duane124 wrote:
rk911 wrote:
duane124 wrote:
recently got a 40 foot MH and i obtained a dolly to tow my front wheel car home from where i purchased the unit almost 700 miles from home
being just me and 3 dogs, i need to know real world experience in hooking and unhooking a toad by yourself...i personally would like to forgo the dolly if realistically possible however all my experience to date has been hooking up my 5th wheel which is quite easy as a solo RVer
experiences? and i dont need opinions...i would really like to read real world experiences
it honestly takes me no more than 10-min to hook-up or unhook...and I do it alone. I actually prefer doing it alone as I have a mental checklist and routine. it's really no big deal. if you're competent enough to drive a 40' MH then you're more than competent to flat tow.
what is your procedure? i have towed and drove just about everything there is.... except this scenerio.... im pretty certain if io had a grasp of the procedure as a solo operation, it would make more sense
- well, the towbar is already attached to the hitch on the back of the MH so I unfold it, expand each leg and then and spread the legs out at an angle consistent with the hook-up points on the toad. I, or my wife, then maneuvers the toad to the rear of the MH so it's within the reach of the towbar arms. with a little practice you can do it so you hit the right mark every time.
- I then attach each arm of the towbar to the toad's base plate. if it's gonna be a short day, and most of them are these days, I use the regular locking pins otherwise if we're planning to overnight somewhere like Wal-Mart or Flying J i'll use the locking pins. the locking pins are just that, pins with locks. if we're parked in a public spot overnite it prevents someone, usually kids, from stealing the towbar pins. I carry two sets of pins.
- next is the break-away cable. the break-away cable is a thin strand of steel cable with a plastic plug on one end and a loop on the other. I pass the cable through the loop and around the bumper on the RV and insert the plug into the receptacle on the toad. should the towbar fail or if the vehicle should accidentally disconnect from the RV the plug will pull out of the receptacle causing the toad's brakes to activate.
- next are a pair of safety chains. each chain connects one side of the toad to the RV and will, in theory, keep the toad connected to the RV in the event of a towbar failure. the chains run between the RV and toad under the towbar. and to create a 'basket' of sorts that will catch the towbar in the event of a failure the chains are crossed. that is the chain from the right side of the toad is connected to the left side of the RV hitch plate and vice-versa. I use coiled chains, others use straight chains. either is fine.
- the last connection is the electrical umbilical cord. this cord plugs into identical sockets on the RV and toad and rides above the towbar next to the break-away cable. the umbilical connects the MH lights and brake pedal to the toad's turn signals, tail lights and brake lights.
all of that has taken maybe 5-minutes. when this is done then we must prepare the toad for flat towing. we tow Jeeps (a 2003 wrangler or a 2010 liberty) so there's not much to do. I sit in the driver's seat of the toad while my wife reads the step-by-step checklist. each vehicle is different so the number of steps will vary. it takes about a minute to set up each vehicle for flat towing. other vehicles may have additional steps like connecting a charging line to keep the toad's battery from draining or pulling one or more fuses for the same reason. when we're towing neither of our jeeps has anything on that draws power except the aux. braking system which, in our case, is permanently mounted in each Jeep. in our case there is no extra connection to make between the MH and toad as we used one unused wire in the umbilical cord.
the last step is to double check everything and to test the umbilical connection by completing what we call a "light check". while I sit in the driver's seat of the MH my wife stands behind the toad where I can see her in the MH's sideview mirror. in sequence I activate the left turn signal, right turn signal, tail lights, 4-way flashers and brake lights. using hand signals she tells me if the lights on the MH and toad are working together. this part is easier with two people but I have done it myself. working together it takes 30-seconds, alone about a minute.
all told about 10-minutes. everyone's routine will vary but the end result is the same.
