towing questions

Topic: towing questions (Read 2428 times) previous topic - next topic

towing questions

May 09, 2011, 10:08:23 pm

I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a towed vehicle. There is a local one for sale, 1991 Honda Civic setup with a stow master 5000 tow bar. Any comments about this setup? One of my concerns has been what happens when you're alone and you run into a dead end. No wife to jump out and move the car. Is that ever a problem?

Re: towing questions

Reply #1 – May 09, 2011, 10:13:16 pm

Gayland,
You worry too much. Look at the bright side...if it's a dead end, there wont be too much traffic to back up.

Re: towing questions

Reply #2 – May 09, 2011, 10:29:07 pm

Even with a wife, I still had to get out and unhook, more than once too.

Re: towing questions

Reply #3 – May 09, 2011, 10:32:00 pm

You will unhook the car, move the stuff around, rehook and be on your way. Being alone doesn't change the procedure much, though it may add five minutes to a ten minute procedure.

My experience will likely top anything you will ever experience:
We tried to pull up a street that was just too steep. The threaded portion of the hitch ball dug into the asphalt to where we could not go forward or backward. I tried to remove the towbar from the ball, but the incline prevented it from being released. I had to start the car, drive it forward pretty forcefully, and set the parking brake. Got the car loose.

I then tried to pull the hitch ball mount from the receiver, but it was wedged with the weight of the coach. I then tried to remove the ball, but I could not get my pipe wrench under the mount. Being industrious, crafty and pretty exasperated by this point, I did figure out the puzzle. I set the coach parking brake really tight, chocked the wheels, and used the leveling jacks to raise the back enough to get the ball and mount off. Then, I backed the coach up, which left another gouge from the receiver, but the coach did back out. THEN, I put the whole mess back together and was on my way. Total time was about fifteen minutes and I was done before a car needed to go up the street.

Elsewhere, I told the story about backing up the coach about 1/2 mile, in the dark, down a one-lane road, following the taillights of my wife in the towd.

Get the car if our forum friends approve of the setup, and worry not.

oldMattB

PS One trick I learned for the quick disconnects with a conventional (not motorhome mounted) bar. Keep a couple bungee cords handy, one to wrap around the cables and wires, and the other to hook the end of the towbar up in the air and to the car, and avoid having to fold and unfold it, and avoid fully disconnecting the wires and cables.

Re: towing questions

Reply #4 – May 09, 2011, 11:02:06 pm

Easier than a tow dolly and dead end road, been there, done that. Simple, just do what is needed and smile, continue down the other way.

Re: towing questions

Reply #5 – May 09, 2011, 11:04:55 pm

Thanks all for the encouragement. It would appear that I also need a bike, so after I drive the car a half mile to safety, I have something to ride to get back to the coach

Re: towing questions

Reply #6 – May 09, 2011, 11:17:23 pm

Quote from: Dave M – May 09, 2011, 11:02:06 pm

Easier than a tow dolly and dead end road, been there, done that. Simple, just do what is needed and smile, continue down the other way.

Wow, I never thought about doing that with a dolly.

Isn't there an apocryphal story about a man who needed to transport two cars across several states, and would drive one car a couple of miles, walk back and drive the other car a couple of miles, and etc.

oldMattB

Re: towing questions

Reply #7 – May 09, 2011, 11:52:59 pm

oldmattb, I think I know who that idiot is

Re: towing questions

Reply #8 – May 10, 2011, 12:00:07 am

I got trapped twice in 7 years of RV'ing. Once with a tow dolly at the Jackson MS Flying J, and once 4 down trying to make a sharp turn coming out of an RV campground outside of Cherokee NC. Both times, no real drama. I don't pull into anywhere I can't see my way out of w/o walking it.

Re: towing questions

Reply #9 – May 10, 2011, 07:13:14 am

Quote from: Dave Head – May 10, 2011, 12:00:07 am

I got trapped twice in 7 years of RV'ing. Once with a tow dolly at the Jackson MS Flying J, and once 4 down trying to make a sharp turn coming out of an RV campground outside of Cherokee NC. Both times, no real drama. I don't pull into anywhere I can't see my way out of w/o walking it.

Always a chance of getting surprised, but there is no shame in taking the dog for a walk and surveying the way out. I have gotten pretty good at planning a way out when I come into a fuel stop, shopping center, etc.

oldMattB

Re: towing questions

Reply #10 – May 10, 2011, 11:06:54 am

Great, now I have to get a dog

Nice to know though that I wouldn't be the first if I were ever to get into one of those situations.

Re: towing questions

Reply #11 – May 10, 2011, 11:26:47 am

Gayland,
Indeed, you are not alone, there are many brilliant souls who had a wake up moment.

Re: towing questions

Reply #12 – May 10, 2011, 11:57:14 am

Quote from: Gayland Baasch – May 10, 2011, 11:06:54 am

Great, now I have to get a dog Nice to know though that I wouldn't be the first if I were ever to get into one of those situations.

Grandkids can work, too. You will just need a stronger leash and collar.

oldMattB

Re: towing questions

Reply #13 – May 10, 2011, 12:12:12 pm

My last such event was in Susanville, CA. If you leave the RV park and turn right onto what looks like a nice big main street, you are now in deep trouble with NO WAY OUT. The road takes a curve a couple blocks up, and you see that you have two choices: The fairgrounds on the left, which is gated, or a mobile home park straight ahead that has a sign "No RVs." Having no choice to turn around, I chose to enter the mobile home park anyway.

Well, several folks came out to try to stop me, as there is no exit, no loop in the park, no nothing. It was unhook time. Frustrating, as I got no clue of my impending doom until it was directly upon me.

Re: towing questions

Reply #14 – May 10, 2011, 12:15:01 pm

Quote

[I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a towed vehicle. There is a local one for sale, 1991 Honda Civic setup with a stow master 5000 tow bar. Any comments about this setup? One of my concerns has been what happens when you're alone and you run into a dead end. No wife to jump out and move the car. Is that ever a problem?

Gayland, One advantage to not having a wife with you when yoiu do something stupid is that she will not be offended or shocked by the languge in use in the situation.

In the dark in S MO I missed the CG turn, had to unhook toad, turned around to find CG, DW got out of CB range and I ended up in yard of trailer house with loud dogs and had to back out again, when we finally found CG and got back together there was very little lite conversation for the balance of the evening.

Re: towing questions

Reply #15 – May 10, 2011, 01:32:55 pm

Quote from: Gayland Baasch – May 10, 2011, 11:06:54 am

Great, now I have to get a dog Nice to know though that I wouldn't be the first if I were ever to get into one of those situations.

We do cat and birds. Don't have to walk either, and there is nothing like a bird for an alarm. They flip out if the curtain flutters...

Re: towing questions

Reply #16 – May 10, 2011, 01:37:24 pm

Quote from: Gayland Baasch – May 09, 2011, 10:08:23 pm

I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a towed vehicle. There is a local one for sale, 1991 Honda Civic setup with a stow master 5000 tow bar. Any comments about this setup? One of my concerns has been what happens when you're alone and you run into a dead end. No wife to jump out and move the car. Is that ever a problem?

I agree with the rest of them. I didn't buy a towed originally. Man what a difference having one. The convenience far outweighs the possibility of having to occasionally disconnect when you get in a bad place. What's really strange is that after a very short time towing, you won't even know that the towed is behind you. It really makes very little difference in you turn clearance.

Also, I have the Road Master 5000 car mounted hitch. When we first got the towed, it took us up to 20 minutes to get things hitched up. After a few trips its down to under a minute. The first thing to do it lube up the sliders on the hitch including the cross bar and the buttons. If things don't move smoothly, hooking up is a real pain. When you hooking up by yourself, you may have to mover the car several times to get it the correct distance from the hitch ball. The good thing about the 5000 is that by pressing the arm buttons you can move the hitch basket right or left and in and out about 6" so you don't have to be exact on the distance of the car from the coach.

Buy the towed. It is well worth the investment.

Re: towing questions

Reply #17 – May 10, 2011, 01:56:36 pm

I found instructions for our hitch that suggested using a silicone spray lubricant to lube the sliders and cross bar. I have found the lubing at each disconnect has made the hitch/unhitch process easier.

Our coach came with the Jeep attached. The Jeep is a "beater" and has little resale value, but was a great bonus for us. Vehicle, hitch, brakes, and light were all hooked up and ready to go. It has provided a lot of freedom, and some comfort that we have an alternative mode of transportation in case of a failure on the coach.

I backed up a couple of feet one time to get into a tight pump lane at Flying J. I would recommend against backing up at all, but I did it once in a pinch.

Re: towing questions

Reply #18 – May 10, 2011, 02:18:16 pm

Blue Ox system allows about 15 inch leeway.

Re: towing questions

Reply #19 – May 10, 2011, 02:19:12 pm

Dave,
Have your birds memorized any of your vocabulary?

Re: towing questions

Reply #20 – May 10, 2011, 02:51:55 pm

Good choice for a toad. Our RAV4 is a easy tow so your Honda should be even easier at 2400 lbs or so (just guessing). We don't use brakes (have Jake) and just throw a magnetic set of LED lights (harbor freight) on when we set off. Yes, nice to have something to hold the coupler end up in the air when you disconnect. I use tractor hitch pins to hold the towbar to the baseplate. Fast and strong. I close the door on the cable and route it under the hood on the way to the front. Makes for light removal in a minute. Big zip lock to stuff lights/wires in. Bungees also good to have. Check online to see if you have to stop every several hundred miles to start engine for transaxle lube. Check baseplate attachment points fairly often especially before first tow. Use checklist, especially at first to make sure the steering is unlocked, parking brake off, key accessory position before moving. Remember to take key out, lock Honda when stopping at restaurants, etc., but make sure it gets back in.

Pierce & Gaylie
'93 U300/36

Re: towing questions

Reply #21 – May 10, 2011, 03:29:08 pm

Pierce, FWIW I had always towed without brakes since I was towing a Saturn SC1 first and then a Subaru Outback. One could hardly notice either one behind both my U255 and the U300. However, we had a couple of close calls where I had to jam on the brakes to avoid hitting someone. After the second one, Peg and I decided to pay attention to these little cheap warnings so we had an air brake installed, just in case we needed it. The new air brake was a pleasant surprise in that it makes coming to a complete stop much smoother all of the time. I didn't realize how much effort I was expending trying to stop smoothly every time we came to a complete stop. I highly recommend an air brake for the towed.

Re: towing questions

Reply #22 – May 10, 2011, 04:07:00 pm

We've towed our Honda CRV for about a year (14K miles) and have only had to disconnect it once because we needed to back up and that was in an RV park. I used to worry about this too, but it just takes minutes to do (we have a Roadmaster unit). We also have a system that connects to the coach air brakes (M and G) and we like them a lot. The "toad" only weighs about 1/10 of the coach, but we had the system installed mainly for liability reasons. It works great.

Re: towing questions

Reply #23 – May 10, 2011, 05:02:05 pm

I'm absolutely no expert on individual state laws, but have been told by a long-time full-timer friend that many states "require" the tow'd have brakes and (again, I'm told) several want break-away braking systems as well. Not something a LEO would be likely stop you for, but were you stopped for another reason, or in an accident, no tow'd brakes could be a liability in more ways than one.

Re: towing questions

Reply #24 – May 10, 2011, 05:38:48 pm

Towing Laws | BrakeBuddy - Braking systems for motorhomes towing a vehicle

I have read elsewhere that there is some confusion about whether or not a towd fits the law as a trailer, and enforcement varies. I read enough stories about rampaging towds to get me to buy a brake system.

oldMattB

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