Has Anyone Tried the Acme Trailer Eze-Tow?

[RVNeophytes2]

Momma wants to have a choice of toads from the fleet. Her current choice is the 2010 Honda Crosstour, a hefty 3,800 lb machine.

Acme Trailer's Eze Tow dolly sounds ideal for the task.

The thing carries a 5 yr warranty (10 for $50), is Canadian compliant and has brakes that satisfy all US states' laws.

Does anyone have experience with these folks or their product?

Andy & KayCee
2005 Fleetwood Excursion 39S, 350hp Cat, 2010 Crosstour dollied toad

[powerboatr]

my parents have one they are trying to sell
in their words its a piece of crap

delivered
ground wires cut
scratched all to heck

first trip
lights fell off , the company sent him a replacement set.....but still
straps came un done and car moved back to the chain
the ramps are SLICK and they spin the tires every-time getting the little fiesta loaded
and the on board ramp storage is marginal, my parents put em in the basement for easier use

support angles are thin and got bent on first trip

surge brakes stick, havent figured out why, bolts are not over tight

hitch ball coupler STICKS and twice now i have had to use a jack to get it to release off the ball

second trip replacement lights fell off again and hung on by the wires
weird thing also is the wheel straps, then are horribly difficult to get on right
i have straps for my hauler and they are a piece of cake
but these are just plain difficult

it doesn't have a pivot table for the car so the whole thing sort of gives in tight turns, i about freaked when i first watched him practice with it in the neighborhood


pluses
it is heavy for its size imo

disc brakes

IMO you get what you pay for
spend a little more and get a better tow dolly

[RVNeophytes2]

Thanks for the candid assessment.

I did my first dolly practice today with my Tundra (rather damage it, than the wife's new Crosstour).

The borrowed dolly is a Trailer Corp of America model.

It was easy to set up, worked perfectly.

[Tom-NC]

Hi,

I wouldn't buy that tow dolly on a bet. I would like to know how big those tires are as they look like 10" tires and imagine if they were at 60 miles an hour. The brakes look good but that is it and imagine crawling underneath it to remove ramps and stow them. In the picture on the website the chains are connected wrong too as you normally cross them so it case something happens to the hitch the tongue gets cradled in the chains.

The tow dolly I would recommend ( the one I have) is a Roadmaster tow dolly with w/electric brakes. Just a reminder with electric brakes you need a controller in the RV. Number one is that it has steering which means the tires on the dolly track in the same track as the Rear wheels on the RV and the fenders never touch the car. Number two it has a deep well that the front tires sit in and the ramps allow for plenty of traction even in wet weather. I added a third wheel to it which makes it easier to move around if you have to in a campground but normally I take a pull through site and leave the dolly hooked up.

This Tow dolly by Roadmaster is sold by Camping World as are a lot of the accessories. Take it from one who owns one it is a fine unit and the folks at Roadmaster are top notch if you have any questions, www.roadmasterinc.com.

Good luck and safe travels.

[Possum]

Originally Posted by RVNeophytes2

Momma wants to have a choice of toads from the fleet. Her current choice is the 2010 Honda Crosstour, a hefty 3,800 lb machine.

Acme Trailer's Eze Tow dolly sounds ideal for the task.

The thing carries a 5 yr warranty (10 for $50), is Canadian compliant and has brakes that satisfy all US states' laws.

Does anyone have experience with these folks or their product?

Andy & KayCee
2005 Fleetwood Excursion 39S, 350hp Cat, 2010 Crosstour dollied toad

I'd check this brakes thing out as I have a friend who's in DMV in Minnesota and he tells me surge brakes are not legal to use there.

[mikron]

I have been looking at one from www.americancardolly.com there deck swivels and it is compact. Under $1,500.00 delivered to you.

[Topflite51]

Originally Posted by Possum

I'd check this brakes thing out as I have a friend who's in DMV in Minnesota and he tells me surge brakes are not legal to use there.

Actually the law in Minnesota is that has to be capable of stopping in 50 feet at 20 MPH.

[RVNeophytes2]

I like the American Car Dolly, except it's dawning that detachable ramps aren't a good thing.

We need dollies that require no crawling under; for that reason, I figured my own test (it's an early Stehl model, actually) would be a failure: the inner straps had to be routed around brake lines on the Crosstour. However, some experimentation revealed that placing the bridging strap at 12:30 on the tire eliminates the chance of binding. That, and putting in a drop-down hitch to make the tongue perfectly level with the coach's air suspension in Auto makes the dolly and easy and economical setup that lets us use my Tundra or the wife's Crosstour (or convertible, later).

The Stehl's steering also allowed min-radius turns of the Excursion without dolly contact. Best, the company has a $235 electric brake kit that can be retrofitted. Looking at the Roadmaster design, the two dollies seem to be nearly identical, in their construction and function.

[DAN L]

i bought a new stehl dolly in 2008 and didn't use it for 1.5 years. big mistake. in jun 2010 from portland, or. to reno, nv. i wore out a set of tires in about 600 miles.
i found that i had 3/4'' of toe in. the stehl factory would not talk to me on the phone and the reno shop spent a lot of time trying to get info from them. unsuccessfully.
i had an alignment done at the truck frame shop in reno and put 2 new tires on.
about 1k miles later, my tires were wore out again.
a truck frame shop in san jose, ca. found that i had 1/2'' toe in. they could not straighten it cold and had to heat the axle tube to straighten it. another new set of tires.
this shop was recommended to me by a stehl dealer who said that he sends all his new stehl dollies to them for a alignment check. this dealer says that toe out can be caused by hitting potholes or curbs, but not toe in. he says that it came from the factory that way.
so, after about $400 in alignments and $500 in tires, my dolly is finally fixed.

the bottom line is to check any dolly or trailer for alignment before purchasing it. you can easily check for toe with a long tape measure and a helper.

[lilgreek7]

I've had nothing but good times with mine. I've traveled the U.S. twice and with no trouble. I did purchase a new tire, just to have incase of an emergency. The co. has been extra kind, sending me uot a new brake fluid cover. (That I misplaced) The only thing I need now is new straps. I've just used my first pair out. BTW the first set of tirews are going strong and looks great. Patrick

[Sequim Guy]

I have an EZE-TOW dolly and really like it, I think it works great.
My hunch is that yours didn't leave the factory with ground wires cut and all scratched up, it is shipped in an open crate. Mine didn't have a mark on it. Shipper problems maybe.
It come with the lights in a box and you have to install them, so if they keep falling off, the problem would probably seem to be the installer. IMHO
The straps have 4 anchor hooks and the first couple of times it takes a minute to figure them out, but after that they are easy to put on. If properly installed, they would never loosen, again, I would look at the installer.
Can't imagine how any support angles got bent, anchor hooks do not attach to angle.
Neither my ball coupler or surge brakes have ever stuck, maybe a little grease on the ball might help.
I have pulled it through parking lots, tight roads in RV parks, and gas stations and have never needed a pivoting table, it just follows along. Not sure what "gives in tight turns" means, it is built of welded steel, I have seen no flex at all.
Yes, it has 10" tires, and wheel bearings so they can spin around really fast at 60mph or even 70 or 75 like I have drive driven a few times, imagine that!! Plus the smaller tires are much easier to reach over and around when installing tire straps.
Unless you are on the drivers side and want to pick up the ramp on the passenger side, I see no reason to crawl underneath the dolly. Simply reach down and pick up the ramp, see how easy that was.
I recommend the ACME dolly, I have one. It is simple, all sturdy welds, no bolts to come loose, no expensive controller units to buy, no tire alignment problems, no manual drum brake adjustment to make, and no crawling under.
ACME has very nice and helpful people.

Those that seem to dislike the dolly the most, don't seem to even own one, I take my advice from those that have first hand knowledge.

Everyone likes the dolly that they have, I like mine because I didn't need to pay way too much just to have all the unnecessary stuff. I strap down the car and the dolly follows me. Simple.

[wingman8]

I have only used my eze dolly a couple times but it is great. Easy to store at home base, not to heavy to move around and the brakes work very well. Can't beat the warranty either. Those "little" 10 inch tires are 22 inches tall and can hall a load of over 3,000 lbs. Everyone has their favorite, EZE is mine, Thanks

[Sequim Guy]

Well, it seems the numbers are in on the EZE-TOW dolly.

For - 3 owners that like the dolly and use it.

Against - 2 people that don't even own one and obviously wouldn't know how to use it if they did.

Gee, that was easy.

[RVNeophytes2]

Originally Posted by Sequim Guy

Well, it seems the numbers are in on the EZE-TOW dolly. For - 3 owners that like the dolly and use it. Against - 2 people that don't even own one...

The ACME wheels do not swivel or steer or pivot.
My suggestion is to read some of the posts from people that are having a lot of problems with wheel alignment and tire wear from the steerable/swivel/pivot wheels on a dolly. Have about 6000 miles on my dolly and NO tire problems, hardly any tread wear either.

Well, it's been over 6 months and 4,000 miles since I first asked the "Which is best?" question. I've been to other forums, and read hundreds of posts. Richard from Acme Eze Tow talked with me, in the middle of the night. He seemed like a great character, eager to support his customers. I nearly ordered then and there, but opted to wait awhile and decide if I'd prefer towing 4-down.

In the interim, a friend who grew up in the RV community (in the 1960s) loaned me his vintage Stehl to use. Next week, he'll get the dolly back with new tires, freshly-packed bearings, new wiring and some replaced hardware. Another friend who is also a Roadmaster dealer has kindly ordered me a 2000-1, and by sheer coincidence I inherited a new brake control unit.

Probably, the Acme is sufficient. But, think about the turning force put on the toad if something isn't engineered to yield during turns: with the dolly wheels serving as the natural point of rotation/pivot, there is side loading on the toad's front suspension vectored to the inside of the turn, and a much more significant outward force on the toad's rear wheels. Proof: imagine the whole affair on snow. With a gradual reduction of friction, you would arrive at a point where the dolly wheels still faithfully follow the towing vehicle, but the rear wheels of the toad would slip sideways, cutting a broad arc... basic physics, and easy to duplicate: swipe your kids' Radio Flyer and block the pivot action of the front axle. Have junior sit over the front wheels, try to drag him or her around in tight circles. You get the point.

Now, is this a problem if you go straight down the road? Probably not. I'd even submit that long-haul use of a rigid dolly might result in less tire wear, compared the same type of driving with a pivoting tray or steerable wheels.

But, in our usage, we make tight turns and lots of 'em.

Enough that the Stehl has left scars on the mudflaps and even rocker panels of DW's new Honda Crosstour (with front wheel drive and 51 cubic feet of cargo bay, it's an awesome dollied toad). And, I have to lower the bus as well as place planks under the trailing edges of the ramps when loading, or the Crosstour's air dam contacts the tray.

Roadmaster has adjustable axles, so it can be broadened to accommodate wider cars and trucks.

The Stehl, looking in the mirrors and TV camera, tracks a foot inside of the bus in tight maneuvers. Dollies like the Roadmaster that have wheels that steer track along with the RV. If DW clears the curb with the bus, the dolly will also clear.

Tires: in the Texas heat, even the Stehl's larger tires get hot underway. While the sidewall limit it 65 psi and they are carrying much less than their capacity, I need to keep 62 psi in them or their temps rapidly go up. During a 60 mph cruise at 100F an inflation of 62 psi will keep the tire at 126-130F. Meanwhile, the toad's rear tires never go over 110F. Shed just 5 psi from the Stehl's tires, and they immediately heat up to 150F underway. Tests reveal that permanent damage to the tire can occur when its temperature reaches 180F. So, smaller tires give me some concern.

Setup time, now that we're adept at hookup and removal, is the same as our 4-down brethern, albeit with a bit more bending over. Of the dozen or so campsites we've tried, all have had space for the dolly. I generally insert the tongue under the rig, either in the rear or from the side, after the jacks are down. Our cost is roughly half, and we select from among our cars, depending on where we're going.

With a rock guard on the rig, I have yet to see a single ding on the toad. The fenders, light brackets and (while we were still learning) air dam scrapes comprise 100% of our damage.

I've heard glowing remarks about Demco and Towmaster, too. They are doubtlessly great units; I'll settle for their peer, the Roadmaster 2000-1.