Community Forums

itsrip · 09-01-2007, 02:24 PM

is this link the rite idea? rip
http://www.roadmasterinc.com/product...safe_zone.html

Route 66 · 09-01-2007, 02:39 PM

Your link does indeed show the correct tolerances for tow bars.

teresamarie · 11-16-2007, 08:16 PM

OK, how does all this pertain to a tow dolly? I would assume that the dolly plates, the area the toad front tires sit on, should be as level as possible. Also, I would assume that the tow bar should be as level as possible too. If one is out of whack, what should be done?

RLS · 11-20-2007, 04:50 AM

Does anyone know why Blue OX states that the tow bar must NOT angle up to the toad? The Roadmaster site shows a picture of the tow bar having a plus 3" to minus 4" of variance.

RLS · 11-20-2007, 04:56 AM

Does anyone know why Blue OX states that the tow bar must NOT angle up to the toad? The Roadmaster site shows a picture of the tow bar having a plus 3" to minus 4" of variance. We just bought a 08' Vue and it looks like the tow bar will be angled up to the car. I have not put the baseplate on yet but the installation instructions state what the height will be, and it looks like it will be higher than the coach hitch.

RustyJC · 11-20-2007, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RLS:
Does anyone know why Blue OX states that the tow bar must NOT angle up to the toad?

Think of a pole vaulter. With the geometry mentioned, the tow bar would behave like the pole, and if the toad were generating less braking force than the tow vehicle, the toad would try to ride up and over the tow vehicle's receiver using the tow bar as the "pole" and the receiver ball as the box in which the pole vaulter plants the pole.

Rusty

Demco Manufacturing, Inc. · 11-20-2007, 09:36 AM

Rusty,

You beat me to it! That was the exact analogy I was going to use. Remember, it is not an issue when a properly configured braking system is in place in the towed as the rate of deceleration would be identical in the two vehicles. Here is an illustration of the "Pole-Vaulting Effect:"

Brent Schuck
Research and Development
Graphic Design

Forest Grump · 01-27-2008, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by alvinc:
Mike, you want the RV end higher by 0-4". The idea is that you want the toad to push under the RV, not leapfrog over the top of the hitch. Of course this would only happen in an emergency stop.

The reason that 0" is acceptable is because as the RV brakes the nose will squat which will cause the hitch ball to rise. The reason for the 4" recommended maximum drop from the RV to the toad is to keep from popping the tow bar off of the ball (not a problem with the self storing tow bars). The 4" drop recommendation also helps reduce stress on the toad suspension and tires during normal braking (as the RV stops there can be significant downward pressure on the toad front suspension if there is a lot of RV to toad drop).

I am kind of shocked by your response. Bring your set up up to Big Bear and then let take a trip down the hill and watch what happens. You will find your TOAD climbing up onto your rig.

Pappie · 02-06-2008, 05:56 AM

Where is the diagram , you are speaking of?
Pappie
allycat@cfl.rr.com

Sixpack98 · 04-03-2008, 06:35 PM

A lot of good information here that has been very helpful. My MH was almost 5" higher than the toad so I added a 4" drop receiver and it is now the toad is 1" lower. The questions I have are: is there an issue with the apparent length of the stinger is now about 10" longer with the addition of the drop receiver and, does increasing the length of the stinger by adding the drop hitch impact stability and sway?

porscheracer · 10-16-2008, 03:40 AM

I know you've been checking every day for the last 6 months to see if anyone ever answered you.

Yes, it affects the dynamic. Probably not enough to matter, or even be noticeable.

My situation was the reverse of most. The Dakota's baseplate is about 7" higher than my hitch - so we installed an 8" drop hitch in the inverted mode (my siggy is an old pic). It also has the benefit of giving us about 10" of extra "swing" room for those really tight maneuvers.

DriVer · 10-16-2008, 05:30 AM

My draw bar angle changed with our new car. We went from a 4 inch drop to no drop.

Our current profile is that the attachment point on the car v.s. the center of the opening on the MH's receiver is 3/4s of an inch lower.

Now having removed the drop bar we had to get our shank extended on our tow bar which was no problem, we went back to the stock length. Using a drop receiver we shortened the draw bar because we wanted to reduce the moment arm leverage.

In this change, Blue Ox also provided us with a double clamp immobilizer. Our hitch draw bar using the device offers "zero" lateral or vertical movement. Grab your towbar and shake it back and forth and up and down. If it moves "at all" in the receiver shank, it's moving too much!

Clay L · 10-16-2008, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sixpack98:
A lot of good information here that has been very helpful. My MH was almost 5" higher than the toad so I added a 4" drop receiver and it is now the toad is 1" lower. The questions I have are: is there an issue with the apparent length of the stinger is now about 10" longer with the addition of the drop receiver and, does increasing the length of the stinger by adding the drop hitch impact stability and sway?

When I added a drop receiver I asked a Blue Ox customer service person about that and the answer was that it is better to have the tow bar closer to the receiver. I had an extra hole drilled in the drop receiver bar so I could get the distance the same as it was without the drop receiver.
The drill bit required was not common and I could not find one locally so I took it to a machine shop that had the right size. He charged me $15 as I recall.

porscheracer · 10-16-2008, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DriVer:
In this change, Blue Ox also provided us with a double clamp immobilizer. Our hitch draw bar using the device offers "zero" lateral or vertical movement. Grab your towbar and shake it back and forth and up and down. If it moves "at all" in the receiver shank, it's moving too much!

Yeah . . . I got 3 of the 94-4041 Immobilizer II units. 1 or 2 for either the drop hitch or the standard one for the Vectra; 1 for the various arrays on the View (normal is a tote rack - and I hate it when it flops!).