Community Forums

RVDriver · 02-11-2009, 02:56 PM

Third trip to Texas, 07,08,and now 09, plus up to the lake in Minnesota in the summer time. No problems, Towed a 1997 Jeep Cheroke Sport for 80,000 miles before the Saturn Vue. Wife said "Jeep" was like "ridding in a truck" I gave in, but I liked my 4 wheel drive Jeep.

Bruce

chasfm11 · 02-11-2009, 04:10 PM

I'm putting the finishing touches on our 2005 Vue and hope to take it on it's first camping trip in a week or two. We've test towed it after I finished mounting the baseplate so I could test it under load and verify that torque on all the bolts. We've been towing an SL-1 for 5 years and the Vue seems to tow just as well in the test. I can tell it is back there though (it is slightly heavier) versus the SL-1 which just never seemed to make any difference.

We are looking forward to having the extra room in the Vue

DriVer · 02-11-2009, 04:19 PM

We have over 10,000 miles on our 2008 Vue XE and about another 6,000 miles towed. The Vue tows very well. One item that I started using recently is a dual U-Bolt immobilizer from Blue Ox which holds the tow bar rigidly in the receiver.

I did happen to notice that a lot of toads will actually wobble from side to side when observed underway. The Blue Ox immobilizer keeps this from happening and the toad tracks perfectly straight without any side to side travel. I mention this because I believe that toads allowed to drift scrub more rubber off the tires. I ran through 2 sets of Bridgestones on my 2004 Vue and I wound up using 17" Coopers which ran great.

So far so good my tires are still looking great.

chasfm11 · 02-11-2009, 06:00 PM

That's great feedback about wobble. We haven't had any on our SL-1. We did wear a set of front tires but that was because of faulty alignment. The guy who does our alignments is also a MH guy and he talked to me about changing one of the adjustments slightly to compensate for the fact that we did tow. The tires have worn great since then.

How did you determine that you had wobble, other than having someone drive along side while you were towing and watch? I've heard of people doing things like putting a piece of white cloth on the top of the steering wheel to make sure that it was moving but I'd doubt that I could see a wobble that way through the backup camera.

DriVer · 02-11-2009, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chasfm11:
How did you determine that you had wobble, other than having someone drive along side while you were towing and watch?

chasfm1l, That's easy! Just grab your hitch and yank it back and forth. If it moves it'll wobble.

I have based my wobble observation by watching other motorhomes pass me.

chasfm11 · 02-12-2009, 03:14 AM

Thanks! I tried that right after I installed the baseplate, more to make sure that the baseplate itself wasn't introducing it. I don't have enough strength to make it move, with the pins locked.

DriVer · 02-12-2009, 03:55 AM

The connection is not so much at the towbar to vehicle connection although that matters. The connection that I am concerned with is where the tow bar shank connects into the receiver of the motorhome. That connection is only secured by a single hitch pin and you can get a lot of side to side play from that connection. I have none.

Wayne M · 02-12-2009, 05:09 AM

I tow a 2007 Saturn Vue with the DEMCO TOW BAR.

The Demco tow bars have the "Silent Hitch pin."
Extremely low profile base plate.
I have not noticed any wobble or rattle.

DriVer · 02-12-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wayne M:
I have not noticed any wobble or rattle.

Wayne, I'm sure you have a great towbar. Next time you're in the back of your motorhome, grab the shank that goes into the receiver into the back of your motorhome and yank on it hard from side to side. Let us know how that works out.