Adventures in Towing

[SarahW]

Last week was our first real road trip since the installation of our ReadyBrute Elite towing setup (including Blue Ox baseplate and CoolTech wiring harness) to tow our Jeep Wrangler. Everything went extremely well... except for the part about scraping steep driveway exits with the 8" drop hitch. Wish we didn't have to use that thing, but it's the only way to get the towbar level from moho to Jeep.

One other "oops" was that apparently the umbilical for the lights got pinched in the towbar when it "flexed" (probably when exiting that same steep driveway ). The umbilical was actually cut in half at the pinch-point, leaving us without lights...which we didn't realize until we got to our destination to unhook. Thank goodness, we were traveling in daylight and my hubby was able to splice the wiring and get it operable for the trip home.

I have ordered TWO spare umbilical cords from CoolTech. (Though my hubby has made sure to route the wiring so that it doesn't get pinched again.) I gotta tell you, it's always something.

[Steve N Sal]

And your adventures have just begun. Ah, something doesn't happen every time out which will give the credit card a big sigh of relief. Glad other than the pinched cord everything went well. Have a great rv'ing season.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by Steve N Sal

And your adventures have just begun. Ah, something doesn't happen every time out which will give the credit card a big sigh of relief. Glad other than the pinched cord everything went well. Have a great rv'ing season.

Well ok then. I won't mention that one of our MCD Duo shades failed and that there is a shelf support missing from our Dometic fridge.

[CLIFFTALL]

So. You 're a pincher. When I told you that I do a reverse pinch to expand the screen on my iPhone you made some pinching remark. I feel your pain with the 8" drop down. I have learned to avoid some driveways if I can and to go real slow when I can't. Glad you got that first trip under your belts and hope that's the worst that happens.

[SarahW]

There you are with that pinching talk again. Tsk.

[Sequim Guy]

At least when your drop hitch scraped, you kept going.
Last year I forgot to flip my drop hitch over when I took the MH to storage,
which has a fairly steep entrance.
The hitch dug into the pavement at the same time my rear wheels were in the
low part of the sidewalk gutter.
There I sat, wheels spinning and going nowhere,
blocking the storage entrance and one lane of a 2 lane street.
Sat there for over an hour waiting for tow truck.
Probably won't make that mistake again.


.

[JMonroe]

Wow, they must really put that hitch receiver up high on the Bounder. As we've also got a Blue Ox base plate I'll assume the Jeep end of the hook up is the same height as ours. I use a 4" drop and could have used a 3", but they're not very common (the 'ready mades' seem to come in 2" increments).

As the tow bar arms don't move laterally, relative to the Jeep, I use Velcro ties in a couple places to tie the wire harness to the tow bar. I also tie it down to the hitch where it exits the receiver. That leaves a small loop directly over the swivel point of the tow bar. The harness is tied to the top of the tow bar and the hitch and can never get caught under either.

As others have already said, your adventures are just beginning. Enjoy the ride!

[ronspradley]

I always try and stop a ways after starting a trip to re-check everything with the toad set-up. A few miles down the road. I check wiring, tow bar hook up, check inside toad to confirm parking brake and gear selector and key switch position. And at least every few hundred miles when I stop for fuel or to stretch my legs, I put my hand on all tires on motor home and toad to see if anything feels warmer than usual. And I also put my hand on the axle bearings to check the same thing. That will tell me if I have a tire that is low on air or brake sticking, etc. So far so good. Safe travels to all.

ronspradley

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by Sequim Guy

At least when your drop hitch scraped, you kept going.
Last year I forgot to flip my drop hitch over when I took the MH to storage,
which has a fairly steep entrance.
The hitch dug into the pavement at the same time my rear wheels were in the
low part of the sidewalk gutter.
There I sat, wheels spinning and going nowhere,
blocking the storage entrance and one lane of a 2 lane street.
Sat there for over an hour waiting for tow truck.
Probably won't make that mistake again.

.

YIKES!!! I will remember this story for sure!

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by JMonroe

Wow, they must really put that hitch receiver up high on the Bounder. As we've also got a Blue Ox base plate I'll assume the Jeep end of the hook up is the same height as ours. I use a 4" drop and could have used a 3", but they're not very common (the 'ready mades' seem to come in 2" increments).

As the tow bar arms don't move laterally, relative to the Jeep, I use Velcro ties in a couple places to tie the wire harness to the tow bar. I also tie it down to the hitch where it exits the receiver. That leaves a small loop directly over the swivel point of the tow bar. The harness is tied to the top of the tow bar and the hitch and can never get caught under either.

As others have already said, your adventures are just beginning. Enjoy the ride!

Yep, the overhang on the Bounder is pretty long, so the rear undercarriage slants up for the last couple of feet. (Does that make sense??) The 8" drop hitch makes the tow bar almost perfectly level when the Jeep is hitched. Here's a pic of the rear...



The Velcro ties are a GREAT idea! I'll be buying some of those.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by ronspradley

I always try and stop a ways after starting a trip to re-check everything with the toad set-up. A few miles down the road. I check wiring, tow bar hook up, check inside toad to confirm parking brake and gear selector and key switch position. And at least every few hundred miles when I stop for fuel or to stretch my legs, I put my hand on all tires on motor home and toad to see if anything feels warmer than usual. And I also put my hand on the axle bearings to check the same thing. That will tell me if I have a tire that is low on air or brake sticking, etc. So far so good. Safe travels to all.

ronspradley

Believe me, we are checking things more carefully now!! Ironically, we had checked all the towing setup when stopped to fuel...but then went down the steep driveway exit when leaving that station. I feel sure that's when the umbilical was cut...lol.

[NLOVNIT]

Yep, us Bounders have high backsides (ours below). We may not have to worry about high water, but I wish I didn't need a step ladder to get up on the 1st rung of the coach's ladder.

Lori-

[CLIFFTALL]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

but I wish I didn't need a step ladder to get up on the 1st rung of the coach's ladder.

Lori-

I step on the top of the drop down receiver and then to the ladder. Don't need the ladder extension or a step ladder.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

Yep, us Bounders have high backsides (ours below). We may not have to worry about high water, but I wish I didn't need a step ladder to get up on the 1st rung of the coach's ladder.

Lori-

Ain't it the truth??