What Parts are Needed to Flat-Tow a 1990 Toyota Corolla GTS  

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In order to flat-tow a vehicle behind a motor home a number of components are required: base plates, tow bar, safety cables, wiring/lighting and a supplemental braking system. I have linked an article that covers each of these items and review the various different types and options available.

A first step is to confirm in your two owners manuals that your motor home can safely tow the weight of your Corolla and that your Corolla can be flat-towed. Certain autos will require modifications in order to be flat-towed (possibly a transmission lube pump and/or a drive line disconnect). Certain versions of some vehicles cannot be flat towed at all. It is important to make sure each of these vehicles can be used together for wheels-down towing.

Installing base plates and tow bars is not too complicated a process and it can be done by non-professionals. The specific base plates for your vehicle will depend on the particular Corolla version you have. I have provided a link to our main page for tow bars. This provides drop-down menus for base plates, tow bars and supplemental braking systems.

The type of tow bar you choose will depend on the nature of the motor home mount; there are both coupler and hitch style tow bars, and both fixed and telescoping types. Certain tow bars have limited compatibility with certain types and/or brands of base plates. If you use the link provided you will be able to easily find components that are compatible with one another. The particular Roadmaster tow bar you referenced, part # RM-020, is an economical fixed coupler style A-frame tow bar compatible with a variety of Roadmaster brand base plates.

expert reply by: Adam R

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