tow dollies suggesitions not criticism

I have a dumb question... how does a tow dolly "pivot" or "steer"? Shouldn't all of them pivot via the ball on the hitch? Sorry...I'm not following!

Also, why would you leave the steering unlocked vs. Locked?

I purchased a Master Tow 80thd tow dolly; got tired of changing face plates on vehicles. Now for the question.

Anyone towing a 2007 Silerado 4X4 z series 1500 pickup on one of these tow dollies? I'm getting conflicting information from dealers and the sort.

Prior to purchasing I insisted of pulling the truck up on dolly BUT the tow fender bolts looked very very close to the truck paint. I was told it would work but I would prefer to hear from a current user of this tow dolly. NOTE: One mechanic claims I can spread the fenders out a little to compensate, but I'm not sure about doing that. Help.

Ours is a Master Tow, bought new with surge brakes. Overall, it tows great and is fine to tow our 2010 Accord. One thing I dislike is having to crawl under the front end of the car to re-insert the tilt pin.

I'll check but I think ours has a 81 inch width.

I've had 2 master tow dollies. The first was real basic with lights,swival plate, and straps, no brakes of any type. The 2nd one had center grease joints, straps, safety cables to hook on to vehicle and surge brakes, nicer than electric, less problems. the 1st one would push us down the hill due to no brakes on it. The 2nd one with the surge brakes work great, no pushing going down hill, it also has a swival platform and the car wheels can be left in a lock position. steerable is the way to go, but very pricey. if it need not be new, buy used, save some $$. but of course give it a very through check, as it's not hard to do damage if its not taken care of. I've seen some that had bent couplers, axels,hope it helps with your decision

Karkaddy gets great reviews, but I couldn't find one that matches the Mastertow in width. That is, I need greater than the 76 inch width listed for the Demcos. Did I miss one? Thanks

KarKatty SS Demco,toad 99 deville MH 82 Pace Arrow love love love it. No problems, yes BRITE LED's all so

Effy wrote:
Forgive me guys but I have no idea what a "steerable" dolly is. I have a master tow with the swivle plate and I really like how it tracks the vehicle behind you on turns. But what exactly is a "steerable" dolly?

By "steerable" I think he means steerable wheels. A dolly with steerable wheels will follow directly in the path of the rear tires on the motorhome. A dolly with a swivel pan comes close but still cuts the corner a little shorter.

The only non steerable dolly I am aware of is the Acme. When using this dolly the steering on the towed vehicle is left unlocked so the wheels they turn as opposed to the dolly wheels or the pan swiveling.

Check your owners manual for brake recommendations Some motorhome manufacturers recommend electric brakes and caution against th use of surge brakes

buy the Demco KarKaddy SS it is steerable, surge brakes, enough tail lites and brake lites on the fenders so that you do not need suction cups on trunk. I also pull a jeep commander 4 down but also pull it and a chyrsler 200 convert and Toyota Avalon with the dolly. Had it 3 years with not a problem. best is that the ramps fold and tongue folds so that it takes little more than 4 feet space on the back of the pad and then you hook it up prior to pulling off the pad and you are ready to load. as far as lock steering wheel--it makes no diference locked or unlocked with this one since it is steerable and the front wheels of the towed do not move. A bit more expensive to buy but made here in iowa with local labor and us metals. good luck just my 2 cents worth tom

I have the swivel plate, one big bolt in the middle! I chose this style on purpose to reduce the number of things to go wrong. No alignment or work steering parts to worry about. I don't like the ones with no pivot or steering, least amount of breakable stuff, because I have to leave the steering unlocked.
Good luck in your search, for us the key points were surge brakes and swivel deck.