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Toad Question


Rick&Phy83

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We recently purchased a 2016 Jeep Wrangler to tow behind our Melbourne 29D motorhome. I'm mechanically inclined but not so confident on the electrical stuff.  Any advice on whether to attempt installing the baseplate and hitch myself or have the dealer do the installation. Any estimates on the cost of dealer purchase/installation? Which hitch brand would you recommend?  For those of you who tow a toad, do you have a skirt on your Motorhome or a  bra on the toad to protect it from debris?

Rick&Phy83

Rick & Phy

Mount Joy, PA

2010 Jayco Melbourne 29D

2016 Jeep Wrangler Toad

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The main thing you want to look for in a tow bar is the words "all terrain". You don't want to have to be straight or level to hookup or unhook your toad.

I am personally opposed to both skirts and bras for RVing. They often cause problems instead of preventing them.

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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I have a 2015 Wrangler Rubicon I use as a toad.  It has an aftermarket off road bumper that had tow ring mounts already.  I bought a Blue Ox Avanti tow bar and the adapters to mate up to the existing tow ring mounts.  It works great.

As for the electrical, I bought the plug and play light kit made specifically for Jeeps.  It plugs in between the tail lights and the vehicle wiring harness at both rear corners behind the lights.  It then extends forward to the front of the Jeep and has a standard 4 pin flat trailer connector.  This allows the tow vehicle to control the Jeep's tail/brake lights.

For braking, I installed an Invisibrake in the Jeep.  It was not difficult, but it was time consuming.  This was mainly because I had never installed one before and I wanted to make sure I did it correctly.  I took my time and did it over a weekend.  The instructions that came with it were very good, but I still had to figure a couple of minor details out on my own.

Finally, I combined the wiring from the added tail light plug and the Invisibrake into a standard female 6 pin round trailer connector.  I then used a 7 pin RV to 6 pin round adapter with coiled wire between them that Blue Ox sells to connect the toad to the tow vehicle.  This extra step was not needed, but it made for less connections when towing the Jeep.

The only difference you will have is if you still have the stock bumper, you will have to decide whether you want to install a baseplate to connect to the tow bar or do you want to upgrade the bumper instead.  I personally like the looks of my aftermarket bumper over the stock one so I went that route.  Either way, installing a baseplate or a different bumper is pretty straight forward on a Jeep and can be done by someone who is decently mechanically inclined.  

None of the installations were particularly difficult, but they do require the correct tools and some basic mechanical skills (as well as a location to do the work).  If you fit this, then I say save yourself some money and do it yourself.  If you are not comfortable with the tasks, have someone who is do the work for you.

Good luck.  I love the Jeep and it is great to have along when we need it.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Regarding the rear 'rock guard'... we towed for 8 years with our motorhome without a rock guard and had no dings with our Jeep, including to Alaska.  We actually saw some owners in Whitehorse Yukon removing their stiff rock guards and showed us a layer of rock at the base of their windshields on their towed vehicles thrown up from the guards. Again, we had no issues.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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  • 11 months later...
3 hours ago, curlydoc said:

What are the requirements for a toad? Must it be manual transmission.  Would any Wrangler do?

Specifically related to the Jeep Wrangler, it doesn’t matter if it is manual or automatic, they are all towable four down.  This is because the transfer case from the 4x4 system is what is put into neutral for towing, not the transmission.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

event.png    

AZCACOIDIAKSMNMOMTNENVNMNDOKSDTNTXUTWYxlg.jpg

 

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18 hours ago, curlydoc said:

What are the requirements for a toad? Must it be manual transmission.  Would any Wrangler do?

It is not that simple. In fact many manual transmission vehicles are not towable or the manufacturer will not certify them for towing.  I suspect that many modern manual transmissions are actually hybrids and have some automatic transmission features built in.  Many automatic transmission vehicles are towable, most notably Jeeps, many Chevrolets and older Hondas.  There are yearly guides out there to tell you from FMCA and Motorhome magazines (do an internet search for "dinghy towing guide 20xx", where "xx" is the model year you are interested in).  http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php will let you look up a vehicle and see if it can be towed.

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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