Planning to Flat Tow

bobndot wrote:
It helps for the rv and toad to be on level ground and in-line straight to hitch/unhitch. I like both my bars to click and lock when I hitch up. Most people get by just having one bar lock and the other falls into place when you start to drive. If that's the case, you need to turn the toad steering wheel slightly towards the unlocked bar, as you pull the rv forward that unlocked bar will lock into place as soon as you pull forward.

I agree that it is ideal to be on level ground and everything in good alignment straight forward.

I keep the tow bar in it's adjustable telescopic state as my wife drives our tow vehicle to the hook-up area. I then simply drop/attach the tow bar to the tow vehicle and signal her to back up until the tow bar "clicks" forcing her to stop. Most often just one of the two extensions "click" which is fine. I proceed to complete the balance of hook-up apparatus while my wife in the Jeep puts the transfer case in neutral, transmission in park, removes the smart key, inserts a dummy key to one click (to unlock the steering column), and she is done. I double check her work as she inspects mine.

When in a hurry under time constraint, we can unhook and have my wife drive away in the tow vehicle in less than 45 seconds. A hurried hook-up is done in less than 4 minutes. To speed up the entire process, I use exceptionally strong locks instead of Quick-Links for the tow cables, and smaller locks in instead of Linchpins for the tow bar. All locks are keyed alike for convenience. Using locks also deters tampering and theft.