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Old 02-21-2020, 03:25 PM   #1
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Dinghy Towing Questions

Hi Everyone (First Post)

A couple of question about Dinghy towing a vehicle.

1) Is there issues with towing an SUV with all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive.(live in Canada with bad winters)
2) Is there a certain size of vehicle were you need a braking unit for the dinghy brake petal.
3) Are the wiring harness for baseplate hard to install into existing wiring.

Any other recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
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Old 02-21-2020, 03:28 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tlccan10 View Post
Hi Everyone (First Post)

A couple of question about Dinghy towing a vehicle.

1) Is there issues with towing an SUV with all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive.(live in Canada with bad winters)
Can't help here much, but Jeep's seem to be towed all the time, so likely the answer is "it depends on the 4WD."

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Originally Posted by Tlccan10 View Post
2) Is there a certain size of vehicle were you need a braking unit for the dinghy brake petal.
Think ANY size vehicle needs to have a way to stop it. I went with a ReadyBrute Elite system which uses a cable to actually pull the brake pedal. No need to keep it powered and I'm not in a diesel that has air to the rear for stopping. It's probably one of the cheaper aux. braking systems.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tlccan10 View Post
3) Are the wiring harness for baseplate hard to install into existing wiring.
I went with a remote activated light from TowMate. Saves you from having to do any wiring. you do have to attach a magnetic light to the toad and remove as needed.
I did install a base plate (Mini Cooper) and it was a pain, but probably more because the way the car is assembled. I'm not sure how or why they put some bolts where they did.


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Any other recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I'm sure you're going to hear a lot of answers. This question also comes up a lot so do some forum searching on braking systems and pick the one that fits your budget. If you can install yourself that's a huge savings as sometimes you will see the install cost be at least as much as the cost of the accessory.
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Old 02-21-2020, 03:50 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tlccan10 View Post
Hi Everyone (First Post)

A couple of question about Dinghy towing a vehicle.

1) Is there issues with towing an SUV with all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive.(live in Canada with bad winters)
Check out this towing guide for anything you're interested in. https://www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/

2) Is there a certain size of vehicle were you need a braking unit for the dinghy brake petal.
States have different laws about towed vehicles. Personally I would never tow a vehicle without a braking system. You can get one that goes on the floor inside the towed vehicle and presses the brake pedal, or you can get a surge-type from NSA RV Products that has a cable from the towbars to the brake pedal.

3) Are the wiring harness for baseplate hard to install into existing wiring.
Some wiring kits use diodes to connect to the existing brake and turn signal lights and others use a separate bulb mounted in the existing light housing.

Any other recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 02-21-2020, 03:50 PM   #4
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Store : Remco

Remco will tell you if it is towable 4 down.
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Old 02-21-2020, 04:35 PM   #5
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We need to know what motorhome you have. Put that in your signature like mine below.
We also need more info on what you might be interested in to tow.
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Old 02-21-2020, 05:20 PM   #6
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Dinghy Towing Questions

Sorry first post

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Old 02-21-2020, 05:25 PM   #7
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Motor Home Magazine has a dinghy towing guide & your SUV’s owners manual should say if it can be 4 down towed or not. You might have to add equipment if your SUV says not to tow 4 down. You will need a breaking system, many out there. You will also need a system for your SUV’s lights to work while towing. We did dolly towing for a while, now have Blue Ox towing system for our 4X4 Jeep Cherokee, works great.
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Old 02-21-2020, 05:44 PM   #8
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Dingy towing

We have 2000 american eagle diesel pusher we both dingy tow and tow dolly tow, depending on our needs( if we have the grandkids we take my wifes mini van on a dolly).When its just my wife and i we take our 4wd silverado with a manual transfer case,not sure about jeeps but I do know you dont want the auto trans turning while yo drive it will destroy it!!!! 4wds are popular because the transfer case can be put in neutral which makes it so the trans doesnt turn while towing. We use a roadmaster air assisted brake system which ties into the air brakes on our MH, am a retired mech so i did the install myself, also put in a battery cut out on my truck so i can put it in neutral to allow the steering to follow the motorhome whiile towing, a lighting kit was installed to isolate the taillights to work when the battery is disconnected. The system works great and like it much better than the tow dolly.
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Old 02-21-2020, 08:22 PM   #9
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Sorry first post

2014 Fleetwood Bounder33C
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Most likely you are limited to a max of 5000 lbs. But that will also depend on the weight of your motorhome and it's GCVW limit.


I'd be looking for a smaller CUV like the Equinox/Envision/Escape/Edge.
Or a small pickup like Ranger or the GM twins.


Then there are the Jeeps.


I too have a ReadyBrute Elite towbar with it's integral brake cable.


Or you can go with a braking device that is installed in the interior under or in front of the driver's seat.


You are asking for a lot of info in one thread.
Good luck!
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Old 02-21-2020, 09:26 PM   #10
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There have been a number of discussions about toad brakes on this forum, some would not travel without them while others do. There can be no doubt that as long as everything is operating correctly more braking power is beneficial. However, IMHO, as the RV gets heavier and the toad gets lighter it is a case of diminishing returns from the toad braking.

I have towed our Geo Metro, Samurai, and Tracker, as well as light motorcycle trailers, between 150 and 200k miles without brakes behind RVs weighting from 11k to 22k lbs. without any problems so far. On the other hand, I have also towed heavier loads and all of them had brakes. IMHO, it's a matter of realizing what can be controlled by the tow vehicle and what is too much. I think the laws reflect this as well as possible. It's a bit like going from an empty truck to a loaded one, the brakes are still the same, but considerations must be made for the additional weight. In the end it all comes down to what is legal and what YOU are comfortable with.

Our Metro, Samurai, and Tracker can all be towed 4 down. The Metro is front wheel drive while the Samurai and Tracker are 4wd. Both the Samurai and Tracker have front wheel locking hubs. I also added a driveshaft disconnect to reduce wear on the rear drive train as well as not recording mileage while being towed on long trips.

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Old 02-21-2020, 09:49 PM   #11
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1) Is there issues with towing an SUV with all wheel drive or 4 wheel drive.(live in Canada with bad winters)
AWD is usually a problem because all four wheels need to be turning or there will be drivetrain damage. When my wife went to replace two tires on her AWD Honda Pilot the tire company pointed her to the owner's manual that confirmed all tires need to be the same diameter so she had to replace all four.

I did some reading and some tire dealers actually will shave some of the rubber off the new tires to make them the same size as the remaining tires.

A friend who drives a tow truck said it's either a trailer to tow AWD vehicles or a sling. The sling lifts the front tires off the ground but does not restrain them from turning so they will turn with the rear tires.

Weird, huh?

Ray
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Old 02-22-2020, 08:52 AM   #12
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Every vehicle I mentioned above it towable 4 down with AWD/4WD.


Also, as to supplemental braking, it's not necessarily how small the toad is, but what the state laws say.
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Old 02-22-2020, 10:19 AM   #13
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Also, as to supplemental braking, it's not necessarily how small the toad is, but what the state laws say.
Absolutely, but if the toad is light enough it will generally meet those requirements. IMHO, the laws generally reflect the common sense approach of the diminishing effect of toad brakes as the toad gets lighter and the RV gets heavier. Our toads have always been light and we have had no problems towing them without brakes. I would not even consider doing that with the 4-6k lb. toads some folks use.

Again, it is all about what is legal and what YOU are comfortable with.

Steve
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Old 02-22-2020, 11:57 AM   #14
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Dinghy Towing Questions

Thanks everybody for answering my questions. Have not bought the SUV yet so this make my decision easier. Have safe travels everyone.
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