who of you tows a vehicle?

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JanetG

who of you tows a vehicle?

Post by JanetG »

what do you tow,, we have a jeep wrangler X (the 2 door 4x4 model)

wonder what tow equipment to use and what the coach needs...

We have a 1995 21' BFT. It is equipped w/ a plug for electric,, and whatever else it might operate. It also has that brake control mounted under the steering wheel. I am wondering what tht is for..as I use to hve one that controlled the toad's brakes... in another life, vehicle. didn't pay attn. as I had a husband that took care of those things. The husband I hve now knows nada about that sort of thing.

appreciate any advice/ideas anyone might have to help us decided how to go w/ this.

thanks! JG
mockturtle

Post by mockturtle »

My toad is a Honda CR-V. I use a Roadmaster Sterling AT tow bar. A brake controller like you described is usually used for towing a trailer. My braking system [an old VIP--I don't recommend it as it's very cumbersome] has a small box mounted on the driver's side door. I would recommend either Invisibrake or Unified tow brake.
Ray

Post by Ray »

I use a Roadmaster Blackhawk 2 All-Terain to pull a 2004 Ford Explorer - a bit of over kill on capacity but I got a good deal on it and thought I might use it for other applications some day. I really like the Roadmaster - however, I have not had experience with other brands.

I also have a roadmaster Even Brake that I also got a good deal on - seems to work ok so far, I havnt used it all that much. I will tell you one possible draw back to it - if anything goes wrong with it, even if it is a $2.00 part the cost for repair from Roadmaster is $299.00 and you pay shipping one way. Now that could be a good deal or a bad deal, the one I bought was a older model and when that $2.00 part failed I had to send it in for the $299.00 rebuild, They fixed the problem, replaced some other parts (I assume because they could fail soon also), and upgraded the electronics to the latest including a new transmitter and monitor. So I think it was probably worth the cost as I now have a brand new unit. The 299 plus what I originally paid for it used was still cheaper than a new one.

Used tow bars are relatively cheap - but you still need the brackets which are vehicle specific - and make sure you get all the parts required if buying used - those few missing cables or pins can cost dearly ala carte.

I agree what you see under the steering wheel is probably a electric brake controller for pulling a trailer of some sort - but hard to tell without seeing it
JanetG

device under steering wheel

Post by JanetG »

ive seen enough trailer break controls to know that's what it is... but im thinking it's got the wiring to at least hook on to the jeep w/ a pigtail
we used to build Alaskan campers* and that's how I know the little bit that I know.

*in my other life,, ;) thanks for your help and info. im still in a quandary as to what to purchase. ;/


JG
Ray

Post by Ray »

From my experience the trailer brake control only feeds the brake signal to the back trailer outlet on the vehicle. I dont think any of that wiring will be useful if hooking up the vehicle to a rv.

Basically you need to get tow bar (or tow trailer), brakes, and lights.

Several ways to do that and allot of different opinions on the different options.

I had a master tow dolly with electric brakes and add on tow lights - That was ok and probably the cheapest way to go. But I decided to go to flat tow thinking it would be a lot easier and more convenient - so far it has been.

Picking up good deals on used and including the brake unit rebuild I probably have close to 1000.00 in to it. The Explorer I bought already was wired for lights and had the tow brackets on it.

If I had allot of money I would probably opt for a different set up - But I have to watch my penny's - Especialy if I want to get a new Born Free someday - :D
JanetG

Post by JanetG »

thanks!
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