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3_dog_nights's avatar
3_dog_nights
Explorer
Aug 19, 2018

what am I not thinking of???

I have an OX tow plate being installed Thursday, I'm picking up a very mildly used Ready Brake Elite tow bar with the blue ox clevis, I've got a set of magnetic lights to set up the tow. I've ordered the cable kit.
What have I forgotten? 2015 Winnebago Adventurer towing a 2003 Jeep Wrangler. ?????????????????
  • 8 Inch drop will do it. Most tow bar manufactures recommend 2inch plus minis off level.
  • OK, finishing up and ready to make the connections, The hitch is coming in at 26" and the tow plate is at 16". What size drop down do I need, or what size is usable?
  • At some point you might want to consider an indicator light in the RV to monitor the braking action in the towed. The Ready Brake has a micro switch to do this, but I think it is better to tie into the towed brake light circuit. This indicates to you that the system is braking and releasing properly.
  • The cable kit - this is the one that runs from the brake pedal to the bumper?

    Safety cables(2) that go from the front of the car to the hitch. The NSA supplied cables are nice and easy to use. Should be included with the tow bar.

    A locking hitch pin

    Spare clevis pins, I've set mine on the bumper and driven off. Luckily they stayed there, but someday...

    I would consider having the towd lights wired in and a 4 pin receptacle added to the baseplate.

    We got a HF soft sided tool tote to hold the cables, pins and a pair of work gloves. It's sturdy enough to support one towbar arm while you connect the other

    Norm
  • ^^^^ "ReadyStop" set-up, to go along with ReadyBrute surge brake. You do realize you need to run a cable from the brake pedal thru the engine compartment to connect to the ReadyBrute, right? Second cable routed similarly for Ready Stop...
  • Have a 7 to 4 pin adapter, have already run wires thru jeep, out door under hood and thru grill. Determined I need a 5/6 foot extension to connect. Idea is to be able to pull wires off, so I don't do anything to wife's Toy. 15 years old, 80k miles garage kept. She did drive thru a puddle one time, but I had to wash it afterward.
  • Make sure the MH is set up four a four wire connector for the magnetic lights and not a seven pin with separate turn signals.
  • Well, let's see...
    Towbar? Check.
    Base Plate? Check.
    Braking system? Check.
    Cable for braking system? Check.
    Lighting system? Check.

    How about the wiring and connector for the lights?
    How do you plan to run the lighting wires? I would recommend installing the 4 conductor cable permanently, with a connector at the grill of the Jeep, run the cable under the hood, through the firewall, along the OEM wire bundle on the left side of the body, and terminate it with another connector just inside the tailgate, where the magnetic light wiring can plug into it.
    Actually, what I did was exactly as I have described, except when I got the wire harness to right beside the driver's seat, I cut into the wire bundle there, found the left turn, right turn, and tail light wires, cut them, installed a four pin connector, and terminated the towing wire harness with a four pin connector to match the one on the vehicle light wires. I just unplug the connector in the OEM wire bundle, and connect the towing harness to the tail lights. If you want to, you can install a 9 pole double throw switch and forget about the extra connectors. The wires to the lights go on the center three posts, the towing harness to the three connectors on one side of the switch and the vehicle feed wires to the other three connectors. When I have used such a switch, I put the left turn wires on the left side of the switch, the right turn wires on the right side of the switch, and the taillight wires on the center three terminals. Mount the switch for your convenience. I used an aircraft style switch guard, so that the guard closed was normal, and the guard open was towing.
    Have fun.