|
03-17-2013, 05:56 AM
|
#1
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 6
|
Looking For Tow Bar / Base Plate Recommendation
I'm looking for a tow bar / base plate recommendation for a 2013 Toyota Corolla S manual transmission to be towed behind a 2006 Winnebago Adventurer 37' (Workhorse W24 chassis). I haven't bought the Corolla yet so any recommendations there would also be appreciated. The Corolla seems a good choice for a toad as it's fairly light weight (2767 lbs) and known to be very reliable. According to the owner's manual the manual transmission version can be towed four down with no modifications. Regarding tow bars and base plates, since I'm in Oregon RoadMaster seems to be very popular. I'm looking at the Sterling All-Terrain or Falcon All-Terrain with the XL base plate. Compared to the BlueOx base plate though the RoadMaster XL base plate seems to be kind of intrusive on the front fascia. Hard to tell though with the limited pictures available for the BlueOx base plate installed in the Corolla (RoadMaster has a pretty good set of pictures showing the XL and MX base plate installed in a late model Corolla S).
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
03-17-2013, 05:59 AM
|
#2
|
Community Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 53,430
|
Welcome to IRV2. I'm a Blue Ox fan/ user. If you contact them , they may have more photos for you to make a decision. Good luck.
Cliff
__________________
Cliff,Tallulah and Buddy ( 1999-2012 )
|
|
|
03-17-2013, 06:21 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,496
|
Blue Ox fan also
__________________
Del & Lori 2007 Diplomat 40PDQ - 2020 Grand Cherokee TrailHawk Hemi Toad, M&G Brake System, Blue Ox.
|
|
|
03-17-2013, 06:22 AM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,031
|
Roadmaster Fan
__________________
99 Discovery 34Q ISB
2014 MKS AWD EcoBoost Toad
Fulltime Since "99"
|
|
|
03-17-2013, 06:34 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 872
|
I have the Road Master, but I have never owned a Blue Ox, so I can not compare them. Do buy the all Terrain, and Motor Home mount as that would be much easier to hook up. I bought the Falcon, (cheaper) and wish i had spent a little more.
__________________
2004 National Sea Breeze LX8375, Towing a 2012 Liberty.
|
|
|
03-17-2013, 06:54 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Grapevine, TX
Posts: 1,056
|
I'm using a Blue Ox baseplate and ReadyBrake towbar with integrated braking system. Have had no problems.
__________________
Mike
2021 Coachmen Spirit 2557RB
2018 Ford F-150 3.5L Ecoboost w/Max Tow, Eaz-Lift R3 hitch
|
|
|
03-17-2013, 07:07 AM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
American Coach Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Van,Tx
Posts: 435
|
I own a Corolla S but an 06 model, I love it but at least with my model I would be worried about the lower front air dam, its pretty low. Dragging something so small behind the beast you might not think about how slow you need to go through some of the dips to not tear off a piece of sporty plastic. This might not be a concern on your model, I have thought about upgrading to a new one with a stick shift so i could tow mine also.
Now on the tow bar, I have a roadmaster no problems ever. I found mine on Craigslist unused with all the cables and cover for about 75% less then in the stores. So check the net and Ebay for a bargain. I got the biggest for my use the Blackhawk 2 AT 10K bar.
Eric
__________________
2011 American Coach 42P Tradition
Pressure Pro
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
|
|
|
03-17-2013, 09:47 AM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Posts: 4,040
|
I suggest you go to each manufacturer and download the install instructions for the base plate for your car. Some are easier installs than others and I would pick the one that makes the most sense for you.
I would not worry too much about the lowness of your front end (I have a Fit, I'm speaking from experience). The link to the car is not so rigid that it is going to force the front end of the car nose dive into a pot hole. After all, you are perfectly capable of driving through areas like that without scrapping.
I use a BlueOx baseplate and towbar and they work well together. Most towbars can be interchanged with various baseplates so having one make versus a another doesn't matter too much.
__________________
Roger & Mary
2017 Winnebago Navion 24V (Sold)
2014 Tiffin Phaeton 36GH (Sold)
|
|
|
03-19-2013, 09:23 AM
|
#9
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 6
|
Thanks to everybody for the replies. And thanks to Cliff for the suggestion to contact BlueOx directly for pictures. They provided three high res pictures that show the finished installation quite clearly (that helped). BlueOx base plate has a cleaner look after installation but RoadMaster's base plate install is more straight forward (a little less intrusive on components behind the fascia). Also like the fact that BlueOx provides the place to securely mount the taillight wiring outlet on the car (not sure where to mount that with the RoadMaster base plate).
|
|
|
03-19-2013, 09:39 AM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: ON THE ROAD...SOMEWHERE
Posts: 6,973
|
I just installed a Blue Ox base plate on my 2013 Honda CRV. Other than 4 PIA clips holding the lower fascia to the grill and unsnapping some clips on the side, the base plate installation was pretty darn straight forward. Instructions and pictures were pretty clear. The only "mod" we did was use a larger washer for one bolt on each side that went through a slot instead of a round hole.
The base plate also allowed for mounting the break away switch easily. We did drill and tap two holes on the bottom of the plate to mount a fitting to connect the air hose for the Air Force One system.
The original bumper core is not put back on the CRV. We kept the original bumper core and plan to sell it to a parts place or maybe on Ebay.
I don't have experience or any negative thoughts about Roadmaster. I can only say that the Blue Ox installation went as well as I could have asked for. Again, the only hassle we had was the nearly hour long battle we fought to remove some CRV clips. After that...
OH...when I said "I" installed the base plate, I really should say my AWESOME BIL did! That dude ROCKS! THANKS BOB!
__________________
Don, Sandee & GSD Zeus. Guardian GSDs Gunny (7/11/15) & Thor (5/5/15)
2006 2015 DSDP 4320 4369, FL Chassis, 2013 CR-V 2020 Jeep Overland, Blue Ox Avail, SMI AF1.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
|
|
|
03-19-2013, 09:46 AM
|
#11
|
D333RLT Tower
Texas Boomers Club Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,075
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by donhoward49
I have the Road Master, but I have never owned a Blue Ox, so I can not compare them. Do buy the all Terrain, and Motor Home mount as that would be much easier to hook up. I bought the Falcon, (cheaper) and wish i had spent a little more.
|
Agree on the all terrain. Much easier to unhook if toad is at an angle to coach or sightly up or down hill. I've owned both; all terrain is much easier.
__________________
[COLOR=red]2022 KZ Durango D333RLT
[FONT=Arial][COLOR=red] Towed by2022 F-250 Lariat 7.3 Godzilla gas 10 speed , Texas Boomers RV Club
|
|
|
03-19-2013, 09:56 AM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Texas Boomers Club Solo Rvers Club
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,716
|
At the moment I have both a Falcon 2 by Roadmaster and a Blue Ox tow bar systems. The Falcon 2 I have had about 8 years and the Blue Ox about 3 weeks so comparison is based on limited usage. The Falcon 2 has been very dependable but did seem to get in a bind easily. The Blue Ox seems easier to hook up and unhook than the Falcon 2, but that is based on doing it about 3 times.
__________________
Barbara Spade
Jaymie (Sheltie/Pom) and Luke (Sheltie/mix)
35' Sea View (Class A) MH & Honda CR-V toad.
Good Sam Charter Life member/FMCA/SI/Escapees/Thousand Trails
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|