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Old 06-22-2020, 08:53 PM   #21
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smart car, 1800lbs
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Old 06-22-2020, 08:55 PM   #22
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Flat Tow

Why not just convert your CRV to flat tow? I just did and I love it.
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Old 06-23-2020, 09:38 AM   #23
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JEEP

jeep wrangler....nice ride tows great...
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Old 06-23-2020, 10:53 AM   #24
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What we tow

We’ve owned VW campers, tents, a pop-up Apache, and now a 25ft 2016 FR MBS With full slide & we love! Bought it from our local dealer (one of their rentals) in Fall 2015 with 10K miles on it for about $30K of the price of a new one! Twice across to the East Coast & back to S CA (no we have a base home not full timers)! We simply got tired of rental vehicles and limits on where we could go site seeing! August 2019 we bought a new year end sale 2019 Jeep Wrangler 2 door hard top fully loaded from our local dealer! Pricey but we keep our vehicles until they give up the ghost! Freedom, freedom, freedom! It tows easy, easy, easy and used regular gasoline! The back seat folds down or can be taken completely out for storage & our 2 pets! We’ve flat towed it behind us from San Diego to Tucson and back (a fantastic KOA there BTW)! Towed easy over the SD I8 mountains! Hope this helps! It’s now our second car as well! We have a 2005 MB SUV that just keeps on going but can’t be flat towed! Dan & Gerda
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Old 06-24-2020, 03:02 PM   #25
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what we tow

2009 Saturn Vue. great little car.
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Old 06-24-2020, 05:31 PM   #26
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This is all great info, and exactly what I am looking for. Having only towed a car weighing 3500 lbs I just want to know how a 22,750 lb Georgetown XL 378 carries a 4600 lb vehicle. Sounds like I shouldn't have an issue. Thanks again everyone.
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Old 06-25-2020, 10:39 AM   #27
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2016 Ford F150 FX4 2.7L Supercrew Toad.
2007 Coachmen Mirada 330SL motorhome. (Ford Triton V10 engine)

This aluminum bodied truck weighs less than 5000lb so I didn't have to change the motorhome hitch.

Motorhome doesn't have a problem puling it and when I measured it, the mpg went down less than 1mpg when pulling. I have done the CHF as well and have replaced the big rubber mounts for the rear sway bar with neoprene and added z-brackets to reinforce the link end connections. I don't remember if I did it before or after the F150 toad setup but I would recommend it even if not towing. Negotiating turns and fuel stops do get tricky sometimes due to overall length. Just take your time, swing wide, and check the rearview for clearance frequently.

Ford supports "Recreational Tow mode" in the computer to disengage the transfer case on their 4x4.

I added a SMI Stay In Play Duo aux braking system. Instead of their braking indicator which is just a LED light in the toad windshield that is supposed to show on your rearview camera, I ran a spare wire to the 7-way that goes to the motorhome brake controller pigtail at the dash. I modified a brake controller harness to light an LED on the motorhome dash when brakes on toad actually apply. Once you get it adjusted, it works great. With the Stay In Play it is all hidden, nothing to remove after use, just flip a switch.
(I also looked at & preferred the M&G Engineering system but it had interference fitment issues on my F150 at the brake booster. I believe they have changed it since then so it may be a contender)

I added my own relay control box for toad turn/brake lighting control and mounted it under the truck bed (a sealed plastic electrical box). Relays switch over to motorhome control from the same switch that turns on the braking system. Note you need to break into a few factory wires and splice in extra length to do this. The factory wires are quite small (tedious splicing) and identifying the wires was a problem. I had to get a current-detecting meter and identify each wire by braking and turning on signals with someone reading the meter. You might be able to find factory wire color data by now. (I did not break into the running light wire or add a relay for it but if I had it to do over, I would. Now I have to remember to rotate the truck light switch to turn on park lights when towing at night. And I have to remember to turn them off). I wish Ford would add the lighting control to their recreational tow mode - are you listening Ford?
(PS: My F150 has incandescent tail lighting, not LED. I don't know if the truck computer(s) would have issues with this mod with factory LED lighting)

I added an electric umbilical to pass lighting signals and +12Aux to make sure the toad battery stays up, along with the brake indicator signal mentioned above. Used a standard 7-way trailer connector mounted on the plastic bumper trim.

I installed a Blue Ox Avail tow bar and connections. This requires removal of front bumper to install tow brackets and drilling a couple of frame holes. But it is a clean looking install when the tow bar is removed - nothing sticking out.

We have used the system on several trips and no problems except occasional F150 brake system check warnings which cleared themselves on startup/use. I think in all cases I either test-engaged the breakaway mode or disengaged the system in a strange way. Once or twice I also got a battery low warning message but it also went away by itself after driving. (The F150 has a battery monitor system and will detect a change in charge voltage not caused by the truck itself charging. It can be completely disabled by unplugging the sensor at the battery negative terminal but I haven't found that necessary).

I now have 55K miles on the F150 (bought new) and have had no drive train issues. We like to travel in it (when not going in the motorhome) vs my wife's Acura MDX since it is so roomy. And we have towed it close to 15K miles.

If you need any wiring data & parts id, I have some of that in PDF files.
I am a retired Electrical Engineer and have done DIY mechanic work all my life so I wouldn't recommend this DIY unless you can read and understand automotive schematics, trace wires, and have done mechanic work.
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Old 06-25-2020, 03:57 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikel68 View Post
2015 351DS, we tow a 2016 Jeep. Automatic. Hooks up in 2 minutes, all Blue Ox. No Problems.



mk


Agreed. We have 2018 369xl. Tow a 4 door wrangler 2018. Hooks up quickly.
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Old 06-25-2020, 05:42 PM   #29
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Location: Whitehouse, Texas
Posts: 1,275
Quote:
Originally Posted by EVOFXDWG View Post
2016 Ford F150 FX4 2.7L Supercrew Toad.
2007 Coachmen Mirada 330SL motorhome. (Ford Triton V10 engine)

This aluminum bodied truck weighs less than 5000lb so I didn't have to change the motorhome hitch.

Motorhome doesn't have a problem puling it and when I measured it, the mpg went down less than 1mpg when pulling. I have done the CHF as well and have replaced the big rubber mounts for the rear sway bar with neoprene and added z-brackets to reinforce the link end connections. I don't remember if I did it before or after the F150 toad setup but I would recommend it even if not towing. Negotiating turns and fuel stops do get tricky sometimes due to overall length. Just take your time, swing wide, and check the rearview for clearance frequently.

Ford supports "Recreational Tow mode" in the computer to disengage the transfer case on their 4x4.

I added a SMI Stay In Play Duo aux braking system. Instead of their braking indicator which is just a LED light in the toad windshield that is supposed to show on your rearview camera, I ran a spare wire to the 7-way that goes to the motorhome brake controller pigtail at the dash. I modified a brake controller harness to light an LED on the motorhome dash when brakes on toad actually apply. Once you get it adjusted, it works great. With the Stay In Play it is all hidden, nothing to remove after use, just flip a switch.
(I also looked at & preferred the M&G Engineering system but it had interference fitment issues on my F150 at the brake booster. I believe they have changed it since then so it may be a contender)

I added my own relay control box for toad turn/brake lighting control and mounted it under the truck bed (a sealed plastic electrical box). Relays switch over to motorhome control from the same switch that turns on the braking system. Note you need to break into a few factory wires and splice in extra length to do this. The factory wires are quite small (tedious splicing) and identifying the wires was a problem. I had to get a current-detecting meter and identify each wire by braking and turning on signals with someone reading the meter. You might be able to find factory wire color data by now. (I did not break into the running light wire or add a relay for it but if I had it to do over, I would. Now I have to remember to rotate the truck light switch to turn on park lights when towing at night. And I have to remember to turn them off). I wish Ford would add the lighting control to their recreational tow mode - are you listening Ford?
(PS: My F150 has incandescent tail lighting, not LED. I don't know if the truck computer(s) would have issues with this mod with factory LED lighting)

I added an electric umbilical to pass lighting signals and +12Aux to make sure the toad battery stays up, along with the brake indicator signal mentioned above. Used a standard 7-way trailer connector mounted on the plastic bumper trim.

I installed a Blue Ox Avail tow bar and connections. This requires removal of front bumper to install tow brackets and drilling a couple of frame holes. But it is a clean looking install when the tow bar is removed - nothing sticking out.

We have used the system on several trips and no problems except occasional F150 brake system check warnings which cleared themselves on startup/use. I think in all cases I either test-engaged the breakaway mode or disengaged the system in a strange way. Once or twice I also got a battery low warning message but it also went away by itself after driving. (The F150 has a battery monitor system and will detect a change in charge voltage not caused by the truck itself charging. It can be completely disabled by unplugging the sensor at the battery negative terminal but I haven't found that necessary).

I now have 55K miles on the F150 (bought new) and have had no drive train issues. We like to travel in it (when not going in the motorhome) vs my wife's Acura MDX since it is so roomy. And we have towed it close to 15K miles.

If you need any wiring data & parts id, I have some of that in PDF files.
I am a retired Electrical Engineer and have done DIY mechanic work all my life so I wouldn't recommend this DIY unless you can read and understand automotive schematics, trace wires, and have done mechanic work.
Great write up. Your truck is what I am looking at. I too have ther stay and play installed in my honda CRV. So easy to use.
I am going to keep your post saved because it will be a tremendous help. Thanks
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Old 06-26-2020, 04:53 PM   #30
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2020 35 ls

We tow a 2016 F150 with no problems unless you consider gas mileage an issue!
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