Preparing to Tow Jetta

[RoadHogg]

I haven't been on the forum for a while, winter not being RV season and all. Yesterday I decided to work on preparing my 1996 VW Jetta for flat towing behind my 1999 Itasca Sunrise SE Class A Motorhome. All in all things went pretty good. There are only two details to take care of now.

I started by installing the Roadmaster brackets. The instructions were very clear and everything bolted on just fine, except when it came to drilling the four holes up through the car's frame. The issue is simply that the clearance is too tight to get the drill up in there properly. I did manage to get three of the four holes drilled just fine but for the fourth hole I had to buy a longer 1/2" HSS bit. I'll give that a go tomorrow.

With the tow bar all but installed, I set up the Blue-ox supplemental brake system. I installed the break-away on the car and it all tested out great. I wired up the little gadget that monitors the brake pedal switch and relays the information to a receiver in the MH.

Then I installed the diode block for the tail/brake/signal lights. The instructions for that were also very good, that went without a problem too. My forte is electrical too so I had a leg up on most people for this part.

I only yet need to wire up the flat 4 wiring connector on the front of the car. Once that's in, I can give this setup a test.

One question. When I tow a trailer with safety chains, I cross the chains left to right when connecting to the tow vehicle. Do you guys cross the safety cables for a tow bar setup? All in all, I believe a crossed setup gives greater stability in the event of a mobile disconnect.

[TheJeep]

The reason for crossing the chains was if you had the trailer come unhitched the chains would hopefully catch the tongue of the trailer. This would prevent it from hitting the ground, flipping the trailer....so they say. Its not a bad idea to cross them under the tow bar. The cables I had were the kind that were self coiling. I would wrap them around the arms of the tow bar. Just watch for pinching.

[RoadHogg]

Completed the installation today. Since my MH isn't quite ready for the road, I hitched the little Jetta to my 3/4 ton and dragged it up and down the highway for a while. The car pulled beautifully and the supplemental brake system applied the brakes when I would brake harder than what would be "normal".

I'm pleased with the setup.

This will help me out in more ways than just with the MH. I live 40 miles out of the city and on occasion I need to get a truck to town for service or for whatever other reason. Being able to pull the car with the truck will be a huge bonus. The Jetta isn't much to look at but it still goes and should last a while yet. I'm glad I have a good use for it again.