bacollins wrote: I've been using a Blue OX Ambassador A-frame tow bar for quite a few years, inexpensive, simple, works great.
and from watching people hooking them up, a definite PITA. I spent a few bucks more and got a good one.
bumpy
I guess if you can do it, do it, if you can't, don't.
it just seemed that they took an inordinate number of "wiggles" to get the thing lined up. my first tow bar was a blue ox rangefinder IIRC, that stayed on the toad, which sort of sucks, but it did have a little bit of adjustment side to side to hook onto the motorhome. much more convenient for me. of course my current ones that stay on the motorhome with full flexibility are much easier to hook up, or at least I have found that to be the case.
Another vote for a cheap A frame towbar. I have been using one from Blue Ox for years. It's only a PITA is you're a DA. It is solid, light weight and has no maintenance concerns.
RetiredbutWorking wrote: Another vote for a cheap A frame towbar. I have been using one from Blue Ox for years. It's only a PITA is you're a DA. It is solid, light weight and has no maintenance concerns.
so do you like driving the toad around with that thing hanging on the front like I see some folks doing? or do you go to the extra trouble of taking that off too?
bumpy
RetiredbutWorking wrote: Another vote for a cheap A frame towbar. I have been using one from Blue Ox for years. It's only a PITA is you're a DA. It is solid, light weight and has no maintenance concerns.
so do you like driving the toad around with that thing hanging on the front like I see some folks doing? or do you go to the extra trouble of taking that off too?
bumpy
It depends. If I will be re-connecting to the motorhome very soon, I tie the towbar to the "deer catcher" on the front bumper. If I am going to be driving around for several days before re-connecting, then I pull two pins and put the towbar under the back of the motorhome.
No problem.
As for the "PITA hookup", IMO it really isn't all that bad, and if I get to thinking about how awful it is, I reflect on the fact that I REALLY need the excercise, and I think of all the money I saved.
Suddenly, it just isn't that much of a PITA anymore.
Rigid is not the way to go. It's a waste of money no matter how cheap it is. For the casual user (or youthful one) go for it, but if you pull a toad more then four times a year, forget it.
Rigid is not the way to go. It's a waste of money no matter how cheap it is. For the casual user (or youthful one) go for it, but if you pull a toad more then four times a year, forget it.
For you, that may be true.
I would guess I meet YOUR definition of a "casual user", but I am a "youthful" 65+.
Hooking up my A-frame towbar is no more difficult than hooking up my boat trailer or horse trailer or flatbed trailer or any other bumper pull trailer.
Saving several hundred dollars was definitely worth it to me, in fact, it was a matter of get the $145 towbar or no towbar.
If I ever get so crippled up or out of shape that I just CAN'T hook up any kind of bumper pull trailer, it will be time to give up on camping or boating anyway.
Regardless of your OPINION, a rigid A-frame towbar IS a viable option for some of us, and the money saved IS worth it!
Hooking up my A-frame towbar is no more difficult than hooking up my boat trailer or horse trailer or flatbed trailer or any other bumper pull trailer.
I certainly agree with that statement. and hooking up a heavy 2 axle uhaul type trailer or boat trailer has been a PITA. In fact, I bought a special ball mount for the receiver that could be released and swung slightly side to side to make that less of a nuisance.
bumpy
RetiredbutWorking wrote: Another vote for a cheap A frame towbar. I have been using one from Blue Ox for years. It's only a PITA is you're a DA. It is solid, light weight and has no maintenance concerns.
so do you like driving the toad around with that thing hanging on the front like I see some folks doing? or do you go to the extra trouble of taking that off too?
bumpy
What extra trouble? It takes two minutes to pop the pins and slide my cheap rigid towbar under the motor home. I bet you spend more time putting away your PITA supplemental braking system than I do putting away my cheap rigid towbar!
Hooking up my A-frame towbar is no more difficult than hooking up my boat trailer or horse trailer or flatbed trailer or any other bumper pull trailer.
I certainly agree with that statement. and hooking up a heavy 2 axle uhaul type trailer or boat trailer has been a PITA. In fact, I bought a special ball mount for the receiver that could be released and swung slightly side to side to make that less of a nuisance.
bumpy
Yeah, I have one of those (unspeakable, unprintable) things, too, but I rarely use the "special feature". It seems to be more of a PITA to get the thing latched after the trailer(or towbar) is hooked up than it is to carefully get the rigs positioned for hookup.
To me, the so-called "ease of hookup" isn't worth the struggle to get it latched again!
However, it is just the right height to use in the truck receiver, so it does get used, I just don't unlatch it.
We have an A-Frame Blue Ox tow bar and are looking to get an Avanta LX model. I have 2 issues with the A-Frame: 1. It is hard to get into storage compartments of the MH which already have stuff in them. 2. If I make a mistake and have to disconnect while making a turn (most common is trying to go around a gas station only to find I can't go there) there is so much side to side tension in the hitch it is almost impossible to disconnect.
If you have a tow bar with the locking levers is it easy to release the tension by just unlocking the bars? Or do the bars slide in and out as you make a turn preventing the tension from occurring?
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