I have just purchased a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overlander and I am in need of advice as to which towing system to go with.
take a look at midnight auto's tow bar with braking system . We towed for over 13,000 miles this year and had no problems.
I like Blue Ox - no cross bar, clean install.
Joseph,
That is the second time you have recommended this system. Please post a link, I am not familiar with it.
And one of my criteria in selecting a tow bar is a company in good financial condition-- liability is one of the largest issues with any towing equipment. We use Roadmaster. They do not only tow bars (a fairly specialized market), but sway bars, track bars, have military contracts, etc. They will be around.
Brett Wolfe
We really like the Blue Ox baseplates. Very discreet when not towing. The round bayonet "ends" come off for storage and if you happen to get in a challenging situation, you can often still twist the ends out of the baseplate to release the car.
Tow bar wise, we prefer the Roadmaster Sterling. Nice and lighter weight with the cables run through channels. Ours is 6 years old, so it's the original version. Nowadays they make an "all-terrain" version of the Sterling, which is non-binding. If we were buying a new towbar today, that's what we'd go with. The Sterling is also available in Roadmaster or Blue Ox attachment configuration, so you can mix and match with the Blue Ox baseplate.
Also, since we use the US Gear Unified Tow Brake, our towbar is a 6-pin electrical connection. This is needed for the brake and also keeps the toad battery charged. The towbars come in both 4 and 6 pin models, so keep your auxiliary brake in mind when spec'ing the bar.
40K miles with our setup so far and we would get the same combination again.
Michelle
We bought our coach in 2003 & the Honda Element in 2004. After some research, we chose the Roadmaster set-up and have been very pleased with its performance.
In 2006 we made the Alaska trip . Pulled a Ford pick up . I had road master base plates on truck ,lock tite the whole thing . Well the base plates wore the bolt holes egg shaped and became loose . Stopped several times and re torqued all bolts , keep getting worse . When we arrived in Tok ,alaska , i got a welder to weld it to the frame . Lasted all throug Alaske , but on return trip in Canada , one base plate came complety off ,dragging on the road . Pulling with one arm of the hitch runs out of fun quickly ! Slowing this mess to a stop was a bad bad experience . DW drove truck all the way to Pender Neb . home of Blue Ox . They mfg a hitch just for my truck . Been pulling it ever since . I had my Road master hitch tested and it was noted that the shape of the base plates was not even close to the proper shape . So my vote is without a doubt [BlUE OX ]
Second the Blue-Ox vote. We purchased a used Blue-Ox two years ago and I got the "kit" for our pickup from a distributor. We've towed about 10K miles with no problems at all. Very easy to hook-up, which I appreciate.
I have pulled my wrangler well over 200K miles on a blue ox set up. I like there longer handles on the release arms rather than the button type on the road master when I was looking 9 years ago. I have had zero problems with it during the whole time. I plan on going out to Neb. on the next trip west and I will let them service it so it is good for another 200K miles.
Hi Rick & Colleen,
Have used our Blue Ox for the past eight years. No problems! Very easy to use. I think both products will do the job.
I would vote for Blue Ox, mine has treated me well for 8=9 years...
Mike
We tow a 5000 lb +++ Tahoe with a 10k Blue Ox bar. That weight alone will cause the bar to bind. The trick I use now to disconnect is to put the brake on, shift the transfer case out of neutral, start the truck and put it in drive at idle. Slowly take the brake off 'just enough' to start a preload on the bar. Then put the truck in park and shut it off. Then when I pop the release everything is loose!
Brett, take a look at the Ready Brute Elite tow bar with built in brake. Very heavy duty with towing weights up to 8,000lbs and non-binding. All aluminum and works great. I just installed one with Demco base plate on a 2010 Chevy Colorado and the base plate is not visible. I will provide two links, one for the manufacturer and the other for the best deal I found for the tow bar and all accessories.
http://www.readybrake.com/tow-bars.html (http://www.readybrake.com/tow-bars.html)
http://www.towbarsunlimited.com/catalog/item/6068213/5884630.htm (http://www.towbarsunlimited.com/catalog/item/6068213/5884630.htm)
I am very pleased with it and would recommend it to all and it does have a lifetime guarantee.
Dennis
Thank you for all the replies. It seems that most prefer the Blue Ox. Steve and Michelle used a combination of the two. Anyone else doing this, or for simplicity is it better to stay with one manufaccturer.
I should explain the "two" years was incorrect. We purchased the used Blue-Ox in 2006, so about 4-years of use.
Here is one more vote for the Roadmaster. I know the Blue Ox is a quality unit. but I have towed a '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee since new with the Road Master base plate and the Roadmaster Sterling tow bar -- over a hundred thousand miles, including a round trip to Alaska, with nary a hiccup.
Paul
36' 2000 U320
We are still using the original Roadmaster from 1993. Never even been overhauled and still works great but it has not been stressed a lot. Most of the miles were pulling a Saturn SC1, under 3000 lbs.
Well nothing like having each, The Roadmaster for the Element and the heavy Blue Ox for the pickup, Both do work, but I feel the warm comfy more with the Blue Ox. :)
The Roadmaster is more chunky to operate as the Blue Ox is very smooth and easy to operate.
I'm another one for Blue Ox. Have been using the tow bar (rated at 5k) and two different base plates on two Grand Cherokees for 10 years and 60k without a problem. I visually check the tow bar regularly and it still looks and works like new. I use bungee cords to hold the safety cables and lighting cord to the bars. Works for me.
I've been towing our Honda Accord (3400#) for 7 1/2 years with the Roadmaster All-Terrain (6000# maximum) base plate, tow bar and rock shield , through Alaska, the Maritimes, and many mountains, for 65,000 miles with no issues. A good deal of the success/performance of any of these systems depends on the quality of the installation of the base plate in the very beginning.
Brett it's not midnight auto ,but night shift auto ready brute. Has built in surge brake system ,8,000 lbs capacity , all aluminum, and they are made to fit roadmaster , blue ox, or demco towing baseplates . Joe
Another Blue Ox-er here since 2004. I wrap each safety cable once around each tow bar. I've never used the break-away cable think it was more likely to cause a problem than both the two bars and safety cables failing...
___
best, paul
"Thriving not surviving" <(*¿*)>
"the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new places but in seeing with new eyes"
Anon
Dennis Thanks I got the name wrong . Not midnight auto, but night shift auto ready brute . The mh is in Dallas and I'm in Panama . Maybe I worked to many night shifts before I retired! The unit works great , quick and easy to hook up and unhook, and I like the light on the dash that tells when the toads brakes are on . Joe
My Roadmaster has been totally trouble free towing my Town Car for over 30000 miles. At big FMCA events they check & lube all their tow bars and leave a note with the results. Neat!
Blue Ox again!
Can you let us all know how the 2011 Jeep tow's? Do you have to pull any fuses? Does the radio have to be reprogrammened every time? Do you have to disconnect the battery?
Thanks
Hi txforetravel. In answer to your questions: No you do not have to pull any fuses, reprogram the radio or disconnect the battery.
For 2011 the only transmissions that can be towed four down are the quadra trac II or the quadra drive II. The transfer case must be in the neutral position, and the transmission must be in the park position for recreational towing.