Tow Dolly - Opinions

I do not use a Dolly. With that said.
What do you plan to put on it?
Could be of some help to those who do use a Dolly.

I have always towed 4 down.

I had a Demco KarKaddy II for 25 years. It was well built and performed well. On the few occasions when I had a problem, a blow out on one tire taking out a fender, and a lost bolt for reasons unknown, Demco was most helpful. They sent out the needed fender and matching paint, they expressed out the bolt. Each time with only one phone call, great technical assistance,(yes at my expense but it was my problem and they had no fault in the situation). I now tow flat, but I decided on a Demco tow bar because I was impressed by the company's support. JMHO

Acme EZE-tow

http://cartowdolly.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jsSmX3c-m0

"The Ultralight “EZE-TOW” is still the most durable non-commercial car towing dolly available anywhere at any price. Our 205-65-10 E-rated tires have an astonishing 1,650 lb. rating each for a total capacity of 3,300 lbs., which is significantly higher than most dollies on the market. Our dollies feature a full 3,500 lb. rated factory-built axle. This combination gives you the ability to tow a vehicle with a curb weight of up to 4,985 lbs."

Acme tow dolly works great and I do not have to buy attachment plates, brake controllers, etc. for different vehicles. Disk surge breaks, LED lights, tongue weight of approx. 50 lbs, total weight of 400 lbs.

Their Customer Service is outstanding.
$1499.99 made in N.C. and truck shipped to your door.

I am a very satisfied owner.

What are the tow limits on your MH? Add the weight of the dolly and you have a lot to tow. We had a dolly for 11 years and have been 4 down for the last 12 years. If I ever have to go back to a dolly I will give up the MH. It took longer to hook up and it always seemed to be raining. In the rain it takes me 3-4 min. to get hooked up now.

bsinmich wrote:
What are the tow limits on your MH? Add the weight of the dolly and you have a lot to tow. We had a dolly for 11 years and have been 4 down for the last 12 years. If I ever have to go back to a dolly I will give up the MH. It took longer to hook up and it always seemed to be raining. In the rain it takes me 3-4 min. to get hooked up now.

Sometims it's often not about what is easier, but more practical, given someone's budget. Also, some people may not be able to tow 4 down, but can tow with a dolly. Depends on their car. I struggle with spending $2500-3000 getting one of my cars to set up four down. We have two cars. One is an SUV and it's limit is too close for comfort to our rvs limit. The other is perfect (2000lbs). It's my commuter car that I drive every day to work. It's only 7 yrs old and has 175,000 miles on it. I've had no problems with it and hopefully I won't, but I can look into a crystal ball. I will be out a quarter of the cost of the setup if something happens to that car. Something that I will have to spend again on the next car. That car is paid for. Trading it in for another car payment is crazy when there is nothing wrong with it. When the time comes, then I will get another one. I also struggle with the physical modifications that have to be done to the front of the car, which my car requires. We are not retired, still have about 20 years to go. I can understand those who do a lot of traveling that the investment may be worth it for them, but again, I struggle with spending nearly twice as much just to save maybe an hour or two of time a year that it may take me to load/unload a tow dolly for the limited amount of times we travel. Just as I do about spending the extra on a leveling system for our motorhome. If I were doi it everyday or physically couldn't do it, then I could see it better.

Oldme wrote:
Acme EZE-tow

http://cartowdolly.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jsSmX3c-m0

"The Ultralight “EZE-TOW” is still the most durable non-commercial car towing dolly available anywhere at any price. Our 205-65-10 E-rated tires have an astonishing 1,650 lb. rating each for a total capacity of 3,300 lbs., which is significantly higher than most dollies on the market. Our dollies feature a full 3,500 lb. rated factory-built axle. This combination gives you the ability to tow a vehicle with a curb weight of up to 4,985 lbs."

Acme tow dolly works great and I do not have to buy attachment plates, brake controllers, etc. for different vehicles. Disk surge breaks, LED lights, tongue weight of approx. 50 lbs, total weight of 400 lbs.

Their Customer Service is outstanding.
$1499.99 made in N.C. and truck shipped to your door.

I am a very satisfied owner.

Hmmmm....the manufacturer is not too far away. About an hour away. I might be able to pick up from them instead of shipping and save the shipping. Plus having them that close is good for technical problems. Thanks for posting that.

Master Tow is inexpensive and I've had mine for years with no problems. It has electric brakes and came with straps to secure the tires to the dolly.
It only takes a few minutes to load/unload the vehicle.
We stay in pull through spaces at RV Parks, and leave the dolly and towed vehicle attached. In storage, I disconnect the dolly and backup over the tongue to minimize overall length.
We've towed a Chevy minivan and we're on our second xB: would have cost a fortune to equip each car for 4 wheel down towing.

We use a tow dolly with our 27' MH. Ours is made by Demco, circa 1980's. Paid $200 for it was in decent shape and was able to tow without any work. I did put electric brakes on it when we decided to tow cross country with it. It does make a difference with the brakes. The type I have has the wheels that turn and not the swivel type. It does not take me long to put the car on and strap down.

I agree that towing four down is easier as I also have a 1978 CJ-5 that I tow four down and it is a lot easier and quicker.

I don't want to purchase another car just to be able to tow four down and have to buy everything else that would be needed to do it. This is just me and my thinking, everyone will have their own opinion about this.

If you decide on a Tow Dolly, make sure it's equiped with a surge brakes. Makes things a lot simpler. No brake controller needed, just liht on the Towed Vehicle, that's it. I tow my Ford Ranger 4 down, because I can. This year I orderes a 'Ready Brake" surge brake system that fits between the MH and the tow bar. It really works. Wished I bought one years ago.

We tow 4-down because we can. Looking for new vehicles, we try to find towable ones. It's easier for us than many, because we like manual transmissions anyway.

Lately, this Forum has had a couple inquiries about flat towing RWD automatic vehicles. Unless that automatic IS towable (which would make the vehicle a candidate for 4-down), Dolly should NOT be considered as an option.

NOBODY recommends backing a vehicle onto a dolly and towing it backwards. Vehicle manufacturers don't, and Dolly manufacturers don't. Why? Well...

1. Motor Vehicle Steering is designed primarily to go Forward. Its design makes it want to go forward.

2. Steering Wheel Lock (or some other kind of tiedown) is inadequate for going backwards because the steering is built to go forwards. If anything from the steering wheel all the way to the wheels comes loose, the wheels will immediately go to full hard over, all the way to the stops, left or right. That can't be good a 65MPH

3. This isn't mentioned much, but thinking about this, the front end of most vehicles is the heavy end. FWD cars are really that way, but RWD cars are still front-heavy. You want the bulk of the weight on the dolly axle, not wagging around behind.