list even more.
• Kelly Blue Book is a great resource for pricing, especially if you’re buying a used vehicle.
• RV Safety and Education Foundation has definitions of all the weight terms as well as detailed articles on weighing your motorhome.

In the end chosing a tow vehicle comes down to whatever is best for you (as long as you stay within your total weight limits), so make your decision based on your own levels of comfort, lifestyle and  pizzaz. Oh, and in case you missed it, go get that motorhome weighed…..your life might well depend on it.

Coming next -> a gripping article on towing equipment. Do try to contain your excitement as you wait for it to come out…