Flat Towing

[Huntress]

I have a 2015 Jayco Greyhawk and wanting a flat tow vehicle I have a 2016 Dodge Ram Crew cab would it be to big/ heavy to tow with my class C?

[Dustdevil]

Somewhere inside your Greyhawk is a rating sheet. Probably stuck to the inside of a kitchen cabinet door, or bathroom cabinet door. It has weight values on it. The "dry" weight, or unladen weight of your Greyhawk, plus the people and all the things you put inside it, including all water and holding tank weight (calculated at about 9 lbs per gallon), cannot exceed the GVWR figure. There is likely also a GCWR figure. Subtract the GVWR from GCWR, and that is the max weight you can tow. There is a sticker inside the door jamb of your Dodge with a vehicle weight. That, plus anything you plan to carry in the pickup, is the number to compare to the max tow weight. If the truck is too heavy, I'd suggest something lighter to tow.

[Old skipper]

In a single word yes, the biggest factor is braking ability. As a practicle matter if your tow vehicle outbweights your toad by a thousand pounds the toad is not going to push your around, also if flat towing there is no weight penalty and even if you dolly tow you are looking at less than 150 pounds.

[Decrows2]

We are towing our 2010 Ford Taurus with a Blue ox setup. No problems with our 2015 Greyhawk 29ME.

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[Grumpy]

The 2015's are rated to tow 7,500. As was mentioned supplemental braking is absolutely necessary.

[Decrows2]

Yes we have the Patriot Braking system.

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[Huntress]

Thanks for the info we ended up getting a 2012 Honda CRV ! We are now researching supplemental braking do we need it? Hitch place said we didn't need it ! Thanks for any info ! Going to hit the road right after Christmas !

[abarkl]

Originally Posted by Huntress

Thanks for the info we ended up getting a 2012 Honda CRV ! We are now researching supplemental braking do we need it? Hitch place said we didn't need it ! Thanks for any info ! Going to hit the road right after Christmas !

We have had many different towed's over the year and wouldn't think about being with a supplemental braking system.
It is illegal in some states not to have one and if the worst case should ever happen the prosecuting party would make a point of the fact that one was not used.
We also have the Blue Ox Patriot Braking system also and it's just a matter of placing it in on the floor of the towed when towing.

[drk98]

Originally Posted by Huntress

Thanks for the info we ended up getting a 2012 Honda CRV ! We are now researching supplemental braking do we need it? Hitch place said we didn't need it ! Thanks for any info ! Going to hit the road right after Christmas !

You absolutely need one. I believe most states require one. 99% of the time you won't need it but it's that 1% of the time you'll be glad you did. We have the RVi Brake and are very happy with it. It's a much smaller more modern version of the Brake buddy and patriot solution.

[GrayHawk51]

Here's the one I use with my 2015 Frontier King Cab. Using a Blue Ox base plate.

NSA RV Products - Ready Brake and Ready Brute Home

[Huntress]

Thanks for advice I am on the search now for one the hitch company sells RVI 3 but can't get it till after the first of the year the command Center is still in testing they say they can send the braking system and will work with out it and they will send it the command Center out in jan. Thanks for Advice

[jvteach77]

Originally Posted by Huntress

I have a 2015 Jayco Greyhawk and wanting a flat tow vehicle I have a 2016 Dodge Ram Crew cab would it be to big/ heavy to tow with my class C?

I used to tow a Ford Flex with my 2015 Greyhawk. The flex is a fairly heavy car at about 4,300 lbs. I suspect the truck would be even heavier than that. That said I thought my flex felt like a boat anchor being drug behind my coach. I did not enjoy pulling it, especially on any kind of hill, much less mountain.

We did tow ours over the Rockies and we made it, but it is just slow going up the hills.

I wouldn't recommend it, if you have other options.

[Dustdevil]

Supplemental braking is necessary, with a breakaway system. Even in states that don't legally require it. Because if your toad tears away, crosses a median, hits someone or another vehicle, and kills the occupant(s), you won't be worried about RVing ever again in your lifetime. Even if your insurance policy doesn't exclude it, the limits won't be anywhere near high enough for the lawsuit that ensues. A donkey could prove gross negligence if you chose not to have a braking system that could have avoided it. Not to mention how you would feel about killing someone. Auxiliary braking systems are definitely worth the investment.

[Huntress]

We went with RVI 3 braking system getting it installed tomorrow!

[abarkl]

Originally Posted by Huntress

We went with RVI 3 braking system getting it installed tomorrow!

Wise choice. Let us know how you like it.

[tjbroussard]

We are relatively new to towing but find the Ready Brute Elite with the supplemental emergency cable very easy to use. Daughter drive the 2015 Jeep Wrangler right up to the hitch, and I do the rest. Takes about 5 minutes. Bought everything on Amazon and installed it myself.

[GrayHawk51]

Got the same setup. Lovw it.

[Wildhorses24]

Originally Posted by Dustdevil

Supplemental braking is necessary, with a breakaway system. Even in states that don't legally require it. Because if your toad tears away, crosses a median, hits someone or another vehicle, and kills the occupant(s), you won't be worried about RVing ever again in your lifetime. Even if your insurance policy doesn't exclude it, the limits won't be anywhere near high enough for the lawsuit that ensues. A donkey could prove gross negligence if you chose not to have a braking system that could have avoided it. Not to mention how you would feel about killing someone. Auxiliary braking systems are definitely worth the investment.

This is a great way of thinking when considering the braking system. As an insurance agent I've seen it all. I accidently forgot to hook up my system once and honestly couldn't tell the difference. (We came down a 11% grade for 13miles too) it's that chance of the vehicle braking loose in my mind that's 100% worth the investment.


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[Bluesky46]

On my 2012 Greyhawk, the weight info is on a sticker inside the drivers door. It tells you the weight when it left left the factory, full of fuel, but no water. And it tells the max gross vehicle weight. The difference is what you can add, including food, passengers, water, or any after factory add ons, like awnings or tow hitches or spare tires. Also on the 2012 it shows the max combined weight, which includes the RV + the toad. That is 19,500 which would leave 5,000 for a toad. Personally I think that is a lot for vehicle in tow, whether flat or dolly. I like to keep my tow vehicle under 3,000

[Boudreaux]

Like many here, we tow four wheels on the ground. Back in Dec '15 through Jan '16 I researched heavily.

Purchased the Grayhawk in Feb '16. I finally began to look real hard at the Subaru '16 Forester (Manual Trans) in '16 March, and made the purchase of the Forester in late March.

The wife and I have extensive experience with manual transmissions, so we traded our daily driver (Toyota Avalon) and purchased Blue Ox equipment to tow the Forester. We towed the Forester six thousand plus miles during the summer of '16 with great success.

We get incredible gas mileage with the '16 Forester (30/33 mpg plus), making it a dream when we set out to explore the countryside once we park the RV while traveling.