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What do I need to tow
We are new to towing. I’ve never pulled a vehicle behind the bus and we are considering it. How tough is it or will I evenn know we have a tow? What equipment is needed? I know I need a tow bar, but do we also need a braking system? Any estimates on the total cost of a system? We are thinking of finding a 4 door jeep we can tow since I understand it can be towed 4 down…and it looks fun to tool around in too.
Any advice is welcomed.
Paul
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22 Replies
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We are towing a 2013 4 door Rubicon. We are using the Demco base plates, the Demco dominator tow-bar and the Cooltech wiring harness kit. All simple to install yourself. We really don’t notice the Jeep back there whether on flatlands or up/down the mountains.
When my wife followed in our Acura MDX our combined fleet milage was 5.4 mpg (bus 7mpg, MDX 24mpg). Towing the Jeep we get an average 6,8mpg without running the OTR, Best of all my wife no longer gets lost…
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Try reading the info in this link, it will answer a lot of your questions. Putting 3 teenagers on the back seat of a 4 door Jeep may be a little tight.
This has a lot of info
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We’ve pulled a suburban and an h2 if you get the hitch right you won’t notice the difference.
Good luck!
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We use a braking system. Safer is better.
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I pull a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the Roadmaster All Terrain tow bar and use there base plates.
Don’t even know its back there. Weight is close to 4000 lbs. I don’t use a brakeing system, but I think most states require one for anything over 3000 lbs. I think system was around 15000
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We have towed 4 different vehicles, all 4 wheels down.
I am currently setting up another to tow, a 2012 Ram 2500 that weighs 7600#. Our current toad is an H2 Hummer at 6700#. I use a brakemaster system on the H2 and will use it on the Ram as well.
I ran a test and found you can tow an H2 Hummer with the brakes locked and the bus will run up through the gears as though it isn’t even back there so obviously while weight does impact your mileage and hill climbing ability a little the weight of the average toad is not critical.
I have used Roadmaster All Terrain tow bars exclusively and except for the H2 I have made all my tow bar mounting plates.
The best vehicle we have ever towed was a Grand Cherokee because it was relatively light and easy to put in neutral for towing, but my previous pickup (a Ram 1500) which was a little heavier towed easily as does the Hummer.
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Paul,
You can’t go wrong with a Jeep, I have towed Cherokee’s and Wranglers and they’re very easy to tow. I use a Blue Ox base plate, Cool Tech wiring harness and Roadmaster All Terrain tow bar.
My current Wrangler is an 08 and I had to put in a battery cuttoff switch to keep from draining the battery when left on the towbar for more than a day.
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Since 1999, we have setup and towed the following. (Yes, I know, we kept Blue Ox in business)
1. 1997 Jeep Grand Cheokee
2. 2001 Chevy K2500′ 4X4 extended cab 6 liter
3. Saturn SW2 wagon
4. 1999 Land Rover Range Rover
5. 2003 Land Rover Discovery
6. 2004 Chevy K2500 4X4 extended cab Duramax diesel
7. 1999 Lexus 470
7a. 2001 Land Rover Discovery
8. Right now we tow a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD diesel,
All of these were towed four down
We also tow two different cars with tow dolly, 2003 Mercedes C240 wagon rear wheels down since it’s a 6 sp manual, and a 2000 Saab convertible, frontrwheeldrive
Every January the FMCA magazine has a list of towable vehicles. Most vehicles that are labeled “four wheel drive” with a manual transfers case level are towable-check owners manuals for “recreational towing”.
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I will put in a vote for the Ford Flex.
Less than 5,000 lbs. Both Front-wheel and All-wheel versions tow 4 wheels down.
No fuses to pull.
The 3-row seat is large enough for adults.
Blue-Ox for both the baseplate and tow-bar. SMI AirForce One for braking.
No problems and similar to others, Bus mileage only drops 1/4 mi/gal or so towing.
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We tow a Z71 4WD suburban and love it… cannot tell its back there… we use the BlueOx 10,000lb tow bar… easy hookup and unhook… no fuses to remove… no stopping every so many miles and running engine… some toads have certain things you have to do to make it work for you but many don’t.
With 3 teenagers and a dog I would say a jeep would be too tight… just saying, even a tahoe size might work for you, but in all honesty what ever you have back there will pull very well, provided you heed all the safety precautions. You will not be aware that anything is back there 99% of the time. Just remember you WILL NOT be backing up so you will be cautious about what roads you turn down !!!
Good luck… go for something that fits your lifestyle !!
Cheers, Diane
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“I ran a test and found you can tow an H2 Hummer with the brakes locked and the bus will run up through the gears as though it isn’t even back there…”
That was a painful test, Jon, I am sure.
Davy
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Davy – Thank you for clearifying the downside of towing a big ole Hummer locked up! Hope he’s not holding any pictures on ya….
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Between Davy and Peter It made me smile– and reminded me we are all human.. We have towed Grand Cherokee–great! Presently Chev HHR Automatic–Just put in N unlock steering and pull/bypass #11 fuse so battery don’t discharge—go! also need tow bar.. your entertainer should be set up with wiring just make sure it is 12 volt out. Bob
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Retractible gear pilots fall into one of two categories. Those who have and those who will.
I think we can apply that categorical description to those who tow four wheels down. Some of us may not have left the brakes on, but have failed to unlock the steering wheel.
My lips are sealed.
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Robert: “Presently Chev HHR Automatic–Just put in N unlock steering and pull/bypass #11 fuse so battery don’t discharge”
I have a 2008 HHR with A/T. Was told I can’t tow it without a pump to lubricate the transaxle. How many miles have your flat towed your HHR?
Speaking of towing … a number of years ago (2009?) “stock cars” for the “feature marque” at one of the vintage sports car races at Wisconsin’s Road America. At the time NASCAR had been to Road America only once: 1956. A number of the drivers from that race are still around (including Junior Johnson). The promoter had one of the original racers from that Connecticut race travel to Wisconsin with a replica of his 1956 race car. When he saw had one of Junie Donlavey’s Heilig-Meyers cars he came over and visited a few times. I asked him what it was like back in the 50’s racing. He remembered the Road America track, but was surprised at the how the trees had grown so much. I asked him how he got his race car from Connecticut to Wisconsin in 1956. He said, “Do you know what a Y-bar is? and keep in mind there was NO Interstate back in those days!” I thought wow … what a way to travel. But I guess history repeats itself!
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