Details on My Towing Setup

Saturn Tow bar
This is the tow interface on the front of our Saturn which can be totally removed when not in use.

Tow Bar without Interface

Above is a picture without the Falcon interface bar installed normally leave the lower interface bar's installed during the camping season and remove them each winter. The Falcon interface part I remove after each trip and stand it up in corner of garage.

This is a close-up of the driver's side interface showing my 6 wire connector's. Since I remove the interface bars, I am using two connector's here. One on the upper part which accepts the harness from the motorhome and a second on underneath which is a duplicate so I don't have to mess with wiring when I remove them. I have found that galvanized nailing plates, available from any building supply source make great mounting plates for these connectors and they don't rust. That's why there are a lot of little holes in the one above.
I you use these, you will have to have some means of cutting a hole large enough to accept the connector though.

You can see more details on fabrication of my truss-plate connector mount here.

Note the extra safety cable that is necessary since there is another removable interface.

left interface

This is a close-up of the passenger side interface that shows the pin that holds the interface bar in the lower receiver.

left full view This is a full view of the passenger side interface showing the total assembly including the safety cable.

Actual Tow Bar

This is the Towmaster Falcon towbar on the rear of our motorhome. One nice feature is the rod that is provided to store the coiled electrical cable. This is mounted parallel with the interface on driver's side and stored cable is simply plugged in immediately after this side is attached to car. In the past, I had one devil of a time figuring out what to do with this cable since it is about twice as long as necessary. Now it ALL stores on the provided rod. I replaced the safety cables shown here with set of the coiled cables which allows them to be stored on the tow bar and I no longer have to wrap them around my ladder.

I can hook or unhook this setup in less than 5 minutes and that includes installation of the Brake Buddy in floorboard of the car.

September 1999

Just an additional warning re the use of this or any tow system. If you are unhooking the car by yourself, UNHOOK THE SAFETY CABLES LAST.

Or even better, do it with your mate in the car....

I almost lost my car recently which I had inadvertently left in neutral. After I had stored the tow bar on back of my motor I looked back at the car and it was about ten foot down the road drifting backwards & gaining speed. Talk about heart failure...

Apparently, I it was just enough incline for it to slowly drift backwards after I removed the tow bar.

November 2009 UPDATE

I no longer tow a Saturn but still use Roadmaster equipment. My current Tow Bar is Roadmaster All Terrain towbar towing a 2009 Honda Fit Sport.

Here are a few usefule tidbits of advice I have developed for those using towbars:

1. ALWAYS remove your Roadmaster electrical cable that connects between your RV and Toad if you do not plan on using it for extended period. I was constantly having issues with corriosion of the contacts (on both ends of cable). Now I remove it and store it in dark, dry place, when not in use and my corriosion problems have dissapeared.

2.As soon as you get back from extended trip, clean the towbar extension mecanisim with WD40 then lubricate it with silicone lubricant. I also wrap mine in a black plastic garbage bag and tie it off with bungee cords nut leave it on MH hitch( I have a lock on it). The problems I used to have with it hanging in extended position went away also. A Roadmaster rep showed me the cleaning tip at FMCA rally.

3. Use a 6 Pin connector and cable that will allow you to run a charge line between the Toad Battery and the RV Battery. I installed a 20 Ampre fuse on each end to prevent burning up wiring in the event something shorts out in the harness. I still us a Brakebuddy and have NEVER had dead battery after long (2 or 3 day) tow. The cable is more expensive than 4 pin cable but worth the extra cost and if you store it between tow sessions, it will last forever.

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RV in The Rio Grande Valley
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