Toad ready to go

     The days are getting closer to our planned date of departure, and finally the work has been completed getting the toad ready.  We are going to be towing our 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited behind the MH, and there was a little more work involved than I thought.  I'm going to discuss each of the items I ended up using because by reading other people's blogs, I was able to read about all the pros and cons of all these systems. If someone happens to read this blog and picks up an idea or 2, then I've been successful in pushing the favor forward.  Another great source for everything about RV's has been iRV2.

     I was able to locate a used Blue Ox baseplate from a gentleman in Texas.  I saw his post on iRV2 and after a few phone calls to Texas, we reached an agreeable figure, and he shipped it up to me in NY.  Everything arrived in perfect shape, but being summertime, I procrastinated a little, and didn't make arrangements to have it installed until the fall.  How hard could it be??  It only had a couple of bolts holding it on, and just a little modification to the Jeep and I'd be ready to go.  I failed to realize that getting the front bumper off of a 6 year old Jeep that had seen several winters and road salt, would be a major challenge. My buddy Tom down the road had all the necessary tools and a heated garage, and after a  few hours work, we managed to get everything attached.  But it wasn't really much easier getting the bumper back on!  For you Jeep owners out there, now comes the sticker shock.  We had to take off the plastic cowling under the Jeep, and they are held on by either 6 or 8 PLASTIC screws.  Getting them off chewed them up  a bit, so a few days later I swung by the local Jeep dealership to pick up some new ones.  They only had 2 in stock, but they'd have some more in the next day.  No problem as I was working right down the street from the dealer.  The next day I stopped by, and the salesman tossed me a bag full of brand new PLASTIC screws.  Perfect I thought....till the bill was tallied up. Just short of $50.00.....for 8 PLASTIC screws!!!!  I though the guy was kidding.  He wasn't.  Needless to say, I exited the dealer without those plastic screws.  I'm not sure I need that plastic cowling now anyway.

     After checking out the various taillight configurations in multiple discussion groups on iRV2, I decided on the wiring harness offered by Cool Tech LLC for my 2007 Jeep Wrangler.  Order it online, and the harness arrived a few days later.  Followed the accompanying instructions, and in about 2 hours or so, the Jeep was ready to plug into the Tiffin Allegro Breeze for a light check.  The harness plugged into the left rear taillight on my Jeep, and then came the option of running the harness through the frame to the front, or alongside the frame.  The enclosed plug matched my Blue Ox baseplate, and everything checked out perfectly the first time.

     The final issue was the braking system for the toad.  There are dozens of options available to the consumer, and you can spend as much as you would like.  I went with the Ready Brake Supplemental System which I ordered through Adventure RV.

 

It utilizes a hydraulic system on the slide receiver attached to the tow bar, and uses a cable to pull on the arm of the Jeep's brake pedal.  Fairly simple install for anyone who is a little handy around a vehicle.  The only problem I had was getting the cable through the front bumper of the Jeep.  The plastic piece they provided to guide the cable through the front bumper was not long enough the reach through the cover on the Jeep's front bumper, but using a little ingenuity we were successful in making it work.  

     We survived the Polar Vortex which covered most of the U.S. today.  Those weather people sure like to hype thins up!  Little by little we're moving things out to Weezy as we get ready for our Trip to See America.