Flat Tow vs Tow Dolly

[AlwaysDreaming]

I bought a 2016 Ford Fiesta which according to Ford can be flat towed (4 Down) as long as you keep it under 70 MPH. The car weighs 2600 lbs. I am considering towing methods with my RV.

The RV is a Class C 22ft with a Ford E450 Chassis (Thor Chateau).

It appears to me that using a Tow Dolly (2 wheels down) would be easiest especially if I need supplemental braking system.

What is the advantages/disadvantage of Tow Dolly vs. Flat Tow?

Do I need a supplemental braking system for 2600 lb. car on a Tow Dolly?

Hydraulic Drum Surge Brake seems to be he simplest and most reliable system for a Tow Dolly compared to electric brakes on the Tow Dolly?

Any experiences with Hydraulic Drum Surge Brakes on a Tow Dolly?
Thanks for reading

[dubdub07]

I have done both and 4-down is certainly a lot easier and when you disconnect you don't have a dolly on the back. The only good thing about the dolly is you can back up, although I have backed up 4-down before for very short distances.

[Dog_Trainer]

Towing 4 down IMHO is the easiest way to go. I was 6 months from the end of my lease when I went back to a MH so I found a dolly on craigslsit and bought it to get me by. Now we have sold a vehical and ended the lease with a second vehicle. Our previous MH we towen 4 down with a Saturn and then 5 years with an 08 HHR. I like the HHR so went on a mission to find a VUE or another HHR. We found an 2011 HHR with low miles and decided to make that our Toad. It cost me about $1000.00 to purchase a New (factory rebuilt tow bar. buy some replacement parts for my Ready Brute brake. and to get an install kit for the old HHR baseplate that I had in the garage. I did the install so I probably saved several hundred $$$ in the end I know that the 4 down is simple as compared yet I also know that today and going forward it is not so easy to find a Toad that can be towed 4 down. You will have to limit yourself to what is becoming year by year a lesser variety of toads or like myself you can choose a used car. If you want a greater choice a tow dolly may be viable solution.

[j-d]

I'm told that a Dolly is a little easier on the toad than four-down. Naturally, Dolly precludes some of the odd behaviors that late model cars with ABS, Stability Control, Electric Steering and all that have brought to the table. I'd still go four down.

For me, the biggest advantage of a Dolly is versatility. If you have several vehicles, share vehicles, or change vehicles often, then Dolly makes lots of sense. Dolly is cheaper than having an RV dealer, CW (which I don't recommend) or other shop furnish and install all the four-down stuff. Our coach came with a dolly that I probably sold too cheap but was already tired of jockeying it around. I avoided most of the four down cost by installing my own base plates. Done four on owned vehicles and helped with a few others. Last base plate and tow bar I bought were both used.
Dolly with Surge Hydraulic Brakes is a little more versatile than one with Electric that requires a Controller and on-board Battery. That's because you can tow it with a vehicle without a Controller. So that'd be the deciding point for me. If I was pretty sure I'd use it only with our RV, Controller and Electric Brakes, especially if the Dolly was going to sit idle months at a time between uses. Hydraulic brakes spoil with standing. Stuff sticks. IF Hydraulic, I'd want Disc not Drum, brakes.

[Bumpyroad]

my baseplate for my VUE only had two small tubes showing where the attachments went in. but after watching them install the plate, decided I would never do that job myself.
bumpy

[AlwaysDreaming]

klutchdust wrote:

RedRollingRoadblock wrote:

AlwaysDreaming wrote:


How you handle supplemental braking with flat tow?
Can you back up with flat tow or tow dolly?
Thanks

Check out NSA Ready Brute with the Ready Brake. It is a surge operated brake system that uses a cable to acatavite the towed brake system. Add the ReadyStop emergency break away system and you are good to go.

If you DIY the routing of the cable for the brake can be a bear so be prepaired. Watch the videos and you can get a good idea. readybrake.com


As far as backing up, not so much.

We flat tow Jeep wrangler using this braking system and it works really well. You need to learn and understand the cable system and once it's adjusted properly works like a charm. It is so easy to hook up or unhook, maybe 10 minutes .
Dollys are another piece of equipment to deal with and just seem worthless.

Having fun costs money, i have found that if I go the less expensive route I usually end up upgrading.
NO, you cannot back up either flat towing or dolly towing. Planning ahead becomes second nature. i am scoping out fuel stations before I pull into them as well as shopping centers and pass them by if they don't look right.
As far as installing the unit, research a local mobile RV mechanic, stay away from the big RV chain repair shops, I don't hear good things about them .

I looked into this rig and I like it. I also like the ease of use as compared to a tow dolly.
What I don't like is the thought of ripping the nose off a new car to install the baseplate. That looks like a tough job and you need several tools and 2 people.
It is not so much cost as it is finding someone I trust to disassemble and modify the front end and install the baseplate. It looks like $2000 material plus labor and markup. So I figure $3000 to $3500 for a professional install.
For trips when I don't want to tow does the Ready Brute fold up so I can go with no tow or do I have unhook it and stow?

Thanks

[dubdub07]

elcheapo wrote:
A dolly advantage is when you trade cars you will not have to install a base plate on the new car or modify the lights.

The dolly disadvantage is that a dolly is a lot more of a hassle than flat towing.

[elcheapo]

A dolly advantage is when you trade cars you will not have to install a base plate on the new car or modify the lights.

[catkins]

Four wheels down is much easier. NO you cannot back up four wheels down - tow bar damage and tire damage can occur as the car will not track properly in reverse. We see people use dollys and trailers all the time and are amazed at how much longer it takes most to get ready to depart or unhook on arrival. You also need space at your site to park the dolly/trailer.

With a little practice the four wheel down setup is well under five minutes start to GO. Unhooking maybe two minutes......... Sadly, few new automatic cars are now four wheel down towable.

Best wishes for happy trails whatever you decide to do.

[mowermech]

During my long RV life, I have done both.
I towed several different Jeeps and a Dodge Ram 1500 with towbars. It worked. My Jeep towbar was a Reese fixed arm adjustable width unit, $65 at Walmart years ago when I bought it. I tried backing up once, and it didn't work. Since then, anytime I'm in a position where the choice is try to back up or disconnect the towed, I disconnect. Never again will I try backing a towed vehicle.
I towed our PT Cruiser on a Kar Kaddy dolly, from MT to GA and back. Again, no problems. During that entire trip, we only had a back-in site once, where I had to disconnect the car and dolly.
IMO, there is no "BEST WAY", there is only personal preference. It all comes down to: "What do YOU want to do?"

[Bumpyroad]

I wouldn't tow anything without brakes, be it 4 down or tow dolly. with a break away system.
reminds me of one event I saw on I 95, vehicle with tow dolly sitting in median alongside left lane, with empty tow dolly, folks meandering around. shortly ahead, a vehicle sitting down in the median that had obviously come undone.
bumpy

[Dutch_12078]

Neither method is good for backing up more than a few feet, although a talented driver can usually go further back with a dolly.

Another vote here for towing 4 down, and also for the NSA ReadyBrute Elite tow bar that has an integrated ReadyBrake auxiliary brake system. I've installed our setup using a Blue Ox base plate twice now on two different Toyota RAV4's. It does take some work, but nothing that should be beyond the capabilities of the average shade tree mechanic capable of following directions. As said, add the ReadyStop break away system as well. My entire tow system came to about $2000 including shipping. My RAV4's also required a Remco transmission lube pump for another $1000, but you won't need that for your Ford. Oh, and if age is a factor, I'm 75 now and was 71 when I installed our current base plate and tow setup after removing it from the previous RAV4.

[K_Charles]

We hat TTs for years and got sick of leveling, hooking and unhooking the WD hitch and storing it. Getting older and wanting to make things easier we got a MH. I think a dolly might be harder to deal with then a TT. If you are physically challenged by age go tow four down. If your doctor wants you to exercise, a dolly might work for you.

[klutchdust]

RedRollingRoadblock wrote:

AlwaysDreaming wrote:


How you handle supplemental braking with flat tow?
Can you back up with flat tow or tow dolly?
Thanks

Check out NSA Ready Brute with the Ready Brake. It is a surge operated brake system that uses a cable to acatavite the towed brake system. Add the ReadyStop emergency break away system and you are good to go.

If you DIY the routing of the cable for the brake can be a bear so be prepaired. Watch the videos and you can get a good idea. readybrake.com

As far as backing up, not so much.

We flat tow Jeep wrangler using this braking system and it works really well. You need to learn and understand the cable system and once it's adjusted properly works like a charm. It is so easy to hook up or unhook, maybe 10 minutes .
Dollys are another piece of equipment to deal with and just seem worthless.
Having fun costs money, i have found that if I go the less expensive route I usually end up upgrading.
NO, you cannot back up either flat towing or dolly towing. Planning ahead becomes second nature. i am scoping out fuel stations before I pull into them as well as shopping centers and pass them by if they don't look right.
As far as installing the unit, research a local mobile RV mechanic, stay away from the big RV chain repair shops, I don't hear good things about them .

[philandterri]

I had a tow dolly but gave up using it. Watch how long it takes someone loading a car on the dolly, strapping the tires, getting under yo chain it down. At 70+ I don't want to be layong on the ground especially if it is RAINING. ompare that to someone flat towing. About 5 min or flat tow and 20 min for dolly.