Community Forums

ajbjrvers · 11-07-2005, 02:26 AM

re; baseplates on toad;

try to make a long story as short as possible, and still get the message out.

we attended the nor'easters columbus day rally in verona, ny. upon arrival at campground, i proceeded to un-hook the toad and found the base-plate very loose!! after setting up rig ,i spoke to mike, powerstroke, and he suggested we find a place to repair plate as soon as possible. with that said, we went to a local repair center, explained the problem and the tech/owner crawled under the car and found the plate to have broken loose from all but a couple of small bolts. he explained that the repair was beyond his ability to fix but called a local welder to see if he could look at and possibly weld plate to car. mike followed me for about 15 miles to the welding shop where brian of triple b welding was waiting for us. upon inspection brian found that the plate was ripped out of under-carriage bolts and new brackets would have to be made. brian said he gets $60.00 per hour for his work and could start the work tomorrow morning, it was then about 2 pm friday afternoon. i left the car and mike and i returned to campground all the while guessing what the repairs would cost? 10 hours -$600.00 12 hours and so on , but the repairs had to be done. saturday , early afternoon i received a call from brian stating the repairs were done because he was able to start work on car because of a change in his plans. he told me the cost was $350.00, needless to say i was pleased and again asked mike if he would drive me back to the shop.we arrived back at campground about 3 o'clock. many many thanks to mike, powerstroke, for ferrying me all over up-state ny and to his wife , lynda for taking mike away,,well beyond the call of duty..

this scenario could have been horrific if the base-plate had pulled off the toad because it would have taken the safety chains with it. the brake buddy would have stopped the toad , but i don't think following drivers, at 65 + mph could have avoided rear-ending the toad. god was definatly my co-pilot.

words to the wise ,, have the basepplate connections checked often or better still have plate welded in place

hope this info helps someone to avoid a catastrophy

thanks,,, ajbjrvers

ajbjrvers · 11-07-2005, 02:26 AM

re; baseplates on toad;

try to make a long story as short as possible, and still get the message out.

we attended the nor'easters columbus day rally in verona, ny. upon arrival at campground, i proceeded to un-hook the toad and found the base-plate very loose!! after setting up rig ,i spoke to mike, powerstroke, and he suggested we find a place to repair plate as soon as possible. with that said, we went to a local repair center, explained the problem and the tech/owner crawled under the car and found the plate to have broken loose from all but a couple of small bolts. he explained that the repair was beyond his ability to fix but called a local welder to see if he could look at and possibly weld plate to car. mike followed me for about 15 miles to the welding shop where brian of triple b welding was waiting for us. upon inspection brian found that the plate was ripped out of under-carriage bolts and new brackets would have to be made. brian said he gets $60.00 per hour for his work and could start the work tomorrow morning, it was then about 2 pm friday afternoon. i left the car and mike and i returned to campground all the while guessing what the repairs would cost? 10 hours -$600.00 12 hours and so on , but the repairs had to be done. saturday , early afternoon i received a call from brian stating the repairs were done because he was able to start work on car because of a change in his plans. he told me the cost was $350.00, needless to say i was pleased and again asked mike if he would drive me back to the shop.we arrived back at campground about 3 o'clock. many many thanks to mike, powerstroke, for ferrying me all over up-state ny and to his wife , lynda for taking mike away,,well beyond the call of duty..

this scenario could have been horrific if the base-plate had pulled off the toad because it would have taken the safety chains with it. the brake buddy would have stopped the toad , but i don't think following drivers, at 65 + mph could have avoided rear-ending the toad. god was definatly my co-pilot.

words to the wise ,, have the basepplate connections checked often or better still have plate welded in place

hope this info helps someone to avoid a catastrophy

thanks,,, ajbjrvers

SeeTheUSA · 11-07-2005, 02:58 AM

Wow--- could have been a real mess! Makes me wonder who installed your base plate . . . mine was installed by Camping World, which carries a lifetime warranty . . . perhaps you have such a warranty ???

Captain Bud · 11-07-2005, 03:44 AM

I was there at the NorEaster's Rally when ajbjrvers found the problem, just so there is no misunderstanding and we get everyone running around welding there baseplates. Didn't you mention that the toad was involved in an accident and the front end was damaged causing the problem?
I wouldn't recommend anyone welding a base plate to any vehicle, welding on the chassis of a vehicle to me is a no-no due to metal changing from the heat.
The base plate on any vehicle should be installed by a reputable shop and the installation should be checked frequently for bolt tightness.
The guy that saved the day was our Wagonmaster, Mike (Parthecourse) and giving him up for many hours was his lovely wife Linda. With all he was doing he made sure that ajbjrvers had his vehicle taken care of and have a good time at the Rally. OUTSTANDING JOB MIKE!!!

Blaster · 11-07-2005, 01:35 PM

That could make for a bad day if you lost the toad! I installed the blue ox base plate myself to make sure it was done right!!! After it was lined up all holes were drilled I discarded the bolts that came with plate and got grade 8 bolts. And no matter who install's get instructions and make sure all holes are drilled where needed, and all bolts are installed. Believe me some tech,s always have spare parts left. Never weld base plate on might be me behind you!

ajbjrvers · 11-07-2005, 05:12 PM

re; baseplate maintainance;

to corret a big mistake, yes it was "parthe course, mike that helped me get my toad fixed. sorry for the mistake mike but i must have had a senior moment.again, thank to lynda and you.
now to the baseplate.

the plate was installed by the bosy shop at the dealer where i purchased car by the dealer's auto body shop manager. the entire plastic nose had to be removed to install plate. this was done before delivery as a condition of purchase. the car was involved in a accident 3 years ago and did not involve the under-carriage.
re;welding, i have spoken to many tradesmen and even an automotive structurl engineer, and there is no concern regarding metal compatibility and a weld is stronger than a bolt and is not subject to the same amount of metal. sinve this incident i have spoken to a number of people with plates that were welded to toad. never got info re; manufacturers but it was thier understanding that a number of plates are not welded.

the only reasons for this posting was to thank ,mike "parthecourse" for his much-appreciated help and to let others, hopefully avoid the near disaster that could have happened..

thanks again,, ajbjrvers

ParTheCourse · 11-08-2005, 01:06 PM

Aj,
I wrote your number down wrong then deleted the voicemail, needless to say I can't return your call. Send an email "silvefox1_a@yahoo.com" or pm me,

Lynda and I are happy we were able to help a fellow IRV2 ˜er, I'm sure the same courtesy will be extended to us should we have problems down the road.

IrishBear · 11-09-2005, 07:29 AM

I think everyone that tows a vehicle should be made to read Captin Bob comments in this form ith some of the best advice there is. Thanks Captin Bob

chasfm11 · 11-09-2005, 09:41 AM

I had the nut come off of the ball while towing a 3,500lb sailboat at 55mph, allowing the ball to pull out of the hitch's receiver. Fortunately for us, the safety chains held and the damage was limited to about $450 to one of the van's doors while we were attempting to stop afterwards.

Since then, I'm respectfully paranoid about anything I tow. Our tow bar manual recommends checking the baseplate bolts every 3,000 miles. Since I do my own toad oil changes, I've just gotten into the habit of taking a wrench with me when I open the oil pan drain and checking every bolt for tightness while I'm waiting for the oil to drain out. Since I'm under there already and confident that the toad is supported with jacks and stands, it seems like a good time to check out the baseplate with a visual exam, too.

ajbjrvers · 11-24-2005, 02:34 AM

addition to base-plate maintainance.

probable cause of base-plate problem;

I started this section because of the base-plate problem outlined above. I now know what caused the problem.height difference between motorhome and toad. Blue Ox has a web site; www. towingworld. com go to; Towing Physics 101, a very informative and crucial article.

I've been towing since 1996, same toad, different motorhomes and there was always a height difference of 6 to 8 inches, but I never had a problem that I could see. I found out in October that the problem had been building over the years cuuasing the base-plate to be almost ripped off the toad. Many fast stops, panic stops over the years forced the motorhome- tow-bar combo to push the toad into the ground, down, all the while straining all connections between base and toad until they all but fell off. As the article states there are a lot of vehicles operating with too much of a height difference and I have seen 15 rigs on the roads in the past 2 weeks with this problem. As you have read in my first posting there could have been quite a accident if my base-plate had come off entirely.

EVERYONE TOWING A TOAD SHOULD READ THE BLUE OX ARTICLE MENTIONED ABOVE BEFORE A SIMILIAR PROBLEM HAPPENS. YES, I'M SCREAMING, BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT, THERE ARE LIVES AT STAKE HERE;;

I hope all that this applies to do more than read the Bluee Ox article and buy a drop-receiver to bring height difference to less than 4 inches. I have a 6 inch drop now, but I have ordered an 8 inch drop which will leave about a 2 inch difference. one thing more, I thing it will be necessary to remove t-bar and drop receiver when not towing because they will bottom out when going up or down inclines, I'm not sure yet because I driven only with toad, but it looks awfully low.

I hope this info motivates all who toad to measure and take action if it's necessary.

thanks AJBJRVERS

smlranger · 11-25-2005, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the reminder to check our baseplates. I installed mine and will take the torque wrench under the toad periodically.

I was aware of Blue Ox's strong recommendation to have tow bar/base plate connection as level as possible or within 4". However, I am amazed at some of the towing set ups I see in RV parks.......makes me wonder if some folks ever read directions.

ajbjrvers · 01-31-2006, 02:15 AM

To all that use toads, toweds!!!!

Just an up-date on how too much height difference between motorhome and toad , more than 4 inches can and will cost you money.

I had to have the rear strut mounting brackets replaced yesterday ,11 months old, because The struts were pulled out ,from the bottom, over time when toad was diving when braking. Third set of rear struts and brackets.

I guess ignorance does cost money.

Recently received a flyer from Blue Ox regarding height differences, very informative, but I learned first hand.

I think all who read this info should pass it on to any rver we see with too much difference, I think they'll appreciate the heads up.

Thanks=== AJBJRVERS

ajbjrvers · 02-02-2006, 01:42 AM

To; Any moderator;

I wonder if my postings re; base plate and height differences between motorhome should be posted where anyone toading will read what happens when things are not right. I said happens not can happen. I'm fortunate my ignorance didn't kill or maime someone,

What prompted this request is that we went for a short ride and I saw 3 toads with drastic angles between coach and toad. A lot of rvers are not aware of dangers.

Perhaps, We IRVS can make this a MISSION, to make every one we see with this situation aware of the danger. Perhaps we can ask Blue Ox to send some of their literature on the subject so that we may ggive it to people who are not aware as yet.

Just a thought, I am contacting BLUE oX FOR INFO, but I think it would be great for IRVERS to help other rvers avoid a catastrophy..

Let me know your thoughts, Thanks=== AJBJRVERS

Tom N · 02-02-2006, 04:33 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Let me know your thoughts, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My thoughts are, doesn't anyone read the manuals??? I'm quoting Roadmaster (I own a Sterling) and BlueOx below.

"TOW BAR CONNECTION AT MOTORHOME AND TOWED VEHICLE MUST BE WITHIN THE ˜SAFE ZONE' Towing with the tow bar at an upward or downward slope puts undue strain on the entire towing system. Do not tow if the tow bar is not within the ˜Safe Zone' "” no more than 3 inches above level or no more than
4 inches below level. (See the section titled "Stay within the ˜Safe Zone'" for further information.)" [Roadmaster]

"Blue Ox's recommendation is that the receiver hitch of the motorhome should never be more than 4 inches higher than the baseplate attachment points. Four inches or less keeps the tow bar level with the ground or slightly angled up towards the coach from the car. The tow bar should never be angled "up" towards the car from the coach." [BlueOx]