Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 07-10-2012, 09:24 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Gnarvan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Washougal, Wa
Posts: 1,047
Tow Bars

Does anyone have any suggestions on tow bars?

I did a search and saw that Jage likes the Falcon 2. That one looks pretty sweet and I like the easy disconnect features but it's a little pricy. Are there any others on the market that work well and don't cost quite as much?

I'll be towing a 72 Toyota FJ40 if the weight of those things are a factor in the decision.

A buddy of mine told me to foget the towbar and just look around for a car dolly. I'd prefer to go the tow bar route and find a bar system that fits in a bag for easy storage.

I was thinking about something like this one.

http://www.sor.com/sor/cat242.tam?xax=3 ... t242%2Etam

__________________
John

Gnarvan 1992 E350 Clubwagon
Advanced 4WD Systems Conversion

Sotar Legend 12.5' X 22" Cataraft
2003 BMW R1150GS-Adventure
2013 BMW R1200GS-Adventure
Gnarvan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2012, 09:58 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Pntyrmvr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: GTA, Ontario
Posts: 1,102
Re: Tow Bars

Hi;

That tow bar looks a lot like the Reese tow bar I used to flat tow my SMB 950 miles:

Reese Towpower 7014200- around $100 on line and includes one set of universal bumper brackets.

Remember that in most jurisdictions max towed weight is 2800 lbs without a brake system in the towed unit. Also the towed unit must be licensed. A car dolly obviates that requirement as the dolly is the towed unit.

Regards,

Gavin
__________________
"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."
Pntyrmvr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-10-2012, 11:52 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
Re: Tow Bars

I welded one for a BlueBird bus with some heavy gauge C-channel, and a 40-ton lunette ring. I added a 15-ton pintle hitch to the van for towing the bus.

The first 30 minutes of driving put is on some very rough Utah desert terrain. That little accidental outing (navigator error) made me a believer in pintle hitches for off-road use.

Next time around though I will just buy (or possibly duplicate) a mil-spec folding tow bar, like this.



Neither are lightweight options, but they'll take any abuse you can throw at them. The DIY route costs about $250 plus some of your time. Military bars seem to sell for $500-$650 give or take.
__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2012, 12:37 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
BajaSportsmobile's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rancho Nuevo (Cabo/Todos Santos) B.C.S. and San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,952
Re: Tow Bars

I built my own heavy duty tow bar to flat tow my 1973 Fullsize Blazer, cost about $75 for components and materials, and I bought a 5000 lb rated adjustable bar from Off-Road Warehouse for $60 for our Cherokee. I've flat towed both thousands of miles behind my Class A and my F250 PSD CrewCab, many miles off road in Baja.

When we bought our E350 EB SMB last year, we drove the Cherokee to San Jose, bought the SMB and towed the Jeep back to San Diego. We have towed the Jeep to the desert with the SMB a few times and I hardly know it is back there.

Back in the late 70's and early 80's I payed the bills and for college by buying 4X4s in Utah (went to BYU and Utah Tech) and selling them in San Diego. Every couple of weeks I would drive one and tow another 4X4 the 750 miles. At least 30 of them were FJ40, and several times I towed one 40 with another. Before I15 was finished, the deep truck ruts in the heat softened asphalt made for a really hairy tow.

The FJ40 is the perfect candidate for a custom built bar that can be left on the rig all the time, I had a few that way. Put the transfer case in Neutral and unlock the steering column if lockable and you will have no problems.
__________________
Four time Baja 1000 winner, four time Baja 500 winner. Solo'ed the Baja 1000 to LaPaz/Cabo twice.
4-Wheeling since 1972, Desert Racing since 1989.

AgileOffRoad.com
BajaSportsmobile is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2012, 01:22 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Gnarvan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Washougal, Wa
Posts: 1,047
Re: Tow Bars

I've been toying with the idea of having a custom tow hitch made. The front bumper I have has shackle mounts and I'd like to use these shackle attachment points to mount the tow bar.

Check out the bumper and let me know if you think the shackle mounts are stout enough to use as tow bar attachment points.

http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessor ... series.htm

Thanks
__________________
John

Gnarvan 1992 E350 Clubwagon
Advanced 4WD Systems Conversion

Sotar Legend 12.5' X 22" Cataraft
2003 BMW R1150GS-Adventure
2013 BMW R1200GS-Adventure
Gnarvan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2012, 04:00 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
Re: Tow Bars

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnarvan
I've been toying with the idea of having a custom tow hitch made. The front bumper I have has shackle mounts and I'd like to use these shackle attachment points to mount the tow bar.

Check out the bumper and let me know if you think the shackle mounts are stout enough to use as tow bar attachment points.

http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessor ... series.htm

Thanks
I would not hesitate to tow from those shackle mounts. You would see much higher loads in many winching situations than you would towing it. Those folding military bars are designed to work with that style shackle mount.
__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2012, 04:11 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
BajaSportsmobile's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rancho Nuevo (Cabo/Todos Santos) B.C.S. and San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,952
Re: Tow Bars

That is what I tow from with the Jeep, . I use the pins below for the pivots and safety cables to the frame.

http://www.reidsupply.com/images/pro...000_Photo1.jpg

with this bumper:

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Bumpers-T...t_pn=W%2fI561#

Tows great.
__________________
Four time Baja 1000 winner, four time Baja 500 winner. Solo'ed the Baja 1000 to LaPaz/Cabo twice.
4-Wheeling since 1972, Desert Racing since 1989.

AgileOffRoad.com
BajaSportsmobile is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Sportsmobile Registry

Miss Piggy

graybeard

Zengi

Amy V
Add your Sportsmobile
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:51 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.