EscFmHere

Hey all, do we have any RV'ers in the house? My wife traded in our tow vehicle. This was part of my justification to get my Rubi. It was a "sacrifice" on my part, I know, lol.

I traditionally use Roamaster or Blu-Ox base plates. That was before the Jeep. I don't like how it looks or what it does the approach angle. I use a Falcon 2 tow bar, and have been searching for a Jeepside solution.

I was looking at Currie's base plate, it looks good and replaces the front skid plate, especially good if you have a stock bumper and plastic skid plate.

I have a Hard Rock, and it doesn't line up right with the bumper, so I looked again.

I found the Maximus-3 Jeep Wrangler JK Tow Loops. They look great...too great.

I just can't help but wonder if they will hold up to 1000's of miles behind the coach.

If anyone has used them, or has any thoughts on the subject, I am all ears. Maybe I am just being paranoid.

EscFmHere

Sorry, after further thought, this probably should have been under "Modified JK Tech", "Bumpers"....

....I have slapped myself.

resharp001

I have a motorhome and tow my JKU. I use a Blue Ox Aventa tow bar, and I have the adapter ends so that bar hooks directly to the 7/8" d-rings that Smittybilt uses. I currently have a Smittybilt XRC stinger on the front, and previously had the SRC front bumper. I'd prefer to have a different manufacturer's front bumper on my jeep, but Smitty is the only one I know of that uses 7/8" rings.

I realize that doesn't help a whole lot as I'm sure you're trying to stick with your Hard Rock front bumper. If by chance you are open to a change, I'd note that those bumpers fetch a decent value around these parts.

If you have any further towing questions, happy to chime back in. I use a Blue Oz patriot brake in the jeep as well.

EscFmHere

Thanks resharp! I will check into your braking system, I no longer have one. Like I said, we still have our Falcon 2, coach side.

Jeep side....I am not sure what I want to do at this point. The Jeep is two weeks old. There a lot of options, but I don't like most of them, for one reason or another.

I'm not new to having a toad, I just didn't consider any of our previous toads keepers...I plan to keep the Rubi til she dies or an asteroid hits us. So, I want to be happy with my choice.

I like the Maximus Loops, that I mentioned above, I just would like to see a review.

I don't want to swap out my bumper just yet, AEV did a good job designing it, it looks good and has room for some upgrades.

If I were to switch bumpers, I would follow your recommendation, as this would be ideal.

Good to know there are other RV'ers with a coach, in here. Most RV talk I see is for trailers, behind the Jeep.

hibypass

I just sold my coach last summer. Miss it greatly but I kept the jk I towed behind. I've since removed the blue Ox base plate for a havoc stubby bumper. Kept the wiring harness just in case I decide to buy another coach. Jeeps make great tow vehicles and are much more fun and versatile once you arrive.

resharp001

Y, IIRC, anything over 4k lbs requires a supplemental break here in TX. My jeep tipped the scale a bit over 5k lbs at one point. The Patriot brake works great, but just like everything Motorhome related.....it's not cheap. Bout $1k.

EscFmHere

I just went to look at it, yes it's pricey, but I am not surprised. Not at the cost or performance.

It is comparable, in both areas, to the Roadmaster 9700 that we used to have.

Have you ever tried any direct braking or hidden systems? In all our travels, I haven't met anyone who did either, but I have always been curious.

EscFmHere

......Noooooo! LOL

I hear you...we would miss ours greatly too. The kids would revolt!

We are looking forward to getting back out, we have been slacking since the wife got rid of our toad, and declared her new car "off limits". My 2WD Silverado was never an option.

resharp001

I never really considered the direct braking option. A bit more entailed than I ever desired to get for our use, not to mention I wouldn't really want to mess with that on my jeep. If I was a full time RV'er and my toad was a piece of junk, might be something I'd be willing to try. I previously towed a Honda Odyssey and a Jeep Commander. Towing the JK is so much easier. It's a tight fit for our family of 5 + four legged friend, but it works when we go out.

Did you already wire up your tail lights? I spliced in to the lines down in the front passenger floorboard.

EscFmHere

I am kind of with you on the direct braking, just like I didn't mind chopping up the Mazda or the Malibu, I may have experimented then. I am being a lot more cautious with the Rubi, since she is a keeper. I still haven't met anyone who has done it, figured I would ask.

I am researching the Mopar and Cooltech harnesses. The Mopar item is Mopar...the Cooltech appears to be easier to install. I have seen no performance based criticism of the Mopar kit. I read one negative comment on the earlier Cooltech kit, but they have since resolved the issue. I guess it interfered with the proper operation of one the tail lights, if you had the factory tow package installed.

To my surprise, I may actually be looking at the Patriot, Brake Buddy or Brake Buddy Vantage over the Roadmaster's (I had a 9700). The installation is just so much easier. The Brake Buddy has me thinking, based on cost, but the Patriot is the front runner for performance.

We are a family of 4, with 3 four legged friends, but all 3 likely add up to one normal sized dog....lol

Back to what started this post, the Maximus-3 Tow Loops...I can't find a review for this specific part, but I also can't find a single negative word about any Maximus-3 products, especially in regard to to tolerances, welds, structural integrity. I saw one person say that his Blu-Ox connection wasn't just right, but when I talked to Maximus-3 and Rubitrux, they said the loops fit both my Falcon 2 Bar and the Blu-Ox (they have one pictured) bars....I like this set-up, and may just order it, and test the fit with the bar before I install them.