How much weight can
we safely tow?

Your motor home has a weight rating referred to as the Gross
Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). This is the maximum combined weight of the fully
loaded motor home and the fully loaded tow vehicle when weighed together. You
never want to exceed this or any other weight rating. Another consideration is
the amount of weight the hitch receiver on the back of the motor home is rated
for. The motor home itself might have a tow rating of 7,000 pounds, but if the
receiver is only rated for 3,500 that’s the most you can tow. 

Do we need to use a
tow dolly, or can we tow our vehicle with all four wheels on the ground?

Some vehicles can be towed with all four wheels down with no
problems while others would result in serious damage to the vehicle
transmission. In some cases modifications can be made to the driveline and or
transmission so you can tow the vehicle with all four wheels on the ground. You
need to do your homework before attempting to tow a vehicle with all four
wheels on the ground. Read your vehicle owner’s manual and check with the
vehicle manufacturer. Many vehicles that can be towed with all four wheels on
the ground still have restrictions like max speeds or max distances. In some
situations it is best to use a tow dolly. A tow dolly is designed to lift the
drive wheels off of the ground to prevent any damage to the tow vehicle. If the
vehicle you want to tow requires expensive driveline modifications or has speed
and distance restrictions a tow dolly may be the way to go.

If we can tow our
vehicle with all four wheels on the ground do we use a vehicle mounted tow bar
or a coach mounted tow bar?

If you can tow your vehicle with all four wheels down the
first step will be to have tow bar mounting brackets installed on the tow
vehicle. Now we can decide on which type of tow bar best suits our needs.
Regardless of the type you choose make sure it is rated in excess of the fully
loaded tow vehicle weight. There are two basic types of tow bars, a rigid
A-frame and a collapsible. Rigid A-frame tow bars are the most basic. They are
less expensive and because the arms don’t adjust or collapse they require more
precise aligning to hook up.

Collapsible tow bars are more common among RVers. They are
self aligning and much easier to hook up and use. The arms extend, self-center
and lock in place automatically when you drive away. There are two types of
collapsible tow bars, car-mounted and motor home-mounted. Car-mounted tow bars
are a little easier to use and fold away on the front of the vehicle when you
are finished using it. Motor home-mounted tow bars fold away on the rear of the
motor home and never have to be lifted or removed from the front of the
vehicle.

What about brakes?

Most U.S. States and Canadian Provinces have their own
laws on the requirement for brakes on a towed trailer or vehicle being towed
behind a motor home. The brakes on a motor home are designed by the vehicle
manufacturer to stop the weight of that particular vehicle, not the additional
weight being towed behind it. This additional weight adds a substantial
increase to the distance required to stop safely. You need to have some type of
braking system on the towed vehicle to SAFELY reduce the stopping distance and
to protect you, your loved ones and the safety of others.

What else will I need?

You will need safety cables and lights for the towed vehicle. You need
safety cables in the event the towed vehicle is ever separated from the motor
home. One end of the cables is attached to the tow vehicle tow brackets and the
other end to the receiver on the motor home.

You need to have running
lights, tail lights, brake lights and turn signals on the towed vehicle that
work in conjunction with the motor home lights. If you don’t tow your vehicle
that often you may want to purchase a light accessory kit that can be strapped
to the tow vehicle or uses magnets. These kits have a wiring harness that is
plugged into the motor homes wiring harness plug. If you tow your vehicle
frequently you will probably want to use a more permanent method where tow
vehicle lights are wired directly to the motor home lights. Once this is done
you just plug the tow vehicle wiring harness plug in to the motor home wiring
harness plug.

The only thing left to do is
hook up your tow vehicle and head down the road. Try to get in the habit of making the following checks before you leave and every time
you stop. Check the tow bar, base-plate, safety cables and light plug to make
sure everything is properly attached. When you stop check the tires of the
towed vehicle to make sure they are not to hot or losing air. If you are using
a dolly or trailer, check the wheels to make sure they are not hot to the
touch. If the wheels are hot, it may indicate a brake or bearing problem. Check
all of the lights everyday before towing.

Check out our instant download Dinghy Towing” e-book