Tow Dollys

Thanks for all the advice. I have a Stehl dolly with disc surg brakes,and the Escape is 2 wheel drive. It works great but don't like it when you need to turn tight in parking lots or fuel stations. To me it seems to bind the car in the turn. The directions do say to keep the straps tight and to lock the steering wheel. I went to Firestone to get a wheel alinement and found they offer a lifetime alinement so you can get an alinement any time you fell like you need one.

Wildebill308 is right.

When I first loaded my dolly I did it exactly as Demco advised in their manual and on my 1st long trip a strap came loose and almost came off the wheel. When I noticed that the straps would not slide over the tire as they were tightened I realized that the suggested change might work better.

I called Demco and asked if they had any problem with it and they said no but they would not change their “recommended” strapping procedure. Numerous posters on this forum have tried this method and have testified that now they have no problems with loose straps.

Dave

Lots of advice on how to tighten the straps but the biggest thing is to follow the instructions of the dolly manufacturer. Some need the steering locked some un locked. Failure to follow directions will cause damage to your car. The next big thing is read your owners manual if you have an all wheel drive you probably can't tow with a dolly.
Bill

dbates wrote:
Loose tire straps are not a problem if you make 2 changes in your loading procedure:
1. Don’t pull the toad all the way forward on the dolly. Leave about 1 inch between the front tires and the front wheel stops.
2. Tighten the straps down until the tires squish.

When you pull all the way forward the straps will not slide over the tire leaving them a little loose behind the tire. By allowing the 1 inch gap in front of the tire the wheels will roll forward tightening the straps on both sides of the tire.

Since I started doing this, 9 years & 50,000 miles ago, I’ve never had a problem with loose straps. I still check them after the first 50 miles and each time I take a rest stop (about every 2 to 3 hours) but rarely can tighten them any further.

Two other things to watch for. A dolly is wider than the toad & in my case a little wider than the MH so watch when you park next to a curb that you don’t rub the lettering off of the curb side dolly wheel. Also make sure that you have plenty of room to pull way from a curb. The sharper you turn away from the curb the more the dolly tongue will swing into the curb causing the dolly to jump the curb.

Dave

And that's where my tip came from. Thanks Dave. Since you mentioned this a while ago, been doing this and never have to re-tighten my straps.

Loose tire straps are not a problem if you make 2 changes in your loading procedure:
1. Don’t pull the toad all the way forward on the dolly. Leave about 1 inch between the front tires and the front wheel stops.
2. Tighten the straps down until the tires squish.

When you pull all the way forward the straps will not slide over the tire leaving them a little loose behind the tire. By allowing the 1 inch gap in front of the tire the wheels will roll forward tightening the straps on both sides of the tire.

Since I started doing this, 9 years & 50,000 miles ago, I’ve never had a problem with loose straps. I still check them after the first 50 miles and each time I take a rest stop (about every 2 to 3 hours) but rarely can tighten them any further.

Two other things to watch for. A dolly is wider than the toad & in my case a little wider than the MH so watch when you park next to a curb that you don’t rub the lettering off of the curb side dolly wheel. Also make sure that you have plenty of room to pull way from a curb. The sharper you turn away from the curb the more the dolly tongue will swing into the curb causing the dolly to jump the curb.

Dave

A tip I learned here - can't remember from who - is to leave about a half inch between the tire and the front wheel stop when loading your car. Then when you cinch the straps tight it will pull the wheel tight against the front stop. I Have been doing this for about 6 mos and no longer have to retighten my straps. I check them but they are always tight. I used to pull the car tight up against the front stop and I think what happens is that it leave less room to tighten the straps and since there is always play/rocking in the P gear. Using the straps to pull it tight against the front stop instead of parking it against the front stop eliminates the play that works the straps loose.

StephJohn2010 wrote:
Try to center front wheels on platform when you load. I re-tighten after a few hundred yards to a mile or so (whatever works in the situation). When I re-tighten, it is never more than one click per side... alot of the time it will be one click on one side. My steering I guess would be locked. We load and just turn car (prius) off. We have the Karkaddy 3 by Demco.

X2, I leave the steering locked, since the wheels on my Demco dolly turn like a car. JMO

Try to center front wheels on platform when you load. I re-tighten after a few hundred yards to a mile or so (whatever works in the situation). When I re-tighten, it is never more than one click per side... alot of the time it will be one click on one side. My steering I guess would be locked. We load and just turn car (prius) off. We have the Karkaddy 3 by Demco.

I don't own a dolly (never have) I tow all 4 down. The only negative comments that I have heard from dolly owners is having to adjust (retighten) the tie down straps every time when they stop! If I owned a dolly I would want to try and retighten the straps whenever, I stopped anyway. I recheck my tow bar every time I stop.

I towed over 40,000 miles with front wheel drive vehicles on a tow dolly. Tighten the straps tight and check them within 40-50 miles...re-tighten. I always left the steering unlocked.