Need drop receiver and receiver extension

j-d wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:
It took some good wrestling with the tow bar to get the tow released. It didn't help having my wife verbally hitting me over the head with a frying pan. :)

Is there a video of this incident? Jackknife OR Frying Pan?

Those of you wanting to justify buying That Jeep... "Honey, we need to have a 4x4 along in case we get stuck..."

Ha, Ha, Ha. No video, no audio, just a bad memory. But as always, the story has a happy ending.

As far as justifying a Jeep, I got lucky there. It was my wife who wanted one for every day as well as taking along on trips. The only problem with hard-core exploration with the Jeep is that it's her baby, so I get too much back-seat driving. At least my wife follows up with a "Wow, it handled that treachery real well".

ron.dittmer wrote:
It took some good wrestling with the tow bar to get the tow released. It didn't help having my wife verbally hitting me over the head with a frying pan. :)

Is there a video of this incident? Jackknife OR Frying Pan?

Those of you wanting to justify buying That Jeep... "Honey, we need to have a 4x4 along in case we get stuck..."

lthrneck689 wrote:
What a drag! Oops - sorry! Haven't had a chance to practice yet. Thanks for sharing your experience!

It sounds scary and impossible to tow a vehicle 4-wheels-down but people do it all the time. Like j-d and I are recommending, get all set up, and then go to a shopping center and learn what works and what does not work for your rig and tow. Then apply what you learned out in the field. You will misjudge now and then and immediately need to unhook to get yourself out of a jamb. So learn to be quick with the unhooking process. I use extra strong locks (locked on both ends of the hoop, and key'd alike) instead of using standard "Quick Links" in two places to speed up the process. With my wife in the tow vehicle preparing it, and me outside, we can unhook and have her drive away in under 60 seconds.

Our first trip out west towing, I think I had to "emergency disconnect" 3 times during the trip. After 10 years towing, I always have an "emergency disconnect" situation one time in a 3 week trip and 5000 of miles. I can't recall a trip where I didn't have to. And of coarse it's always in the worst of places and often with the two vehicles near jack-knifed, so practice unhooking jack-knifed.

This last trip it was a doosey. I was attempting a "U" turn on a primitive dusty red power dirt road outside of Canyonlands NP. I had hoped to over-shoot the road without incident but when the front wheels climbed up, the tail of the motor home dug into the dirt so not only was I jack-knifed, but the thing was also twisted and uneven. It took some good wrestling with the tow bar to get the tow released. It didn't help having my wife verbally hitting me over the head with a frying pan. :)

What a drag! Oops - sorry! Haven't had a chance to practice yet. Thanks for sharing your experience!

For the backing and tail swing part of it, and what happens with a 31-footer.
Our Chassis "was" an E450 with 158" wheelbase. Stretched to 218" a full 05 feet. Our rear overhang (axle to bumper) is nearly 11 feet, so there's plenty of chance to swing it into things.

But... The wheels on E-Series only cut to 25 degrees from center. Ron's 158" will seem maneuverable, but our 218" needs four lanes and a shoulder or two to make a U-Turn. This means the Coach causes more trouble in tight quarters than the Toad does. We can't back with the Toad, and I simply don't try, even an inch. But when we have to un-hitch, it's more because the Coach can't make its moves and not so much because the Toad is back there.

Here's what happened to us with the short coach (158" WB) that we started out with: Say its a U-Turn to the Left. Coach turns Left but Rear swings Right. Toad steers Right. Coach straightens out by turning hard Right and Rear swings Left. TOAD GETS TRAPPED STEERING RIGHT. Scrubs Toad Tires Sideways. Locked Right but being pulled Straight.

We had a Mitsubishi mini truck and a Toyota Tercel at the time. The Mitsu never did that, but Tercel did enough that I towed with both doors unlocked. A couple times I had to stop, jump out, and straighten the wheels. Others have written about this and commented that it happens on sand or gravel like in campgrounds, but I had it happen on pavement. Couldn't make a 90 degree right turn from right lane to right lane.

This probably won't happen to you, it's pretty rare, but try some sharp turns where the coach suddenly reverses direction as part of your parking lot toad exercise. We were lucky when we practiced maneuvering a 37-foot fifth wheel for the first time. Had access to an unused runway taxiway on a USAF base that had handled B-52's...

I have the 7 flat (6 + 1) to 6 round coiled (red).

lthrneck689 wrote:
Thank you, Ron - really appreciate the heads-up. I've heard and read some real horror stories. My service tech warned me about backing even an inch. Regarding the power cable, I'm toying with the idea of splicing about 6 inches into the middle of it.
I've had boats for 30 years and there was always something to keep me busy. This is really no difference, except you can't sink!

You might find a longer power cord on Ebay priced cheap enough. The one I am using is generally quite expensive.

Do you have the 6+1 pin cable, or the generic 4-pin? I used to have a blue colored 4-pin for the MR2 which did not have a tow brake. I bought the red coiled 6+1 cable for the Liberty, the one seen in my previous picture higher in this thread. The coiled one works real well hooking it on and around things as not to sag yet flex as needed during the turns. It also offers good strain relief.

Thank you, Ron - really appreciate the heads-up. I've heard and read some real horror stories. My service tech warned me about backing even an inch. Regarding the power cable, I'm toying with the idea of splicing about 6 inches into the middle of it.
I've had boats for 30 years and there was always something to keep me busy. This is really no difference, except you can't sink!

So I take it that you did not loosen the hitch bolts and try to pull it rearward.

If your 8 foot power cable has no slack, watch it in the turns, making sure it's still good while taking sharp turns in each direction.

A reminder that backing up with a tow 4-wheel-down does not work with one exception. With our MR2 then and our Liberty now, I can back up only about 20-25 feet in a straight line and only if everything was perfectly straight to begin with. Even having someone in the Liberty steering, it doesn't work after a point. I recommend driving the train to a shopping center parking lot after hours and learn what you can and cannot do. Any slight turn and it immediately binds. If you force it, you will be scraping the tow's front tires sideways across the pavement, and possibly damage your tow bar.

So....This "Will" happen. The first time you misjudge a gas pump, you will immediately need to unhook the tow, fill-up, then drive them separately to a place nearby and re-hook. It takes planning in gas stations, parking lots, restaurants, etc. Swing out much bigger than you think you need to make a turn. Just because the motor home clears, it does not mean the tow vehicle clears. At least that is the story with our particular 24'-158" wheel base motor home & tow. I do wonder if longer motor homes have less of an issue. Hopefully someone will reply with their experience with a 30 footer.

Ron,
Just finished yesterday. Bought a 6" extender and a 10" riser, As you did, I added some quiet hitches at the joints (3) and it took care of the "wiggles." Also had to get a couple of pieces of chain to add to the cables because they were too short. My 8' electrical cord just makes it. So far so good, and I really appreciate all the tips. Wife and I will "pracice" towing this weekend locally before a scheduled trip to Ft. Myers in a couple of weeks.