Safety Tips for Towing Your Car With Your RV
If you’ve invested in a big RV you know the hardships that come with navigating those huge vehicles. Due to their size most people prefer to leave their motorhome parked at the campground and use their car to explore their destination. There are three ways to haul your personal vehicle behind your RV:
1. On a flatbed or enclosed trailer.
This trailer fully supports the vehicle has its own brakes and light system and means no additional mileage is added to your personal car. It also allows you to bring any vehicle you want as long as it fits on or in the trailer. Also the flatbed or enclosed trailer is the best choice if you’re travelling out of province or down to the states as different places have different rules for towing vehicles behind RVs. The downsides to this option are it can be expensive to purchase the trailer the weight may be too much for your RV you have to store the trailer and loading and unloading your car can take time.
2. Tow Bar with Flat Tow (aka Dinghy Towing)
This is when the car is towed on all four wheels behind an RV like in this article’s picture. It’s very common and the tow bars are generally easy to store. However you can’t use this system in all places not all vehicles can be towed with four wheels on the ground the tow bar must be made for your model or custom-made you can’t reverse you have to use a tow light kit or wire into the towed vehicle’s light system and you accumulate mileage on the towed car.
3. Tow Dolly
This is when the towed vehicle’s front two wheels are lifted up. This means no added mileage and can work on any vehicle that isn’t rear-wheel drive. These dollies are also sometimes equipped with brakes which may be required in some places. They’re also universal but can be expensive. Their hookups can be elaborate and it’s not easy to reverse using them. You also have to store the dolly and may need additional licensing and registration as they may count as a trailer.
No matter which way you choose to bring your personal vehicle along with you make sure its suitable for the journey by checking its owner’s manual. The lighter the vehicle the better and there is some aftermarket equipment that will enable it to be flat-towed if that’s the best option for you. Don’t forget to check your owner’s manual for your RV as well to ensure it can handle the weight and is equipped for towing.
Check out our article on general trailering tips to learn how to safely tow. Also don’t forget to talk to your independent insurance broker to see if your RV and personal vehicle are covered when you hit the road.