Tow Dollies By Landgrebe Mfg

[JDT]

Looking for some more information on these as I did find several mentions of them on this forum. Just hope someone who has one reads this. They don't seem to be very common but appear to have some of the highest weight ratings I have found. Our fwd Acadia seems to push the wieght and width limits of most I have found. Yes, I know it can be towed 4 down but we are going to give this a try.

The TD40 101 Magnum is 105.5" wide, 3.5" wider than the Master Tow 80THD, but it has an 82" ramp width vs 80" for the Master Tow. Seems wide but is it a problem? Also, with surge brakes, it weighs over 700 lbs, quite a bit heavier than the Master Tow. It is also rated to tow 7000lbs vs the MT's 4900. Is it hard to move by hand? I would think it could only be moved by hitching it up.

In my initial conversation with Landgrebe they suggested the electric brakes vs the surge as we generally make one trip a year to the Colorado Rockies and the surge may try to work going down a steep grade. I know most prefer the surge so is electric just a bad deal?

How is loading and tie down? Easy, hard, impossible?

Anything else I should know like tire wear, etc?

[DAN L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDT Looking for some more information on these as I did find several mentions of them on this forum. Just hope someone who has one reads this. They don't seem to be very common but appear to have some of the highest weight ratings I have found. Our fwd Acadia seems to push the wieght and width limits of most I have found. Yes, I know it can be towed 4 down but we are going to give this a try. The TD40 101 Magnum is 105.5" wide, 3.5" wider than the Master Tow 80THD, but it has an 82" ramp width vs 80" for the Master Tow. Seems wide but is it a problem? Also, with surge brakes, it weighs over 700 lbs, quite a bit heavier than the Master Tow. It is also rated to tow 7000lbs vs the MT's 4900. Is it hard to move by hand? I would think it could only be moved by hitching it up. In my initial conversation with Landgrebe they suggested the electric brakes vs the surge as we generally make one trip a year to the Colorado Rockies and the surge may try to work going down a steep grade. I know most prefer the surge so is electric just a bad deal? How is loading and tie down? Easy, hard, impossible? Anything else I should know like tire wear, etc?

i don't know about the particular dolly in your question.
i have a 600# stehl dolly. it has electric brakes. they work well. i added a harbor freight folding wheel type 3rd wheel jack to the tongue for use when maneuvering the empty dolly. the dolly maneuvers easily on level ground. it stores mostly under the rear of the moho in cg's or in my garage at home.
imho surge brakes would not work well when descending mountain grades. they would be on most of the time.
loading, tiedown, and unloading is very easy. it is best to develop a checklist for loading and unloading so you do not miss any steps.
check the dolly for toe-in or toe-out before you purchase it.
my new stehl had 3/4'' toe in and chewed up 2 sets of tires before i got the alignment corrected. the tires are wearing ok now.

[bearaboo]

If you maintain a constant speed down the mountains, the surge brakes will not engage. The weight of the towed vehicle will only engage the brakes when the motorhome brakes are applied and the hydraulic piston pushes the brake fluid.
Gravity alone is not enough even with the weight of the towed vehicle pushing on the piston. The advantage of electric brakes is you can control them for propotional braking. Surge brakes are somewhat proportional, but basically either are engaged or not when applying the motorhome brakes.