RV Tow Bar Hook Up 🚐-🚗 All By Yourself! 💪 Non-Binding RV Tow Bar - Roadmaster Nighthawk
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- Using an RV tow bar to hook up a towed car (toad) behind a motorhome may seem like a no-brainer, but it can be tricky when doing it alone. With the potential for tow bar binding, it can be even more challenging when disconnecting. Today, Peter will walk you through how to hook up and disconnect an RV tow bar all alone. The tips he'll provide will be useful even when you have a helper.
GET A FREE TOW BAR FREE COVER & LOCK WITH A ROADMASTER NIGHTHAWK!
Order factory direct at (800) 669-9690. Ask for the "RVGEEKS PACKAGE" and Roadmaster will include a free heavy-duty tow bar cover and a free hitch receiver lock with your Nighthawk order. FREE SHIPPING included!
Visit the Roadmaster website to learn more:
roadmasterinc.com
CHAPTERS:
0:00 RV Tow Bar Introduction
0:36 Connecting Basics
2:18 Hooking Up
7:48 Interior Safety Checks
10:16 Disconnecting & Tow Bar Binding
12:03 Solo Binding Tip
16:05 FREE COVER & LOCK!
16:59: Real-Time Hook-up
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Peter Knize & John Sullivan host The RVgeeks channel on CZcams, and co-host and co-executive produce The RVers TV show on The Discovery Channel, PBS, iTunes and many other outlets. Full-Time RVers since April, 2003, they share DIY RV maintenance, repair, travel, upgrade and operational tips & tricks they've learned in nearly 2 decades on the road.
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BLOG/WEBSITE: thervgeeks.com
INSTAGRAM: / rvgeeks
THE RVERS: thervers.tv
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We're handy RVers, not professional technicians. We're happy with the techniques and products we use, but be sure to confirm that all methods and materials you use are compatible with your equipment and abilities. Regardless of what we recommend, consult a professional if you're unsure about working on your RV. Any task you perform or product you purchase based on any information we provide is strictly at your own risk.
We sometimes receive products for evaluation at no cost, and The RVgeeks participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. But our opinions are our own, you won’t pay an extra penny, and we only link to products we personally use, love and can recommend to friends with complete confidence.
#RVTOWBAR #FLATTOWING #ROADMASTER #RVGEEKS #RVLIFE #RVDIY #RVLIVING #FULLTIMERV #RVREPAIR #RVMAINTENANCE #RVMODS #RVUPGRADES #RVTRAVEL #DIYRV - Auta a dopravní prostředky
*GET A FREE TOW BAR COVER & LOCK WITH A ROADMASTER NIGHTHAWK!*
Order factory direct at (800) 669-9690. Ask for the "RVGEEKS PACKAGE" and Roadmaster will include a free heavy-duty tow bar cover and a free hitch receiver lock with your Nighthawk order. FREE SHIPPING included!
Excellent video and explanations. We had tow bar binding after reaching my son's at night after an exhausting day. Luckily he was able to help his old mother by jumping on the bar and getting it to release. Now I know I can do it by myself. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the information on the Nighthawk! Have been looking into this tow-bar and replacing my car dolly. Thanks again and God bless!
I really like the glove trick for removing the tow bar clevis pins! Where I unhook at home my rig is on a uphill pitch so my clevis pins will always be in a bind, so this glove trick will be used at least once per trip! Cool!
You guys are always so professional. What a great tutorial! Stay safe out there!
Thanks so much! You too!
Thanks for the indepth breakdown, I had some trouble with binding after long trips before. Greal video!
This is the third video I have watched of yours that spoke directly to me. Three strikes and your in. I am now a subscriber. Thanks and keep up the great content!
Thanks so much! ☺️
Welcome to my world! Solo means a little more effort on everything.
Like the trick with the gloves. Always love when I learn something new. That may help out on those pesky hills.
A non-binding tow bar is critical! Mine is a different maker but works the same.
Hi Joe! Having each other to depend on can definitely allow to us forget how you really do need to be extra independent to RV solo. Kudos!
Excellent video, thank you! I had a situation in which I experienced binding when we arrived in a pull through campsite because the towed vehicle wasn't quite straight with the motorhome. I managed to release the arm that was locked, but it really jolted the vehicle when it released! I was concerned that I may have damaged the locking mechanism by doing it, but so far it continues to work just fine. Love the idea of the gloves too.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Wes. We've been there, and sure know what you mean about the "jolt" when it finally releases.
Great video, especially,the tip for solo release of binding tow bar with gloves. Thanks for clear and comprehensive explanation.
Thanks so much, Bob! Glad it was helpful. 😊
I never knew about the lock pins needing to be inserted inside to out. Will make this change going forward! Thank you!
Great to hear, Jason! We only know about that because we had friends lose a pin on one side, causing the car to swing over and hit the other corner of the RV. 😣 After that, they switched to inside-out.
Hi Guys good video,we have fought the binding with our blue ox system when hooking up if not perfectly straight,and when we stop to unhook we put the rv in reverse to remove the tension on the pins,we like the roadmaster system you have ,will definitely go this route when we upgrade,hope your having a good summet,we are moochdocking in Utah at Dads place,nice view of the Salt Lake and stansbury Island. The Mittons and their Kittens sending hugs 😻😸👱♀️👱♂️
Sounds great, Evan! Have a great summer!
Super helpful. Thanks so much.
Another great video. I always enjoy when you guys upload a video about towing with a RV
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. 😊
Great job explaining it all. Just ordered everything with Roadmaster. Your detail was very helpful! Thank you and happy travels!
Great to hear!
This is an awesome video. Thanks guys.
Excellent Video. I was having issues with my 20+ year-old Roadmaster Falcon 5250 latching into position and figured it was time to invest in a new one. The non-binding feature was critical in my choice of the Roadmaster Nighthawk and I should have upgraded sooner but was unaware of the significant advantages of the non-binding tow bar. The video section on removing pressure from the pins if the vehicle is downhill was also helpful. I ordered my new Nighthawk factory direct as suggested and got the RVGEEKS Package and free shipping. Now my travels should be less stressful not having to worry about finding a perfectly level and strait area to disconnect the tow bar.
That’s awesome Carl! Thanks for letting us know. We know you’ll love your new Nighthawk as much as we do. 👍
Yet another mighty fine video. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you, Richard!
*VERY HELPFUL.*
I just got my first tow bar for my first RV yesterday. We're taking off Tuesday to drive to the east coast (and anywhere else we want to go). This was so helpful for this newbie. Thank you!
By the way, not all manual transmissions are towable. I bought a stick thinking that we could flat tow it. 2019 Toyota Corolla can NOT be flat towed. Be sure to check your manuals before you buy!
Congratulations on your new RV, Sharon! We are so excited for you. And thanks so much for adding that cautionary note. The owners manual is indeed the final arbiter.
I added the Nighthawk to my motor home as well. 1 thing I would like to add, is that the arm on my driver side would not lock in the extended position even without having it hooked to car. I had to call Roadmaster Inc in Washington state since I was stopped on the highway because the towed vehicle was wondering behind my motor home. They talked me through dismantling the arm and reviewing the assembly inside the arm. They had me remove a flat washer from the assembly to allow the locking area of the arm reach the handle that locked them. I wanted to add this so anyone else that gets one and this happens they will know what to do.
It is a great tow bar, minor issue resolved rather quickly.
Their bars are very reliable, but like any piece of gear, things can happen. So good to hear that Roadmaster was able to get you back on the road. Their support is great. Thanks for sharing, Bob!
Nice job, thank you. I use padlocks in place of safety clips because crazy people have been known to pull the safety clips for fun. I still use the Blue Ox like you had. It still handles my 05 Pilot well.
Sorry to say, you're right about crazy people. We know someone who had one arm come loose and damage both the RV and the car. They think someone walking past their RV flipped one of the locking clips up while they were parked. Another reason to insert the pins from the inside... and to include a check of them after a rest stop.
Thank you! Single mama about to hit the road. This was so helpful.
Glad it was helpful, Tina!
I have the same tow bar. I have never unhooked on a grade and those tips you gave were great. Thanks!
Thanks Gary! Love it! Nighthawk rules!
We use the Roadmaster Sterling tow bar and we had a situation where they were EXTREMELY difficult to release. We were going around a curve and scrapped the guardrail. To prevent further damage to the RV, we proceeded to disconnect the Jeep Wrangler from the tow bars so we could backup. Because we were turning the corner, one tow bar was pushing, while the other was pulling with tremendous force. I barely was able to release the pushing (i.e., binding) tow bar. Furthermore, my wife could not have released the locking handle. To solve this problem later, I purchased a 2-foot 1" PVC pipe from a home improvement store and cut it down to 8" long. This slips easily over the binding tow bar handle and even the tightest binding will release with a single finger pulling the pipe. Once it is released, I then pull the toad forward to release the pressure on the pin (i.e., red handle pin) and pull both pins to release the toad, stowing the tow bars similar to your video. I really liked your idea of placing the gloves under the release handles. I tried using bungee cords to hold them in the released position, but they didn't work.
Excellent and complete info. Thanks
Thanks Brent!
Excellent video. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Nice tutorial, good tips. It's interesting to see the RoadMaster setup. I have BlueOx, which I like. It's easy to learn how to prevent bindings, not a big deal if you know what NOT to do. I prefer removing all the cables which BlueOx supports. It's not that much more work, as I put them in a tool bag for easy handling and storage in the basement. I just don't like a bunch of cables hanging loose on the coach while we're not with the RV. I also have the Roadmaster Invisibrake, and it's been working like a charm. But that system is a bugger to initially install, took me a couple of days. And yes, our 2013 Honda CRV with automatic trans requires 4 minutes of transmission steps before each day of towing, something my wife handles as we connect up.
Hi Tom! We know what you mean about adapting to a regular tow bar (not non-binding), but we've gotten pretty spoiled not having to think about "what not to do" anymore. 😉 We agree with the cleanliness and security of stowing the cables, but with ours built right into the bar's channel, it's pretty clean anyway, and totally secure against theft, and that lets us connect that much faster every time. And of course, we can install our tow bar cover for the cleanest look of all! After more than 18 years of towing our little CR-V around by its nose, we've been thinking about a new toad. But those damn CV-T transmissions have helped further reduce our choices. If they deep-6 those and make the CR-V flat-towable again, we'd surely pull the trigger!
I liked the tip about having the tow pins pointing out. I have a tip for you: store the tow bar away from the motorhome exhaust to keep it away from the hot exhaust.
That’s a great tip! Luckily in our case, even with it to the right, it’s well clear of the exhaust… which is great since the on left side it’s a little in the way of the ladder when we have that in place.
Great video and tips. Road Master is now pretty similar to Blue Ox. Road masters had a heavy piece of metal attached to the two pins where you hook up the bars. Now they don't have that and I like it. That one heavy metal was the only reason why I chose BlueOx. Safe travels and be safe.
You're right, Hector. The original Roadmaster towbars had that cross-member between the receiver pins on the towed car... probably originally for strength, but over the years it evolved to be a mechanism for attaching accessories (like a tow car shield). It's still available if you want that... but it's been quite a while since they've had a direct-connect mechanism similar to Blue Ox.
@@RVgeeks oh no no I don’t want anything like that, I am very happy with the Blue Ox. My friend has the cross-member and I didn’t like it at all, that’s why I went with the Blue Ox. Even the dealers that sold both of them, told me to go with blue Ox. I am sure both of them perform the same. I have to look into the AirForce1 though.
At EVERY stop during your preflight walk around, check everything before you pull out. I know three different people who have had their locking pins disappear during quick stops. One was not caught and caused lots of damage. Have used like-keyed padlocks instead of those flip over pins for decades and never had one ‘walk away”.
This video just popped up in my suggested feeds, not sure how I missed it. Very helpful since I'm new to towing (we used to have a 5th wheel). I have a Sterling, but I really want the Nighthawk. They look about the same, but yours has those sweet LEDs. By the way, we have a 2021 Jeep Cherokee, it has 15 steps to get it ready for towing *sigh*. I'm finally starting to memorize it now. One thing I like about the RoadMaster is the Guardian Rock Shield and Stowaway. Gotta protect that expensive jeep! Anyway, thanks for posting, thumbs up!
Hi Adam! Thanks so much for sharing your setup. Roadmaster is the best!
Dang it, someday I will watch your videos and NOT learn a thing, thank you both.
Thanks so much, Terry! That's our goal! 😁 If it makes you feel any better, we're still learning new things all the time after more than 18 years on the road.
In the United States DOT requires any vehicle over 3,000 lbs (1360KG) has to have a breaking system electric brake of surge brakes to tow a vehicle behind if it weighs 3,000+ lbs.
Just found this video Peter. Thanks well done. I see from your plates and the mountains that you’re in around the Fraser Valley. We’re looking to pull a toad with our new LTV Unity and I wondered who around here installs these two bar kits. Just subscribed and will look forward to your videos. Bob in North Vancouver.
Hey Bob! Always great to hear from a fellow Canuck, especially one from our beloved BC! According to Roadmaster‘s website, there’s an authorized dealer in Burnaby called Burnaby Hitch. But it just so happens that you’re located just six hours north of the Roadmaster factory in the other Vancouver (Washington)! They do factory installs there, so if you’re thinking about heading south, we highly recommend arranging your install there. They do fantastic work. If you’re planning to get the Nighthawk, the same tow bar we have, they’ll even throw in a free receiver lock and tow bar cover if you ask for the RVgeeks package.
Thanks for the advice Peter.
Lots of good information. I usually hook up and unhook by my self as it realey isn't that hard most of the time. Hear is a product I use to lube the pins and receptacles to reduce wearer. John Deere Super Lube Synthetic Lube Dri-Film TY25398. It is a dry film so it doesn't attract dirt and grit like a grease would. By the way, Angie is working on a video about tow bars to over at NIRVC.
Thanks for the info, William!
Hi, great video. Good information. Tho I have a Blue Ox system and have a incline driveway and street. Wouldn't the Blue Ox not release tension also if my towed was uphill behind the RV?
That is correct. Without a non-binding tow bar (which included our original Blue Ox model, which was not non-binding), the pressure of the car's weight pressed downhill against the tow bar will make it very hard or impossible to release. The only thing to do is have someone put the car in reverse and pull back hard to take the pressure off, while someone else releases the bar.
And do you always leave all your cables attached to the RV. I’ve been taking mine off…? But maybe unnecessary.
Yup! We never remove them. Been fine back there for years. The ones on our new towbar (the one shown here) are integrated, so can’t be easily removed anyway.
Brilliant Thankyou..now to see if they're available to Aussie's..👍
Fingers crossed!
They are available I just found out fortunately, they're a few hours away from where I am which isn't a big deal, but I will continue to research the requirements regarding the tow vehicle etc.
Thankyou again, a very helpful video to say the least. ☀️🙏☀️
That was so helpful, thank you. Do you know if it's all Honda CRV's with a stick shift 2014 and under that are easy to flat toe , or is it just the 2003? If you have the answer that would be helpful.
We're not sure what years manual transmissions stopped being available in CR-Vs, but we'd bet that any of them are the same as ours. You can check the details for any year, make and model in the Motorhome Magazine annual dinghy towing guides here:
www.motorhome.com/download-dinghy-guides/
Always remember that the owner's manual for any car is the final source of information about whether you can flat tow, and what steps are required to do it.
@@RVgeeks Once again you were such a big help. Thank you for taking the time to help me. You guys rock.
Thanks, I tried today , I have only one arm locked and slowly forward is the key. BTW, can I back like travel trailer?
Don’t back up while flat towing!
How do you check the brake lights when solo
Luckily, our brake lights and turn signal lights are the same filament, so turning on our four-way flashers lights the brake light filaments up so they can be checked without two people doing it. If you also have combined brake/tail/turn signal bulbs, you should be able to do the same.
Good video, hey by the way I assume you’re back still in Canada? Any idea when the border is being opened? Also any plans to get back to Las Vegas this year? Too hot here in LV for the summer closing up the house and we are headed to Maine. It would be Canada if things were open.
Back in 🇨🇦for the summer all right! Hoping the border opens soon, although as dual citizens, we can cross in either direction. We'll probably be back in Vegas shooting for Season 4 of The RVers sometime this Fall or Winter. Love it there.... just not in the summer!
Hi...what kind of hook thats you pin on the front of your hrv, does it come with the tow bar kits?
To flat tow a car, it’s required to install a special base plate on the front of the car. The base plates are made by the towbar manufacturers. It’s a fairly big installation that requires the removal of the bumper and other components to attach the base plate to the car’s frame. Those pins come out of the base plate, and are designed to connect the towbar to the frame of the vehicle being towed.
I was reviewing the user manual for the Nighthawk and noticed that the diagrams in the manual show the base pins being installed the opposite of the presenter's suggestion. Furthermore, after trying this on the front of out Jeep, I wasn't even able to rotate the arms in such a way that allowed me to position the arms to allow the pins to be inserted from the inside to the outside. Has anyone else come across this issue with which way the base pins should really be inserted?
We have the Nighthawk Tow Bar attached to a Class C... and when we hook up, one of the levers might not be locked... so is it ok to pull the TOAD (at slow speed) with the RV turning the RV Steering Wheel side to side... until the lever drops into place? At slow speed of course.
@@deansimpson6618 Absolutely! We try to get them both to lock when we hook up, but when one doesn’t, you’re doing the exact right thing - driving forward slowly until it does, and turning the wheel a little to help it click into place.
I wish we could do that here also. Towing itself is not prohibited, but there is limitations. Biggest being speed limit when towing 60km/h (less than 40mph). I think lawmakers here think that towing is just a temporary thing and it is dangerous. I don't know is this European thing or is it just here in Finland.
Does ABS work without engine on?
We want to RV all across Europe! Have only done England and Italy so far. Sounds like towing just isn't "a thing" in Finland. Sorry to hear. The ABS in the car does not work with the engine off, so good to keep that in mind when towing (longer following distance, slower speeds on wet roads, etc).
I have read that it is a good idea not to use a keyed locking pin on the tow bar at the receiver to motor home in case of toad fire while towing. Reports of many motor homes catching fire because of toad fires not being able to unhook quickly in an emergency
Great point, Bill! You'll notice we don't use locks to connect our car to the tow bar for the exact reason you mentioned. Plus, the car is locked anyway, so not too worried about further security. We do however keep a single lock on the receiver, since without it, our valuable tow bar would be just a little too easy to just walk away with during the many times we're away from the motorhome and it's just sitting there unattended. We figure that if there's an engine fire in either the car or the RV, getting to either end of the tower for a panicked disconnect might rapidly become impossible either way, so at that point it wouldn't matter which side we'd disconnect. Also, we're so accustomed to working with the car side, it might be a little better muscle memory to release that side in an emergency, even with two pins to pull instead of one.
I just saw in the Roadmaster promo that they were offering a keyed locking pin
We have a pair of their locks for the car side, but we’ve never used them. 😉
I have read that the CRV AWD automatic can be flat towed all the way up to the 2015 model. As far as you know is this true? I know you have the manual shift but I have a purpose for the lift gate which didn't appear until 2007. So I have to go with automatic. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the automatic AWD say around 2009? Thanks for your video and info.
2015 is indeed the first year of non-flat-towable CR-Vs (we have friends who bought a used 2014, since it was the newest they could get to pull behind their motorhome. We love ALL CR-Vs, SO 2009 is a great choice as far as we're concerned.
@@RVgeeks Hate to bother but have you ever heard of the AWD rear differential being a problem? Don't need it but if reliable I won't avoid it. Thanks again.
@@Grandpa_RLP We’ve only owned one CR-V, so we aren’t experts, we also aren’t aware of any problem with the rear diff. One of the very few things we ever had to “fix” on our car was one time many years ago, where we heard a noise coming from the rear diff. Our trustee Honda guy told us that that differential requires routine maintenance, which consist of changing the fluid in it. He did that for a very modest price, and the sound never came back. We made sure to have that done on schedule from then on.
If I purchase a 2003-2006 Honda CRV, will it come with the two holes up front for the tow clips or do I have to alter the bumper?
Great question. No car comes from the factory with the clips required to attach a tow bar to tow behind a motorhome. And it’s not the bumper that needs alteration. It’s a specialized base plate that needs to be installed behind the bumper which is attached to the frame of the car. If the Honda you purchase has already had a base plate installed for any brand of tow bar, it can be towed with any tow bar although if it’s a different brand, it might require adaptor clips, which are not expensive. The big expense is having the base plate installed.
@@RVgeeks I appreciate this info, ThankYou
@@RVgeeks where would I go to have the base plate installed?
@@QLFProductions if you happen to live in the Pacific NW, roadmaster, does it right at their factory in Vancouver, Washington. But they have dealers all over the country. You can reach out to them for a recommendation or check their website’s dealer locator: roadmasterinc.com/
@@RVgeeks ThankYou very much
Why didn't you crisscross the cables. I've seen videos that prove it works better.
Look closely. The cables are criss-crossed where they come out of the towbar on the RV side. It’s just not obvious, because the cables are routed through channels in the arms. It’s a super-safe design, since it guarantees that the cables will support the towbar if it were to disconnect.
How do you check your car’s brake lights if you are solo?
Hi Jody! Most lighting on a toad vehicle uses the turn signal lights as brake lights. So if you turn on your 4-way hazard flashers (and parking lights) you can walk behind and check them, all at once without anyone being behind the wheel. If you want to 100% confirm that your lights are wired that way, just have someone help you one time to check it, and you'll likely see that your brake lights come on by activating both turn signal lights at the same time (which are the same as the hazard lights). Hope this helps!
@@RVgeeks Thanks so much for the info!
@@RVgeeks We recently "lost" the center brake light on our Roadmaster tow system (Invisibrake). I researched it and found that the toad's center brake light ONLY lights when the brake pedal is depressed. The cable had recently come loose from the pedal. Easy fix, but dangerous if not found. Reattached it and the center brake light started working again. Note, the center brake light comes on a few seconds after the main brake lights, as it takes a few seconds for the pedal to be depressed when braking (about 3 seconds). I mention this as only checking the hazard lights won't catch this issue.
Can anyone here with double knee replacement able to do this? Kneeling is quite troublesome for me at the one year post op timeframe.
Sorry to hear, Jay. Not having had knee problems, we haven’t thought about that, but I think that bending over vs squatting might still get the job done.
@@RVgeeks thanks guys! I bet 75% of your readers have knee issues. Keep that in mind.
Ive been hooking and unhooking by myself since I've had a 4 down toad. And thats with an older Blue Ox, not the state of the art system you have.
Nice! Absolutely can be done, but a newbie might need some tips and practice!
Just get a back up camera and make this ish much easier.
We have a back-up camera, but don't know how that makes connecting and disconnecting our toad easier.
I did not know that they made Honda CR-V with Manual Transmission
Even back then, we had to special order it, since no dealers kept them in stock!