How to Flat Tow (4 down) with Blue Ox
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- In this tutorial video, we demonstrate how to connect and disconnect our MINI Cooper for flat towing (4 down towing) using Blue Ox and Patriot 3 Braking System.
We towed our MINI Cooper from NC to Natural Bridge, VA where we stayed at Natural Bridge KOA.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:14 Tow Bar
03:27 Safety Cables
04:08 Trailer Wire for Rear Lights
04:56 Breakaway cable
05:52 Set up Patriot 3 Braking System
07:30 Pre-drive check list
08:04 Interior Brake Monitor
08:46 Driving to Natural Bridge, Virginia
09:20 Arriving at Natural Bridge KOA
09:45 Unhooking the tow car procedure
13:17 Coming Attractions
Impressive setup with the Mini Cooper! I watched the entire video and found it really helpful. Thank you. I want to mention the wireless towing light control offered by Towaide. Considering your setup, the TA21 could be a great addition.
Thanks for the info!
Great video, thanks for sharing! Enjoy the Adventures!
On by arm pins i have locks which keepss someone from pulling your pins.
Awesome! You folks did a great job demonstrating, especially having done it only a couple of times. Thorough and concise. Thank you:>)
Thanks Mike!! Glad it was helpful
Good video. We are still using our tow dolly but not having any problems or issues. Thanks for sharing. Safe travels
I'm glad it's working ok for you! Ours was supposed to be easy to use but we found it was a big hassle most of the time
Sweet
This is a great and accurate video, thanks for posting. I’m new to towing a mini behind our Motorhome, so I have some questions, if you don’t mind answering. We have a 2021Fleetwood Discovery with blue ox and we also have the Patriot 3 braking system. (We use to flat tow a Jeep). I very recently purchased a 2017 Mini Clubman, 6 speed, and it’s already set up with Roadmaster base plate.
I found out that I needed adapter arms to go from Roadmaster to Blue Ox, so that has been ordered. I also purchased the blue cord because the Clubman has the 4 pin and Motorhome has 7 pin. The Clubman doesn’t have the break away system, but I also purchased that and the RV dealership will take of the installation. My Clubman doesn’t have the parking brake handle between the seats, it had a button to push to put it into park.
Just to clarify, I need to put the Clubman in neutral, release parking button?
Do I need to purchase the 4” drop down hitch?
Can you tell me how to order the anti-battery draining, the yellow cord?
I don’t know about the steering lock on the 2017; do I have that and do I need to do that?
Thank you in advance and hope that you can answer my questions.
Hi ... thanks for watching our video! I am certainly no expert in this area but I will answer what I can. Yes, if you have a 6 speed manual transmission then you'd put it neutral for towing, and release the parking brake (when hooking up make sure to have it in gear and brake on so it doesn't drift on you, just don't forget to put in neutral and release brake before towing!). You may or may not need the drop down hitch. For Blue Ox they recommend at most a 3" difference between the tow hitch and the car...in my case, the MINI was so low to the ground that it dropped considerably and people in the "know" told me I should get a drop down. For me, the 4" one made it almost perfectly level, but your results may vary based on what you're towing with, etc. I bought my MINI and it was already set up for flat towing, they they had it wired so that the Patriot would have a constant source of electricity from the RV (thru the blue cable) and not drain the battery. So check with your installation place on that It is best to pull from RV while driving so you don't end up with a dead battery in the MINI when you arrive. Regarding steering lock, the wheel should be unlocked when towing. My 2012 MINI does not have a steering lock so I didn't have a problem. If your 2017 does lock, then I guess you'd have to leave the key in so it wouldn't lock, and that means it could drain your battery without a disconnect. Again, I'd check with your installation people on that if possible. If the 2017 doesn't lock the wheel then you're good to go! Hope that helped and didn't confuse you more!
Thanks so much for your quick response. Very helpful. My mini is the clubman which is lower to the ground than the Countryman.
Hopefully, it doesn’t have steering lock.
Awesome video. I have read conflicting views on being ALLOWED to flat tow a mini cooper (manual transmission), and some say NOT to tow a mini-cooper. No issues? Second, was the yellow tip tube that hooks to your RV power installed when the system was installed? How much was the entire setup including installation..., base plate, Blue Ox hitch system and break system? Thanks very helpful...
Hi and thanks for watching! You are correct MINI does not recommend towing their cars 4 down and it would likely void any warranty claims should it damage something. However many people do it anyway and my feeling is that the risk of damage is low for a standard transmission. This is an older car 2011 so no warranty, and we bought it already set up with the blue ox baseplate, wiring and patriot braking system. We have towed it about 1200 miles so far with no issues... it tows very well and so far so good! You would have to call around to get prices but I believe the cost to set up a car for towing is typically around 5000. We were purposely looking for a car already set up and found this one on a Facebook group. Yes the yellow power is for the braking system and pulls juice right from the RV not the vehicle battery
I have the same year Mini Cooper with the same tow equipment from blue ox. Do you have any concerns with hitch drop of 4 inches and clearance on the back of the RV ? I also installed a sweep guard on the back of the RV
No issues so far. I have plenty of clearance on back of rv. I did have issues with my tow dolly as it would sometimes scrape.
I should add we just towed it all the way from NC to NY state and back. Car worked great and towed like a dream!
How do you unlock the steering wheel while pulling?
The steering wheel doesn't lock on this car (2012 MINI COOPER)
Do ask mini coopers come with the hookups for the ox or is that something that needs to be installed?
No sorry if it wasn't clear. We bought ours used from someone who already had it set up. You normally would have to have it set up by a qualified place that does this kind of work (or DIY if you know what you're doing). It typically costs about $4000-$5000 to set up.
We have the same Countryman. You don't have to unlock the steering column to allow wheels to turn into corners?
My year the wheel does not lock so no issue. Otherwise yes you would have to make sure the wheels can turn with the corners
I have purchased a 2011 manual clubman to do this set up. Do you feel you get any better gas mileage flat towing?
I haven't noticed any difference really. It was already pretty bad about 7-8 mpg.
How is the transmission going to be lubricated by being in neutral vs being powered?
My understanding from what i have been told s that this is not a concern with a manual transmission... only with an automatic. Towing the mini cooper in neutral should not cause any issues with the tranny
Airforce one only works with air system on a disel motorhome.
19:10 12/10/2024 need to find out how to get the receivers the pins connected to on frame? Of the Cooper- where to get the wiring part setup? My current understanding is that Cooper may not support this. Where to turn or get the receptacles and any guidance on attachment as well as getting wired up.
So yours is a countryman AWD and manual? Was told you can’t tow all wheel drive? Please advise thanks so much!
No, it isn't AWD... it is FWD 6 speed manual.
Hi. I have a 2018 mini cooper (manual) that I would like to flat two but mine does not have any of the connections that yours does (breakaway for brakes and electric) or the place to put the tow bars. Is it after market? I know I need a base plate but am unsure how it gets attached. Totally new to this, we just changed from a 5th wheel to a class C and are hoping to bring the mini along with us. Thanks
Hi Madeline... no it has to be set up to tow 4 down. We bought our mini used and it was already set up (which is why we bought it). You can have your mini set up..
They have to install a base plate and do the wiring for the lights etc. Then you need a compatible tow bar and patriot braking system. The avg cost to do this is usually around 5k (including the parts and labor) We found our mini already set up but it wasn't easy to find. You should be able to find someone in your area qualified to do this. Best wishes !
Thanks so much for getting back to me, I really appreciate it. I think we’re gonna have to go with a tow dolly for now. :)
Thank you soooo very much for this video!!! You are a very kind man to do this!!! Can you please tell me your exact year and model? I get so many different answers on what can be flat towed!!! This looks like a countryman, which I love, but didn't see it on the back. Would so appreciate your feedback on this. Thank you so very much!!!
When we flat tow a vehicle, shall we keep the key in and turned into “ignition” so that the steering wheel may turn freely and car wheels can steer in according to the pulling direction?
Thank you for asking this question... our mini cooper does not have a steering wheel lock, so it wasn't necessary to do that... but if your cars steering wheel locks then yes, you must have the key in and wheel unlocked so it can freely turn as your rv turns a corner. Note that this may have the effect of draining your cars battery... it may be ok as long as your hookup to the rv can charge your battery as you drive. This is something you would have to ask the company that sets up your car for towing
@@YoungatHeartAdventures thanks
The question is, can you use that setup for any car? Or is it specific for certain cars and the year of the car?
@SuperRedman76 there are only certain cars and years that can be flat towed. Typically it has to be a standard transmission or automatic that has a setting to allow flat towing. Check your owners manual to see if your car is eligible, or if you plan to buy one as a tow vehicle. Then the car must be set up for towing by installing the base plate (the base plate is specific for your year and model).
Idk what countryman you have. But I don't recall any of that being available on my r60
It didn't come like that stock... the previous owner of the mini had it set up for 4 down towing. This is something that can be done yourself or (more commonly) done by businesses who specialize in setting up cars for towing. For example, the base plate from Blue Ox for this exact make and model car must be installed on the front end. Usually this is a pretty complex installation involving removal of existing components and then installation of the base plate. The typical cost to provision a car for towing is about $5000. What we did was search for a used car that was already set up
Why didnt you use airforce one on your braking. It runs off you air system from motorhome.
Ours is a gas motorhome.