What Is Flat Towing and How Does It Work

Flat towing is the action of pulling a vehicle on all four of its wheels. You can also find flat towing under many different names such as four-wheel towing, vehicle towing, and many more.

For this purpose, you will need a few things. For starters, you will need another, in most cases a bigger vehicle to pull and equipment to connect both.

The most common situation that requires you to tow a flat is because of a trip. Many people love traveling in RVs, but many RV owners also like to bring along their car to the trip. And the best way to do that is through this system, which is relatively simple compared to others.

In this article, we will talk extensively about flat towing and tell you how it works. With all that said, let’s start.

Why Do It?

As we said earlier, flat towing is the best method of towing along another vehicle. This method is good for the person towing and for the vehicle itself. You might be asking yourself why that is the case?

The best thing about flat towing is that setting up the connection between both vehicles is easy and very convenient. With this method, you can easily reach your destination with both vehicles intact.

We also mentioned earlier that RV owners use this method to bring along their cars for the trip. Setting up the connection between the RV and vehicle is very easy if both vehicles have the necessary slots where the connection can be made.

If not, then you will most likely need to purchase a flat tow kit or change your method.

But we would argue against the latter as anything else than this method is a hassle you don’t want to get yourself into.

Decoupling after reaching the destination requires little to no effort, as you’ll most likely have to pull a lever to separate the two vehicles.

While the ease of use and setup are huge advantages to this method, we have to mention the fact that flat towing is super convenient. The convenience of flat towing is another factor that has to be taken into consideration. It doesn’t matter how many steps you need to take, the towed vehicle will always follow you accordingly and safely.

If you’re ever going on a trip and thinking about taking your car with you, then consider this method.

How Does It Work?

Many of you certainly ask the question of how it actually works. Well fear not even though the process might sound complex in nature, it is actually very simple.

Tow Bars

First off, you’ll need a tow bar. This is the most recognizable part of the towing system or tow kit. This bar is designed to link both vehicles for the purpose of towing.

You will need to set up the tow bar onto your RV and lock it in position. Then, connect it to the mounted car and also lock it in place. This bar will not scratch your vehicle as the safety mechanisms prevent such damages.

Base Plates

The thing with baseplates is that they’re unique to every vehicle. So if you’re towing a Ford and a Chevy, you will need two different base plates for each specific car. The reasoning is that each base plate is specially designed for the frames of specific vehicles. You will oftentimes find hundreds of base plates available for different types of vehicles. We attach the tow bars onto the base plates, hence why they’re so important.

Safety Cables

Thinking about that cross-country trip next week? Are you also thinking about bringing your car along? Well towing the vehicle without safety cables is a recipe for disaster.

Safety cables are absolutely crucial as they’re legally required by states. They’re legal because they serve a very important role during the towing process.

If something would happen to the tow bar, the safety cables make sure both vehicles don’t get separated and stay attached to the bars. This obviously eliminates a very inconvenient issue of having to retrieve your vehicle after leaving it down the road.

Tow Bar Wiring

It is required by many state laws that the towed vehicle operates in perfect synch with the vehicle that is dragging it. In order to do this, you will need to somehow notify the other driver of certain maneuvering such as changing lanes, braking, etc.

To help out with this inconvenient problem, you will need to do some wiring. Tow bar wiring is essentially a diode light with a wiring system that notifies the other driver whenever doing these maneuvers.

Solid Breaking System

And lastly, we have the braking system. You can imagine the importance of the braking system. Every state in the US requires you to have a braking system in place. This is to prevent any unwanted accidents and save lives in the process. But every state has different weight ratings for the breaking system. Some are at 1,500 pounds while others at 3,000 pounds.

These are the basics of flat towing and a general rundown of the equipment needed to do so. While the process does seem quite complex in nature, all you need in essence are five items. Whenever preparing for a trip, make sure to have a checklist of all the necessary equipment so your motorhome can successfully drag your car.

Finishing Thoughts

There are dozens of reasons why you would need to tow a car. Maybe it’s to bring it along for your trip or maybe it broke down so you’re taking it to the repair shop.

And it is quite common for the vehicle that tows to be the RV. Towing your car behind a motorhome, such as an RV, is very simple and very convenient. But you will need to have the proper equipment to make it possible.

Luckily for you, there are all kinds of information online and places where you can acquire the equipment. For more information on that, make sure to visit https://autobossrv.com/rv-hitches-towing/.