Demco Tow Bar

[wil01]

[SIZE=2]I have had Roadmaster All-Terrain tow bars and base plates since 2000 with great success. There have been a few problems with some sticking latch pins when unhitching, but overall the results have been satisfactory until now.

The All-Terrain Falcon, as many other Road Master tow bars, has a spring loaded mechanism to store the tow bar arms when disconnected. This problem started when this system wouldn’t latch properly and the arms couldn’t be stored. The Roadmaster customer service gave many suggestions about a fix, including special lubrication. A fix seemed to have been made. But alas, the store system failed on a trip without the toad. The tow bar was dragged for some number of miles, and the tow bar was damaged and a new one was needed.

A sad discovery was that Roadmaster doesn’t sell parts, just complete hitch systems. That made the cost of replacement in the order of $1,000 – just too much. All I needed was a new tow bar.

A web search indicated that the Demco tow bar with a Roadmaster baseplate adapter was by far the least expensive way to go. After consideration, I decided to try the Demco, even though I have never seen one before.

For those who don’t know about the Demco, its design is different than any I have ever seen. Some of the unique features are:

1. The arms are mounted vertically – one above the other – claimed to be independent of one another and provide superior operation.

2. The receiver can be rotated to change the height of the tow bar arms – minus 3 inches.

3. The angle of the receiver can be adjusted to make it perpendicular to the arms when they are angled up or down from MH to Toad – makes the system more efficient.

4. The arm storage system is mechanical and allows the arms to be stored in one of three positions.

5. Storage for the electrical cord is provided on one of the arms.

The only issues to consider about installation are:

1. The adjustable receiver is held in place by two ½ inch bolts and one ¾ inch bolt and nut.

2. To allow for adjustment, the unit comes with the two ½ inch bolts not tightened. These two bolts must be torqued to 85 ft/lbs. They take a ¾ inch socket or wrench.

3. If the receiver needs to be flipped, both of the ½ inch bolts and the ¾ inch bolt must be removed and re-installed after flipping. The ¾ inch bolt must also be torqued to 85 ft/lbs. It takes 1-1/8 inch socket or wrench.

4. I no longer own a torque wrench, but I was able to borrow one from my friendly auto parts house. I have been advised that most national auto parts stores have a tool lending program.

Demco makes a lot of things besides RV hitch systems, and the quality of this product shows that they seem to know what they are doing.

The only reason I used this solution was because it was about half the cost of a Roadmaster solution. I’m not trying to sell it, but if I had to start from scratch, I would now consider the Demco as my first choice.

Good Luck!
Wil [/SIZE]