Tolly Tow Vehicle

No real name in the profile, one post and done. This guy won't be back.

dbates wrote:
I agree that 4 down is better but if you’re toad can’t be pulled 4 down, you trade toads frequently or want to pull a variety of toads a dolly is not a bad alternative. You can’t back up much either way. My Demco Karkaddy SS has served me well for 10 years and customer service has been very good. The surge brakes work fine and the fully galvanized body will not rust. The fact that the tongue can be folded back and the wheel ramps folded up reduces home storage by almost 50%. As far as safer, if it’s hooked up properly it’s no less safe than 4 down and if the straps are hooked up as suggested above you’ll never have problems with a loose strap.

Dave

Dave sums it up well. I have multiple front wheel drive cars and both a Class A and a class B so a dolly suits me just fine. I can tow either car with either RV. My dolly happens to be a Master Tow and has an excellent reputation, but there are other good makes too. Put a hitch on your toad and you can easily move the dolly where ever you want for storing. Check prices but 4 down usually costs more initially and the selection of toads is somewhat limited. Saw a gasser MH towing a BMW with a tow dolly this week. He had the back wheels on the dolly! Never tried that myself but apparently it can be done. That makes a dolly even more flexible. As for maneuvering, a dolly is just as easy. I can squeeze in and out of anyplace a 4 down can go. The dolly tracks just fine and going down the road I forget its even there. Age is not a factor (I'm soon to be 73) but obviously there are a lot of folks with bad backs and stiff knees and other physical limitations that are better off 4 down. Truth be known, I'd rather not tow anything and often don't. But most of the time I do.

Obviously need more information, like what specifically is the MH (is there enough capacity to tow a 3500 car and a dolly that's a few hundred pounds) and what the actual car is. No word back from the OP, this could be a moot point. Without that information it's all a guess.

I agree that 4 down is better but if you’re toad can’t be pulled 4 down, you trade toads frequently or want to pull a variety of toads a dolly is not a bad alternative. You can’t back up much either way. My Demco Karkaddy SS has served me well for 10 years and customer service has been very good. The surge brakes work fine and the fully galvanized body will not rust. The fact that the tongue can be folded back and the wheel ramps folded up reduces home storage by almost 50%. As far as safer, if it’s hooked up properly it’s no less safe than 4 down and if the straps are hooked up as suggested above you’ll never have problems with a loose strap.

Dave

I'm sure the op can't tow his sedan 4 down thats why he wants to use a dolly. I wish I could tow my Mercury Marauder 4 down, that is my favorite car of all time.

Sprink-Fitter wrote:

1BryNelson wrote:
Sounds like no problem. I added an addition plug for a set of magnetic lights to put on hood of toad.

Wouldn't you want the lights on the trunk?

Since I tow a 2 wd pickup I tow it backwards. So I run seperate in tow lights to the hood of the Ranger.

sch911 wrote:
Towing a vehicle 4 down is so much easier and safer than on a dolly. Why not plan on doing that instead?

agreed

Towing a vehicle 4 down is so much easier and safer than on a dolly. Why not plan on doing that instead?

Sounds OK to me! I’ve been pulling a Vibe on a Demco KarKaddy SS with no real problems. At 75 it is getting a little harder to get down & up to hook everything up but still doable & it's easily stored behind the MH in the campground.

Two things to remember when pulling with a dolly:
1. Loose tire straps are not a problem if you make 2 changes in your loading procedure:
a. Don’t pull the toad all the way forward on the dolly. Leave about 1 inch between the front tires and the front wheel stops.
b. Tighten the straps down until the tires squish.

When you pull all the way forward the straps will not slide over the tire leaving them a little loose behind the tire. By allowing the 1 inch gap in front of the tire the wheels will roll forward tightening the straps on both sides of the tire.

Since I started doing this, 10 years & 51,000 miles ago, I’ve never had a problem with a loose strap. I still check them after the first 50 miles and each time I take a rest stop (about every 2 to 3 hours) but rarely can tighten them any further.

2. A dolly is wider than the toad & in my case a little wider than the MH so watch when you park next to a curb that you don’t rube the lettering off of the curb side dolly tire. Also make sure that you have plenty of room to pull way from a curb. The sharper you turn away from the curb the more the dolly tongue will swing into the curb causing the dolly to jump the curb.

Dave

1BryNelson wrote:
Sounds like no problem. I added an addition plug for a set of magnetic lights to put on hood of toad.

Wouldn't you want the lights on the trunk?