Tow Package Help

[karabias]

New to Rving, Have 2104 Fleetwood Bounder 36K and new 2014 Honda CRV.
Thinking of going all Roadmaster for tow bar(Sterling) and base plate. Not sure what auxillary brake system to get. Advise SMI and Brakemaster. Thinking about getting both Roadmaster Defender and Guardian. Can anyone with more experience than me provide advice? I have none. appreciate it.

[jfran304]

Howdy and welcome to IRV2.

Roadmaster and Blue Ox both make good products so you can't go wrong with either as long as they are installed and maintained right.

As for a braking system I went with the Roadmaster Invisibrake. It installs under the drivers seat and after installment and adjustment for the amount of braking you want you can forget about it. It will also keep the battery charged on your towed vehicle.

Roadmaster Inc. - Tow Bars, Braking Systems & RV Accessories

Jon

[RV Wizard]

Hello and . We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences.. I am sure you will enjoy our website and fourms. Good luck, stay safe and keep us posted.

[davismills]

I use a Ready Brute system with my 2011 Honda CRV. It's a surge braking system and has worked quite well. The clevis options will adapt to any base plate.

ReadyBruteâ„¢ Elite RV Tow Bar - NSA RV Products

[vfauto]

I have done a ton of research and really like the simplicity and reliability of the Ready Brute Elite. I like them so much that I will not only be using one with a Roadmaster base plate for my self, I took on both dealerships for my Auto Parts and Service facility. I am an Electrician and a Master Automobile Technician so I believe that simple is usually much better. Once installed it is hook up and go. I have found zero complaints on this system.

[DGB]

I heartily agree with the other posters regarding the Ready Brute system. I've used a couple of the others and I've found it's much better to stay with SIMPLE.

The Ready Brute is really just a surge brake system with a cable that is permanently connected to the brake pedal arm. You don't see it or know it's there when you are driving the toad. When you're towing, the Ready Brute pulls the cable to help stop.

Actually, in a few minutes, I plan to list a tow car on this site and there is a picture of the Ready Brute connected. It's a 2010 Mercury Mariner that I guess you can search for.

- - - I don't know if this will work, but I'll try to upload the picture I'm talking about here. The straight connection in the middle of the tow bar is the cable.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by karabias

New to Rving, Have 2104 Fleetwood Bounder 36K and new 2014 Honda CRV.
Thinking of going all Roadmaster for tow bar(Sterling) and base plate. Not sure what auxillary brake system to get. Advise SMI and Brakemaster. Thinking about getting both Roadmaster Defender and Guardian. Can anyone with more experience than me provide advice? I have none. appreciate it.

Roadmaster makes excellent equipment. We used a Roadmaster Sterling towbar to tow our Jeep Wrangler for over 100,000 miles. It was destroyed last year when the Jeep was rear ended as we were towing it down I-57 in Illinois.

We replaced it with the Sterling All Terrain. It's even better than the now obsolete Sterling. If you're looking for a lightweight strong towbar I highly recommend the Sterling All Terrain.

If you're considering buying used I would avoid the older Sterling model. It was discontinued in 2007 and replaced by the Sterling All Terrain. There are limited parts still available for the older models, and once the inventory is depleted Roadmaster will no longer support them.

We also use a Roadmaster Guardian tow shield and Roadmaster 9060 braking system. I would highly recommend the Guardian tow shield.

The Roadmaster 9060 braking system is also top shelf. However it takes a considerable amount of time for the initial installation. It's truly proportional and easy to hook up and unhook after the initial installation. There's only an air cylinder to install and remove from the Jeep. This was a major consideration due to the lack of storage space in a Jeep Wrangler TJ.
We truly like the system, and if you're mechanically inclined the installation isn't difficult. It's just time consuming if you want a professional looking job. If you have to pay someone to install it the cost will increase substantially.

You might want to take a look at e trailer.com for prices of the various brands and models of tow bars, protection systems, and braking systems available.

Trailer Hitches & Vehicle Accessories (800)298-8924

[Easyrider]

We like the ReadyBrute Elite too! Simple, safe, easy, inexpensive.

[joelyn5]

Take a look at the RVI2 braking system. Small, portable, easy to set up, comes with a remote (indicates status of the system and whether or not brakes are applied) that plugs into a cigarette lighter outlet in the RV and is almost idiot proof. And it has superb customer support.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by karabias

New to Rving, Have 2104 Fleetwood Bounder 36K and new 2014 Honda CRV.
Thinking of going all Roadmaster for tow bar(Sterling) and base plate. Not sure what auxillary brake system to get. Advise SMI and Brakemaster. Thinking about getting both Roadmaster Defender and Guardian. Can anyone with more experience than me provide advice? I have none. appreciate it.

I highly recommend the ReadyBrute Elite towbars with the built-in ReadyBrake, and the Roadmaster 521567-1 baseplate! This is the least expensive, yet effective and simple to use and install! I would also use the Protect-A-Tow shield under the towbars, and a solid rubber flap on the rear of the MH! I used the Roadmaster 154 wiring kit on my 2013 CRV.

[Ffarm]

I did a bunch of research on a tow package myself. I eventually settled on the Ready Brute Elite system. It arrives in a couple of days and I will then install it or have my mechanic install it. It appear to be a good system and I like the simplicity of it. I also like that it does save some funds as it incorporates the braking system into the bar. I've only read one negative thing about Ready Brute Elite system, and it was associated with an incorrect installation of the brake away system. It didn't have anything to do with the system.

[MSHappyCampers]

BTW, when searching for the components to equip our Honda CRV for towing, I found that Amazon had the Roadmaster baseplate for $365 where everyone else wanted $399 for it! I also got the RS500 NSA breakaway kit from them!