Forum Discussion

DnSFinallyRetir's avatar
Jan 20, 2015

How to Dolly Tow Unlockable Sterring Wheel Car

Hello all:

First post ever here. I'll start by saying I've never dolly towed a vehicle long distances before.

I have a 2008 Chevy Impala. It is front wheel drive. To dolly tow it, I have a 2012 Demco Kar Kaddy SS.

The car physically fits the dolly fine. The dolly hooks up to the car and my Class C RV fine.

On my maiden voyage with this rig, I pulled over at 10 miles to see how the car was still doing on the dolly. The tires remained securely hooked, and straight - on the dolly. The car's tail however, started to veer WAY off to the right. With no immediate fix apparently available to this novice tower, we took the car home and did without a car at our camping destination.

I took the car to a local Chevy dealer to get the steering wheel lock fixed, as the steering wheel was of the "unlockable" variety. Found out it wasn't broken (and Id never noticed that in the last 5 years I owned the car) and that the car was not equipped with a steering wheel lock. It only prevented startup and placing the gear selector in gear.

Next I went to a local Camping World. They couldn't help. They suggested I buy a dolly or dinghy towable vehicle. Not an option.

Finally, I went to a huge local trailer dealer in my town. They suggested some kind of steering wheel strap from the same company that makes the dolly. It does not look like it would secure a steering wheel enough to prevent the towed car from swaying like it did previously.

I've seen steering wheel to brake pedal security bars, but they aren't adjustable for tight snug fit since they all have fixed detents by which to secure the brake pedal to the steering wheel. There's enough play for the steering wheel to turn slightly - enough for the rear of the car to sway.

Does anyone here have any ideas on how I can safely dolly tow this vehicle?

Remember, the car's front wheels stay straight and secure on the dolly, but the tail end of the car sways off to the side.

I'm truly stumped at this point.

Thanks in advance.
  • On Jeeps people often remove the steering lock pins. There's videos on You Tube on how to do it for several vehicles. You might see if there's one on there for your car or another one that's close enough.

    Bill
  • Are you towing with the auto steer pin removed, per pg 18 of your tow dolly manual?
  • Are the front wheels on the dolly? Tow guys just run the seat belt through the steering wheel spokes and latch the belt.

    Edit: Sorry, I missed where OP said front wheels straight on dolly.
  • I know this is going to sound weird but have you had the alignment checked on the car? The rear end my be out of alignment. Are you 100% sure it was drifting or could you have not been straight from pulling over? I would take it to a parking lot or a road that is not busy and drive directly on some straight painted lines and then stop and get out and look.With the long tail swing of a MH it don't take much to move the tongue of the tow dolly one way or another and make it appear that the toad is not straight behind the motor home.