Forum Discussion

dgtjhatt's avatar
dgtjhatt
Explorer
Oct 12, 2018

Car Dolly

Just bought our first Motor Home. She is a beauty.2007 Joyco Grayhawk33SS.We bought it from a private party and we could not believe it when we saw them drive out of an RV garage where it had spent most of it's life. Then we saw the odometer and it read 7,500. It still has the plastic that was on the cab carpet from the factory and a tag hanging from the dash that tells about the air bags. We took one look and said we will take it. Our Ford Escape can't be towed with all four tires on the ground so we will have to use a car dolly. I would like to hear the good, bad, and the ugly about your experiences with car dollies.

Thanks,

Don
Class C
  • eartha's avatar
    eartha
    Explorer
    Oct 12, 2018
    They work very well . The big advantages you can change cars and you can still use the same tow dolly . They have their own breaks system so it doesn’t require a lot of effort on that part . You need to be sure and check the tire tiedowns after the 1st mile or two after that they stay tight pretty well . I use the actme tow dolly and it does a great job I’ve never had any problems whatsoever
  • Trackrig's avatar
    Trackrig
    Explorer II
    Oct 12, 2018
    We also have a Ford Escape that can't be towed. After looking at dollies just a little bit, I decided I didn't want anything to do with one and bought a used Jeep. I installed all of the necessary equipment myself.

    Bill
  • Big_Katuna's avatar
    Big_Katuna
    Explorer II
    Oct 12, 2018
    We did it a few years.

    The negatives are loading it in the rain; tire spinning.

    Dirtier.

    A toad tracks inside the RV footprint. Dolly can hit gas pumps, etc.

    Unhooking for overnight stay.

    A few parks won’t let you keep it at your site, so unload, drop off, drive both vehicles, etc.

    Extra set of tires and bearings.

    If you’re going somewhere for a week or longer, no big deal.

    If you’re traveling everyday, not so much..

    I’ll never go back.
  • T18skyguy's avatar
    T18skyguy
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2018
    It's added weight. A pain to store/fit at the campsite. You might check to see if they make a transmission pump for your Escape that would enable 4 down. If I we're to get a dolly, it would be a Demco that folds up two ways.
  • Big_Katuna's avatar
    Big_Katuna
    Explorer II
    Oct 13, 2018
    Another advantage I forgot to mention is it is the cheapest way to go, if you can buy a clean used dolly, which is not hard to do.

    You can usually sell it for about what you paid for it.

    A trans pump is $1000 and up.

    Tow bar, baseplate, brakes, etc is several thousand.
  • Dusty_R's avatar
    Dusty_R
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2018
    There a couple different types of tow dollies. I fell the the type that Demco makes is by far the best type. I don't know if that type is made by any others. There's one less pivot point. It tows like a 4 wheel dolly, where the front wheels pivot.
  • tobydad's avatar
    tobydad
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2018
    The biggest disadvantage that I have found is time and work. With 4 wheels down when arriving all you have to do is lift the tow bar off the ball and you are good to go. With the dolly undo the straps (not always the easiest thing to do) then SLOWLY back the car down the ramps. When leaving you do everything in the reverse order. figure with a lot of practice 1/2 hour to get on the dolly and ready to go. Must check straps at every rest stop as they tend to stretch out. The dis advantage of 4 wheels down is initial cost, but after using my dolly for four years I think I should have paid the cost.
  • ronfisherman's avatar
    ronfisherman
    Moderator
    Oct 13, 2018
    I have done the tow dolly. TheDemco's seem have thee least problems with loading and unloading. The SS model is the most expensive. But has the foldin tongue. Never had problems with storage. Towed 2 different cars on it. Then got a towable car. Went to 4 down. Towed both ways for 40k miles. Best reason to dolly tow is ease of switching cars. Worst reason is having to get it in a storage place at home and RV park.
  • txnese's avatar
    txnese
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2018
    For short trips I just rent a car. For longer trips I have an ACME tow dolly. Its a little inconvenient to install/remove ramps and strapping it down, but well worth with it. Pretty easy to tow. Just make sure you get one with brakes, hydraulic or electric. Some states don't require them, but most do. Better safe than sorry.
  • 77rollalong's avatar
    77rollalong
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2018
    I just bought a replacement car last week off kijij a Saturn S series that was already setup for a Blue Ox tow bar setup with the tow bar, but I had picked up a Demco the previous weekend. Still waiting to try the setup out, but its does look a lot easier to setup and tow than a tow dolly. Other thing is a tow dolly is classified as a trailer in some places, and on toll roads its an extra charge in places too.

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