When traveling with an RV, half the fun is getting there while the other half is getting around once you've arrived. When towing a trailer or fifth wheel you simply unhook the RV and use your tow vehicle for sightseeing and other daily transportation. When traveling by motorhome you are motorized, so it's just not possible to take it apart and use one half as your local transportation. For this reason the majority of motorhome owners prefer to tow a small vehicle behind the motorhome. This vehicle can be anything from an economical car to a serious off-road capable SUV, or anything in between depending on what type of recreation the RVer is looking for.
After towing a Jeep Grand...
After towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee for three years, we bought a '05 Jeep Wrangler. We wanted to tow this vehicle to the various off-road destinations, so I set this vehicle up for towing.
A larger number of vehicles are capable of being flat towed, which is also known as towing "four down." This method involves connecting the towed vehicle to the RV with a towbar and allowing it to follow along behind. Not every vehicle is capable of being flat towed and the majority of the time it is due to limitations of that particular vehicle's driveline. In some cases driveshaft disconnects or electric transmission lube pumps can be added to prevent transmission or transfer case damage so that these vehicles can be flat towed. In some cases it's just not possible to flat tow that particular vehicle and a tow dolly may need to be used. However, there are a large number of vehicles that are capable of being flat towed with no modifications to their driveline. Various on-line charts are available, such as those published by Family Motor Coach Association, that will list which vehicles are capable of being flat towed and which are not.
Once you have determined that you have a vehicle that can be flat towed, the next question is what you need to have to be able to tow that vehicle. There are four main areas that need to be addressed: the towbar itself, the towed vehicle base plate, lighting, and auxiliary braking systems.
When not in use, the towbar...
When not in use, the towbar stows out of the way on the motorhome.
Towbars have come a long way since the original A-frame devices that attached to the front of the towed vehicle and swung down to connect to the RV with a ball hitch coupler. Today's towbars are attached to the motorhome rather than the towed vehicle. Rather than a rigid A-frame design, these units consist of two telescopic tubes that connect to mounting lugs on the towed vehicle's base plate.
You no longer have to have to obtain perfect alignment. Just get it close, extend the arms a bit, and connect them to the base plate. Then you either back up the towed vehicle or pull the motorhome forward a bit to fully extend the arms, which then lock into place. When you are finished towing you simply pull the pins to disconnect the arms, collapse them, and the whole unit swings up and over to one side for storage without ever being removed from the motorhome. The towbars are universal and can connect to any number of different towed vehicles.