Dinghy Towing 101

By: Mark J. Polk
A motor home offers us the freedom to explore the open road. We can go where we want when
we want. But what happens when we arrive at a destination where we plan to stay put for a day, a
week or a month? How do explore the area, or take a quick trip to the grocery store? Well, we
have our bikes with us right! Bikes are nice and we even get some much needed exercise, but
are they really practical for touring the surrounding area or taking a day trip? Probably not, so
what do we do?

One option is to disconnect everything from the motor home and take it. What a pain this can be
just for a loaf of bread. Another option is to tow a vehicle behind the motor home. Now when we
need a loaf of bread or want to take a day trip we have our transportation. This makes much more
sense, but just how do we do this?

How much weight can we safely tow? Do we need to use a tow dolly or can we tow it with all four
wheels on the ground? If we can tow it with all four wheels on the ground do we use a vehicle
mounted tow bar or a coach mounted tow bar? What about brakes?

What else will I need? These are all good questions, so let’s start at the beginning.

How much weight can we safely tow?
Your motor home has a weight rating referred to as the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR).
This is the maximum combined weight of the fully loaded motor home and the fully loaded tow
vehicle when weighed together. You never want to exceed this or any other weight rating.
Another consideration is the amount of weight the hitch receiver on the back of the motor home is
rated for. The motor home itself might have a tow rating of 7,000 pounds, but if the receiver is
only rated for 3,500 that’s the most you can tow.

Do we need to use a tow dolly, or can we tow our vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground?

Some vehicles can be towed with all four wheels down with no problems while others would result
in serious damage to the vehicle transmission. In some cases modifications can be made to the
driveline and or transmission so you can tow the vehicle with all four wheels on the ground. You
need to do your homework before attempting to tow a vehicle with all four wheels on the ground.
Read your vehicle owner’s manual and check with the vehicle manufacturer. Many vehicles that
can be towed with all four wheels on the ground still have restrictions like max speeds or max
distances. In some situations it is best to use a tow dolly. A tow dolly is designed to lift the drive
wheels off of the ground to prevent any damage to the tow vehicle. If the vehicle you want to tow
requires expensive driveline modifications or has speed and distance restrictions a tow dolly may
be the way to go.

If we can tow our vehicle with all four wheels on the ground do we use a vehicle mounted
tow bar or a coach mounted tow bar?

If you can tow your vehicle with all four wheels down the first step will be to have tow bar
mounting brackets installed on the tow vehicle. Now we can decide on which type of tow bar best
suits our needs. Regardless of the type you choose make sure it is rated in excess of the fully
loaded tow vehicle weight. There are two basic types of tow bars, a rigid A-frame and a
collapsible. Rigid A-frame tow bars are the most basic. They are less expensive and because the
arms don’t adjust or collapse they require more precise aligning to hook up.

Collapsible tow bars are more common among RVers. They are self aligning and much easier to
hook up and use. The arms extend, self-center and lock in place automatically when you drive
away. There are two types of collapsible tow bars, car-mounted and motor home-mounted. Carmounted tow bars are a little easier to use and fold away on the front of the vehicle when you are
finished using it. Motor home-mounted tow bars fold away on the rear of the motor home and
never have to be lifted or removed from the front of the vehicle.

What about brakes?

Most U.S. States and Canadian Provinces have their own laws on the requirement for brakes on
a towed trailer or vehicle being towed behind a motor home. The brakes on a motor home are
designed by the vehicle manufacturer to stop the weight of that particular vehicle, not the
additional weight being towed behind it. This additional weight adds a substantial increase to the
distance required to stop safely. You need to have some type of braking system on the towed
vehicle to SAFELY reduce the stopping distance and to protect you, your loved ones and the
safety of others. After researching all of my options I chose the BrakePro™by Roadmaster Inc. I
decided on the BrakePro™ for several reasons.

What else will I need?
You will need safety cables and lights for the towed vehicle. You need safety cables in the event
the towed vehicle is ever separated from the motor home. One end of the cables is attached to
the tow vehicle tow brackets and the other end to the receiver on the motor home.

You need to have running lights, tail lights, brake lights and turn signals on the towed vehicle that
work in conjunction with the motor home lights. If you don’t tow your vehicle that often you may
want to purchase a light accessory kit that can be strapped to the tow vehicle or uses magnets.
These kits have a wiring harness that is plugged into the motor homes wiring harness plug. If you
tow your vehicle frequently you will probably want to use a more permanent method where tow
vehicle lights are wired directly to the motor home lights. Once this is done you just plug the tow
vehicle wiring harness plug in to the motor home wiring harness plug.

The only thing left to do is hook up your tow vehicle and head down the road. Try to get in the
habit of making the following checks before you leave and every time you stop. Check the tow
bar, base-plate, safety cables and light plug to make sure everything is properly attached.When
you stop check the tires of the towed vehicle to make sure they are not to hot or losing air. If you
are using a dolly or trailer, check the wheels to make sure they are not hot to the touch. If the
wheels are hot, it may indicate a brake or bearing problem. Check all of the lights everyday
before towing.

Check out our new “Dinghy Towing” e-book for more information at www.rveducation101.com

Happy Camping,
Mark Polk 

RV Education 101 is a North Carolina based Company that produces educational videos on how to use and maintain your RV. Mark Polk, the owner, started in the RV industry as an apprentice technician in the early 1970's. After retiring as a CW3 from the military (where Polk was an automotive maintenance technician, and was in charge of some very large maintenance operations throughout his career) in 1996, he got back into the industry he had a passion for. Polk has an extensive background in RV sales, service and management. He felt so strongly about educating the consumer that he left his position as an RV Sales Manager in 2000 to devote himself full time to his company. Mark’s program includes instructional videos and other materials to make your RVing lifestyle even easier. Mark also provides the RV Savvy segments for the RVTV program and can be seen on the Outdoor Channel. You can order Mark's complete line of RV Education 101 material from www.rveducation101.com

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