Tow bar

[Frank4]

Would like to get advice on towing needs. I plan on flat towing a car behind my motorhome. The problem not sure at the moment on what car, have been thinking of a jeep and would have to purchase one sometime coming up. Have been looking on eBay at self adjusting tow bars like blue ox. Looks like you have to buy the tow bar and then the base plates that attach to car separately. Would it be a good idea to go ahead a purchase the toe bar now if it's a good deal and then worry about the base plates later? Any thoughts on this anyone?

[norwood12800]

Am fairly new to this myself but since you are starting from scratch anyway I would get it all at one time. We have a GT 2012 378ts & after a lot of research bought a 2012 Ford Focus. Checked with Ford, dealer, Blue Ox & FMCA towing guide before making my decision. This car is very easy with adding a battery cut off switch under the hood of the car. A lot of people use Jeeps, just make sure the model you select is approved by all concerned. I found the FMCA guide to be the most help but for instance my base plate was in back order for 2 weeks & the dealer said it was a "B" to install so allow time to get it all done.

[Lostdog]

Originally Posted by Frank4

Would like to get advice on towing needs. I plan on flat towing a car behind my motorhome. The problem not sure at the moment on what car, have been thinking of a jeep and would have to purchase one sometime coming up. Have been looking on eBay at self adjusting tow bars like blue ox. Looks like you have to buy the tow bar and then the base plates that attach to car separately. Would it be a good idea to go ahead a purchase the toe bar now if it's a good deal and then worry about the base plates later? Any thoughts on this anyone?

We found a used (3 times) Falcon All Terrain tow bar on CraigsList for $330. Snapped it up. Had to have the baseplates put on by the dealer, another $400 and I installed a ReadyBrake braking system. All told expended about a month and half getting the setup put together. I suppose if you buy a little at a time it doesn't hurt as much! I buy and sell on CraigsList all the time. The Jeep is a great toad.

[MtnGuy]

Since this thread seems to be more about the towed vehicle, plus this should cover all motorhomes, I have moved it from the "Georgetown" forum the the "Towing, Hitches, and Toads" forum.

[cfsoistman]

I bought my Blue Ox tow bar from one dealer and the base plate from another. The most important thing is stick with a brand. Some look to be a match but as they say "Looks can be Deceiving". I did buy both on line, found the best price for each. I'm fortunate that I have a friend that could install the base plate at our company's vehicle maintanence shop.

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

I bought my Blue Ox tow bar from one dealer and the base plate from another. The most important thing is stick with a brand. Some look to be a match but as they say "Looks can be Deceiving". I did buy both on line, found the best price for each. I'm fortunate that I have a friend that could install the base plate at our company's vehicle maintanence shop.

I was towing a 2008 Ford Focus with a tow dolley (can't tow the '08 thru '11 focus with auto tranny 4 down) We bought a 2011 Chevy equinox and started looking on Craigslist for a towbar and brake system at the same time trying to sell my dolley. I found a guy on Craigslist near us that wanted to trade a roadmaster falcon tow bar and all the accessories and a brake buddy for a towmaster dolley since he bought a Toyota Prius and it can't be towed 4 down. We made the trade, it was a great deal for both of us. I really don't like the towmaster base plates because they are in two pieces and you have to use a cross bar from one side to the other. So, I ordered a Blue Ox baseplate and the adapter ends for the roadmaster towbar to connect to the Blue Ox baseplate. They we $80 with shipping and the base plate was $460. Now this setup works great and the fact that they are different brands makes no difference at all. Plus, I don't have to fool around with that ugly crossbar when I'm hooking up the car. Just line it up, put in two pins, hook up the elec. connection and safety brake and off you go. Oh, forgot I have to put in the brake buddy too. If you got a Ready Brake, which I'm going to get if the Brake Buddy craps out, its even faster. By the way the Equinox has been a great toad.

[zook]

I did a complete install this weekend on our 2011 Jeep Wrangler. It was not hard, not easy but just lots of details. I'm posting a detail write up this morning.