..Like the others, I would stronly suggest you reconsider going the 4 down route instead of using a dolly.
Especially since you already have a vehicle designed for 4 down towing very easily. Thats over half the 'battle' already won, right there! Most of us were not that fortunate when we bought our first MH! :)
As to your specific points/reasons for going with a dolly:
I selected to go with a tow dolly to save wear and tear on the front wheel bearings, tires and front drive gear. Less expensive to replace tires and bearings on a tow dolly.
..Possibly, but if you do some research and asking around, I bet you'll find very, very few if anyone that has ever had to replace wheel bearings or front drive gear on a towed vehicle any sooner due to towing it (assuming they were using a vehicle designed for flat towing without any known issues). I don't think towing would add enough wear to bearings to ever be significant.
You do have a point about tire wear. However, once you factor in all the extra maintenance a dolly adds that you don't have with 4 down towing (2 extra tires, bearings, axle, etc), I think that pretty well evens out.
..Tow dolly has electric brakes so I don' t need an added brake assist on my toad nor do I need to attach brake lights since the tow dolly has them already.
Agreed about not having to add a brake assist, but NOT necessarily true about not having to attach brake lights. In many states, you will still have to have some kind of lights on the back of your towed vehicle even if your dolly has lights. Has to do with the fact that tail lights on the dolly are too far forward from the back of your towed vehicle, I believe.
..And I can tow any host of towable vehicles without the need for special towbars or towbar mounts. Towbars are vehicle specific which narrows your towing options.
Yes, you are right that the huge advantage of a dolly is that you can tow many different vehicles without modification.
However, to clarify this and prevent confusion: Towbars are NOT vehicle specific. The towbar itself is very generic, and can pretty much tow ANY vehicle within its rated weight limit. You'll typically buy ONE tow bar, and in most cases it'll work for every vehicle you'll ever tow behind the MH.
The part you're thinking about that is specific to each vehicle is the BASE PLATES, that the tow bar attaches to the car with. Those are indeed vehicle specific, but are not that terribly expensive - typically around $400.
...All things considered, if you already own a vehicle capable of flat towing, and is questionable if it even should be towed on a dolly.....IMO its pretty much a no-brainer decision. Put you some base plates on that Ford Escape, get you a ReadyBrute Elite tow bar (with integrated/included Readybrake braking system), put it on, hit the road and be done with it. You'll be glad you did later. :)
