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To tow or not to tow. That is the question.

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Ron Dittmer

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #30 on: July 29, 2013, 12:31:49 pm »
I need to get a picture of our Liberty in-tow with the riser in-place.  Test drives to work and back have proven to eliminate all the bucking.

But our upcoming 4 week trip, we made the decision to leave the Liberty home and try going solo.  Admittedly we have mixed feeling about it.
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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #31 on: July 29, 2013, 01:38:22 pm »
I need to get a picture of our Liberty in-tow with the riser in-place.  Test drives to work and back have proven to eliminate all the bucking.

But our upcoming 4 week trip, we made the decision to leave the Liberty home and try going solo.  Admittedly we have mixed feeling about it.

Wow Ron!

A four week trip is exactly the kind I would take my toad on. Well, unless it is one of those trips where you are constantly on the move. We have done those and a toad would not be of much value on those kinds of trips. Myself, I am looking forward to the days I can travel and stay as long as I want, or am allowed, and explore the area where we are.

Where are you off to? We would like to go to Denver to see family for a few days, then Yellowstone for more than just one 18 hour day, head on up to Montana to Glacier National Park, on out to Washington to visit a lot of family out there, stop and see Brazels RV performance while we are there for a few minor things I want to do, south to see the large Redwood trees and on south to Mexico for the winter. Will we do that all this year? Not likely as it is too late in the year to do this like I want so it will be 2014 trip when I can ease my way out of the company I am working for. DW and I have a great number of travel plans for the next five years that include North America but also South America, Europe and a few other parts of the world. If the MH was a diesel I would consider freighting it overseas and traveling with it, which is partially why I am looking for another MH. It just sounds exciting! If you are adventurous and a little younger than me do a search for 'trek of the America's' about a four month adventure around South America. We can catch a cruise ship to Antarctica down there so we could see where Shakleton's men spent several months stranded on Elephant Island. If it sounds over the top, it probably is but I have always chased my dreams and lived a great many of those dreams I have chased so I see no reason to stop now.

Alan
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #32 on: July 29, 2013, 03:38:23 pm »
Alan, we are covering a lot of ground.  Basically taking on the north/west region.  If we are not driving, we hope our bodies will cooperate with a lot of day hikes.  We will need to work up to that given the calluses that have formed on my buttocks from my job at the office.  We hope to keep our campsite accomodations primative whenever possible for the sake of cost, and avoid urban development as much as possible.  That is one of many reasons why the PC appealed to us.  It's a good rig for such independance.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 03:40:57 pm by ron.dittmer »
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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #33 on: July 29, 2013, 10:01:53 pm »
Alan, we are covering a lot of ground.  Basically taking on the north/west region.  If we are not driving, we hope our bodies will cooperate with a lot of day hikes.  We will need to work up to that given the calluses that have formed on my buttocks from my job at the office.  We hope to keep our campsite accomodations primative whenever possible for the sake of cost, and avoid urban development as much as possible.  That is one of many reasons why the PC appealed to us.  It's a good rig for such independance.

Ron,

That is my favorite area so far, except in the winter. I don't like cold weather. If you are not kicking back then a toad would just be a hassle. I have calluses as well. Sick of living in an office.

Safe travels,

Alan
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #34 on: July 29, 2013, 11:23:45 pm »
Here is my setup without the riser.  This is bad because the difference in height causes bucking when either vehicle bounces.


Here is the same setup with the riser added.  With the tow bar level, the bucking is eliminated.
Note the two Quiet Hitchs added.  They eliminate all clanking.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 11:26:02 pm by ron.dittmer »
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #35 on: July 29, 2013, 11:29:09 pm »
Today, just days before we leave, my wife's Liberty has fallen ill.  We are now feeling better about going solo.  I'll fix her Liberty after we return.
Ron (& Irene) Dittmer

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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #36 on: July 30, 2013, 06:29:01 am »
Ron,

Too bad about the Jeep no matter if you were taking it or not. I see the quiet hitch but wht two? Do you have two receivers?

Alan
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Ron Dittmer

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #37 on: July 30, 2013, 11:16:45 am »
One Quiet Hitch between the PC hitch and riser, the other between the riser and tow bar.  Quiet Hitch is effective wherever there is such a connection to eliminate play within that connection.  Eliminating the play also extends the life of the connection by dramatically slowing down the ovaling of the hitch pin holes from the constant hammering.

Of coarse the drawback is that you need a wrench to disconnect that stuff.  But we leave the tow bar attached to the motor home throughout our trips so I deal with the Quiet Hitch only at home, before and after our trips.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2013, 11:20:20 am by ron.dittmer »
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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #38 on: July 31, 2013, 06:35:10 am »
I understand now how those quiet hitches work. Thanks for the heads up. Problem is every time I read these posts I keep finding more stuff to buy!  :-D
Alan and Diana

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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #39 on: August 19, 2013, 08:08:51 pm »
To all of you still following this thread, I FINALLY got the tow bar and brackets installed as well as the SMI brakes on the Honda. That turned into quite an ordeal. The dealer that thought he could install it to begin with misunderstood what I wanted done so I was back on the search to find another installer. I did find one 2 1/2 hours west of us. The wife and I left after I got off work getting us out there on a Wednesday evening about 7:30. We were to leave it till Saturday and come back then. We were tired and decided to take a short break before driving back so we decided to eat at a Burger King. After eating, we got headed back home and about an hourand ten minutes into the drive we were talking about the logistics of getting back there on Saturday. That is when it hit me! I could think of no instance where the Honda and the motor home would ever be separated so I put both sets of storage and motor home keys in the Honda. this is one instance i had not thought of. DW did not have storage keys on her keyring as I had not had time to get her a key made. I called the shop and they said they' could overnight the keys on Thursday and I would have them on Friday. What a plan! I got one set of keys on Friday and they were the wrong ones. No keys to the storage complex. Some how my keys got put in the center console. A pure miracle happened that my SIL that lives reasonably close to the shop was coming within a mile of our place on Saturday morning allowing us just enough time to pick up the keys we asked her to pick up. Council Hitch did a great job on the installation and it was trouble free in startup and using it the rest of the weekend.
Alan and Diana

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TomHanlon

Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #40 on: August 20, 2013, 07:32:41 am »
 roflol

I am glad it all worked out in the end.
What do you think of the SMI system?

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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #41 on: August 21, 2013, 06:33:20 am »
roflol

I am glad it all worked out in the end.
What do you think of the SMI system?

They have worked flawlessly so far. The Honda alone has very aggressive brakes so when I apply the motorhome brakes I can tell the Honda is applying the brakes. Really slows us down much more than I anticipated. :) we leave for Northern MN in a couple of days so we will get tot est them a little more in the next week and a half.

Alan
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Awilson

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #42 on: August 29, 2013, 10:27:46 am »
We took a trip north into the upper regions of Minnesota to get away from work and heat. It was really hot up there with lots more humidity. Anyway,I got a chance to tow the CRV up and back with the new tow bar and testing the Brazels Ultra Tune on the V10. I am really happy with both units. I drove 55 - 65 most of the trip, mostly because the roads are awful up there! Fuel economy averaged 10.55 MPG. Overall, life is good, trip was good and MH is better than ever.
Alan and Diana

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Jim Triplett

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #43 on: April 23, 2014, 06:49:53 pm »
Does anyone have a rock guard installed to protect their toad?  If so, what kind do you suggest?
Jim and Beverly Triplett
Charleston, WV

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Ron Dittmer

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Re: To tow or not to tow. That is the question.
« Reply #44 on: April 24, 2014, 11:42:10 am »
I cannot provide you any input on a rock guard.  But generally speaking it is easy to find a front bra for most vehicles.  When I towed our little Toyota MR2 Spyder, I had wondered if a clear bra film like the Diamond Shield installed on PCs, or even a black clip/snap/strap on vinyl bra would do the job well.  It does not protect the windshield, but most debris is hitting the tow vehicle much lower anyway.

Just offering an alternative to a rock guard shield.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 11:46:43 am by ron.dittmer »
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