Flatbed vs tow bar

[Werrolling]

My wife and I just took the plunge last week and purchased our first RV. It's a lovely 2015 Jayco Precept 31ul. (on a side note, it drives like a car, WOW) Anyway, I am a photographer and videographer I have no interest in spending all my time in an RV park. To that end I really would like to bring our Jeep 4 door wrangler with us. I have been quoted a couple of grand to get a Blue Ox tow bar solution that seems very well thought of and I am happy to proceed. That said I realized after a little research that if I were to purchase an 18 ft car hauler trail for about a third more, I would have the flexibility to bring the jeep or the family compact or the quads, etc depending on the trip. Other than the obvious issue of having to find a place to put the trailer once I get there, I was wondering if of you far more experience car-pullers had any insight on the ease of travel and the pros and cons of pulling vs. carrying.

 

Thanks a million in advance!

 

Robert

[StarDreamers.us]

Which setup would be the easy solution for you. Seems like you have given the different setups some study. My only concern is what to do with the trailer. Since many items NOW appear to move out of camp. Have a good solution for locking it.

 

Welcome and when can we expect to see some professional pictures?

 

 

Safe Travels!

[mocroc]

Pulled our Jeep CJ5 nearly 3,000 miles from So. AZ to Moab and around Central Ut late May. Will not do it again. Next time it is going on our car trailer. IMHO, it was just too hard on MY 4x4. We pull our Ford Cmax Hybrid 4 down without the same wear & tear or concerns. The diff maybe my Jeep is setup for serious off-road with lockers and more. Also I worried the entire time when we were out, what if I break it on this climb or down this trail. With the trailer I just load it and tow home. 4 down I would be up s99t creek!

 

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Phil Saran]

Part of what you need to think about is weight. Your motorhome has maybe a 5000 lb. tow rate, so what does you Jeep

weigh and a 18 ft. car trailer will weight around 2000 lbs. I believe your Jeep weighs around 4000 lbs. plus. Do the math.

 

I got 3 quotes for my tow setup, first two are Blue Ox and the third was Roadmaster.

 

(1) Independent install shop (Airmax) cost was $3100 (this is who I used)

(2) RV dealer cost was $4100

(3) Camping World cost was $5200.

 

Your Jeep may take less equipment than my Dakota truck did, or as others have said your experience may vary.

[fly2low]

Several thoughts

1. An 18' enclosed trailer, even if aluminum ($$$), is going to be well north of 2000 lbs.

2. An open steel trailer, which is in the price range you alluded to, will also be north of 2000 lbs

 

my Wrangler is about 4500 lbs

 

From what I can tell, your rig is capped at 5000 lb towing weight - assuming your weight is actually 18000 lbs.

 

I can tow 14k lbs, but still went with flat towing because of the other thing you stated. I also will not typically stay in CGs. I pictured myself down some one lane dirt road looking for a place to park the trailer - or looking for a place to park the trailer while I off load the Jeep, and drive the jeep and RV down the road - leaving the trailer behind. I stopped thinking about the trailer

[AC7880]

Adding a flatbed = another "vehicle". License plates, registration, tires, insurance. More weight to tow uphill and brake on the down hills. Where to park it at home and in campgrounds. More length on the road, tougher tight (right) turns traveling through cities and towns. More hassle.

[kathydavidb]

Adding a flatbed = another "vehicle". License plates, registration, tires, insurance. More weight to tow uphill and brake on the down hills. Where to park it at home and in campgrounds. More length on the road, tougher tight (right) turns traveling through cities and towns. More hassle.

I think you are right on. What you state is exactly why I quit using a tow dolly which is smaller but still a hassle. It takes time to realize what a pain it is.

[Kirk W]

First of all, let me say welcome to the Escapee forums! We are very pleased that you have chosen to join in and we do hope that you will become a frequent contributor and find all that you seek here. Please do take an active role and join in with any conversations or start new ones!

 

There are several very good answers here already but I'll join in with a few comments as well. The weight issues are a major reason to stay with either a tow-bar arrangement or use a tow dolly. Not only do you have the maximum towing weight of 5000# to be concerned about but you also need to consider the axle weight ratings for your chassis. With the 18,000# Ford chassis you will have a rear axle rated for 12,000#. When you tow a vehicle on either a tow-bar or with a dolly there is negligible weight added to the rear axle but with the use of a trailer you apply a minimum of 10% of the total weight to the rear hitch. Because that hitch is well behind the axle the leverage actually applies a downward force that it more than that weight as it moves some weight from the front axle to the read to balance that wight. If we assume that the trailer/jeep combination weigh in at 6,500# that would mean at least 650# applied to the trailer hitch. Using typical wheelbase and rear overhang figures the rear axle weight increase would be more on the order of 1000# more with the loaded trailer. There is a pretty good chance that by using a trailer to carry the jeep or other automobile you will overload the rear axle of the motorhome as well as exceeding the gross combined weight.

 

As much as I prefer to tow my vehicle on it's wheels, if it is important to be able to take either vehicle with you, a tow dolly is probably a better choice. Of course the dolly comes with it's on set of issues to deal with but if the car is front wheel drive that might make a better answer. Remember too that when you use either the dolly or a trailer you then have added parking issues since you will need a space long enough for the RV, trailer and a place to part whichever vehicle you have on the trailer/dolly. I am firmly convinced that for the vast majority of RV owners, the use of a tow bar is the best answer.

[bobsallyh]

Not a motorhomer, but an avid people and RV watcher. What happened, a super "C" and a flatbed trailer with a car on it, the make can't be towed 4-down pulled into a site behind us late Saturday afternoon. These are large and long sites. In order to get the length totally on the site, the super "C's" front bumper was at the edge of the park road in the front of the site. The rear of the flatbed trailer was at the edge of the park road in the rear. So Sunday they unloaded the car which required blocking the park road, not a big thing, but. They used the car for a short time, then had to park it on the grass area of the site. Well Monday morning the work campers were mowing and needed it removed from the grassy area. They then reloaded the car, again blocking the park road. The next situation was that the sewer outlet on the "Super C" was fairly far forward and the sewer outlets in this park are roughly 10' from the back of the site. So, in order to dump before leaving, the "Super C' had to back up to dump. This time, of course the flatbed was now blocking the park road. To me it was a lot of fooling around for less than 48 hours. JMHO.

[Werrolling]

WOW. what an amazingly friendly group! I am so glad to have found you all. After weighing all the options and opinions I think money (as always) will be the final decider. The game changer for me is that I have a customer Rock Hard front bumper on the Jeep that I just found out has a lot of what I need already. So of a $70 plate I am tow bar ready. It looks like the blue ox solution including a $1000 patriot braking system will be a done deal for me for around for $2,300 installed including wiring. Based on that I think I will tow this season and see how it goes.

 

 

Again I can not thank you all enough for your warm welcome to this fantastically friendly forum.

 

Robert

[Kirk W]

 

Again I can not thank you all enough for your warm welcome to this fantastically friendly forum.

Drop in as often as you have the time and join in on any conversation, or start a new one. New members are the lifeblood of a healthy forum!

[kathydavidb]

In the "Rv Accesories" for sale area of this forum is a Patriot Brake system(used) for sale at around $450. if you're interested.