Looking to making our CR-V into a toad. Been checking around and got quotes costing more than the vehicle is worth. Over $4,000 here in Los Angeles. Was thinking of a Blue Ox base plate and Ready Brake Elite for tow bar and braking system. Can use Magnetic tail lights from Harbor Freight for now. Not a lot of choices where to have it installed. Echart and CW only come to mind. any ideas? Will tow with a 28' class C with 7,500 hitch.

DAS26miles wrote:Looking to making our CR-V into a toad. Been checking around and got quotes costing more than the vehicle is worth. Over $4,000 here in Los Angeles. Was thinking of a Blue Ox base plate and Ready Brake Elite for tow bar and braking system. Can use Magnetic tail lights from Harbor Freight for now. Not a lot of choices where to have it installed. Echart and CW only come to mind. any ideas? Will tow with a 28' class C with 7,500 hitch.I've not done a 2000 but I did our 2006 myself in January when it was 20 degrees out here in 2007.. This is a Roadmaster and a complete bolt-on so you don't need a welding shop for the car.

DAS26miles wrote:Looking to making our CR-V into a toad. Been checking around and got quotes costing more than the vehicle is worth. Over $4,000 here in Los Angeles. Was thinking of a Blue Ox base plate and Ready Brake Elite for tow bar and braking system. Can use Magnetic tail lights from Harbor Freight for now. Not a lot of choices where to have it installed. Echart and CW only come to mind. any ideas? Will tow with a 28' class C with 7,500 hitch.Look at it this way the tow bar and braking system are easily transferred to a new vehicle - the sunk cost is the base plate, as you have chosen to us magnetic tail lights

I did my 2003 CR-V in my garage. Easy to do and all the instructions come with the base plate kit. Just need a few tools and a little time and patients. With what you save on doing it yourself you will have enough left for the tow bar and lights.busyguy

Check with some smaller independent body shops for the baseplate install.They are more familiar with removing the bumper covers than most rv or hitch places.

what year is your CRV. Ive got a baseplate from my 2005 CRV that I'll give you for free....but i'm in Florida!

Making 2000 CR-V a toad in Los Angeles?? | Good Sam Community

30 Replies

DAS26miles
Explorer II
Mar 27, 2017
CharlesinGA wrote:
DAS26miles wrote:
Thanks for all the feed back??
May just look into getting a new Jeep Wrangler 4door. See many of those behind motor homes too!

Deceiving looks, its quite heavy, give or take of 5,000 lbs. Just because you have a 7,500 lb hitch doesn't mean you can tow 7,500 lbs. You need to weigh the MH and compare actual MH weight to the GCWR (combined weight of both) and then you will have a better idea of what can be towed.

Charles

We're fine. However, when I had a hitch basket made to carry my wife's tricycle, the hitch shop recommended I have them beef up the hitch and receiver to a welded on one rather than the bolt-on if I tow a car.
CharlesinGA
Explorer
Mar 27, 2017
DAS26miles wrote:
Thanks for all the feed back??
May just look into getting a new Jeep Wrangler 4door. See many of those behind motor homes too!

Deceiving looks, its quite heavy, give or take of 5,000 lbs. Just because you have a 7,500 lb hitch doesn't mean you can tow 7,500 lbs. You need to weigh the MH and compare actual MH weight to the GCWR (combined weight of both) and then you will have a better idea of what can be towed.

Charles
Big_Katuna
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2017
Two Elements, One CRV combined over 200K miles plus guessing 50K towing.

Problems = zero - airbag recall on 2011 Element.
SCVJeff
Explorer
Mar 25, 2017
dicknellen wrote:
That might be a tough sale if she is like my DW! Maybe you should start a survey question for owners of CR-v's to post their issues or non-issues. Dick
I'll start: Zero
DAS26miles
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2017
Thanks for all the feed back??
May just look into getting a new Jeep Wrangler 4door. See many of those behind motor homes too!
dicknellen
Explorer II
Mar 24, 2017
That might be a tough sale if she is like my DW! Maybe you should start a survey question for owners of CR-v's to post their issues or non-issues. Dick
DAS26miles
Explorer II
Mar 23, 2017
dicknellen wrote:
DAS26miles wrote:
The DW read a post about someone who followed the directions and ended up burning up their transmission. They had to trailer it home on a long trip. They had the AWD and mine is FWD. So the DW wants me to look elsewhere for a toad cause I can have hers. It is 17 yrs old.

Well they didn't follow instructions or it would not have happened. They probably went from R to N instead of D to N. Dick

Have to convince the DW it's OK to make the CR-V a toad!
j-d
Explorer II
Mar 23, 2017
Picking something with a towable manual transmission would reduce the odds of towing damage, but you have to want to shift gears...

If you want to post the make/model of a baseplate you're getting serious about, I'll read the install instructions over, and give you my thoughts on actual difficulty. Sometimes the instructions are more difficult than the actual work.
Big_Katuna
Explorer II
Mar 23, 2017
I agree. I have towed three Hondas tens of thousands of miles and never had an issue. If you shift from R to N, damage will occur.
dicknellen
Explorer II
Mar 23, 2017
DAS26miles wrote:
The DW read a post about someone who followed the directions and ended up burning up their transmission. They had to trailer it home on a long trip. They had the AWD and mine is FWD. So the DW wants me to look elsewhere for a toad cause I can have hers. It is 17 yrs old.

Well they didn't follow instructions or it would not have happened. They probably went from R to N instead of D to N. Dick