One of the very first things you have to figure out after buying an RV is how to get it from point A to point B. There’s a lot that goes into RV towing safely, so you’ll want to do a bit of research first.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. In this article we will discuss everything you need to know to tow a trailer safely, so you can head out on your RV camping trip without worry.
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The Most Important Things to Know when Towing a Travel Trailer
Towing a travel trailer may seem like a cinch, but there is actually a lot that goes into doing the job safely. You have to make sure you have the proper tow vehicle and gear, and also make sure you understand how to pull the trailer down the road without causing dangerous situations.
Understanding RV Towing Terms
First, there are some RV towing terms you should know and understand. Knowing what these terms mean will help you ensure you get the perfect truck and trailer combo.
Dry Weight
The dry weight is the weight of your RV when it is shipped from the manufacturer. This weight does not include any cargo, water, or additional accessories. It also does not include dealer-installed options.
Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)
The combined weight of the RV (dry weight) plus all cargo, accessories, water, and propane is the gross vehicle weight. This weight should never exceed the gross vehicle weight rating, which we’ll get into next.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
Gross vehicle weight rating refers to the maximum amount of weight a vehicle is built to withstand fully loaded. Your trailer’s GVWR will be significantly more than its dry weight. In order to ensure your tow vehicle is powerful enough, it’s a better bet to use the GVWR when trying to determine how much tow capacity you need, rather than going off the dry weight alone.
Cargo Weight
Cargo weight is the total weight of all food, clothing, water, and other items that you might put into your RV. This number should never exceed your total cargo carrying capacity, explained below.
Cargo Carrying Capacity
The amount of weight your trailer is able to safely carry is known as its cargo carrying capacity. As mentioned above, this includes food, clothing, any water in the tanks, and anything else you put in or on the trailer. To find this number, subtract the dry weight from the gross vehicle weight rating.
Tongue Weight
The weight applied from the trailer tongue to the hitch on your vehicle is referred to as the tongue weight. This should always be about 10% of the total weight of your loaded trailer, and can be adjusted by moving cargo around inside of the trailer.
Pin Weight
Pin weight really only matters if you plan to tow a fifth wheel trailer. This term is referring to the weight applied from a fifth wheel king pin to the hitch in the bed of your truck, and it should not exceed your truck’s payload capacity.
Payload Capacity
Your truck’s payload capacity is the amount of weight you can safely add to the bed of your truck. Make sure the aforementioned pin weight plus the weight of your fifth wheel hitch—and any other cargo in the bed of the truck—does not exceed the payload capacity.
Max Towing Capacity
The max towing capacity is the measure you’ll want to look at on your truck or other tow vehicle, and it refers to the total amount of weight the vehicle can safely tow behind it. You want your trailer’s loaded weight to be less than the max towing capacity of your vehicle.
Be sure to keep in mind that different models of the same vehicle—even those within the same year—sometimes have radically different tow capacities based on engine upgrades, axle ratios, and other factors.
Note: It is possible to increase tow capacity in some cases.
Choosing the Right Tow Vehicle
Safely towing a travel trailer is all about choosing the correct vehicle for RV towing. Even the best driver in the world couldn’t safely haul a heavy trailer behind a motor that’s not fit for the job!
When choosing any vehicle you intend to tow a trailer with, the most important thing to look at is the towing capacity. If you plan to tow a fifth wheel, you will also want to look at the payload capacity to be sure the truck can handle the fifth wheel’s pin weight.
Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that whichever vehicle you choose is one you will be happy driving around town (and to attractions) after parking the trailer. For some people, this means carefully balancing the size and weight of their trailer with the size and tow capacity of their vehicle in order to avoid driving a massive truck from place to place.
What Gear is Needed to Tow a Travel Trailer?
Now that you have your tow vehicle picked out, it’s time to grab all the gear you need to for RV towing. Here’s what you’ll need.
Electric Brake Controller
Rather than relying solely on the brakes in your tow vehicle, many trailers come equipped with electric brakes to give them some stopping power of their own. To make use of these trailer brakes, you will need an electric brake controller.
An electric brake controller can work to automatically sense how much braking power the trailer needs at a given time, and can also be overridden by the driver in an emergency situation when you need extra stopping power. Some modern trucks come equipped with electric brake controllers built in, but you may also need to have one installed aftermarket.
Hitch
Obviously, you will need a hitch for the trailer to connect to. In the case of a fifth wheel model, a special in-bed hitch will be required. For bumper-pull trailers, a conventional hitch will often do the job just fine. If you’re towing a larger bumper-pull trailer however, a weight distribution hitch will likely be in order.
In all cases, you will need to make sure the hitch you choose is rated to tow the weight of your trailer (and preferably above that level, just so you have some buffer room).
Sway Bar
In addition to a weight distribution hitch, some people like to use a sway bar while towing a bumper-pull trailer. This will help reduce sway caused by wind and passing traffic, but does make it impossible to back up at an angle, meaning you will have to remove the sway bar before backing into a campsite or making any reverse maneuvers whatsoever.
Breakaway Cable
A breakaway cable is a must-have. Most trailers come equipped with this important piece of safety equipment, but if yours didn’t, be sure to rectify that right away.
Safety Chains
Equally important, a set of safety chains is also key to keeping everyone safe while you tow. Again, most trailers will include these, but if yours look worn, replacing them is easy enough.
Towing Mirrors
Depending on the type of truck and trailer you have, you may or may not find that you need towing mirrors in order to see around you properly. Hitch up the trailer and sit in the driver’s seat to determine whether towing mirrors are needed before you hit the road.
Hitching Up Your Travel Trailer
Before you hitch up, you will need to make sure your hitch is set to the correct height and that the weight distribution is adjusted correctly for your vehicle. If you have everything set up correctly, the trailer should sit level from the hitch to the back bumper, and the weight distribution bars should not move when the trailer is hitched up.
This video includes instructions on how to measure for the correct ball height:
The video below gives in-depth instructions of adjusting the weight distribution feature of a hitch:
Safety Tips for Towing a Trailer
Before you hit the road, take these towing safety tips into consideration. Remembering these tips each and every time you head out will help ensure you stay safe no matter where you’re headed.
Make Sure You Have the Appropriate Gear
Don’t even think about hitting the road until you’ve purchased and installed the must-have towing gear mentioned above.
Stay Within Your Limits
As we’ve mentioned so many times, it is incredibly important to know and stay within all of the safety limits put forth by the manufacturers of your equipment. These limits include:
- Towing capacity
- GVWR
- Pin weight
- Payload capacity
- Tongue weight
- Capacity of your hitch
Pack Your Trailer Properly
As you pack things into your trailer, you should spread the weight as evenly as possible in order to avoid trailer sway. The weight of one side should be close to the weight of the other, and the cargo should be placed in such a way that the tongue weight is around 10% of the total trailer weight.
It’s possible to determine your trailer’s tongue weight at home, so you can adjust your cargo before you hit the road if needed.
Weigh Your Rig Often
Determining whether you are within your limits may require weighing your rig. You can do this on truck scales at truck stops. If you find that you are too heavy, get rid of some cargo before carrying on.
Make Checks Before Towing
Always, always do a walk around and make safety checks before hitting the road. Check your tires for wear, damage, and proper pressure. Look at the safety chains and breakaway cable and make sure you are properly and securely hitched up. Check the lights on your trailer to ensure they’re lighting up properly as well.
Leave a Gap and Take It Slow
Your vehicle is a lot heavier when towing. This means stopping takes more time. For this reason, it is important to leave a good gap between you and the car in front of you. It’s also good to take it slow, making 55 mph your max highway speed. This will ensure you can stop in case of an emergency.
Make Wide Turns
You’ll have to make wide turns when towing in order to avoid side-swiping things. Pay attention, take turns slowly, and always go wider than you think you’ll need to.
Always Have a Spotter
When backing into a campsite, have an adult passenger get out and help guide you. This will help you avoid backing into something. Some people like to use two-way radios for this purpose, but giving directions through an open window also works.
Practice First
Because towing a trailer is different from driving a regular vehicle, we recommend heading to a big, empty parking lot to practice before you get out on the road. Practice turning, backing up, and stopping so you can get a sense for what these things feel like.
Towing a Car Behind Your Motorhome
Camping in a motorhome rather than a trailer? Once you’ve arrived at your destination, parked your RV, and set up camp, you’ll likely want a car to get around the area. This is where a tow car (or “toad”) comes into play.
Ways to Tow Your Toad
There are a couple of options when it comes to towing a car behind your motorhome.
Flat Towing
Towing your car four-wheels-down can be called all sorts of fun names—toading, dinghy towing, or flat towing—and it has several advantages. Towing this way has very little impact on your gas mileage or on the wear and tear of your RV. You can also detach the vehicle quickly and head on your way.
You do want to check your manufacturer’s policy to be sure your vehicle is capable of being towed four-down. Flat towing is much easier to do with vehicles that have a manual transmission, and won’t work at all with many automatic vehicles.
In some cases, it is possible to make modifications to these vehicles to enable safe flat towing. These include things like:
- Free-wheeling hubs for vehicles with front-wheel drive
- Driveshaft-disconnect device
- Cable-operated drive shaft disconnect device for rear-wheel drive vehicles
However, these devices are expensive, and if they’re not installed correctly, you can damage your vehicle and void the warranty.
The good news is that there are plenty of vehicles that can be towed without modifications. Jeeps and many Fords, Dodges, Chevys, and Hondas can be towed this way.
Note: You may also need an auxiliary brake kit for your tow car; several states require them and they’re a good idea, even when driving in states that don’t.
Dolly or Trailer Towing
If you can’t tow your car four-down, you’ll need to seek out other options. RV towing accessories like a tow dolly or trailer are your best bet. With a trailer or dolly, you can tow just about any kind of vehicle behind your rig—assuming, of course, that it doesn’t exceed your RV towing capacity.
There are a few things to remember, though:
- You’ll need space to store your dolly or trailer when you’re not using it.
- Some states require you to have a special license if you’re going to tow a dolly.
- When you’re calculating your RV towing capacity, don’t forget to factor in the weight of the dolly or trailer. They can run between 500–1500 extra pounds, meaning you’re likely towing an extra 4,000 pounds or so. Even if this is within your RV towing capacity, it’s important to remember that it will affect your speed and gas mileage.
- You’ll need to connect brake lights, clearance lights, and stop lights to the dolly.
- You’ll need on-board brakes for your tow dolly as well, and will need to make sure they’re maintained. In fact, you’ll need to do regular maintenance on the frame, wheels, and tires of your dolly.
- Depending on how heavy it is, it can take two people to move the tow dolly out of the way so you can drive your car after your rig is parked.
- You’ll need two sets of safety cables—one to attach the dolly to the vehicle and one to attach the dolly to the coach.
Choosing a Tow Vehicle
Shopping for a toad to add to your motorhome setup can feel daunting. Here are some things to consider:
- What is the towing capacity of your motorhome? What size car can it handle? (Be sure to include the weight of any trailer or dolly you plan to use.)
- Do you want to flat tow? If so, be sure to find a vehicle that can be safely towed in this way.
- Do you have a large family and need a larger vehicle?
- Will you be four-wheeling and need 4WD?
- Will you be bringing pets along?
Think about how you’ll be using your vehicle before you purchase one. Look over the owner’s manuals or do online research ahead of time if you can.
