Stehl tow dolly tire strap question
Just took our first trip with our new tow dolly. One of the problems I ran into more than once is a strap would come off a wheel. I check them every time I stop, and tighten them down when I need t...
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Yep, I had this problem when we towed with a dolly. Had a wheel come completely out of its strap once. Like you, was frequently tightening, adjusting the straps, and never got to where I could trust those straps. Due to that mistrust, I upgraded to very heavy duty safety chains holding the car to the dolly, to make sure the car would never get loose.
One thing I did that helped: Even though instructions say to drive car right up until front tires are up against front 'stop' or whatever on the dolly, I'd instead come within 'bout 1" or so and stop. Then, when tightening the straps, it'd pull the car forward the rest of the way, and the straps would be tensioned more equally front to back. Doing that prevented a wheel from ever getting completely out of a strap again, but the straps still got loose occasionally, and I never could trust them.
Ultimate way I solved the problem: Sold the dolly, spent a bunch more $$ and set up our vehicle to tow 4 down. :) My lack of trust in those straps was the main reason we went away from using a dolly.
One thing I did that helped: Even though instructions say to drive car right up until front tires are up against front 'stop' or whatever on the dolly, I'd instead come within 'bout 1" or so and stop. Then, when tightening the straps, it'd pull the car forward the rest of the way, and the straps would be tensioned more equally front to back. Doing that prevented a wheel from ever getting completely out of a strap again, but the straps still got loose occasionally, and I never could trust them.
Ultimate way I solved the problem: Sold the dolly, spent a bunch more $$ and set up our vehicle to tow 4 down. :) My lack of trust in those straps was the main reason we went away from using a dolly.
