Finding the Right Dinghy Tow Vehicle for Us
Part 2 in the Dinghy Tow Vehicle search … As discussed in my previous blog (part 1) we decided to look for something larger to tow.
Our Jeep just wasn’t right for us anymore. We wanted to fit more than the two of us in it. And I didn’t want a vehicle that just sat (and pay insurance on) when we weren’t camping or traveling. Can’t we tow something we drive regularly? We keep seeing these large motorhomes like ours pulling full-size trucks. There must be something out there!
I started doing research online. John started asking around. I found remcotowing.com and looked up our vehicles. Turns out that our 2002 Ford F250 can be adapted to flat tow with a Drive Shaft Coupling (Disconnect). Now remember, we are driving a 40’ motorhome with a Freightliner chassis and 400 Cummins engine. Pretty much a big rig with a house on it. Lots of power, so we were not concerned about the size of the truck. Plus John has no fear of driving or towing anything big. So we purchased & installed this, adapted the front bumper to work with our tow bar, and everything else needed. We were good to go … so we thought!
We checked around and found out the key does need to be in the ignition and you only turn the key off with just one click, and the steering wheel unlocks. And our Roadmaster Brake (the old one) it fits just fine.
Things to Consider When Dinghy Towing Vehicles
A lesson we learned (which could have been a huge disaster), the hitch we were using when we were towing the jeep was not heavy enough for the truck. Luckily it was a short first trip and the welding only loosened and didn’t break. Our hitch was loose, but it didn’t break off. Next thing we did was buy a heavy duty hitch.
Then once we replaced the hitch was something more heavy duty, when we went to hook up for our second trip, the safety cables wouldn’t reach the truck! We put more space between the coach and the truck. So we had to come up with a solution to that.
There are so many things to consider and remember when making all of these modifications!
Now we are looking at adapting the 2009 Rav4 to tow when 
we don’t want to be pulling a large truck. The truck will hold our fishing boat – so it’s a must for our crabbing trips to Oregon. But when we want to have something more fuel-efficient, the Rav makes more sense.
But we are rethinking this as the Rav is a bit older and not sure we want to put the money into it. It needs a Lube Pump Kit in order to Dinghy Tow.
Our vehicle search is in our next blog…
