Towing a vehicle

georgetown50 · 12-20-2009, 02:45 AM

I'd like to start towing one of my vehicles but I don't know much about it. We have a Honda CR-V and a Honda Civic. I was told that for most vehicles you have to get a "tow package" that goes on whatever vehicle you are going to tow. I've also been told that the cost is around $3,000 to $3,500.

Can anyone tell me if both of my vehicles would require such a package to be put on for towing? This is quite an expense but seems necessary unless I'm just always going to have my wife drive behind me in the car which is annoying if we were to drive very long distances.

Is Camping World a good place to get this done?

TulsaSteve · 12-20-2009, 08:27 AM

Towing the vehicle is definitely worth the investment. Improves the whole RV experience.

Installing a system isn't easy. If your going to have someone else do the work, make sure they are installing the system you want and make sure all the the equipment meets your specs. For example, they could "skip" the 12V line from the RV to the car and the battery in your Honda will be ruined quickly.

I would be happy to walk you through the details, but at a high level here are the things to keep in mind.

1) Get the towing guide from motorhomemagazine.com Great resource. and READ the manual that came with your car/SUV. You might find it's easier to trade in a car for one that is "tow friendly". (I have no experience towing Hondas)
2) How many pounds is your hitch rated at? Should be a label on it.
3) How many pounds is your chassis rated to tow? Should be on the label in the RV with the tire pressures / weights
4) Can your vehicle tow with all 4 weeks down? If not, the weight of a flat bed trailer or a tow dolly + the car can't exceed the chassis rating. 4 wheels down is the best in my opinion.
5) What type of braking system do you want? (I went with the UTB from USgear.com)

My setup is the following:
- USGear UTB braking system
- Roadmaster tow brackets on a 2008 Saturn Vue
- Roadmaster tow bar (rated to tow 6000lbs) with a Blue Ox drop receiver
- 2007 370XL Georgetown rated to tow 4000lbs (came with a 5000lb hitch)
- Magnetic tow lights on the Saturn
- My cables from the RV to the Saturn are a 12V to keep the battery topped off, a blue wire to send the braking signals to the UTB system, a 4 wire cable from the 4 pin on the RV to a 4 pin that I installed on the Saturn to light up the towing lights and a breakaway cable that clamps the Saturn brakes down if the Saturn ever separates from the RV.

I would guess that I spent about $2500 on everything, but I did the install myself. $3500 sounds reasonable if some else is installing.

kvtaylor · 12-20-2009, 09:01 AM

We agree with Tulsasteve. 3500 is about right. WE have simular equiment and our Saturn dealer installed the towbar, the motorhome dealer installed the braking system. A friend of ours used to tow a Honda CRV and I know he didn't have to do much to it.
even brake
Blue ox towing bar
blue ox hitch for 2007 Saturn Aura

LadyWindrider · 12-20-2009, 09:25 AM

The biggest expense I would say, and I don't tow but am a mechanic, is if you're towing a stright drive transmission, you don't have a problem. Put it in neutral and hook and go, with brakes and lights and others have said. If you're towing an automatic, then you should have a way to disconnect the transmission. Automatic transmissions don't like to be towed, and most owner's manuals will state this somewhere. Check your manual for each vehicle. Maybe a cheaper way to go is to put the Civic on a car dolly. Just a thought.

NWJeeper · 12-20-2009, 10:00 AM

I think you can probably find a reputable shop that specializes in setting up towed (toad) vehicles for RVs. We have one of the best in the northwest just 20 miles from us. Camping world is NEVER my first choice for anything! Not because they are incompetent but because they are usually higher priced for what you are getting.

Our friends tow both a CRV and their Jeep (depending on where they are going) with their motorhome. The CRV is a manual transmission and the Jeeps which are equipped with a transfer case (Wrangler, Cherokee, 4x4 Liberty, etc.) can be towed 4 down with the transfer case in neutral as can a lot of other 4x4 vehicles. This is a reason you will see so many Jeep Wranglers as toads. If you have an automatic transmission vehicle without a transfer case then you may want to weigh the cost and inconvienince of a tow dolly or transmission disconnets with just replacing the vehicle with something more suitable for "all down" towing.

We prefer to use an umbilical cord from the RV to the toad for the lights. I install a 6pin round socket in the front bumper of the toad and use a cord with male ends on both sides to link the RV lights to the toad, I never have liked the idea of the coiled up tow wire under the hood of my toad and having to lift the hood to get at it and run it to the RV like some do. I always wire directly to the lights on the toad using diodes so we don't have to carry around magnetic lights. A good shop can set you up like this but it does cost a little more. I am not a good judge of what the prices run as I always do my own work.

We almost always have a vehicle in tow, whether it's our Jeep Liberty or the Wrangler if we are going Jeepn' It's great to have the abillity to get out and explore the countryside from your RV "home base".

TulsaSteve · 12-20-2009, 10:04 AM

All depends on the vehicle. My Saturn is an automatic and tows without issue. All depends on the transmission / engine package. The Saturn brand was always known for cars that could be easily towed flat. Sad to see it go...

I also looked at a couple Chevys before I bought the Saturn. Two "identical" cars on the lot.. One with a "sport package". The sport package could tow flat.. Had a different transmission. The other could not. The salesman had NO clue... They were reading the manual with me.

TulsaSteve · 12-20-2009, 10:08 AM

I should also mention that my Saturn is an auto, FWD. No 4x4.. I just turn the ignition on and slip it into neutral.

NWJeeper · 12-20-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TulsaSteve

I should also mention that my Saturn is an auto, FWD. No 4x4.. I just turn the ignition on and slip it into neutral.

This explains why we see as many Saturns as we do Jeeps behind RVs. Good info to know...

georgetown50 · 12-21-2009, 01:41 AM

Thanks. I will have to take a look at the owner's manual of my CRV and see what it says on towing. It's just frustrating to have to spend this much money on it.

NWJeeper · 12-21-2009, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgetown50

Thanks. I will have to take a look at the owner's manual of my CRV and see what it says on towing. It's just frustrating to have to spend this much money on it.

If the CRV is a manual transmission then no problem, if it's an automatic then there might be an issue. If you can turn a wrench and follow some instructions you can save lots of money. Our friend bought the mount system for the front of their CRV (Roadmaster I think) and it came with good instructions. We had the whole thing mounted on the car in about an hour. Use a towbar that stays with the tow vehicle like the Falcon5250, then it's as easy as inserting the towbar in the TV hitch and your done. The only thing to figure out after that is how you want to actuate your lights and a brake system if you want one.

Vic · 12-21-2009, 06:01 PM

Greetings all,

Just to throw a different opinion in the mix, a tow dolly has some advantages over flat wheel towing. The dolly is a lower overall cost to purchase. There are no extra costs or modifications to the towed vehicle. And any front wheel drive can be loaded and towed easily, sometimes we take a Malibu, sometimes the HHR.

Buying a new car isn't a problem as long as it can be loaded on the dolly. The only downside to a dolly is where to put it when it isn't being used.

Have a GREAT day.

georgetown50 · 12-21-2009, 11:35 PM

I read the owner's manual and it gives some instruction on being pulled by an RV. I don't have the instruction in front of me but basically you are putting it in Neutral. So, now I know the CRV is "tow friendly", what all do I need? Is this still going to cost me about $3500? If so, ouch!

Is this fairly easy to hook up and un hook when you get to your destination? It couldn't be that hard. I see a lot of people come in and out of our RV park doing this.

NWJeeper · 12-21-2009, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgetown50

I read the owner's manual and it gives some instruction on being pulled by an RV. I don't have the instruction in front of me but basically you are putting it in Neutral. So, now I know the CRV is "tow friendly", what all do I need? Is this still going to cost me about $3500? If so, ouch!

Is this fairly easy to hook up and unhook when you get to your destination? It couldn't be that hard. I see a lot of people come in and out of our RV park doing this.

If you are using the Roadmaster system where the towbar stays attached to the TV then all you do is disconnect your safety cables at the CRV, pull 2 pins to disconnect the towbar and pull your wiring plug and your done. Literally only takes a minute or two. Very easy. Depending on the braking system it might be a little more involved though.

The roadmaster self adjusting towbars are awesome and I wouldn't consider any other type. No need to be perfectly positioned behind the TV to hookup.

Here is a link to a PDF instruction file for the Roadmaster 5250 bar. It also shows the bracket that mounts to the front of the toad. Of course these will differ by vehicle but when it is all removed when not in use all you can see on the toad is a couple of small square tubes below the bumper.

Like I said, my friend and I installed this system on his CRV in about an hour. If you don't feel comfortable doing the wiring you can have a shop do it. However all the wiring for the rear lights runs through the trunk area where your spare tire is and is easy to access if your good at that stuff.

TulsaSteve · 12-22-2009, 02:22 AM

I agree with NWJeeper. Roadmaster seems to be the best right now. They don't bind and in my opinion that makes them safer.

Regarding tow dollies, I have no issue with them, but I do believe that towing with 4 wheels down has saved my bacon at least a few times.

My stopping distance is significantly shorter with the USGear braking system. I have 10 wheels braking vs. just 6 on the RV. My Saturn literally tugs the RV backwards when I'm braking hard.

You can't imagine how good that feels coming down a steep off ramp.

A way to save some cash and be sure you get exactly what you want is to buy the parts online (no dealer markup, save the sales tax and maybe get free shipping). Then pay a dealer to do the install.

Installing the tow brackets on my Saturn took an afternoon. I was by myself and I'm a bit anal when I work. I just put the car up on a pair of ramps, put some good tunes on the stereo and got to it. No special tools, but I did buy a new drill bit to make things go smoother.

The install of the US Gear system was a longer term project. I'm sure a dealer that does them all the time could knock it out in a few hours, but I took a slower approach. A few hours here and there until I had it dialed in. I also had a failed control module on the US gear system during the install.

Their tech support rocked. The website provided a step by step troubleshooting guide. I did those steps, e-mailed my results to US Gear and they sent a new module free of charge. Easy peasy.

$2500-$3500 isn't cheap, but you can use these parts for many years if you maintain them. So if you plan stay with the RV lifestyle for awhile, you can swap them over as you buy new RVs and/or new toads.

NWJeeper · 12-22-2009, 11:36 AM

Steve mentioned having to drill to install the sytem on his Saturn, on the CRV it was a bolt up with no drilling required. Each vehicle is a bit different obviously but I was surprised at how easy it was with the CRV.

TulsaSteve · 12-22-2009, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

Steve mentioned having to drill to install the sytem on his Saturn, on the CRV it was a bolt up with no drilling required. Each vehicle is a bit different obviously but I was surprised at how easy it was with the CRV.

Good point. I found kits from others that required no drilling on the Saturn Vue, but I decided to go with Roadmaster for other reasons. I had to drill 4 holes. Very easy to follow the instructions. Probably the hardest part was cutting the air damn just right so it still looked good.

Once I slide off the brackets, you have to look hard to see any of the work that I did. Roadmaster's kit is barely visible when not being used.

ronhanson · 12-22-2009, 03:38 PM

I used a Blue Ox baseplate on my Ford Edge in conjunction with a ReadyBrute tow bar with integrated brake system. I am very happy with this setup.

Make sure to use Loctite on all those bolts and give them a check once in a while. I've read some accounts of them loosening up over time.

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