Forum Discussion

KampingKris's avatar
KampingKris
Explorer
Sep 13, 2013

suggestions for 10,000 tow bar system

New to us 08 Bus... Going to tow a liberty at first, but might tow a f150 truck instead.
Two questions... best tow bar for that weight? Blue Ox or Roadmaster?
AND since we have air brakes on the DP, would it be best to use that brake system?
Our local RV place wants us to purchase a 8000lb bar with a built in braking system.. Not sure it's big enough

8 Replies

  • I prefer the Roadmaster as it is 100% USA made. Both Blue OX and Roadmaster are very good alternatives. I believe the connection process with the Roadmaster EZ Base plate is easier.

    I have the Roadmaster Stowmaster tow bar with the EZ baseplate and Roadmaster wiring kit. I do not need to disconnect my toad battery when towing.

    I have the Roadmaster Brakemaster proportional braking system which uses the air brakes on my coach to apply the toad brakes proportionally to the coach brake.
  • We use an Excalibar 10,000 pound bar and we tow this.



    The first picture is a little older but this latest one shows the spare tire on the front using the dual receivers from the tow bar brackets. (Yah I took the decals off. I like it neked.)



    We use a brake buddy for breaking and breakaway. We have at least 10 thousand miles towing with this setup with no problems. The little coach is a couple hundred pounds under the big coaches 10,000 pound rating. We don't set any records going up the hills. Within GCWR and Hitch capacity.
  • You're towing an F150, correct? If your F150's GVWR is less than 8000 pounds, than an 8000 pound rated tow bar is definitely adequate. 10K would be overkill.
  • I'm towing a Chevy Z71 with a RZR 570LE in the bed and it weighs 6300# total. I'm using a Demco Excalibar 8000# towbar with the Ready Brake. This all works great. If I was buying new I'd get the Ready Brute with built-in brake.
  • After my Blue Ox tow bar snapped in half, I replaced it with a ReadyBrute tow bar and brakes all in one unit. Best setup I have ever seen or used. This thing is a brute and the brakes couldn't be any simpler and work perfect every time. No pumps to quit, no electric draw on the battery, just a simple cable that attaches to the brake peddle. Best thing is the price, less than $1,000. for everything. ReadyBrute

    After owning a Blue Ox and now the ReadyBrute, I know where the real strength in a tow bar is. Just this users real life experience.

    I think your RV Place is giving you very good advice
  • Hitch is for 10,000 lb..
    If we want to put a 800lb quad in the back of the truck, thinking we might be closer to 8000 lbs. A bit more if we decide to take the rzr which weighs 1100 or so.
    The 8000 bar is less expensive and it comes with the brake system (surge?)...I think it's the elite system..
    Hmm need more research...
  • KampingKris wrote:
    New to us 08 Bus... Going to tow a liberty at first, but might tow a f150 truck instead.
    Two questions... best tow bar for that weight? Blue Ox or Roadmaster?
    AND since we have air brakes on the DP, would it be best to use that brake system?
    Our local RV place wants us to purchase a 8000lb bar with a built in braking system.. Not sure it's big enough

    Demco makes a 10K lb bar set... Demco
    Not sure if you could use it with a Readybrake without sacrificing some strength, but you could check on it with NSA, the manufacture. This would make for a lot of simplicity and a good bang for the buck.
    Most likely the complete 8000lb rated READYBRUTE/ELITE would do the job just fine though and probably what your shop is recommending. Seldom would you be pulling 10 or even 8000lb, unless you tried dragging the toad without it's wheels installed. Is your hitch receiver in fact rated for 10K lb.?