Backup when towing?

[FlyFish]

Have '07Yukon towed by '06 W/Journey by Roadmaster all terrain and M & G Brake. Works great. Was told never back up when rigged up to tow. Am on 3000 mile trip. Have seen 2-similiarly rigged backup examples. Each backed up about 3-feet and went on down the road. One was straight back, the other was on a 30 degree turn. are they OK? did they do something wrong? am i over cautious? To backup or no? Thanks.

[FlyFish]

Have '07Yukon towed by '06 W/Journey by Roadmaster all terrain and M & G Brake. Works great. Was told never back up when rigged up to tow. Am on 3000 mile trip. Have seen 2-similiarly rigged backup examples. Each backed up about 3-feet and went on down the road. One was straight back, the other was on a 30 degree turn. are they OK? did they do something wrong? am i over cautious? To backup or no? Thanks.

[GaryKD]

If the toad's front wheels remain straight then I back up. As soon as they start to turn I stop. How far one can back up depends on how long the front wheels stay straight. I've backed up just a few feet to over 50 feet. I have a <span class="ev_code_YELLOW">yellow</span> colored shop cloth tied to the top of the toad steering wheel. It is easy for me to see when the front wheels start to turn.

[DriVer]

A tow bar was never designed to be used in reverse. That said in the event an condition presents that would be relieved by backing up a few feet without the vehicle angling off center I don't see a problem with it.

If I had to backup a lot (10 or more feet) I would ask the DW to sit in the car and hold the wheel straight. I have occasionally have had to backup a couple of feet or less in a gas station.

One thing for sure is you don't want to put any type of backward load of the bar by moving the vehicle very far. It is much better to disconnect and re-connect the car and bear the inconvenience of disconnecting the car that compromising the mechanical integrity of the tow bar.

[Bob N Deb]

My understanding is that your only risk is that the front wheels of the toad will turn and then you risk having the toad turn and damaging the towbar or front end of the toad . so if you are careful and have a way of seeing what the toad is doing(especially the front wheels ) you may back up you wont damage anything else BUT if the toad turns it may turn fast and bend your tow bar.
only mho
Bob

[porscheracer]

As stated, you can get away with a few feet - more if you're cautious and lucky, but only in a straight line. I have a mascot - a little green frog with velcro feet - who lives at top center of the toad's steering wheel.

In some instances, you can gain a few more feet, as DriVer suggests - by having someone steer the toad. It doesn't add much, though, as you will invariably end up with a lateral bind.

We have the option of trailering our toad and, especially if we take other than the Dakota, we sometimes do that. The advantage is that it parks well - for a 65' rig - and we can take the SRX or the GT500 for special purposes. The downside is that it IS 65' long, and costs an additional 1 MPG in fuel.

[JCM]

If you only have a few feet to backup and not on a steep hill = use the toad to pull the motorhome back a few feet.
Place the MH in neutral ( have someone behind the wheel) and put the toad in reverse and slowly pull back. It is amazing how well it works.

[Bob N Deb]

using the toad to back up ???I have a sticker on the back of the toad saying "I'm pushing as fast as I can"
I guess I could put one on saying I'm pulling if I used it for backing up.
I'm going to try it one of these days I guess I need the motorhome trans out of gear I wonder if I will need a cooler for it
Bob

[Finhawk]

I've seen a couple of really bad results of people doing that. I'm too much of a chicken to even try. It's not worth taking a chance as far as I'm concerned

[UFO Pilot]

I will not back up with the Toad attached. Why risk possible unseen damage to the towbar?

[Ken Lenger]

I hooked up a back-up alarm on my motor home. The ground connection for the alarm is made throught the toad cable so it only sounds if I've got the toad connected. This is to remind me that I don't want to back up when the toad is there. If I really have to back up, I disconnect the toad first.

[doc]

I have seen this topic discussed several times on several different forums. There is always the same views "no, not ever, no way, no time"; "it is OK for short distances like a few feet": "yeah I do it all the time".

I cannot figure out the diffence in backing up on a level parking lot and braking fairly rapidly with the MH and the towed attached. In both situations the pressure is on the towbar and the two principals wanting to come together.
In the former the MH is suppying the pressure and towed supplying the resistance. The latter has the towed supplying pressure toward the MH. In both case, the pressure is on the towbar and is directed inward.
I can see the difference in a back up in a WalMart parking lot and on a soft sandy beach, a deep loose gravel site or soft grassy ground.

[porscheracer]

^^
Kind'a my thought. If my towbar is so delicate it can't stand pushing my toad backward a few feet, I darn sure don't want to be trusting it in any kind of emergency braking tug-o-war between a 4500# toad and a 30,000# MH!!

If you get it in some sort of a bind and just keep shoving, that's one thing - but I'd bet something else will get damaged first.

If, OTOH, you've got some cheapie towbar setup, all bets are off. I think my Aventa LX will handle it. After all, it's dragged the toad through ditches with no ill effects.

[GaryKD]

Hi doc,
Your post mentions "In both situations the pressure is on the towbar and the two principals wanting to come together. In the former the MH is suppying the pressure and towed supplying the resistance. The latter has the towed supplying pressure toward the MH. In both case, the pressure is on the towbar and is directed inward.

I do not think this statement is true. When moving down the road, the pressure on the tow bar arms is toward the middle. When backing up, the pressure on the tow bar arms is the opposite. The backing is trying to move the arms outward. The tow bar engineers may not give much design thought to situations where the arms are being forced outward. That and the possibility of draging the toad's front tires (if they have turned to full cramp) make backing up less than desirable.