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Old 10-22-2014, 07:49 PM   #1
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Question Question for the experts about towing

Since owning a class A is all new to me, we are considering towing my wife's Jeep Wrangler 2 dr. Pretty light vehicle, but what do I need as far as a tow bar, and possible brake system. I've seen some of the inertia systems that apply the vehicle brakes, but don't know if it's necessary for mostly flat land camping. I'd like to get some opinions on tow bars about quality along with ease of use from some of the more seasoned vets here, also, just what equipment I'll need to make it happen. Thanks!
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Old 10-22-2014, 07:58 PM   #2
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You're going to get a TON of opinions about this, so I'll go ahead and give you mine. I use a ReadyBrute Elite tow bar and braking system. Simple to install and use, and a little cheaper than most of the other ones out there. I think a braking system is necessary equipment. Your MH will be able to stop without it, but it will be able to stop a lot quicker with it. It is worth it for me for the peace of mind alone. Some will say you don't need one, so you will have to make up your mind for yourself.
There are many other tow bars and braking systems out there, so you can research to your heart's content.
Type "braking system" into the search box near the top right corner and you will see many threads on this.
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Old 10-22-2014, 08:00 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffwit View Post
You're going to get a TON of opinions about this, so I'll go ahead and give you mine. I use a ReadyBrute Elite tow bar and braking system. Simple to install and use, and a little cheaper than most of the other ones out there. I think a braking system is necessary equipment. Your MH will be able to stop without it, but it will be able to stop a lot quicker with it. It is worth it for me for the peace of mind alone. Some will say you don't need one, so you will have to make up your mind for yourself.
There are many other tow bars and braking systems out there, so you can research to your heart's content.
Type "braking system" into the search box near the top right corner and you will see many threads on this.
agree!
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Old 10-22-2014, 08:19 PM   #4
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X2 for the ReadyBrute.
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Old 10-22-2014, 10:04 PM   #5
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I use RoadMaster products: Tow bar and supplemental braking via the EvenBrake. They are expensive, but I lucked out and found my setup on Craigslist. Roadmaster has great customer service. If fact at rallies the go around to all the motorhomes and if they find a Roadmaster tow bar the service it... lube and check it out for proper operation.
They have several different styles of tow bars and braking systems.

http://roadmasterinc.com/products/br...ys_for_me.html

One of the most important aspects of a supplemental braking system is that most, if not all, of the more expensive systems provide "break-away" braking. If your towed comes loose from the coach the supplemental brake with apply the brakes on the towed. This may prevent the brake-away towed from shoot across the highway and causing an accident with the possibility of killing another driver.
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Old 10-22-2014, 10:13 PM   #6
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Question for the experts about towing

We tow our Wrangler 4 door. We use a Blue Ox baseplate and tow bar. For braking, we have an SMI system. The SMI is permanently installed and only requires the flip of an On switch.

The service brakes on your motorhome are only designed to stop the weight of the MH, not the combined weight of the MH and Jeep. Many states also require a supplemental brake system. I've had a couple of panic stops where I feel I would have not stopped in time without the supplemental brakes.

Once setup properly, hooking up the Jeep only takes a few minutes.

You will need;

Baseplate for the Jeep
Tow bar
Lighting setup
Supplemental brake system.

Check out the towing and toads section here.
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Old 10-23-2014, 05:59 AM   #7
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The SMI seems like a good idea, but there are numerous reviews stating problems with needing add on's to make it work on some vehicles and very poor customer service. Of course, most people who write reviews are the ones who have an issue and want to broadcast their discontent. Thanks for all the replies. I thought I was opening a can of worms when I posted this, but I really need to get up to speed on the ins and outs of towing. I'll check out the towing section and do a search.
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Old 10-23-2014, 06:17 AM   #8
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X3 for the ReadyBrute.
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Old 10-23-2014, 06:46 AM   #9
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Depends on how often you will be towing, Ideally I would tow every 1-2 weeks so the Ready Brute tow bar system with Ready Brake, and a diode kit for the tail lights is all I'd need for a 4WD Jeep with manual transfer case..

If, however, you park for the winter, or for months on end. Then things change. The ready brake uses a cable, like the shifter cable on my bicycle only bigger, that can size up and make a mess of things if its not exercised often enough.

For DP's with air brakes M&G makes a good braking system for most JEEPS

For all RVs
Invisible brake
US-Gear Unified Brake Decelerator
Air Force One

And a number of others are all good, you want an INSTALLED system (bolted in) not a box in the driver's seat like Even Brake or Brake Buddy (Though BB now makes an installed one I'm told). These installed systems are completly invisible to the driver of the jeep, and hook up in under 5 seconds, nothing to store when driving the jeep, Very nice.

Tow bars other than Ready Brute (Which was mentioned above only because it is intergrated with the ready brake) Blue Ox, Roadmaster, Demco, all of them seem to be well built.. I like ones like Blue Ox that stow on the motor home and leave just a couple of small brackets on the jeep.

And the diode kit also mentioned above or the Add-a-lamp.

NOTE: Only Jeeps towable 4 down are those with a MANUAL transfer case that can be placed in neutral, All wheel drive (Full time 4WD with electronic controls) can not, nor can RWD jeeps... And on the Manual case make sure it goes into neutral,, There was a recall on some Jeeps that "Broke" the transfer case, if yours was recalled, then there is a TSB on the Recall (TSB (Technical Service Bulletins) are sometimes called "hidden recalls") to fix what the fix broke.
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Old 10-23-2014, 11:15 AM   #10
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I've towed my 97 Wrangler for 50k+ miles. A great tow car.

First piece of advice is READ YOUR JEEP'S OWNERS MANUAL. Towing requirements are different between 2wd or 4wd models. 2wds may be towed on a dolly. Most 4wds can't. That's why I'm stressing that you read the manual.

Any decent towbar will work. However, if you plan on doing any Rock Crawling then consider a Bumper Mount Tow Bar System as they won't change front clearances. (Don't ask me why...but it really hurt!)

If you are planning on running really aggressive tires, you may find they wear poorly being towed. No explanation on this one, just experience.

With a reasonable tow bar, good tow cables and a braking system you'll be good to go.

BTW, I ran the BrakeBuddy and Magnetic Brake Lights (Walmart ) because I didn't want to "install" anything on my TJ.

Go have fun!!!!
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Old 10-23-2014, 12:02 PM   #11
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Just to toss in another thought, I tow my Grand Cherokee on a tow dolly. This enables me to tow any of our jeeps without the need to put a base plate on each one.
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Old 10-23-2014, 07:30 PM   #12
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Actually, we have two Jeeps. The wife's is a 2 door Sahara, and mine is a 4 door Altitude edition Sahara, both 4 wd with the manual transfer case. We would probably take her's as it's also a manual trans. I think I'm going to go with the four down towing as opposed to a dolly. Just another thing to store. Thanks again for all the info. I still have a bit of research to do before I spend any cash.
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Old 10-23-2014, 07:34 PM   #13
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Old 10-23-2014, 09:37 PM   #14
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For the Ready Brute guys...

It doesn't appear (from the diagrams on their site) that there is any "break-away" provision to actuate the towed brakes with the Ready Brute.

Is that true?
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