If your vehicle can be towed with all four wheels down, then the tow bar will be your best option. Attaching your tow bar often requires modifications to your car, however, so you can’t attach a tow bar to a vehicle under warranty. Pulling the tongue of your tow dolly up will require some strength, so physically limited owners may want to choose a tow bar. A tow bar is easier to stow and disassemble than a tow dolly, so if you’re planning on attaching and detaching often, you’ll want to choose a tow bar. The overall cost of both towing methods is fairly equivalent, so it really comes down to your preference and needs as an RV owner.
If you can’t find your owner’s manual for whatever reason, you can also resort to your compliance certification label, which is found somewhere near the driver’s door, generally. If you cannot find this label, try checking near your door sill. It should be visible when you open your vehicle’s front door. In certain cases, your towing vehicle may have to be “broken in” before you are able to tow certain loads. This basically means that you’ll have to drive a certain number of miles in the car before its transmission is able to hold the load that you’re intending on pulling. The owner’s manual for your car will show the weight of that particular model, which should be lower than your towing vehicle’s weight limit. If you can’t find that owner’s manual, you can research your car’s weight online.
You can also store them on the back of your towed vehicle when the bar isn’t in use. If you choose to use a car-mounted tow bar, then you’ll have to keep it stored on the front of your towed vehicle. You can more easily detach these when not in use.
You want to make sure that your mounting bracket will fit specifically to your make of car, as well as the vehicle that you are towing. The base plate will be attached to the back of your car - ranging from the frame, subframe or core support - or somewhere on the undercarriage of the vehicle.
The inertia of your towed vehicle may be too much for the brakes of your car or truck to handle. [5] X Research source Most states in the US require you to add a separate braking system if you’re carrying a weight larger than 1,500 pounds. There are two different types of secondary braking systems. Electronic brakes are attached to a controller in your tow vehicle, while surge brakes are independent systems that are activated by momentum. Be careful that surge brakes are legal within the jurisdiction of your state, as it may vary depending on where you’re living.
It’s also important that you have all your lights working properly. Regardless of how short your trip may be, you need to make sure that your cargo will be seen by cars driving behind you. Failure to properly light your vehicles could cause a wide variety of dangerous incidents to occur.
You also want to test that there’s enough room, on the width of the bumper, to drill your holes to attach the bar. This may require the help of a friend. You’ll want to make sure the tow bar is perfectly parallel. It’s best if you have a second pair of hands to hold the other side. [6] X Research source You may have to remove the interior boot trim of your vehicle or your side panels. Make sure that you’re attaching it directly to your bumper. Any free-hanging paneling that protects the front end of your car will be in the way of your strongest mounting point.
Create a one-inch cross of tape at your place of drilling. This will prevent the drill from sliding off your intended entry point. Use a hammer and a sharp centre punch to create a light indentation in your bumper. Your drill bit will rest on this point when it enters your vehicle. If you have no experience drilling metal, or if you feel nervous that you will damage your car, you can seek assistance in attaching your tow bar. While you may have to pay someone to help you with this drilling, you don’t want to make a mistake and make costly damage to your vehicle.
Start by drilling a hole smaller than your bolt by attaching a smaller drill bit. If you’re attempting to make a 3/8 inch hole, start with a 1/3 inch drill bit, and then expand the hole with 3/16 inch bit. After that, you can drill with the proper 3/8 bit. Make sure that you still have a person holding the other end of the tow bar, as drilling your holes in straight is unbelievably important. You’ll want to get a drill the corresponds directly to the bolt width of your tow bar brackets. This information should be found in the manual that came with your tow bar package. If you can’t find this, you can measure the width using a small ruler.
Make sure that you’re threading the bolts through both the tow bar bracket and the bumper of the vehicle. You can’t slide the bracket onto the bolts. You’ll also want to further secure the bolts with a washer and nut set that corresponds to the size of your bracket. [9] X Research source Tighten them quickly using a socket wrench.
Some brackets will be adjustable, for example, while others may be rigid A-Frame structures that are attached to the bar itself. You’ll find a separate pair of nut and bolt hardware in your kit which should be slightly larger than the hardware you used for the bar itself. Insert the pivot brackets into the two ends of your tow bar and tighten. If you have a pivot bracket with adjustable arms, make sure that you do not tighten the bolts completely. This bracket is meant to move slightly. You do, however, want to check the bolts before attaching your vehicle, as you don’t want them to run coming undone. It is a balance of not over-tightening while also ensuring that you don’t let the pivot bracket become loose.
The two main electrical systems used for towing are the 12N and 12S systems. [11] X Research source The 12N is best for standard vehicles, while the 12S is best for caravans and motor homes. Attach the systems between your car and towing vehicle using the color coordinated pins on your wiring sockets, each of which correspond to a different light in your two vehicles. Depending on how often you plan on towing your car, you can also choose to use removable tail lights, which don’t actually connect the electrical systems of your two cars. [12] X Research source Removable tail lights are the least invasive and easiest to remove from your RV. They sit at the back of your towed car, and the wiring wraps underneath the towed car and attaches to the electrical system of your towing vehicle. If you plan on towing often, however, these may not be the most viable option.
There should be two sets of safety cables that you’re using. The long set of cables will attach the RV hitch to the base plate arms of your pivot bracket. You’ll then attach the short set of cables between the base plate arms into the frame mount of the tow bar itself. This will ensure that in the case of any unhitching on the tow bar itself, your car will not careen into traffic. It’s doubly important to take this step if it’s your first time attaching a tow bar, as mistakes can happen. Some states actually require two sets of safety chains, so check your state’s safety chain laws to see if you’ll have to attach a second set of cables.
