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This versatile tow bar is easy to use, with arms that support their own weight while you hook up and swing to either side for storage. Integrated safety cables keep your setup streamlined and organized. Built-in rise/drop keeps tow bar level.
Features:
Specs:
Note: If you use this tow bar in the rise or drop position you may need to add safety cable extensions (sold separately) to reach your tow vehicle's hitch.
If you already have a Reese or Valley base plate or are planning on getting one, this kit includes the needed brackets to make this tow bar compatible. Simply unbolt the existing brackets and bolt on the new ones in their place. All the hardware is included.
The etrailer SD has a lot of smart features that give you the flexibility to hook up your toad (towed vehicle) to your RV, without the need for your vehicle to be perfectly level or in the exact right spot.
First of all, the arms are self-supporting, meaning that they hold themselves up without your help and won't fall to the ground when you let them go. They also move independently of each other, so you can focus on getting just one arm connected at a time. You'll never be stuck wrestling with a heavy tow bar.
Just slide the tow bar into your hitch and pin it in place. The telescoping arms will extend, pivot, and tilt to the needed length and angle to reach the tabs on your base plate. You can get hooked up and on with your adventure.
Once the tow bar's connected, slowly pull forward and the self-aligning arms will fully extend and lock into the towing position. Double check that the arms are properly latched and you'll be ready to hit the road!
Important: The arms need to be set up so that the storage rod is on the outside of the arm. Otherwise, the tow bar could be damaged when taking turns.
The SD's arms are longer than average, giving you an above-average turning radius. You're going to be able to get around obstacles and make sharp turns with no worry of clipping the corner of your RV. Maneuver through gas stations and the campsite no problem.
It's important that your tow bar is as level as possible while you're flat towing, with no more than a 3" difference between where the tow bar sits in the hitch receiver and where the arms meet the base plate. It's fairly common for the hitch on an RV to sit too high in comparison to the toad, making it necessary to buy a high-low adapter.
With etrailer tow bars, the rise/drop is built right in, so it's less likely that you'll need an extra adapter. The head joint is also able to tilt up and down so you can make the tow bar level for your particular setup.
Uneven ground and sharp angles can put the arms of the tow bar in a bind and make them stiff and immoveable. Once you get to your destination, the last thing you need is to spend several minutes wrestling, yanking, and kicking at them to get your car disconnected.
Instead, get out of a bind in one easy step. Simply give the trigger on the arm of the SD a squeeze to disengage the internal latch. This releases the pent-up pressure so you can unhook and get on with your adventure.
Each trigger release latch is positioned on the side of the tow bar arm. This allows for a comfortable yet firm grip, unlike latches that are positioned on the tops of tow bar arms, which can be difficult to grab. This out-of-the-way placement also creates a clean look for the tow bar.
Two straight, vinyl-coated safety cables are integrated right into this tow bar, keeping them from dragging on the ground and getting damaged. They won't get lost or tangled either; your whole setup will be streamlined and organized.
These cables, required by law, will keep your toad behind your RV if there's ever an accidental disconnect while you're towing. The steel S-hooks on each end of the cables connect to the toad's base plate and the RV's trailer hitch, with spring-loaded latches to ensure that they stay connected.
The etrailer safety cables are rated at 14,000 lbs, regardless of the rating of the tow bar. While it's not necessary to have such a high rating, it's nice to know that in the event of an emergency disconnect, these heavy-duty cables will be more than capable of catching your vehicle. If all else fails, these safety cables won't.
The tow bar also offers a convenient storage rod for securing your coiled electrical cord (sold separately). The rod holds your power cord neatly out of the way and up off the ground.
The etrailer SD is incredibly easy to store on the back of your RV. Most RV-mounted tow bars require you to lift the heavy arms all the way up; they have to be fully vertical before you can secure them in the stowed position. With etrailer tow bars, all you have to do is raise the arms an inch or two - which you probably would do anyway while unhooking - and swing them to either side. When you lower them down again, the locking pin will automatically slide into the built-in tab. They can store to the left, right, or with one arm each way, however is convenient for you.
At etrailer, we're committed to the products we sell, and to helping our neighbors journey. We don't just sell it; we've installed it, we've wired it, and we've towed with it, so you're getting your answers straight from the experts. Our etrailer technicians perform flat tow installations on a daily basis, so they know all about your tow bar firsthand. For the life of your tow bar, our experienced and knowledgeable staff are available via phone, email, and chat to help you with any questions or concerns.
Flat towing can be a much more convenient way to take your car RVing with you than using a trailer or a tow dolly. It'll save you storage space both at home and at the campsite, and it takes less time and hassle to hook up.
To flat tow your vehicle, there are 5 basic components you're going to need: a tow bar, a base plate kit, a safety cable set, tow bar wiring, and a flat tow braking system.
| For the RV | Between the RV and Towed Car | For the Towed Car |
|---|---|---|
| Hitch | Tow bar | Base plate |
| Wiring plug | Safety cables | Braking system |
| Wiring adapter cord | Wiring kit/diodes |
The custom-fit base plate installs on the frame of your toad so you can connect the car to your RV with a tow bar. Hook up safety cables between the vehicles to ensure that the toad does not separate from the motorhome if the tow bar becomes detached. Tow bar wiring syncs your vehicle's signal lights with your motorhome's tail lights, as required by law in most states. Finally, the flat tow braking system - also required in most states - activates the brakes in the toad when you hit the brakes in the RV, making for smoother, safer braking, and preventing wear on your motorhome.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi there flat towers today, we're going to be taking a look at etrailer.com SD tow bar. This tow bar comes in various different kits with the ends that's necessary to attach to all the different base plates that are available out there. We're currently using the kit that has ends for etrailer or Demco base plates, but we also have kits available that we'll attach to Valley or Reese base plates, Blue Ox, or Curt base plates, Roadmaster base plates. There are two different kits for the crossbar style or the direct connect style, as well as Duncan base plates. You'll want to make sure that you get the appropriate kit with the ends that will attach to the base plate you're installing on your vehicle. Well, we've got our tow bar here in the storage position.
I did want to point out that it's doing something that none of the other manufacturers tow bars can do.One arm is completely off towards our passenger side while the other is completely off towards the driver's side, giving us a spread of 180 degrees. Many of the other manufacturers, tow bars, they can only spread so far before the arms will stop. And they have a limited amount of spread with this one, having the 180 degree spread the width for the base plate. Attachment points is much more variable on this one. So this is going to attach to just about any base plate out there.
Whereas the other manufacturers are limited depending on the width of the base plate tabs. Now on our Jeep here, it's not too big of an issue because these are pretty close together. But if you did have a larger vehicle like a, an F-150 or a Dodge Ram, where they have a wider base plate attachment point, you might run into some issues with some of the other manufacturers, tow bars.And it's just not an issue on these. Now, if you are towing a large truck or something like that, with the widespread, you do want to keep your weights in mind. This tow bar is rated for 6,000 pounds, but etrailer also has the XHD model, which is rated for 10,500 pounds.
So you are also going to be covered there in that one that has the exact same features here as the SD model. It's just with a much higher weight rating. Another thing that I really like about this tow bar, and for me, this is a big one. Cause I'm putting these in and out all day. We're doing videos and stuff like that.
And I know it's going to be pretty big for you guys at home. If you've ever messed with the tow bar before you know that they're pretty darn heavy.And once you get it in the receiver here, your work's not over. You still don't have to lift these arms up and get them attached to your vehicle. With this tow bar here, you only got to do the work to get it attached to your motor home. And in most cases you can just leave it stored back here at the back, just like it is when you're not using it. And whenever you are ready to use it, you don't have to fight the arms like the other manufacturers where you're holding those heavy arms up because we have nice tension here and the arm holds up right by itself. So there's almost no work in it. You can easily push this around, bring the arm down to line it up. It's just, couldn't be easier with a lot of those other ones. I mean, you're going to have to hold them up cause there's just no assistance.You're bearing the whole weight of it, trying to get these attached. But I mean, with this, it just glides right in and it really does make a huge difference. I mean, I'm putting these in and out all day long and it's just night and day on how I feel at the end of the day, messing around with this tow bar versus the competitors. When you're done using your tow bar, there is a storage position. You'll see a small tab here on top. And these yellow hooks on each side will help keep your arms up and you can put it on either side. I like to put one arm on each side and to store them, you just lift up on the arm to lower that pegged down, we'll twist it over and then we can lower our arm down and that will hold it in place. We're going to do the same thing with our other arm on the other side,And you can take your safety cables, and just wrap them around and clip onto each other to keep those up off the road. Now we've got everything connected here. I did want to point out something that our tow bar does come with and that safety cables. And that's pretty nice, especially since it has cable management here to hold everything up. One of my favorite tow bars from Roadmaster is the Falcon all-terrain. And I'd say that's a pretty good competitor for this one right here as the all-terrain does have channels in it for your safety cables, as well as your wiring. The Falcon all-terrain does not come with the safety cables. So you will need to make sure you purchase your own set. In addition, with those, the etrailer comes with it. So that's one less thing that you have to think about on the side here, our cable management on the etrailer, tow bar is going to be a rod here that allows you to put a coiled cable over it.You do want to keep that in mind when purchasing your cable. Cause there are a lot of styles here at etrailer, and I highly recommend a coiled cable with this tow bar. If you we're going with the Falcon, all-terrain that one in order to use its cable management, it would require you to have a straight cable in order to pass it through the channels. And with that, you also have to remove the ends from it, pass it through the channel and then reconnect it with this one. It's as simple as sliding the quilt cable over here and then securing it with the pin. So it's a little bit less work to get it set up, but non-binding levers on our each etrailer tow bar here. I personally find these to be a little bit easier than the Roadmaster ones. The lever here actually is this small tab here.And this is just kind of gives you a good place for the palm of your hand to really press in and dig in to get it to release. And it just feels smoother. Like it releases better than with the Roadmaster. The Roadmaster's are on top and they do have a longer lever. So you would think that it would be easier with that longer lever, but when you pull that lever up, you can kind of feel it pop, but it doesn't release until that lever is kind of halfway on its way back down. And it can just be kind of finicky, especially since you have to hold the weight up on that Roadmaster tow bar, while you're trying to do all this, this is just a little bit easier. You can kind of grab the bar. It's all one fluid motion. I just prefer this style.I think you'll find it easier as well and help protect your investment. Keep your tow bar out of the elements. We have a cover available here at etrailer.com and this is also nice when you're storing it on the back of your motor home. Cause you can keep all your cables and wiring and everything tucked up in this bag when you're not using it. And to ensure long life and high quality looks, there's an e-coat finish over it to protect it against the elements and prevent any rust or corrosion. I've also got some measurements for you here, so you can see the dimensions and how it's going to sit between your vehicle and your motor home. The arm length when retracted is going to be 39 and a quarter inch, and that's from the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge here. And when extended, it's going to measure 51 and three quarters of an inch.So you've got over 10 inches of travel on our shaft here, but we can make some small adjustments to that length here and our shank, where it goes into our receiver. There are two hitch pin holes. The first one I gave you is for the furthest hole, which is going to be the longest length, but you can cut that down by two inches by using the hole. That's slightly closer to our arms here. There's five main components you'll need when flat towing your vehicle, the tow bar being one of those. In addition to your tow bar, you're also going to need your safety cables, which is a supplemental connection. In addition to your tow bar, you'll also need your diode wiring, which takes the lighting from your motor home and sends it to the lights at the back of your vehicle, your base plate, which is the connection point on your vehicle for your tow bar and your safety cables to attach to. And lastly, your supplemental braking system, which will apply the brakes in your vehicle when you hit them in your motor home. And that completes our look at etrailer.com SD tow bar..
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (194 Customer Reviews)
This versatile tow bar is easy to use, with arms that support their own weight while you hook up and swing to either side for storage. Integrated safety cables keep your setup streamlined and organized. Built-in rise/drop keeps tow bar level.
Bar has worked fine. The clevis ends attach to the rod with a single 3/8” bolt each, so only two little bolts attaching your up to 6000lb vehicle to your tow vehicle, seems excessively light, but it hasn’t broken yet…
SO FAR IT WORKS GREAT, I PULL MY 2006 JEEP WRANGLER BEHIND MY CLASS C E 450. ITS VERY EASY TO HOOK UP AND UNHOOK.
Outstanding product and even better customer service! Two backyard mechanics installed baseplate and braking system with just one call to confirm proper wire connection. Total package works great.
Good design but poorly manufactured. Used on a single, multi-week trip: Bar stayed on the RV. Removed when we got home and the powder-coating has cracked and bar is showing rust inside and out. Chrome on extending arms is pitted and beginning to rust. Emailed etrailer but Cody informed me that I would have to ship it back at my expense without any commitment to replace! Disappointed with etrailer after years of previous purchases
One word. Fabulous! The SD tow bar is a superior product. I don't want to say bad things about the most popular tow bar out there, but etrailer SD is just better engineering. Watch the video for the product. My Roadmaster base plate was installed by Dave C. Of [company] with great expertise. See the pics
We love our etrailer SD tow bar. Much lighter than our previous Blue Ox. The non binding feature along with the integral safety cables and multiple storage options are great features. We use it in conjunction with a NSA Ready Brake. Great combination. Our current coach is a 2017 Jayco Seneca 37HJ. Toad is a Ford C-Max Hybrid. Easiest to use tow bar we have ever owned.
This whole system is great!!! Even being a female, it takes less than a minute to connect or disconnect, just a couple of small receivers stick out of the front of the car. And they are removeable when not towing. My brother even bought a set for his Class C. It is difficult to back up in the Class C, IT is ok as it is quick to disconnect, so no worries.
Loved this tow bar at first fit the Blue Ox base plate perfectly. Definately the easiest to use of all I have used in the past. But after less than 1 year the telescoping arms are rusting terribly even though we remove it and store inside the garage when not in use also the yellow "clips" to hold it in place for storage have bent. They are not very strong.
Ordering and shipping was fast and easy. Products arrived in good condition. I haven't installed them yet, but it all looks as advertised. Not my first order with etrailer and the customer service was outstanding as always. Why anyone would order from any place other then etrailer I cannot fathom.
Unit is heavy duty and well made. Hook up is very easy. There is still some binding during disconnect if not on perfectly level, but much less than my previous setup. I like how the arms stow when not in use. Overall I’m very pleased.
It didn't work with the off-road bumper setup that I was sold
Great tow system, does exactly what I needed. The flexibility of how the tow bar folds for use and storage allows me easy access to my bike rack. The tow bars can be stored on either side and fold away easily. I use this on my class C and set it up to pull my Jeep or my Equinox with Roadmaster base plate.
2005 Country Coach Intrigue/ 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
This tow bar works as advertised. We have towed with the unit several times over the last year. Very easy to hook up to the tow vehicle and haven’t had any trouble with binding when disconnecting. The articulation is nice which aids in hooking up and stowing. My only wish is that the telescoping bars would lock in position when stowed. I just run the safety cable through the ends and insert the pins to keep them from telescoping out when in the stowed position.
Self disclosure: We had a little incident. This was 100% our fault. We missed inserting one of the safety pins into the arm that goes into the base plate. While driving I noticed the Jeep wasn’t tracking correctly in the rear view camera. We just happened to be right at an exit of a rest area so I immediately exited and started slowing. While slowing the one arm that was still attached bent absorbing the energy of the Jeep. I believe this saved the Jeep and the RV from any damage whatsoever. The safety cables did their job very well! So, I whole heartily recommend this product for quality and safety!!! So much so we ordered this same unit as a replacement. I tried to upload photos of the bent arm, but keep getting upload unsuccessful.
Great purchase and suggestion from etrailer. This thing is so easy to hook up to the Jeep and we couldn't be happier. We've only towed a few times, but already the wife has taken over hooking up the tow bar while I hook up the Brake Buddy in the Jeep. Easy to hook up, just as easy to disconnect after you arrive. I wish we had done this years ago!
easy to install flat tow by motorhome
Works pretty well, but starting to get some rust after less than 1 year. Not the quality I would expect from etrailer.
I love this townar is is so quick and simple to hook up..
I would highly recommend this product
Ordered this tow bar for blue Ox Plates and it was missing the 1/2" attaching pins to connect to the toad. Called customer support and they insisted the pins should have been there, but finally, said they would send 2 replacements. Waited for 10 days and they sent the wrong item. I'll just have to get the pins myself as etrailer were not able to fix their issue and I really don't want to spend another hour on the phone trying to get them to understand such a simple thing.
After watching people fighting their regular towbars, I am glad we got this one. We parked in all kinds of positions and never had an issue disconnecting. I did have to get an extension for the safety cables.
I have now had the tow bar for a year and haven't had any problems with it, I have put on 5000 miles with it.
1st, the package with “Blue Ox” plates did not include the 3/8-16 nuts ??. [I have doubled nutted the bolt].
The install was straight forward.
Haven't used the tow bar yet, but will this weekend.
We have not had a chance to try this -- hence the 3 stars. It looks like a good well built unit with the features I expected. However -- be aware. After a week of putting together the tow car with base plate, wiring and so on I wanted to test it. It was then I discovered that I did not have the pins to attach the tow bar to the baseplates. When I called to get them sent I was told that in the description that it states that these are sold separately. It seems that not including these would be inconceivable and now I need to wait an additional 2 weeks for them. I reviewed my order with etrailer to make sure I had not missed anything, and this was not pointed out.
Make sure you buy Pins! Roadmaster base plate pins (RM-910029 - sold separately)
I purchased parts to turn my 2007 Minni Cooper into a toad. After selecting the items I was able to have an initial conversation to verify I had selected the correct parts. I had a few questions along the way and there were a couple pins missing from one item. All these conversations were super helpful and I achieved a perfect install. Thanks to the etrailer team. Best customer service I’ve ever experienced. Especially in the last few years.
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Mike L.
10/5/2022
According to Demco who manufactures the tow bar for us, the shear strength of the bolts you mention is more than adequate to handle the rated capacity of the tow bar, which is 6000 lbs.