Great video! One thing I might add is to make sure the parking brake is on or your partner is in the driver seat when you are disconnecting the toad if you are on any kind of grade! I’ve seen runaway toad’s in the past.
If anyone has any questions about anything in this video with our setup, please check out this recent video covering all the most common questions we get on this topic: ua-cam.com/video/h_M-wMfFjjI/v-deo.html Here is exactly what we use if you're interested: Blue Ox Tow Bar: amzn.to/2UPkNqC Blue Ox Tow Plate: amzn.to/2LfHe8Q Blue Ox Patriot II Brake: amzn.to/2DFGtjg Electrical Cable: amzn.to/2GJCin6 Brake Light Kit: amzn.to/2GPcaHm
Could you have just connected to your bumper or do you have to connect to a specific plate? Seems like you have the D rings you could possibly connect there?
@@robertallen6710 The tow bar plate is drilled and bolted directly on to the frame of the jeep. It was certainly not the easiest option but I felt like it was the safest and most secure option. I never was crazy about the D-ring option. It would create more potential weak points for failure. Given how often we flat-tow, I wanted it to be as fail-proof as possible. For someone flat-towing much less often, it likely wouldn't matter as much.
This was awesome! Really simplified the process and the links were a great help!! I have the exact setup as you with a Rubicon and hitting the full time road in January! See you out there!
Another amazing video thank you so much for that…. few questions If I may… 1. what happens with the power steering when you flat tow a JL? 2. if you have the ignition on what happens to the fuel pump another electronics within the JL Jeep? 3. Instead of having that box brake system between the left front seat and the brake pedal do you know if there is another option which is built in under the hood connected to the JL original breaking system? thank you so much again look forward to hear from you
No, you don't need to leave the keys in or turned to flat tow for the brake to work properly. It works through inertia, so no need for power. That being said you do have a brake controller that "talks" to the brake module, basically it can change how much force you want to be applied to the pedal of the jeep, this does require power. Out of all our long trips on the road, this never killed the battery.
Great Video. Thank you. I'm getting that same system blue ox all around. It will be installed next week. I have a 2021 Jeep Wrangler limited sport S and the cigarette lighter (12 volt) doesn't work when the jeep is turned off. What do you think needs to be done about that ? Also, does that not drain the battery on the jeep to have that plugged in ?
I noticed the same thing. I own a 2018 JLU and I had to run a separate 12v power from the battery with fuse to keep the Blue ox patriot powered up. I also ran a power connection from the motorhome through the 7 pin connector to the battery to keep it charged up so it does not drain the battery.
@@mbahm1 That's kind of what the guy did who installed my system. The power comes through the 7 pin system and there's a separate cigarette lighter thing he installed and it's underneath the driver's seat. Works fine.
Do you have to secure the steering wheel, or does it stay where it is while in park with the transmission 4X4 lever in neutral? Also, do you really need the brakes with a big rig like that?
Hey man, great video. Do you have to disconnect the drive shaft or just put both transmission and transfer case in neutral?! I always thought the drive line had to be disconnected. Thanks
Might be a little late on the reply but can tell you by experience it is almost impossible to reverse with a flat tow setup. Had to do twice at gas stations, as our Rv is a Gas class A and we were boxed in by other cars. Ended up having my high school son jump into the towed car and turn the wheel as I tried to back up. Once was successful, once the tires were chirping and the third time I just totally disconnected right there at the gas station and had my wife follow Me down the street till we could reconnect. Having been RVing now for about 3 years and always towing our full size Chevy suburban I can tell you I pick and choose which gas stations we go to and I’ll wait for an end pump that has a strait shot pulling through instead of going to one of the middle pumps. Also some states have a Bucee’s gas station and they are absolutely gigantic and super easy to navigate for big rig setups. Next RV will be a diesel pusher though so we’ll just go to the semi fuel pumps which are designed for long vehicles. Sorry for the long winded answer. Happy RVing!
I just joined the Jeep word with a 2021 Rubicon with a manual transmission. The manual says to put the 4x4 into neutral but put the stick into gear and not neutral. Thoughts?
If the tranny is in neutral, you are not splashing your gears with lubricant. You should tow in 2nd gear. Sounds weird but that's what my Wrangler TJ manual says.
Craig Pants No the steering on a Jeep doesn’t lock. At least not a wrangler. We just released this video covering all the questions we have gotten over the last year. ua-cam.com/video/h_M-wMfFjjI/v-deo.html
For Jeeps the steering wheel doesn't lock, so the tires turn as much as needed when I make turns. I'm not too sure about other vehicle manufacturers, you may have to unlock the steering wheel.
We have a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, which does not have any steering wheel lock mechanism on it. I believe most Wranglers do not have any sort of lock, but I’m not entirely sure. Depending on what you are driving, definitely check with your user manual.
Ok, so after looking it up it appears that for jeep wranglers being flat towed, they are suppose to be left either in drive for autos or in gear for manuals. After doing a little Google research it seems this is to prevent damage to the transmission due to friction. With all this being said, we have been full time rving for about a year now, constantly on the move, and I have always placed the shifter in neutral, just sort of as a fail safe in case I forget to put the transfer case in neutral, ( which I have never done thankfully). So one year later and I have never had a single problem with the transmission, even though we are flat towing on a weekly or less basis. I'm not saying that this is necessarily the correct way to do it, but either if damage does occur, it would take a very long time or Jeep is just erring on the side of caution. Bottom line, just go by whatever your manual says, sounds like your ahead of me there haha.
Great video thank you! If you hook up safety chains the old way is it really necessary to have a break stop installed? It seems like overkill in the very unlikely event that everything else fails you would still have to safety chains attached between the two vehicles right?
Thank you! It is a back-up upon a back-up. Like you said overkill. Depending on the state your towing in, some require one or the other or both even. We just error on the side of caution and have it all hooked up at all time when we are towing. But yes, if the tow-bar were some how disconnected while in motion, those chains are supposed to control the vehicle until you are safely stopped. Thanks for the question.
@@WheelingToDream VW Jetta sportwagon idk if it's because I didn't have any braking in the VW or if it's just got loose suspension I'm not sure but I just ordered the invisibrake system and will be towing the car over 2800 miles so we will see if that's what it was
I took my Winnebago to my nearest Camping World and my Jeep Wrangler 2013 it has the 50th year anniversary bumper on the front with a winch they said they could not put the front plate on the jeep because of the winch is anybody heard of this before So I spent $4000 on blue ox And now they can't mount the baseplate which I have not bought on the Jeep because of the winch....
One issue with this is that not all vehicles have the cigarette lighter outlet on all the time. For example, the car I have, the cigarette lighter outlet dosent work unless the car is on accessory mode *(keys required in ignition for accessory mode)* or when u turn the car on
![Flat Towing a Vehicle Behind an RV - QUICK & EASY SETUP [RVing Full Time]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2Jn5ix-Ae7Q/mqdefault.jpg)
![Flat Towing a Vehicle Behind an RV - QUICK & EASY SETUP [RVing Full Time]](/img/tr.png)
Now this guy is a genius. He knows exactly how to tow legally. Many thanks!!!!
Great video! One thing I might add is to make sure the parking brake is on or your partner is in the driver seat when you are disconnecting the toad if you are on any kind of grade! I’ve seen runaway toad’s in the past.
Yeah...there may or may not have been instances where I “held” the Jeep in place.
Still really helpful, two years later, thanks for posting.
Of Course!! We are always happy to help out anyone.
I like the Benny Hill theme music in the Background.
If anyone has any questions about anything in this video with our setup, please check out this recent video covering all the most common questions we get on this topic: ua-cam.com/video/h_M-wMfFjjI/v-deo.html
Here is exactly what we use if you're interested:
Blue Ox Tow Bar: amzn.to/2UPkNqC
Blue Ox Tow Plate: amzn.to/2LfHe8Q
Blue Ox Patriot II Brake: amzn.to/2DFGtjg
Electrical Cable: amzn.to/2GJCin6
Brake Light Kit: amzn.to/2GPcaHm
Could you have just connected to your bumper or do you have to connect to a specific plate? Seems like you have the D rings you could possibly connect there?
@@pusherreviews7028 D-ring removal and just use your d-ring mounts would have been way easier and maybe more solid...I don't get it...
@@robertallen6710 The tow bar plate is drilled and bolted directly on to the frame of the jeep. It was certainly not the easiest option but I felt like it was the safest and most secure option.
I never was crazy about the D-ring option. It would create more potential weak points for failure. Given how often we flat-tow, I wanted it to be as fail-proof as possible. For someone flat-towing much less often, it likely wouldn't matter as much.
Great info, thanks! Do you have a video on installing the electrical stuff and breakaway cable?
Mann you gotta make more video this is awesome
And he is from MO.. I love when I run across people from MO...
Thanks brother!
Good show! I guess all the Cool Kids have Jeeps (or so all the Cool Kids keep telling me...). 😄
They sure are fun to drive.
This was awesome! Really simplified the process and the links were a great help!! I have the exact setup as you with a Rubicon and hitting the full time road in January! See you out there!
Silver Lining Homes, LLC safe & happy trails friend!
Very informative video! Great job!
Thanks, I tried to keep it short and straight-forward.
Another amazing video thank you so much for that….
few questions If I may…
1. what happens with the power steering when you flat tow a JL?
2. if you have the ignition on what happens to the fuel pump another electronics within the JL Jeep?
3. Instead of having that box brake system between the left front seat and the brake pedal do you know if there is another option which is built in under the hood connected to the JL original breaking system?
thank you so much again look forward to hear from you
Doesn’t it have to be in 2nd to prevent damage to transmission..?
Do you leave your keys on for the brake kit? Or leave the car on or just the accessory.
No, you don't need to leave the keys in or turned to flat tow for the brake to work properly. It works through inertia, so no need for power. That being said you do have a brake controller that "talks" to the brake module, basically it can change how much force you want to be applied to the pedal of the jeep, this does require power. Out of all our long trips on the road, this never killed the battery.
probably a dumb question, but can you reverse just like a trailer with that set up? or does it lock up at the joint area at certain angles?
The only dumb questions are the ones that are not asked. # 1 rule is no backing up when you are connected to the RV.
do you have to leave the car in key position on? my cigarette lighter shuts off immediately with the key is off in my JL
How do you make sure it doesnt drain your car battery? Seems like if you have it connected for a long trip that could be a problem.
It has never drained the battery down completely to where the Jeep will not start. The amount of juice pulled from it must be miniscule.
Question ? Is the Steering Column set in lock position where the steering wheel don,t turn or do you let the steering wheel free rotate ?
No steering wheel lock for Jeep Wranglers, the steering wheel just rotates freely.
💯
Great Video. Thank you. I'm getting that same system blue ox all around. It will be installed next week. I have a 2021 Jeep Wrangler limited sport S and the cigarette lighter (12 volt) doesn't work when the jeep is turned off. What do you think needs to be done about that ?
Also, does that not drain the battery on the jeep to have that plugged in ?
I noticed the same thing. I own a 2018 JLU and I had to run a separate 12v power from the battery with fuse to keep the Blue ox patriot powered up. I also ran a power connection from the motorhome through the 7 pin connector to the battery to keep it charged up so it does not drain the battery.
@@mbahm1 That's kind of what the guy did who installed my system. The power comes through the 7 pin system and there's a separate cigarette lighter thing he installed and it's underneath the driver's seat. Works fine.
Do you have to secure the steering wheel, or does it stay where it is while in park with the transmission 4X4 lever in neutral? Also, do you really need the brakes with a big rig like that?
good informative video. i need that patriot brake setup.
Can use it on a EV ?
Hey man, great video.
Do you have to disconnect the drive shaft or just put both transmission and transfer case in neutral?!
I always thought the drive line had to be disconnected.
Thanks
Can you reverse with that kit
Might be a little late on the reply but can tell you by experience it is almost impossible to reverse with a flat tow setup. Had to do twice at gas stations, as our Rv is a Gas class A and we were boxed in by other cars. Ended up having my high school son jump into the towed car and turn the wheel as I tried to back up. Once was successful, once the tires were chirping and the third time I just totally disconnected right there at the gas station and had my wife follow
Me down the street till we could reconnect.
Having been RVing now for about 3 years and always towing our full size Chevy suburban I can tell you I pick and choose which gas stations we go to and I’ll wait for an end pump that has a strait shot pulling through instead of going to one of the middle pumps. Also some states have a Bucee’s gas station and they are absolutely gigantic and super easy to navigate for big rig setups. Next RV will be a diesel pusher though so we’ll just go to the semi fuel pumps which are designed for long vehicles. Sorry for the long winded answer. Happy RVing!
Wooow 👍👍👍👍👍
Does the jeep show the mileage while being towed?
question? how about a car with automatic transmission?
I just joined the Jeep word with a 2021 Rubicon with a manual transmission. The manual says to put the 4x4 into neutral but put the stick into gear and not neutral. Thoughts?
If the tranny is in neutral, you are not splashing your gears with lubricant. You should tow in 2nd gear. Sounds weird but that's what my Wrangler TJ manual says.
Does steering wheel stay locked or unlocked?
Unlocked the vehicle needs to track the vehicle that is going it.
Do you have to unlock steering wheel so front wheels turn
Craig Pants No the steering on a Jeep doesn’t lock. At least not a wrangler. We just released this video covering all the questions we have gotten over the last year.
ua-cam.com/video/h_M-wMfFjjI/v-deo.html
How front tires turn with RV turns ?
For Jeeps the steering wheel doesn't lock, so the tires turn as much as needed when I make turns. I'm not too sure about other vehicle manufacturers, you may have to unlock the steering wheel.
Where do you put the ignition so the steering doesn't lock up?
We have a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, which does not have any steering wheel lock mechanism on it. I believe most Wranglers do not have any sort of lock, but I’m not entirely sure. Depending on what you are driving, definitely check with your user manual.
Does the manual state that you should keep the Jeep in gear? My Cherokee does, something about the transmission fluid pumping when it's in gear.
Ok, so after looking it up it appears that for jeep wranglers being flat towed, they are suppose to be left either in drive for autos or in gear for manuals. After doing a little Google research it seems this is to prevent damage to the transmission due to friction.
With all this being said, we have been full time rving for about a year now, constantly on the move, and I have always placed the shifter in neutral, just sort of as a fail safe in case I forget to put the transfer case in neutral, ( which I have never done thankfully). So one year later and I have never had a single problem with the transmission, even though we are flat towing on a weekly or less basis. I'm not saying that this is necessarily the correct way to do it, but either if damage does occur, it would take a very long time or Jeep is just erring on the side of caution. Bottom line, just go by whatever your manual says, sounds like your ahead of me there haha.
@@WheelingToDream hmm, that's interesting, sounds like it doesn't make a difference in that case. Appreciate the video and the reply!
Of course! Hope it helps.
@@WheelingToDream My 2002 TJ manual says to put the transmission in P to tow not D.
@@Bearairboatrides my 2017 says transfer case in neutral and shift into park.
Any towable SUV's anyone can recommend?
Great video thank you! If you hook up safety chains the old way is it really necessary to have a break stop installed? It seems like overkill in the very unlikely event that everything else fails you would still have to safety chains attached between the two vehicles right?
Thank you! It is a back-up upon a back-up. Like you said overkill. Depending on the state your towing in, some require one or the other or both even. We just error on the side of caution and have it all hooked up at all time when we are towing. But yes, if the tow-bar were some how disconnected while in motion, those chains are supposed to control the vehicle until you are safely stopped. Thanks for the question.
Do you keep the steering locked or unlocked?
There is no lock on the Jeep Wrangler 2013 model. It follows me just fine in an unlocked position.
@@WheelingToDream thanks for the reply my car when unlocked I hit a some bumps on the highway and it started to go crazy behind me idk why
@@dridgesnapoleon Whoa?! That's scary. Glad you were able to get it under control. What kind of car is it?
@@WheelingToDream VW Jetta sportwagon idk if it's because I didn't have any braking in the VW or if it's just got loose suspension I'm not sure but I just ordered the invisibrake system and will be towing the car over 2800 miles so we will see if that's what it was
I took my Winnebago to my nearest Camping World and my Jeep Wrangler 2013 it has the 50th year anniversary bumper on the front with a winch they said they could not put the front plate on the jeep because of the winch is anybody heard of this before So I spent $4000 on blue ox And now they can't mount the baseplate which I have not bought on the Jeep because of the winch....
One issue with this is that not all vehicles have the cigarette lighter outlet on all the time. For example, the car I have, the cigarette lighter outlet dosent work unless the car is on accessory mode *(keys required in ignition for accessory mode)* or when u turn the car on
Doesnt the jeep rack up mileage?