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Last Changed 2/7/2009 |
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To tow Sparky behind Tige,
we had to have a tow bar to connect him to
Tige. This also invoked a base plate and
a light wiring harness To start, there are two types of tow bars determined by the vehicle the tow bar attaches to. |
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One type of tow bar attaches to the tow vehicle and then connects to a hitch ball on the tow vehicle. To us, the disadvantage to this type of tow bar was that we would have to remove it from Sparky when we were driving around. We would have to store is someplace. |
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This type of tow bar is attached to the hitch receiver of the tow vehicle and then connects to the toad. We preferred this type of tow bar since when we are parked, the tow bar stows itself on the end of the trailer. We put a cover on it to dress it up. | |
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We choose a
Blue Ox Aventa II tow bar.
We were choosing between a
Demco Escali-Bar
and the Blue Ox. Overwhelming recommendations
from fellow RVers made the Blue Ox decision for us. The Demco did seem to have a couple of additional features but in this case we deferred to the experience of others. |
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The Aventa II is rated for 10,000. Sparky is only 4,000 lbs. but we felt the 5,000 lbs. ratings of the lighter tow bars did not provide enough safety margin for us. |
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To attach a tow bar to the toad, you need a Base Plate. The Base
Plate is an assembly that bolts to the frame of the Toad vehicle and
provides attaching points for the tow bar. You can mix and match tow bars and base plates from different manufacturers with adapters but the cost structure is about the same for all the manufacturers. We therefore also choose a Blue Ox base plate. We had the base plate installed by a local dealer. There was more than enough physical work to justify the cost. Copley's RV was a very friendly and competent RV dealer in the Port St. Lucie, Florida area that install the base plate on Sparky. If you are in the Port St Lucie area and need RV work, we recommend them. |
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click on images to enlarge |
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You can see the base plate through the holes in the bumper. The
black round plug is where the tow bar adapter plugs in. One of the advantages of the Blue Ox Base Plate is that the tow bar adapters are removable. Most other base plates have fixed attachment points that can be shin knockers if you walk too close to the front of the toad. |
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The base plate tow bar adapters are installed. They install and remove with little effort. | |
click on images to enlarge |
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Here the tow bar is attached to the base plate. The safety cables, the break-away switch cable and the light wiring cable are also attached. | |
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Disclaimer: The information in this site is a collection of data we derived from the vendors and from our personal experiences. This information is meant as a learning guide for you to make your own decisions Best practices and code should always be followed. The recommendations we make are from our personal experiences and we do not receive any compensation for those recommendations. |