Tow bar? Dolly ?or enclosed trailer?

[fltrker]

We have a 40 ' Fleetwood and a 20' enclosed trailer that we load a little car and some motorcycles etc into but it presents a problem because you have to find special places to pArk or you have to pay extra to drop the trailer and the fuel economy is poor.
We have a larger car , a ford fusion and a 1/2 ton 4 door pick up truck 4wd ,both automatics.
I am wondering if I would be better off with a tow bar or a dolly instead and forget the motorcycles.
Any thoughts?

[Donna_and_Rob]

Thought I'd throw this in for laughs...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZAKjaUxNW8

[dbates]

I'm 74 and yes it is getting harder to get down anywhere including hooking up the wheel straps & chains but I can’t afford to change toads and it’s not that bad yet. The Demco KarKaddy SS has surge hydraulic brakes with a master cylinder and it works just fine in the mountains (see the trip map below). It can be used with any other vehicle since it doesn’t require a controller. By the way the SS tongue folds back and the wheel ramps fold up to reduce home storage by almost 50% plus it is heavily galvanized so there is never a worry about rust. The very few times I’ve needed it Demco has had very good customer service.

Dave

[Hjudge49]

The only downside of a tow dolly is that you can only tow front wheel drive vehicles, or those that have a driveshaft disconnect, tranny pump or transfer case with neutral. They do not recommend towing with the rear wheels on the dolly, although it is sometimes done. The other problem with some of us is getting down low enough to put the straps on and off. I have used both tow bars and dollies and prefer to tow 4 down because of that. Storing the dolly is not that big a deal. There is a new electric over hydraulic brake system out now that is much better than either surge brakes or electric brakes. Your electric brake controller activates a master cylinder on the trailer that works the trailer (dolly) brakes. Very neat. We are staring to use them on boat trailers now instead of surge brakes.

[Daveinet]

What you are really looking for is a tandem tow, so you can carry the motorcycles on the tow dolly. http://www.racecityrvproducts.com/Models.htm

[fltrker]

Thanks. More affirmation for the dolly. Better than buying a special car or truck.

[dbates]

First determine what you can or can’t do with the vehicles you now have, (can they be towed 4 down or on a dolly). Yes, 4 down is faster & easier than a dolly but that time difference is only about 4 minutes after you learn how to do it. I’ve pulled my Vibe for 8 years, 50,000 miles & in all kinds of terrain (with surge brakes) on a Demco KarKaddy dolly. Once you learn how to do it you’ll never have a problem with loose straps or pay extra for storage (with the tongue under the MH rear you only add about 6 feet to your CG parking needs). You have experience pulling a trailer and with a dolly it’s even easier.

Dave

[fltrker]

Pretty sure I will need to disconnect the drive shaft and make a bracket to rest it on for the truck. But seems okay. Take the quad out west next year in the back of the truck.
Yeah / crazy talk, no motorcycle. Gulf coast of Florida is a terrible place to ride one. Way too many 80+ drivers texting and driving drunk on meds and the other half of the drivers are not from this country and don't have any idea how to drive and they are texting also.
Very dangerous and I am an ex racer.
Sounds like DEmco is the deal.

[Effy]

Depends on the year of the truck. I think the newer years might be towable but until 2012 I don't think they were without a disconnect. CHeck with Ford and Remco.

[noteven]

Forget the motorcycle(s)? That's crazy talk... 🙂

[racer99]

We use Demco tow dolly with surge brakes Easy on & off -straps never loosen don't know it is back there BUT we tow 2011 Ford Focus--My 4x4 ford truck has to have driveshaft removed-Rich
pauperspride.blogspot.com

[fltrker]

I have a open imagination. And have seen many options such as the $5000 + hydraulic /electric loading apparatus for a m/c in the bed of a trk and a TT.
But I was interested in why people prefer one over the other more than taking a pole of who prefers what.
The question. Needs to be why.
I know Why is a little town in southern Az also.

[Bobbo]

I know you don't have a TT, but the most imaginative setup I have ever seen was a pickup truck with an MG Midget in the bed of the truck, towing a TT. They were camped about 5 spots down from us. I watched him load the MG into the pickup when they were ready to pull out.

To keep this on your subject, a tow bar is better than a dolly. I have used each one. I had a dolly for 3 years when I bought my MH. I have now used a tow bar for 3 years. I would use a dolly again if needed, but not happily.

[mustang652]

Not sure about putting and automatic 4x4 on a dolly. You'd have to check with Ford or maybe some one can chime in with an answer. I bought a Master Tow from Camping world five years ago and I've done nothing but general maintenance, lube and replaced the tie down straps and one set of tires. Demco and Stehl are the other names I remember and from what I've seen and their prices, I think that they are better dollies.

[DutchStar38]

We also have a 20ft enclosed for the motorcycles and a MasterTow dolly for the Volvo wagon. Which one we take depends on our plans for the trip. Went to Sturgis,SD so the enclosed trailer was it. Traveled up the East coast so the MasterTow dolly was it.
As for which tow dolly is best? Depends who you talk to. Everyone has their preferences. I got a MasterTow dolly because it was readily available near me. I can load/unload in minutes. Practice makes perfect.