tow dolly towing

I made the below adapter that you can purchase the parts at any auto supply store.
The right end plugs into the MH and the left end has two plugs, one for the dolly and one for the maglights.

You might wish to check the laws in your state, and the states in which you will be towing. Some states require lights, reflectors, or a red flag on the end of any load that extends more than X feet behind the existing lights (it is 2 feet in Montana, IIRC). Yes, tail lights have built in reflectors!
also, some states (and possibly FMVSS) require lights on any portion of the vehicle that extends beyond the side of the vehicle. Thus, the lights on the fenders of 1 ton duallys, amber on the front of the fender, red on the rear.
Lighting requirements are not covered by Reciprocity Agreements.

Thanks!!!!

Won't need the dolly lights while towing. Rear of car too far back. At least in California. Just use an adapter for the four pin plug and go for it. Try to put something between magnets and car finish if scratches bother you.

BTPO1 wrote:

Roman Duck wrote:
If your dolly has lights alreagy (you mentioned that the the dolly is already plugged in) then you don't need mag. lights.

I am not an expert on the law, but I do know that I have about 7-8 feet of vehicle sticking out past the point where the lights are on the dolly fender. I know that I want lights at the most rear part of my tow. I don't want to get rear ended and have someone say they didn't see me. To me it's kinda like a tow truck putting lights on the towed car instead of using the lights on the tow truck. I know that there are a lot of drivers out there who do not use lights on there toad, but to me it is a safety hazard. JMO

I can see your point about the safety hazard at night. I stand corrected.
We never travel after dark, so I don't consider it, but will now need to pick up a set..... and where do you plug them in again?

I bought one of these 4 pin extensions, available most everywhere, cut off the plug with 3 exposed pins and threw it away, and opened the dolly's 7 pin plug to wire in the one with only 1 exposed pin.

I left it dangling on about 4 inches of wire whenever I wasn't using my magnetic lights.

Towing on a dolly in the daytime, I didn't bother with magnetic lights, but if towing after dark, I put the lights on the rear of the car.

And having the ability to easily hook up magnetic lights was a life saver a couple of times when the dolly's lights died on a trip.

homedad wrote:
I never use the dolly lights unless I'm towing only the dolly. One of my trips resulted in the shearing off of each dolly light anyway. I don't know how or where but they were both gone. I hate towing the dolly alone anyway because it bounces so much.

Reduce the dolly's tire pressure down to 10 psi or so when towing it empty.

I never use the dolly lights unless I'm towing only the dolly. One of my trips resulted in the shearing off of each dolly light anyway. I don't know how or where but they were both gone. I hate towing the dolly alone anyway because it bounces so much.

Roman Duck wrote:
If your dolly has lights alreagy (you mentioned that the the dolly is already plugged in) then you don't need mag. lights.

I am not an expert on the law, but I do know that I have about 7-8 feet of vehicle sticking out past the point where the lights are on the dolly fender. I know that I want lights at the most rear part of my tow. I don't want to get rear ended and have someone say they didn't see me. To me it's kinda like a tow truck putting lights on the towed car instead of using the lights on the tow truck. I know that there are a lot of drivers out there who do not use lights on there toad, but to me it is a safety hazard. JMO

If your dolly has lights alreagy (you mentioned that the the dolly is already plugged in) then you don't need mag. lights.