Another Dinghy Thread

[Wangus]

Hi everyone,

I"ll preface this by advising I did search through the threads using the search function, as to not start a new thread, however, couldn't quite find what I was looking for - so apologies for another thread on flat towing.

We have a 2016 Redhawk and have recently decided to dinghy tow. We bought a 2018 GMC Acadia Wednesday to serve as our toad. I've tried to read as much as possible about the different setups from Blue Ox, Road Master, Demco, etc and can figure out that part. I have 2 questions and asking for opinions:

1. Where did you have the equipment installed (base plate, wiring, etc)? I have a quote from the dealer where we purchased the motorhome of $3,500-$4,000 depending if we choose a portable or permanent auxiliary braking setup. I can find the equipment on e-trailer for $2,500ish, so $1,000+ in labor. If anyone has a go-to independent shop in the Cincinnati, OH/Northern Kentucky area, that'd be a bonus!

2. Portable vs permanent braking setup? The toad is my wife's daily driver, so if we go permanent it needs to be something unobtrusive. Also we have 3 young kids, so we would probably need something like the SMI/Demco controller that can be mounted in the engine compartment (instead of in the passenger area). E-trailer had a great video showing the install, by the way.

Thanks in advance for all your expertise and appreciate everyone reading!

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Wangus

Hi everyone,

1. Where did you have the equipment installed (base plate, wiring, etc)?

2. Portable vs permanent braking setup?

Did it myself. If you're mechanically inclined it's not too bad.

Portable.... BRAKE BUDDY....If you change toads you don't end up having more labor costs.

Check A&R on Cheviot Rd. also there's a RV service and storage place in Ross that used to get good reviews.

[Wangus]

Thanks Grumpy!

I could probably do the baseplate install if I had to, but don’t want to mess with wiring, pulling the bumper off, etc.

Appreciate the local recs, will definitely check those shops out!

[WinnieView]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Did it myself. If you're mechanically inclined it's not too bad.

Portable.... BRAKE BUDDY....If you change toads you don't end up having more labor costs.

x2
We have done a few on different makes and models including the wiring which after the baseplate hardware, we consider the easy part.

[Wangus]

Thanks 2008 Seneca!

[jd99336]

I have a Cherokee (Jeep) and did the Blue Ox base plate install myself which involved removing the front bumper facia. Ulimately I went with the ReadyBrute tow bar with surge brake as it is a cable attached to the brake pedal and avoids the wiring of most brake systems. For lights, I started with wiring kits, but it got complicated enough, that I just ran wiring from a plus in front of the jeep to a 4 pin at the back hatch and attach magnetic lights. Maybe not as clean as direct wires and such, but I am all in at about $1500-1700 for everything and have 4K miles with no issues. If I am not doing a lot of driving I don't even remove the magnetic lights, but it takes less than 2 minutes anyway so no biggie.

[Wangus]

Thanks jd!

[Mnwelsh]

Business that install trailer hitches often to that they of work and installs.

[Wangus]

Thanks Mn!

[loki805]

Check around at pickup truck places. Places that install bed covers and hitches and such. We have a place here that did base plate and all wiring on my Jeep for $175 labor.

[Love To Travel 2]

We purchased a 2018 Equinox to pull behind our 29MV. I had the dealer install everything. I probably could have done the installation, but I feel much better that someone with experience did the work. We use the Demco Commander and the RVI Braking System and had a charge line added to keep the battery charged. Was it expensive? Yes, but to me there is some work best left to the experts and this was one of those situations. The RVI System works well for us, but it has to be removed each time we want to drive the Equinox. Not a big deal and it doesn't take a lot of time to put it back in. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Wangus]

Thanks loki and Love To Travel!

[thirdktm]

Went with the Ready Brute towing apparatus and a Blue Ox towbar.
An independent RV repair shop charged about $1,000 to install the Ready Brute to my Jeep Wrangler. The shop gave me the Blue Ox towbar!!
The Ready Brute does not use a box inside the towed vehicle to activate the brakes. It uses inertia of the braking RV to activate the towed vehicle brakes. It's simple and not electric.
Ready Brute info can be found on its website.
Our RV is a Jayco 24M Melbourne........

[Wangus]

Thanks thirdktm!

[mbpharmd1]

Did it myself. I have a readybrake setup also . Once the intitial setup is done with the brake you don’t Even know it’s there and there is nothing electrical to worry about with the brake itself since it Is a mechanical surge. Did the baseplate, brake lights, break away emergency brake in a weekend on my Jeep.

[Wangus]

Thanks mbp!

[MrJackSprat]

We just purchased a new 2017 Ford Edge and having the work done our local RV dealer late this week. We went with a Blue Ox setup (Ford Edge base plate, Ascent tow bar & Patriot II portable brake system & accessory kit). I read and watched (Youtube) a lot about doing the work myself, but felt the dealer had all the tools, tech, patience and know how to complete the job. Since our brake lights are LED there was some additional wiring hurdles for tail light wiring on the Edge. The whole front end of the car needs to be removed to install base plate, along with a few frame cutouts - a little more work than I am comfortable with. Total cost for labor is about $960 (8+ hours of work). Dealer has installed hundreds of these setups over the years, so that gives me a little piece of mind going forward.

[Wangus]

Thanks MrJack!