Car caddy

[smsmith]

I know this question has been probably ask more then a dozen times, but here goes. What are the advantages of a car caddy over flat towing? I have never towed with a caddy. I have purchased a new class C and have a Ford Edge. I want to share my RV with my kids. They all have their own cars and would like to drive their car when the are out camping. So, it seem that a caddy would be best. Any thoughts?

[Star_Gazer]

We are going to use a dolly for the year or so until we decide just how we will use the toad. Wife has Honda Odyssey which requires a wider dolly so I ordered an America Car Dolly 9' wide. Then we can tow about anything we want until we go 4 down.

[CA_Traveler]

Sharing your RV with their cars can get involved and even more so when a dolly vs flat towing is involved. Plus their future cars? Car hookup, RV driving/backing, insurance, etc. but it's great that you want to share.

How about flat towing your car and swapping cars with them when they take the RV? The ultimate sharing. :B

[mowermech]

IMO, the Kar Kaddy by DEMCO is quite likely the best car dolly available. However, it is also very possibly the most expensive! There used to be two different sizes made. If that is still the case, be sure you get one that fits the vehicle(s) you will be towing.
As previously stated, almost any front wheel drive vehicle can be dolly towed. Almost! I have heard of some newer vehicles that can't be towed on a dolly, because when the rear wheels are turning but the front wheels are not, the computer gets confused.
4X4 and All Wheel Drive vehicles usually can not be towed on a dolly.
Rear wheel drive vehicles should not be towed on a dolly; transmission damage may result. A drive shaft disconnect may be installed, or the driveshaft can be disconnected and secured to the underbody. (this will also work with 4X4 or AWD vehicles). Some people have loaded a rear wheel drive vehicle on a dolly backwards. It is not recommended by dolly manufacturers, but when properly done it seems to work.
We towed our PT Cruiser on a Kar Kaddy dolly from Montana to Georgia and back. It really wasn't all that great of a problem. We had pull-through sites in all except one campground. That back-in site was the only time I had to drop the dolly.
We tow our Jeep 4 down with a fixed arm adjustable width towbar. Many people will say that such a towbar is junk and should never be used. I hook it up by my self quite frequently, and that old (20+years) bar has worked flawlessly.
If time is critically important, 4 down is a quicker hookup than connecting and loading a dolly. For me, time has never been that critical! 5 minutes to hook up the Jeep or 15 minutes to hook up the dolly and load the PT? The difference is really meaningless.
The only thing that is truly important is to choose wisely for YOUR needs!
Good luck.

[smsmith]

Thanks to all.

[Lwiddis]

Check each vehicle manufacturer’s literature carefully for how to tow. Even models of a vehicle may be different.

[STBRetired]

If you are going to be taking different vehicles with you when you go camping, then the dolly would probably be the way to go. Depending upon the year and transmission, your Ford Edge may be 4-down towable, which is the easiest way to tow. As you can see in my signature, we tow a 2016 Edge Sport AWD 4-down. Used to tow a front-wheel drive cat on a dolly, but no longer.
With a dolly, you can tow almost any front-wheel drive vehicle. You will not be able to tow AWD or 4WD vehicles on a dolly without modifications. Some front-wheel drive cars will bottom out when you try to load them on the dolly, so you might need some boards to ramp your way up with those cars.

[BarneyS]

Moved to Dinghy Towing forum from Towing.

[Johno02]

Very few of the newer model cars can be flat towed, which is probably why we are seeing more cars on dollies. Actually it is much easier to tow a car four down if possible. Less than a minute to connect or disconnect, no need to find a place to store the dolly before you can move to you campsite, trying to find a safe place to leave the dolly while at a campsite. Advantage is only that you can use a car that is not flat-towable. Either way, you still can't back up.

[deltabravo]

Do you mean a car "dolly"?

Some vehicles can't be flat towed. That's reason number one for a car dolly.
Reason two, I don't know if all front wheel drive cars can be flat towed.