Towing F-150 with a Hydralift installed

drwwicks wrote:
We have a 2007 Itasca Horizon 40FD with a Hydralift installed to cary the motorcycle. Last trip we towed a Ford Escape on a KarKaddy tow dolly with no issues. Thinking about going to a new Ford F-150 4WD since it readily flat tows. Concerns I have is clearance with the Hydralift support arms and the truck.

When connecting a tow bar such as the Blueox, how far behind the hitch does the tow bar connect to the vehicle? How much of an extension to the hitch can be added without losing safety and integrity of the hitch system?

Don't want to invest in a new truck if it's not going to work. The advantage to this truck is it's the daily driver when not on the road also. Saves having a dedicated "toad".

drwicks,
In reality, the distance from the receiver that's built into the Hydralift, to the front grill/hood/fender corners, etc. on ANY vehicle that will be used as a toad, will be the same. We had the same exact concerns when I originally installed my Hydralift on the back of our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT. We were to tow our '04 Jeep Rubicon while carrying our Honda Goldwing.

Well, as a test, I had my son and his fiancé ride in the Jeep as a test-pull so that he could view up close, just how close things came when I was in turns, dips, dip & turns etc.

His report was that everything is fine with the exception of dips & and turns. As you approach and enter a dip, while turning, your coach tires dip and, so does the Hydralift. And that means things get a bit dicey at the corners of the fender of the Jeep (in your case, a new Ford truck).

But, I had intended to increase the distance between the receiver on the coach and the attachement point of the tow bar by using my Ready Brake unit. That adds around 14" - 16". That was waaaaay more than enough for any and all potentially critical close-call conditions that would come up.

You asked just how much of an extension could be used before you compromised safety and or, towing geometry? Well, I already stated that I added the length of the Ready Brake system so, if you're not using that type of braking system than, you could easily use a 16" extension without fear of compromising your towing operations.

The tow bar distance is standard. Some are maybe an inch or two longer than others but, by and large, they're all pretty close to the same length, fully extended and locked.

On my setup, I had installed Hydralifts "Floor" that normally is used for their "NO touch garage/cover". Long story I won't go into now but, sent that cover back and kept the floor. The floor was two pieces of diamond deck aluminum. One for each side of the tire rail. That floor made for really nice foot placement when loading and off loading the bike.

Anyway, hope I've at least answered some of your thoughts and questions. Good luck.
Scott