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Author Topic: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?  (Read 7656 times)

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Offline Zoro

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Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« on: August 21, 2012, 11:54:40 PM »
Anybody here tow their Eagle behind their motorhome? If so what setup do you use? What did you do for your tail lights?

I plan on installing the NP229 into my Eagle so I'll have a transfer case with a neutral position and not have to worry about dropping driveshafts or axle disconnects.
84 Eagle Wagon aka 'Zoro II'
263,000 miles and counting!

Offline jim

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2012, 01:19:21 PM »
I haven't towed with an RV but I have towed with a dolly.  I used magnetic lights from Uhaul.  They are also available at Harbor Freight and I'm sure at lots of other places.
I'm right 98% of the time, and I don't care about the other 3%.
"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people;
that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
--Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45
What part of "shall not be infringed" do they not understand?
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01 Yukon 4X4
(There's more to life than fuel mileage)
83 Eagle wagon; shared responsibility as daily driver
88 Eagle white woody wagon; shared responsibility as daily driver
86 wagon parts car
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Offline Zoro

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2012, 04:40:10 PM »
I haven't towed with an RV but I have towed with a dolly.  I used magnetic lights from Uhaul.  They are also available at Harbor Freight and I'm sure at lots of other places.

I've got a set of those HF tow lights and they do work quite nicely until you get in the heavy wind, then they come off...lol

Did you have your Eagle on the dolly tail first?
84 Eagle Wagon aka 'Zoro II'
263,000 miles and counting!

Offline eaglefreek

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2012, 06:23:23 PM »
If you want to use the Eagle's tail lights, you can run it through a trailer light connector. however, you would probably want to install some diodes to keep the RV's power from going up through the rest of the Eagle's wiring harness. Also, in most states they require a braking system for the towed vehicle. http://www.rv.net/FORUM/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/13200019.cfm

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Offline jim

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2012, 10:32:13 PM »
I had my Eagle on the dolly frontwards.  It had no drive train except the rear end.
I'm right 98% of the time, and I don't care about the other 3%.
"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people;
that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
--Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45
What part of "shall not be infringed" do they not understand?
08 Impala
01 Yukon 4X4
(There's more to life than fuel mileage)
83 Eagle wagon; shared responsibility as daily driver
88 Eagle white woody wagon; shared responsibility as daily driver
86 wagon parts car
Click for Little Rock, AR Forecast" border="0" height="100" width="150

Offline Zoro

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2012, 10:32:57 PM »
I had my Eagle on the dolly frontwards.  It had no drive train except the rear end.

HA! That always works ;)
84 Eagle Wagon aka 'Zoro II'
263,000 miles and counting!

Offline Zoro

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2012, 10:35:36 PM »
If you want to use the Eagle's tail lights, you can run it through a trailer light connector. however, you would probably want to install some diodes to keep the RV's power from going up through the rest of the Eagle's wiring harness. Also, in most states they require a braking system for the towed vehicle. http://www.rv.net/FORUM/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/13200019.cfm



Thanks for the link....As far as diodes go are they one size fits all?
84 Eagle Wagon aka 'Zoro II'
263,000 miles and counting!

Offline maddog

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #7 on: August 23, 2012, 02:33:14 AM »
i hope this doesn't sound rude but i would get a trailer it's easier and most already come wired and you don't have to worry about messing up your drivetrain when your Eagle is on it.
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Offline jim

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2012, 01:11:07 PM »
I concur with maddog.  I don't know whether Zoro planned to use a tow bar or a dolly, but my personal opinion is that dollies are possessed by evil spirits.
I'm right 98% of the time, and I don't care about the other 3%.
"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people;
that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
--Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45
What part of "shall not be infringed" do they not understand?
08 Impala
01 Yukon 4X4
(There's more to life than fuel mileage)
83 Eagle wagon; shared responsibility as daily driver
88 Eagle white woody wagon; shared responsibility as daily driver
86 wagon parts car
Click for Little Rock, AR Forecast" border="0" height="100" width="150

Offline Zoro

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2012, 11:05:20 AM »
i hope this doesn't sound rude but i would get a trailer it's easier and most already come wired and you don't have to worry about messing up your drivetrain when your Eagle is on it.

Not rude at all. In a perfect world I'd love to use the trailer. The MAIN reason I'm leaning towards flat towing is because my RV gets about 10MPG hwy on a good day, a trailer will add an additional 2,000lbs and make the mileage drop more. The dry weight of the RV is 13,500 +2,000(my trailer)+ Eagle(3,000[?]) and camping gear(fuel, propane, water, food, etc...) puts me near 20K LBS. That's a LOT of weight to push around with a 440 Mopar! With $4/gallon fuel every cent counts. :censored:

doesent a 229 t-case have an oil pump running off the tail shaft?? if so, it would provide lube to the rear bearing right? if so, it would be just fine to tow with the trans in neutral.

as for lights, you can wire the car up to run motorhome lights thru the eagle lights fine. one wire you would tie into your "marker" lights. thats easy at the front of the car. (dash lights might light up with them however.) then you got one wire to run to either the rear of the car, or you can pull the left hand kick pannel and tap into the wire going to the brake lights. i wouldnt even bother with the amber turnsignal lights on the wagons. just the wire going to the brake lights is good. one for left and one for right. if you dont want to mess with the kick pannel, run the 2 wires al the rear of the car, and tap into the wires where they go into the brake light of the eagle at the lense. then you got to make sure you have a good ground. i hope i dont come across wrong, but if you understand wiring, its not really a big deal. good luck.

Not sure on the rear oil pump. I've always been told you want to flat tow with the transfer case in neutral and the trans in park because the trans will still spin even with the transfer case in neutral and without the front pump turning(engine running) the trans gets no lubrication. Atleast that's the theory, somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as the lights go I tried that a few years back on an S10 blazer exactly as you described and it worked with the exception of some serious electrical back feed into the dash which caused a fire. Probably just a fluke(more likely it was because it's a Chevy :P) gonna try not to do that with this Eagle ;)

I concur with maddog.  I don't know whether Zoro planned to use a tow bar or a dolly, but my personal opinion is that dollies are possessed by evil spirits.

Tow bar. I usually don't like to flat tow but my RV is a 30 footer, more than enough girth to compensate for the Eagle. Dollies are definitely possessed by evil spirits. I had one come apart on the interstate a few years back and it took my last Eagle with it to an early grave, almost flipped my pickup in the process. I'll trailer or tow bar before I ever consider using a dolly again!
« Last Edit: August 24, 2012, 11:09:23 AM by Zoro »
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Offline TheWraith

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2012, 08:47:20 PM »
...more likely it was because it's a Chevy :P...

Yes, Chevrolet's fault.  Not the fault of the person that cut into the factory wiring and added a foriegn electrical feed.  The millions of dollars spent in research and design resulted in shoddy work.  The General should had anticipated this scenario and added additional fuse protection ::)

Next someone is going to tell me toymotor makes the best car on the planet, gas pedals don't stick, brakes don't fail, and those power window door fires are the fault of the operator.

Yep, Chevrolet's fault. :-\
I am what Willis was talking about.

Offline Zoro

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #11 on: August 24, 2012, 09:25:47 PM »
...more likely it was because it's a Chevy :P...

Yes, Chevrolet's fault.  Not the fault of the person that cut into the factory wiring and added a foriegn electrical feed.  The millions of dollars spent in research and design resulted in shoddy work.  The General should had anticipated this scenario and added additional fuse protection ::)

Next someone is going to tell me toymotor makes the best car on the planet, gas pedals don't stick, brakes don't fail, and those power window door fires are the fault of the operator.

Yep, Chevrolet's fault. :-\

I hope you didn't think I was serious. Sarcasm doesn't travel well over the interwebs.
84 Eagle Wagon aka 'Zoro II'
263,000 miles and counting!

Offline maddog

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2012, 04:03:12 AM »
toyota is the best car on the planet if you have a death wish i get nervous every time i see one near me. oh and you forgot about thier steering issue that they have been having.
1998 CHEVY S10 (DAILY DRIVER/PROJECT) INTIMIDATIN'
1980 AMC EAGLE WAGON (PROJECT) EAGLE EYES
http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=30758.0
1983 AMC EAGLE LIMITED WAGON-SURVIVOR (gone)
http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=32372.0

Offline TheWraith

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Re: Anyone tow their Eagle with an RV?
« Reply #13 on: September 06, 2012, 07:55:32 AM »
I hope you didn't think I was serious. Sarcasm doesn't travel well over the interwebs.

Agreed. :)
I am what Willis was talking about.

 

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