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waltfire's avatar
waltfire
Explorer
Jun 29, 2014

help with tire straps

I bought a 2014 Honda CRV two wheel drive to tow on dolly. Went from Florida to NC and straps broke, they obviously were having friction from tire. When the car is on the ground you can actually push it a few inches back and forth, is that happening on the dolly as well?
On car carriers I noticed their straps pull forward to a stop. My straps just pull straight down to hold the tire in place. Is there a best way to load and strap the car to the dolly other than pulling straps as tight as you can get them?

3 Replies

  • Loose tire straps are not a problem if you make 2 changes in your loading procedure:
    1. 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.
    2. 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 9 years & 50,000 miles ago I’ve never had a problem with loose or broken straps. 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.

    Two other things to watch for. 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 wheel. 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
  • No expert on tow dollies, I borrowed a friends to tow a vehicle from El Centro, CA to Virginia. Had to replace straps for same reason. Bought new ones and was told not to strap them down so tight. No more issues rest of trip.

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