Setting up a car to be towed behind a motor home

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SGBARRACUDA

SGBARRACUDA

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So the wife and I are looking at campers or a motor home. So we looked a motor homes today at Camping World. While there I thought I would ask at the service desk how much it would cost to set my wife's 2016 Ford Edge AWD for towing behind a motor home. Now take a wild guess how much I was quoted?
 
So then they are gonna hook it up to circulate tranny fluid thru the trans when towing. I didn’t think they still did that. A thallus i dont think that can be done anymore as u can’t get the vehicular into neutral anymore with out the ignition on. Unless they have some kind of a trick. Kim
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
I don't know what the process is but I was dumb founded at the cost. Hell I'll buy a trailer first.
Click to expand...
That’s for sure. If u get an aluminum 1 it won’t be much weight there anyways. A lot less hassle. The setup I described was really popular back in the late 80s and early 90s. Kim
 
This is what we used to use.
The tow hubs were made from amc front hubs, welded to a half inch thick steel plate, with the bolt pattern drilled in.
Im betting four tow hubs, a tow bar, a lightweight floor jack and a couple jack stands, and a battery impact could be done for well under a grand.

20190416_143228.jpg
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
So the wife and I are looking at campers or a motor home. So we looked a motor homes today at Camping World. While there I thought I would ask at the service desk how much it would cost to set my wife's 2016 Ford Edge AWD for towing behind a motor home. Now take a wild guess how much I was quoted?
Click to expand...
If you didn't find out what needs to be done to the car, the price is irrelevant. Maybe there are other vehicles that don't need "anything." Maybe you should consider a dolly

EDIT found this. Maybe you just need a different dealer post no8
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Towing a Ford Edge - iRV2 Forums

I've towed a 2018 Ford Edge SEL with a 3.5L V6 FWD drivetrain about 24,000 without any difficulty.

Here's an excerpt from the owner's manual regarding recreational towing:

Follow these guidelines if you have a need for recreational (RV) towing. An example of recreational towing would be towing your vehicle behind a motorhome. We designed these guidelines to prevent damage to your transmission.

You can tow your 2.7L EcoBoost or 3.5L (6F50 or 6F55) equipped vehicle with all four wheels on the ground.

If you tow your vehicle with all four wheels on the ground:
*Tow only in the forward direction.
*Release the parking brake.

Vehicles with Keyless Start (If Equipped)
1. Start the vehicle by pressing the brake pedal, and then pressing the keyless start button until the vehicle starts.
2. Press the brake pedal and shift the gearshift into neutral (N).
3. Turn the vehicle off by pressing the keyless start button once.
4. Disconnect the negative (black) cable from the battery. You need the door key to lock and unlock doors when the battery cable is disconnected. See Changing the 12V Battery.

Note: The anti-theft system does not work until you reconnect the battery cable.

Start the engine within 15 minutes of reconnecting the battery cable.

Pretty straightforward. However, the dealer who installed the my Blue Ox baseplate and Air Force One supplemental brake system did complain that the instructions for the kit provided by Blue Ox for wiring the turn signals and brake lights was NOT well written. He had promised that he'd be done with the installation by close of business after starting the installation when the shop opened in the morning. About three in the afternoon, he called to apologize that the installation wouldn't be completed until the next day due to difficulty. I didn't pay enough attention to give specifics regarding his difficulty. He was experienced and, as far as I could tell, did an excellent job of installing. I believe it had to do with the LED taillights/turn signals.

You'll note that step 4 (above) of the procedure calls for the negative battery cable to be disconnected. With the keyless start system, when turning the engine off with the transmission in neutral, some of the instrument cluster remains powered up, potentially draining the battery.

My installer added a 12v charge line from the motorhome to the car battery, eliminating the need for disconnecting the battery cable.

We've been happy with the Edge as a toad.

Take care,
Stu
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You need a front wheel drive vehicle and a tow dolly or a trailer for your AWD Escort.
 
I bought my dad a Car Caddy for his front wheel drive. He was skeptical at first. He use to flat tow his Durango. It was expensive because of the required brake system setup inside the vehicle. He tows a front wheel drive Nissan on the Car Caddy and does all the hook up himself each time. He's in his 80's.

Oh and some really good advice I gave him. DON'T BUY ONE. Unless you can really really afford to. They can be as bad as a boat. You'll be eating beanie weenies and drinking Old Milwaukee before long. He bought what should have been a "good unit". The frame sagged 10k and not really fixed. Motor had cylinder scoring 35K for the swap. He's lucky he was a diesel mech his whole life. It would have ate their lunch. But he does say (with all their travel from coast to coast) he wouldn't change for a second. Myself, I'll rent one when I need it and give it back when I'm done.
 
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67Dart273 said:
If you didn't find out what needs to be done to the car, the price is irrelevant. Maybe there are other vehicles that don't need "anything." Maybe you should consider a dolly

EDIT found this. Maybe you just need a different dealer post no8
=================================================================================
Towing a Ford Edge - iRV2 Forums

I've towed a 2018 Ford Edge SEL with a 3.5L V6 FWD drivetrain about 24,000 without any difficulty.

Here's an excerpt from the owner's manual regarding recreational towing:

Follow these guidelines if you have a need for recreational (RV) towing. An example of recreational towing would be towing your vehicle behind a motorhome. We designed these guidelines to prevent damage to your transmission.

You can tow your 2.7L EcoBoost or 3.5L (6F50 or 6F55) equipped vehicle with all four wheels on the ground.

If you tow your vehicle with all four wheels on the ground:
*Tow only in the forward direction.
*Release the parking brake.

Vehicles with Keyless Start (If Equipped)
1. Start the vehicle by pressing the brake pedal, and then pressing the keyless start button until the vehicle starts.
2. Press the brake pedal and shift the gearshift into neutral (N).
3. Turn the vehicle off by pressing the keyless start button once.
4. Disconnect the negative (black) cable from the battery. You need the door key to lock and unlock doors when the battery cable is disconnected. See Changing the 12V Battery.

Note: The anti-theft system does not work until you reconnect the battery cable.

Start the engine within 15 minutes of reconnecting the battery cable.

Pretty straightforward. However, the dealer who installed the my Blue Ox baseplate and Air Force One supplemental brake system did complain that the instructions for the kit provided by Blue Ox for wiring the turn signals and brake lights was NOT well written. He had promised that he'd be done with the installation by close of business after starting the installation when the shop opened in the morning. About three in the afternoon, he called to apologize that the installation wouldn't be completed until the next day due to difficulty. I didn't pay enough attention to give specifics regarding his difficulty. He was experienced and, as far as I could tell, did an excellent job of installing. I believe it had to do with the LED taillights/turn signals.

You'll note that step 4 (above) of the procedure calls for the negative battery cable to be disconnected. With the keyless start system, when turning the engine off with the transmission in neutral, some of the instrument cluster remains powered up, potentially draining the battery.

My installer added a 12v charge line from the motorhome to the car battery, eliminating the need for disconnecting the battery cable.

We've been happy with the Edge as a toad.

Take care,
Stu
===============================================================================
Click to expand...
I went to the service desk and he told me basically the same procedure as you described. But mine is a2.7 eco boost with adaptive cruise control. Which he said was an issue. I'm just repeating the price I was quoted.
 
We changed over to the lightest vehicle with a transfer case with Neutral.

Gm Tracker,

Hitch it up, plug in lites, transfer case in "N", release emergency brake ..
 
inertia said:
We changed over to the lightest vehicle with a transfer case with Neutral.

Gm Tracker,

Hitch it up, plug in lites, transfer case in "N", release emergency brake ..
Click to expand...
Not that simple anymore. This Edge is AWDand it has a driveline Neutral.
 
QUOTE="SGBARRACUDA, post: 1973445005, member: 3740"]Not that simple anymore. This Edge is AWDand it has a driveline Neutral.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't tow a "nice car" again, they take a lotta debris/road damage.
The Tracker was cheap, reliable, and disposable !
 
inertia said:
QUOTE="SGBARRACUDA, post: 1973445005, member: 3740"]Not that simple anymore. This Edge is AWDand it has a driveline Neutral.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't tow a "nice car" again, they take a lotta debris/road damage.
The Tracker was cheap, reliable, and disposable ![/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info on Casino night.
 
inertia said:
QUOTE="SGBARRACUDA, post: 1973445005, member: 3740"]Not that simple anymore. This Edge is AWDand it has a driveline Neutral.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't tow a "nice car" again, they take a lotta debris/road damage.
The Tracker was cheap, reliable, and disposable ![/QUOTE]
You have us thinking about buying a throw down ride to tow.
 
I knew a retired-guy who delivered RVs for a living all across Canada. He flat-towed his personal FWD manual-trans Sunfire behind the RV. He would drive the rig to it's destination then drive back home in the Sunfire. But before he came home he would spend a week or more at his destination.
I took me three trys to align that thing so that it would not burn the tires off either being towed or powered. But in the end, he was one happy guy.
How did I do it, you ask?
I told him to buy a dolly, and put the alignment back to stock,lol. Which he did.
For lights, he bough magnetic light bars, powered up by the motorhome.
 
Damn!

The 2015 Dart Turbo 6-speed stick cost me about $450 with the needed brackets for the application and lighting diodes and Brake light defeat relay. I already had the bar for the Coach and the braking solution with some associated hardware that came with it though.

The Dart was easy to make a flat tow, and "Well" a Mopar! I did it myself with some assistance from my older brothers to install the tow bracket under the Dart's facia.

If having to purchase the brake controller and all from start it may end up being that high!

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