How to Pull a Trailer With a Bus

Towing with a bus requires insuring compatibility between the bus and trailer.

Pulling a trailer with a bus entails making sure the bus has a tow hitch, and that the trailer in question does not exceed the bus tow rating. Towing adds additional stress on a vehicle, thus you should also perform maintenance and possible upgrades to the bus to insure it can safely tow for extended periods.

Things You'll Need

• Tow Hitch
• Socket set with ratchet and extensions

Instructions

1. Check to see if your bus is equipped with a tow hitch. A tow hitch will be a metal bar with a square receiver built into it, attached to the rear frame of the bus. If your bus is not equipped with a tow hitch, you can purchase one from a variety of aftermarket vendors. Installation of a tow hitch requires you to hold the hitch in place against the rear frame, and using pre-existing mounting holes to bolt the hitch to the bus.

   The standard hitch used in a large vehicle is a class III hitch, which is rated for 5,000 pounds. Calculate the weight of the loaded trailer to see if can be towed by a class III hitch. You can upgrade to class IV hitch for very heavy loads of up to 7,500 pounds.

2. Slide a receiver ball mount into the bus tow hitch and secure in place with a locking pin.

3. Pull the trailer to the bus (or back the bus to the trailer) and drop the trailer's coupler into the receiver ball. The trailer coupler will look like a small bell and it sits on top of the ball that is attached to your bus's tow hitch.

4. Run metal chain through the securing mounts on the trailer to the tow hitch, and lock the chain with a high-quality lock. This has two purposes -- to keep the trailer from going out of control if the hitch fails, and to prevent possible theft of the trailer when the vehicle is left unattended.

Tips & Warnings

• Fresh coolant, transmission fluid, and engine oil are key to insuring a vehicle can withstand the additional work required to tow a trailer. If you intend to regularly tow, you may also want to look into having a transmission cooler installed to protect the transmission during heavy towing.

References

• Edmunds.com: How to Tow a Trailer