How to Dolly Tow Unlockable Sterring Wheel Car

Hello all:

First post ever here. I'll start by saying I've never dolly towed a vehicle long distances before.

I have a 2008 Chevy Impala. It is front wheel drive. To dolly tow it, I have a 2012 Demco Kar Kaddy SS.

The car physically fits the dolly fine. The dolly hooks up to the car and my Class C RV fine.

On my maiden voyage with this rig, I pulled over at 10 miles to see how the car was still doing on the dolly. The tires remained securely hooked, and straight - on the dolly. The car's tail however, started to veer WAY off to the right. With no immediate fix apparently available to this novice tower, we took the car home and did without a car at our camping destination.

I took the car to a local Chevy dealer to get the steering wheel lock fixed, as the steering wheel was of the "unlockable" variety. Found out it wasn't broken (and Id never noticed that in the last 5 years I owned the car) and that the car was not equipped with a steering wheel lock. It only prevented startup and placing the gear selector in gear.

Next I went to a local Camping World. They couldn't help. They suggested I buy a dolly or dinghy towable vehicle. Not an option.

Finally, I went to a huge local trailer dealer in my town. They suggested some kind of steering wheel strap from the same company that makes the dolly. It does not look like it would secure a steering wheel enough to prevent the towed car from swaying like it did previously.

I've seen steering wheel to brake pedal security bars, but they aren't adjustable for tight snug fit since they all have fixed detents by which to secure the brake pedal to the steering wheel. There's enough play for the steering wheel to turn slightly - enough for the rear of the car to sway.

Does anyone here have any ideas on how I can safely dolly tow this vehicle?

Remember, the car's front wheels stay straight and secure on the dolly, but the tail end of the car sways off to the side.

I'm truly stumped at this point.

Thanks in advance.

2oldman
Explorer II
Jan 20, 2015
Shouldn't this be in Dinghy towing?
transamz9
Explorer
Jan 20, 2015
I know this is going to sound weird but have you had the alignment checked on the car? The rear end my be out of alignment. Are you 100% sure it was drifting or could you have not been straight from pulling over? I would take it to a parking lot or a road that is not busy and drive directly on some straight painted lines and then stop and get out and look.With the long tail swing of a MH it don't take much to move the tongue of the tow dolly one way or another and make it appear that the toad is not straight behind the motor home.
rwynkoop
Explorer
Jan 20, 2015
Are the front wheels on the dolly? Tow guys just run the seat belt through the steering wheel spokes and latch the belt.

Edit: Sorry, I missed where OP said front wheels straight on dolly.
rwynkoop
Explorer
Jan 20, 2015
Are you towing with the auto steer pin removed, per pg 18 of your tow dolly manual?
Trackrig
Explorer II
Jan 20, 2015
On Jeeps people often remove the steering lock pins. There's videos on You Tube on how to do it for several vehicles. You might see if there's one on there for your car or another one that's close enough.

Bill
BarneyS
Explorer III
Jan 20, 2015
Moved to Dinghy Towing forum from Towing.
BTPO1
Explorer
Jan 20, 2015
rwynkoop wrote:
Are you towing with the auto steer pin removed, per pg 18 of your tow dolly manual?

This might be your problem. The pin should only be in when you are towing the dolly as a trailer with no car on it. With the pin in it does not allow the dolly tires to turn. I have never had that problem with mine, please let us know what you find. Another possible problem is that you did not put the car on the dolly straight. The front tires must be at the front stop. If one is back further I could see this happening. JMO
dbates
Explorer
Jan 21, 2015
I have the same (but older) dolly you have but my Vibe's front wheels lock in place with the ignition off; therefore, I need the dolly wheels to swivel. Since your front wheels don't lock you may want the dolly wheels locked in place. In any case call Demco @ 800-543-3626 and they will tell you want to do. Their customer service is exceptionally good.

Dave
DnSFinallyRetir
Explorer
Jan 21, 2015
All - many thanks for tips and suggestions. I noticed a few questions too, so I'll address them here quickly.

1) Yes, the dolly itself tracks my RV perfectly. The car's front wheels are perfectly centered and straight on the dolly. The car's rear end veers to the right - almost as if following the slight grade on most US roads. The car does NOT wag.

2) The car was loaded and reloaded a number of times exactly in accordance with the Demco Owner's Manual.

3) The Kar Kaddy dolly steering pin WAS pulled to allow the trailer to steer, which it seems to do with no problems - with or without a car.

Never dawned on me that the rear suspension may need aligned, so I will have that checked. At first thought however, I occasionally follow my wife when she drives that car and it always seems to track perfectly straight. I always immediately notice cars in which the rear end seems to veer to one side or the other - usually indicating that it was not properly aligned after a wreck or constantly goes over rough roads. Knock on wood, this car has never been wrecked.

I will try some of the strap and rope techniques some of you offered. My only concern is cinching the strap to the brake pedal too tightly causing the steering wheel to deform.

Give me a couple days and I'll report the good or bad.......

Thank you all......
mkirsch
Nomad II
Jan 21, 2015
It has to be an alignment issue. The car should naturally want to follow straight regardless of whether the steering wheel is locked or not.