Got my EZE Tow today

[EZE Tow]

Just a quick follow up. The Acme dolly tires NEVER skid in a turn. That would be unsafe , even absurd. Dollies do not have suspensions. The tire is the only suspension component. So they do all the work. That is why we use a very high quality 10 ply tire that is 50% RUBBER. A very high rubber content. In a tight turn there is an enormous amount of resistance between the dolly tires and the ground. Because of the high rubber content the tires will leave a faint residual rubber track on the ground. Much like my truck does when I turn the wheels very tight and make a full circle. The tires are not skidding. In addition, no dolly is built to go around in circles, or to make very tight turns in parking lots. 95% of dolly use is on the highway a the posted speed limit.
We have several very detailed videos of dollies in action including very sharp turns under load. Tires never skid. Under some conditions they will scrub in a tight turn.
Just clearing up the facts. Thanks.

[twinboat]

On the safety chain issue, if you have openings in the wheels on the toad, pull the chain thru the wheel, from the inside, with a hook and clip it near the strap winch.
I moved and adjusted the chains to do that. My fake knees don`t kneel.

Enjoy

[jondrew55]

Just another follow up. Figured out where I'll keep this in my garage (at least for now). Stands up nice in front of my big ladder. Wheels up against the wall. My wife didn't even notice it when she first came in (camouflaged behind the other clutter). I probably don't need the strap at the top, but if this ever fell on her new car....

[jondrew55]

Finally disposed of my Eze Tow crate

[jones47172]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

As shipped, the EZE-Tow dolly measures 102" wide. My RV is also 102" wide...I am pretty sure the Palazzo is 101" wide.
...
The dolly should track right behind the RV as shipped. Here is the best photo I have to show the similar width.
...
I submit that if the steering on the toad is allowed to fully pivot, the dolly tires will not scrub...the 3 ground contact points (RV's rears, Dolly tires, and toad's rear tires) should be able to deflect enough during turns to not scrub.

The point I was trying to make is that the dolly wheels track wider than the RV wheels. So if your RV wheels are right on the edge of the road the dolly wheels will be off the road. While it is true that the Palazzo is 101 inches wide, its wheels are only 93 wide.

A reason I stated that the dolly wheels skid in turns is because it leaves black marks on the pavement in tight turns. The way I found this out was by connecting the dolly to my tractor and pulling my Mini Cooper. I could watch the tires scrub on the pavement and leave the marks. I was also concerned about the dolly wheels getting close to my Mini in really tight turns so I tried this in the yard. In this scenario the dolly wheels skidded so much it literally tore up the yard. The dolly itself never got near the Mini in these aggressive turns which gave me comfort that I couldn't damage the Mini while towing.

These points are being made mainly as a matter of interest. The scrubbing causes no problem, its just that I was curious as to where the black marks were coming from. The larger issue for me was driving on our very narrow country roads where I would get my RV rear tire right on the edge of the road and the dolly wheel would be half off the road (this could be seen in the RV mirrors).

[jergeod]

I see you don't have the fenders on it, you didn't burn them too?

ha ha

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by jergeod

I see you don't have the fenders on it, you didn't burn them too?

ha ha

The fenders are visible - just against the wall.
You are looking at the bottom of the dolly.

[Elexwiz]

Originally Posted by jondrew

Finally disposed of my Eze Tow crate

That's how my crate went, in a blaze of glory!

[Brockx]

JONES47172

The more overhang (rear axle MH centerline to hitch) you have the closer you will follow in the track of the coach on turns. Both motorhomes I have towed the dolly behind kept the dolly and toad dead on track. Towing the dolly behind a tractor is totally irrelevant.

Results will vary depending on the "overhang".

[tim myers]

Originally Posted by Elexwiz

What kind of shipping company jumps out of the truck and says, "I don't know how we're going to get this off the truck." THEY are supposed to be the professionals. WHY would they even load something that big into a box truck with no means of unloading it without the customers help. I fully expected to see a flat bed with a piggy-back fork truck come down my street. Nope.

I had the exact same experience with the delivery driver. First attemtp to deliver was on a Wednesday. I was at work and wife and son home to receive. Driver calls me ans says "I hope you have 5 men to manhandle this off the truck" Needless to say he took it back.

I put a call in the folks at EZ Tow and they immediately contacted ConWay trucking in NC who immediately called ConWay in Dayton. Delivery was scheduled for Last Friday and I rearranged my schedule to meet them at 3PM.

Again when I got the call drivers asks "who is going to unload this thing". When he opened the door I saw part of the problem. The crate was demolished and the dolly was standing on a pile of wood. Driver wanted to head back to the terminal and I said, nope were going to unload this.

First laid it down in the truck sideways enough to roll it off the pile of wood. It doesn't fit sideways so I had to roll it at an angle. Once it was down and the wood was out of the way the drivers lights came on and he slid an empty pallet under the ez tow which allowed him to pick it up enough to roll the whole thing to the lift gate. Once on the lift gate we had to rearrange it slightly so it would clear and we lowered it to the street.

It is a bit heavy to lift and lower but stands up very nicely in the garage.

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by Elexwiz

That's how my crate went, in a blaze of glory!

Unfortunately the fire was so hot it singed my grass and melted the wheels of my fire pit

[jondrew55]

When last we left the Eze Tow Saga I was burning my crate, waiting on X-Large tow straps from Eze Tow because the standard size was too small for my Murano 18" tires.

I got the straps on Friday. Instead of the red ones that say car tow.com or whatever these are blue and much larger. I hooked the dolly to my Excursion and then connected the trailer wire, safety chains and break away cable. I drove the Murano up on the dolly using the ramps and put the straps on. I'm beginning to think the Murano is about as large a car as this dolly will tow. There is little room on either side of the tire to the wall of the dolly plus its a bit difficult to get the hooks into the slots. It took a few tries to cinch the straps down without them rubbing against the ratchet housing. Next time out I need to adjust the spacing of the ratchet mechanism an inch or two. Once the straps were secure I attached the safety chains to the frame of the Murano. I just dropped the chain in the banjo without any further securing. It stayed in place throughout the ride. I popped the hood and took out the fuse for the steering column locking mechanism and it was time to drive.

First was a trip around the block. Not too far, less than a half mile. Just to see if anything shifted. It looked fine, so I took another trip around to make sure. When I had first gotten the car up on the dolly the driver's side wheel was about an inch further up than the passengers side. I used the ratchets to draw the tires in equally. After tightening up the straps I went for about a 5 mile ride. I got back to the house and gave the straps another click of ratchet on both wheels. Then I took it on the highway for about 20 miles. I cruised around 60 - 65 checking my rear view camera and listening for strange noises. My 300 HP Cummins ISB took the extra weight in stride. The milage did not seem to vary (around 10.3 by the computer) and coolant temp was just slightly higher than the last ride I took. I got off at an exit ramp to find a place to check things out. I noticed a banging sound that made me wonder if something was hitting the ground. It happened several times on the ramp as I came to a stop light. When I pulled over, everything looked fine. The straps were tight, nothing was hitting the ground and there were no strange smells I could notice. After thinking about it for a while i convinced myself the banging noise was the surge brake oscillating back and forth as I slowed down and the brake was grabbing then releasing. The noise did not occur again on the ride home.

When I got home everything seemed fine. I put the steering column lock fuse back in, put the ramps on, let the straps loose and backed the car down. I disconnected the trailer and wheeled it back into my garage and stood it up against the wall for storage.

I noticed before I had left for the ride that there was no brake fluid in the cylinder. I filled it before I left and it was still full when I got home. I'm wondering if it leaks out standing up. I did not notice any dripping anywhere. I'll check again before the next ride.

Our first big trip is in a bit more than a week (700 or so miles each way). We'll go for another spin next weekend and make some adjustments to the ratchet straps. I also have some magnetic towing lights I'll probably use (I got a Y-Splitter to run the dolly lights and the magnetic tow lights).

Hopefully after I get this down it won't seem like such a chore hooking up. I'm still pretty new to these big MHs so there is a lot of pre flight stuff to do (tire pressures, make sure all the cargo doors are shut and locked, all the internal stuff is secured etc). Sure is a lot of work to have fun I guess.

[EZE Tow]

Thanks for the feedback. We made the extra large straps blue to simplify communications with customers. Also eliminates confusion in shipping. You are the first to receive those new straps, please send us a few pictures and let us know how your big trip goes. I tried them on my 20 inch tires on 2014 GMC Sierra Denali and they were plenty big.
The noise you heard should not be coming from the actuator. Normally it is very quite, no chucking, proportional and precise. Sometimes a hitch insert will rattle inside the hitch housing, if so they sell inserts to silence that. Happy and Safe Motoring....

[vettenuts]

I was going to say the same, shoot a photo. Also, I am new to the game as well and made two check lists. One for the coach, and one for the dolly. I have them in plastic protectors and check them off with a dry erase marker. Then I can wipe clean for the next use. If I need to add/modify anything, I write it on the paper and then update the list when I get home.

I plan to reload the car this spring once the dolly is out of my shed and cut the strap tail shorter once the car is loaded. I have previously tied them off but sometimes they still get loose and flail around in the wind. I also added some chafe guards this winter where I know my particular car rubs on the strapping.