Newbie - 1st time towing Car on Tow Dolly - Tips?

[rcsauce]

Hi,
I am new to RVing and I just got a tow dolly. One thing I found out was that I need to leave as much slack as possible on the mag tail lights. When towing the Dolly just a few miles to get home They got disconnected.

Do you have any other suggetions?

Thanks in advanced!

[Dale_Traveling]

If the vehicle on the dolly doesn't have one get a hitch for it also. Makes moving the dolly around at home and one the road a lot easier. Even a Class 1 hitch can handle the weight of an empty dolly.

[RSchleder]

Are you aware that you can wire your toad's lights to work in conjunction with the motorhome. By doing this, all you have to do is plug in an umbilical cord between the motorhome and the toad. Makes things much more straight forward and IMHO is more reliable than magnetic stick-on lights with long cords dangling down the top/side of the toad.

[dbates]

Definitely follow racer99 suggestion above and remember to tighten the straps down until the ties squish. I’ve been doing this for over 7 years pulled almost 40,000 miles and I’ve never found a strap loose enough to cause any problem.

Also remember:
1. If your dolly is a little wider than the RV watch those right curbs when parking. I ground the lettering off of the right dolly tire before I realized this.
2. Make sure that you allow plenty of front end room when parking along a curb. If you have to turn too sharply when pulling out the rear of the RV swings in the opposite direction pulling the dolly into the curb causing the dolly tire to scrap or roll over the curb.

Dave

[Daboo]

I check the straps and tighten them everytime I stop..the one thing I do is after about 25-50 miles I find a pull over and tighten the straps...while I am out I also check the tires and do a walk around of the rig...I tow with a dolly for about 5 years and never had a problem...oh yea..remember the wheel bearings on the tow dolly..mine had external zerts on the hubs, so greasing was easy..take care and good travels

[racer99]

This is what we have been doing for the last 3 yrs and the straps stay tight
drive vehicle onto dolly
back up vehicle on dolly to rear stops
put the car in neutral
hook up straps and start tightening them
car will roll forward as you tighten straps
put car in park-close the windows (don't ask me how we know)
In 3 yrs over 12k miles I never had straps come loose -each time we stop for fuel or pit stop I check them and may have added a click now & then but never have they come loose
I assume your dolly has brakes-(I HOPE)
Good luck on your adventures Rich
pauperspride.blogspot.com

[BillMFl]

I do a quick walk around inspection at each stop for food, fuel, rest, etc. Towing is quite easy but allow extra stopping distance. The hardest part is getting used to the straps. Wear gloves, its much easier on your hands. Depending on how high your MH hitch is you may want a hitch ball that is mounted lower than the standard tow bar. I use the lowest drop that Camper World sells. And add a tilt wheel to the trailer tongue (same as a boat trailer, approx $30. That makes it so much easier to raise and lower the tongue or to move the dolly around when it is empty.

[huffmeister]

rcsauce wrote:
Hi,
I am new to RVing and I just got a tow dolly. One thing I found out was that I need to leave as much slack as possible on the mag tail lights. When towing the Dolly just a few miles to get home They got disconnected.

Do you have any other suggetions?

Thanks in advanced!

Just make sure the RV stays ahead of the toad.

[hipower]

From experience: Make sure your parking brake is not on and stop after a few miles and double check your tie downs. I also walk around the dolly and toad and lay my hand on every tire and hub to see if any are building excessive heat.

I have found the parking brake partially engaged that way and a wheel bearing on the tow dolly beginning to fail.

[rk911]

rcsauce wrote:
Hi,
I am new to RVing and I just got a tow dolly. One thing I found out was that I need to leave as much slack as possible on the mag tail lights. When towing the Dolly just a few miles to get home They got disconnected.

Do you have any other suggetions?

Thanks in advanced!

since you're brand new to RV'ing i'll ask...do you know what the various weight ratings are for the MH, what your MH weighs when loaded for travel and what the combined weight of your dolly/vehicle will be when loaded for travel? and area you sure that your vehicle can be safely towed on a dolly? a common newbie mistake is believing that you can just pop any old vehicle onto a dolly, hook it up to the MH and hit the road. don't feel bad if that's you...it was me too back when I was a newbie. we've all been there. you've already got the dolly and vehicle but it's not too late to be sure you can safely tow the combined weight of the dolly/vehicle.

you need to know just how much weight your MH can safely tow without exceeding the various weight ratings...gross combination weight rating (GCWR), gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and each axle's gross axle weight rating (GAWR). you also need to know the curb weight of the vehicle you're planning to buy and whether that curb weight includes a full tank of gas (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't) as well as the empty weight of the dolly.

the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:

- the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (food, fuel, water, LP, clothing, supplies, pets, people and misc. stuff); OR

- the weight rating of the MH hitch (Class II 3500-lbs, Class III 5000-lbs, Class IV 10,000-lbs); OR

- the weight rating of your towbar

load up the MH as you would for travel and then get individual axle weights at a certified scale. compare those axle weights to the published gross axle weight rating (GAWR) for that motorhome. the actual axle weight must be less than/equal to the rating for that axle. add the two axle weights to arrive at the total rolling weight and then apply the three conditions above. assume nothing.

good luck and safe travels.

[crasster]

Yeah, that's definitely one, leave some slack on wires. Watch the road far ahead to time your stops better. It's a good idea too to consider a sports bra for the toad to protect from pebble dings.