EZE TOW DOLLY PROBLEM - HELP!

As Will stated when I put the car on our dolly, not an eztow, I pull up to the front, which pivots my ramps up so I can lock the deck in place. I then place the straps and start wrapping, do NOT tighten yet. Release the brake and for my car put in neutral, the car generally rolls back some. Now use the straps to pull it back into position. I have also found that stopping after a few miles of turns and bumps I can get another turn or two on the ratchet.

Good luck and we have towed many miles with our West Texas dolly with some oops and almost issues but no damage to anything yet. :B

Interesting point WILLAID. I suppose drawing that extra inch or so forward would take the 'play' out of the transmission / differential which might be where the movement comes from. Thanks guys, I will give that a try and see what happens.

Well, I gave 'it' a try and sadly, there was no difference. The tires still wanted to move back toward the rear of the dolly.

It is almost like the manufacturer should have provided some kind of wedge or ramp BEHIND the wheels to give them a physical barrier to overcome.

With a week and a half before we leave for a tour of the New England states time is running out for my ACME TOW DOLLY!

Any other suggestions?

Take it to the dealer you bought it from and have them strap it on. Watch carefully. Drive around for a while. If it comes loose, go back to the dealer. If it doesn't come loose, do what the dealer did.

..I like the suggestion, of taking it back to the dealer and having them strap it up for you. Maybe there's something you're not doing right in the 'strap up' process that we can't see and they'll be able to correct you.

I must confess, although the tires stayed in the straps OK after we started using the method noted above, I still never trusted those straps. Because of that lack of trust, and for my own peace of mind, I upgraded the chains (significantly!) that go from the dolly to the vehicle itself. Replaced them with some very stout chains, about twice as thick as the ones that came with the dolly. Also took as much 'slack' out of those chains as I could safely, to make sure car would not fall off the dolly platform if a strap came loose.

I made d*** sure that if those straps ever did let go, the car was NOT going to fall off the dolly platform. I'd suggest you look at the chains, and consider doing something like what I did there. Definitely gave me a lot more peace of mind on the road. :)

Thanks Willald. I agree. Trusting that single strap that goes to the ratchet is getting close to a religious experience! ;)The problem is that my distrust of the strap may be so deep that it may put me off the entire dolly.

Any updates to your issue?

Sorry guys. I went away on holiday ( with the dolly) and forgot to post the happy ending.

I took and applied all the good advice posted here and went one step further. I had two 20" pieces of two inch angle iron welded ( with the point up) to the dolly, to form a physical obstruction to prevent the tires from rolling. Coupled with the straps and chains, I have managed to eliminate the tire movement altogether. The angle iron forms an 'indentation' that the tire sits in and 'voilà!' the problem is gone.

In fact I am presently on holiday, towing the car on the dolly through the winding mountain roads of New Hampshire. The scenery is absolutely breath taking, the people very friendly and the car is still with us. ( as an aside, New Hampshire is highly recommended).

Thanks to one and all for all the suggestions and help. And now I can sleep at night too.

truenorth50 wrote:
I took and applied all the good advice posted here and went one step further. I had two 20" pieces of two inch angle iron welded ( with the point up) to the dolly, to form a physical obstruction to prevent the tires from rolling. Coupled with the straps and chains, I have managed to eliminate the tire movement altogether. The angle iron forms an 'indentation' that the tire sits in and 'voilà!' the problem is gone.

Hey, not a bad idea, I like it. When you get back home, any chance you might post some pictures on here of what you did?

Will