Thinking of getting a Dolly

[TugCE]

As of right now the DW has an 08 CRV with really low miles but she keeps talking about wanting to get a sedan next. So, for this reason, I'm leaning towards a Dolly.

So, here's my question, has anyone had any problems with clearance between the car and the Dolly? I saw a Class A with a dolly go over a incline and it looked like the front of the car almost hit the ramps, which were stored on the front of the dolly.

I have also noticed some that had the fixed ramps that seemed to get a little close.

So, with that said, what are some of the things to look at when looking at Dollies?

Thanks

[KeninAZ]

I just bought an Acme EZE Tow. When it was delivered the brake fluid had all leaked out of the reservoir and removed the paint for about 6" on the trailer. Not a big deal but the reservoir does not screw down, it's just a rubber cap. In my opinion, it should be shipped without fluid as it's shipped vertically to save space.
The other thing you should know is that in my case my new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Mini van is so wide that there is only about 1-1.5" of clearance on either side of the wheels so the steering wheel cannot turn much as depicted in the videos but I don't see this as a problem.
I had a flat car hauler, a good one. But the van is so wide and low that I could not open any of the doors once loaded.
Combined with the fact that the car hauler weighed in at some 1800# and the EZE Tow was only 380# I had to make the move to keep the weight down as the van is nearly 5000# with my wheelchair and lift installed.
That being said, the EZE tow has good construction and I think is well worth the money.
Yes, check your straps after you tow a bit.
The new straps that are shipped with it and the extra safety chains they provide are nice too.
The EZE Tow is one of just a few dollies that I could find that would handle the weight of our van.

[FunTwoDrv]

Tug, we use a Demco and have been very pleased with its performance. We got it with the spare and carrier. After using it for a couple of trips, we ordered their stone guard. On a recent 6400 mile trip, that guard seemed to do a great job of protecting the nose of our VW Beetle.
The one bit of advice I would share is to load your car and determine where and how you want to secure the safety chains. On our car, I needed to lay on the ground to attach them...not a great idea! A member here suggested running them through the wheels. That was the deal! Made ownership much more pleasant.

Gary

[TugCE]

Well, I just got home from picking up a used Demco Kar Kaddy Tow Dolly with Surge Brakes. The couple that I got it from got it to move a car from Florida to Georgia so it does not have many miles on it and it was always stored in their garage.

The Owner gave me great instructions on the operation and described his way of doing it. He also gave me the original packet with instructions that came with it.

I paid just under $2000.00 which considering what I've seen them for new, I feel I got a fair price.

Now, we have to plan our second trip, first towing. 🙂

[wredman]

TyroneandGladys wrote:
Lets clarify something on the Acme tow dolly there is no twisting yes the wheels of the car being towed turn on the dolly when you make a turn but they are turning just like they would turn if your were driving it. I have stood behind our with a car on it and walked next to it the wheels tracked correctly and no dragging of the dolly even in the sharpest of turns.

Look at a little red Radio Flyer wagon (very similar to a car on a dolly), when you turn, one forward wheel moves forward one forward wheel moves back. The steering wheels turning on your car do not provide the same movement. They do not behave the same on the dolly as they do on the ground, the dolly wheels are on the ground. I know the dolly works, works fine, but to ignore that a kinematic movement is resisted is wrong.

[Heisenberg]

I would have kept the CRV. You will one day realize that the dolly was too expensive and is a pain and an extra 300 or more pounds to pull and the increase in total length ... more space needed when in a tight spot. Straps and tires and dealing storing it with it on both ends ... my Demco takes less than 3 minutes. I used a dolly for 6 years. No way I would go back. You are free to do as you please, I am just giving advice. And we all know I cannot get 2 cents for it.

Good Luck!

[mowermech]

Given the choice between the Acme tow dolly and the American tow dolly, I would buy and recommend the American.
If I was slightly more wealthy, I would buy and recommend the DEMCO Kar Kaddy with surge brakes and folding tongue.
That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

[TyroneandGladys]

Lets clarify something on the Acme tow dolly there is no twisting yes the wheels of the car being towed turn on the dolly when you make a turn but they are turning just like they would turn if your were driving it. I have stood behind our with a car on it and walked next to it the wheels tracked correctly and no dragging of the dolly even in the sharpest of turns.

[Campinghoss]

mowermech wrote:

TyroneandGladys wrote:

mowermech wrote:
IMO, the only dolly to buy is one that has some method of steering.
The American Tow Dolly, Mastertow dolly, and others, have "turntable" steering.
IMO, that is adequate.
The Demco Kar Kaddy dolly has king pin steering, with a shimmy damper to control wheel shimmy. There may be others that have such steering.
I had an older Kar Kaddy a few years ago. It worked great, IMO. I sold it because it did not have brakes. That was a dumb thing to do!
Yes, such steerable dollys are not cheap, but I would never buy any other kind.
As for the "problems" loading or unloading a dolly, all I can say is that we are all individuals. What one person finds to be unsupportable, another will find to be no problem at all. The only way you will find out what YOU like is to actually try it.
Good luck.

And I prefer the ACME dolly system of letting the car do the steering, Lighter weight and tighter turning without risk of denting car. To each his own.

I will give Acme credit; they do a good job of convincing many people that they can put their car on an Acme dolly, strap the front wheels tightly in place, and as they drive along the front wheels of the car somehow steer the wheels of the dolly without stressing the steering of the car in any way, or dragging the dolly tires sideways.
Based on my experience in vehicle maintenance, I simply do not believe it. Yes, I have seen their videos of the steering wheel turning. That tells me that something under the car is twisting that was not meant to twist!
I will not buy an Acme dolly, and I will never recommend that anyone else buy one.

Well, unless you have actually had one, used it and have experience with the ACME dolly it is really hard to say you don't believe it. Do not get me wrong, I am not trying to start anything at all as everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and I do respect that. However I have well over 12K on ours pulling two different vehicles. It does work and works fine. Not only can you unhook and roll it easily,if you need to you can stand it straight up behind your coach and secure it to your ladder to get it out of the way. I am seeing more and more of them on the highway. I really do not think I would be seeing as many if they did not work properly. I highly recommend the ACME dolly.

[John___Angela]

We have towed with both types of dollys and they both seem to work. The plusses for dollys are that you can tow almost anything. It does take a little more fiddling around though and you should check and tighten the straps after an hour or so.

I think you will see more dollys on the road in the future as many electric vehicles need to be on a dolly to tow. Some because of drive train issues and some because of no attachment points for the tow bar brackets. I know there are a bunch of Tesla owners biting at the bit to tow their S or X and without a doubt with the Tesla 3 going into production next week there will be more Teslas getting dragged behind RV's. I have seen Nissan Leafs on tow dollys. We will probably tow ours that way from time to time. Right now we tow our smart electric drive on a trailer 4 up.

[mowermech]

TyroneandGladys wrote:

mowermech wrote:
IMO, the only dolly to buy is one that has some method of steering.
The American Tow Dolly, Mastertow dolly, and others, have "turntable" steering.
IMO, that is adequate.
The Demco Kar Kaddy dolly has king pin steering, with a shimmy damper to control wheel shimmy. There may be others that have such steering.
I had an older Kar Kaddy a few years ago. It worked great, IMO. I sold it because it did not have brakes. That was a dumb thing to do!
Yes, such steerable dollys are not cheap, but I would never buy any other kind.
As for the "problems" loading or unloading a dolly, all I can say is that we are all individuals. What one person finds to be unsupportable, another will find to be no problem at all. The only way you will find out what YOU like is to actually try it.
Good luck.

And I prefer the ACME dolly system of letting the car do the steering, Lighter weight and tighter turning without risk of denting car. To each his own.

I will give Acme credit; they do a good job of convincing many people that they can put their car on an Acme dolly, strap the front wheels tightly in place, and as they drive along the front wheels of the car somehow steer the wheels of the dolly without stressing the steering of the car in any way, or dragging the dolly tires sideways.
Based on my experience in vehicle maintenance, I simply do not believe it. Yes, I have seen their videos of the steering wheel turning. That tells me that something under the car is twisting that was not meant to twist!
I will not buy an Acme dolly, and I will never recommend that anyone else buy one.

[TyroneandGladys]

mowermech wrote:
IMO, the only dolly to buy is one that has some method of steering.
The American Tow Dolly, Mastertow dolly, and others, have "turntable" steering.
IMO, that is adequate.
The Demco Kar Kaddy dolly has king pin steering, with a shimmy damper to control wheel shimmy. There may be others that have such steering.
I had an older Kar Kaddy a few years ago. It worked great, IMO. I sold it because it did not have brakes. That was a dumb thing to do!
Yes, such steerable dollys are not cheap, but I would never buy any other kind.
As for the "problems" loading or unloading a dolly, all I can say is that we are all individuals. What one person finds to be unsupportable, another will find to be no problem at all. The only way you will find out what YOU like is to actually try it.
Good luck.

And I prefer the ACME dolly system of letting the car do the steering, Lighter weight and tighter turning without risk of denting car. To each his own.

[mowermech]

IMO, the only dolly to buy is one that has some method of steering.
The American Tow Dolly, Mastertow dolly, and others, have "turntable" steering.
IMO, that is adequate.
The Demco Kar Kaddy dolly has king pin steering, with a shimmy damper to control wheel shimmy. There may be others that have such steering.
I had an older Kar Kaddy a few years ago. It worked great, IMO. I sold it because it did not have brakes. That was a dumb thing to do!
Yes, such steerable dollys are not cheap, but I would never buy any other kind.
As for the "problems" loading or unloading a dolly, all I can say is that we are all individuals. What one person finds to be unsupportable, another will find to be no problem at all. The only way you will find out what YOU like is to actually try it.
Good luck.

[Campinghoss]

TugCE wrote:

Heisenberg wrote:
That CRV is about the best 4down toad you can find. 56,000 miles is barely broke in. There are probably several here that would take it off your hands.

CRV in possession looking for a tow dolly does not make sense to a veteran RVer.

I am fully aware of the CRV being a great toad but as I stated the DW is thinking about wanting a car this time! So, to me right now, I think a Dolly is a little smarter than spending the Money to outfit the CRV then a few months down the road have to do it all over again with her NEW car.

I understand. That is why I use a dolly. My wife can and did get what she wanted. I did not want to be limited on what we could buy based on pulling four down. Look into the ACME dolly. When I have to, I can unhook it and put it under the back of the coach easily.

[TugCE]

Heisenberg wrote:
That CRV is about the best 4down toad you can find. 56,000 miles is barely broke in. There are probably several here that would take it off your hands.

CRV in possession looking for a tow dolly does not make sense to a veteran RVer.

I am fully aware of the CRV being a great toad but as I stated the DW is thinking about wanting a car this time! So, to me right now, I think a Dolly is a little smarter than spending the Money to outfit the CRV then a few months down the road have to do it all over again with her NEW car.