My American Car Dolly review

[FL420]

I wrote the following Google review about 3 years ago. Since then my poor dolly has been treated to some 30,000 miles of pretty rough terrain since we boondock a lot primarily in the mountains. It has logged a lot of miles on unpaved roads and has come through like a champ. I hope you find this info useful.

American Car Dolly review

After doing research for months I pulled the trigger on an American Car Dolly. My wife's 2013 KIA Soul has just the right engine(2.0L) and transmission(6spd. sport shift automatic) combination which we both like but which can't be towed four down.

We visited Gary Rudnik, the designer, fabricator and owner of ACD at his shop near Ft. Morgan, CO weeks before finally deciding to purchase one. Gary is passionate about his baby and spent several hours showing and demonstrating his product only to see us drive away without making a purchase. He taught us a lot about tow dollies and we used that knowledge to compare his product to others.

I have owned and maintained many cars, trucks, motorcycles, airplanes and one motorhome over the years. I can recognize quality of design, materials and construction when I see them. Gary's product is better in all categories of the dollies I researched.

A week after I called Gary to order one he called back to say it was ready. I drove our 40 foot DP and my wife drove her car to his shop to pick it up. I had mounted a Versahaul motorcycle carrier behind the coach but it's single point attachment in the hitch receiver caused it to rock side-to-side going down the road. I had designed a bracing system and bought the necessary steel to build it but I didn't have the skills or tools to build it. Gary offered to fabricate it and within 30-40 minutes he had it welded up. It works great and Gary wouldn't let me pay him for it.

The width of the motorcycle carrier made the dolly's wiring harness too short to reach my 7 pin connector on the motorhome. Gary disappeared into his shop and came back in about 15 minutes with a well-made extension cable to solve the problem. He even added a 4 pin flat connector for the Kia to tow it. Again, no charge for parts or labor.

Gary is a firm believer in his time delay brake controller. It is an innovative design and easy to use. I opted to buy a Tekonsha Prodigy P3 electronic proportional braking controller on Amazon to give me more, faster and finer control of the dolly's brakes. Five years of driving school busses in the Rocky Mountains in the winter have taught me how easy overbraking or untimely braking on water, ice or snow can break the rear end loose and send you sideways. I don't want that to happen with my wife's car.

The ramps are very sturdy and therefore fairly heavy. I didn't seriously consider dollies without removable ramps to tow a small, short wheel-based car. I've heard lazy scumbag thieves like to steal them so I'm going to lock mine to each other and the trailer tongue with a Kryptonite U Lock bicycle lock.

The tire straps are okay but I plan to replace mine with a design that has 2 or 3 straps over the tire instead of one. Cost should be less than $50. I am planning on adding a breakaway switch powered through a motorcycle battery to the tongue for those states that require them. As a backup I already secure the KIA to the tow dolly with a 2 inch wide 8,000 pound axle strap with D rings hooked to an engine mount.

The ACD does what it's designed to do and it does it very well. Gary has designed and builds a quality product of which he is understandably proud. He was a pleasure to work with. The motorcycle no longer bounces, the car tracks straight and true and executes turns nicely. The brakes work as advertised.

I added a Class I hitch with a 2 inch ball to the KIA so I can take the car off the dolly, take the dolly off the motorcycle carrier's hitch ball and put it on the car's hitch ball. I can then take the dolly anywhere I need to in the campground or even to town or on the highway.

I'm a happy camper.

[Americanrascal]

X2- Can't say enough good about our ACD. Have about 70,000 miles on it now and have run it from Georgia to Anchorage, AK and back, crossed the country 3 times east to west, from Canada to Florida and too many other trips to count. Not one failure on it (well I did have to change a brake light bulb once) since 2014 when we bought it.

We alternate towing our Fords depending on need-- a Focus facing forward and a Ranger pick- up loaded rearward. Never had any issues. Even broke down and because I'm such a wonderful guy towed my BIL's Prius from Tampa to Atlanta once.

The DW and I --when in pit crew mode-- load it in 7 minutes, never having a knee touch the ground. Otherwise depends on how motivated I am or how much coffee has been utilized to get started loading the dolly.

Its a great dolly at at a very good price . An outstanding company!

[mikeeusa714]

Anyone have an owners manual for the American Tow Dolly that they could scan and send to me? I've apparently lost mine and am considering selling it due to non-use and would like to have one for the specs and to give to new owner. Have really enjoyed mine and no problems, it's a beast!

[FL420]

Originally Posted by mikeeusa714

Anyone have an owners manual for the American Tow Dolly that they could scan and send to me? I've apparently lost mine and am considering selling it due to non-use and would like to have one for the specs and to give to new owner. Have really enjoyed mine and no problems, it's a beast!

Sorry I can't help you. I didn't get an owner's manual when I bought mine but never really felt the need for one. For some reason I can't find a link to ACD's website anymore.
The best I can do right now is post this screenshot of a Car Dolly Comparison Table and recommend you call Gary Rudner at (970) 380-3305.

[Americanrascal]

I heard from someone who just had Gary drop by for some help with his dolly. He said that Gary had pulled the site down from the web as he's really swamped and had more work than he can handle. I think he's still cranking away though as I texted him a few weeks ago for a spec on the brakes and he responded helpfully and quickly.

He's a great individual American entrepreneur making a wonderful product!

[Nomad757]

Gary just dropped off my dolly a couple weeks ago and several months early at that. Couldn't be more pleased.
He stated to me, that he was going to slow down on dolly production as he had a new business venture in mind. Plus, he is tired of driving.
Gary was noticeably tired when he delivered my dolly. IIRC he had been on the road for just over a week and had one more stop to go.
I welcomed him to rest at my place for a spell, but he needed to get going.
He did say he would still be available to his customers.
Kind of glad I bought when I did.
Damon

[FL420]

I never did understand why either Gary or his wife would drive all over the US delivering dollies when he had a business to run at home. He told me he had some trouble in the past finding, hiring and keeping fabricators who could reliably maintain the high standards he required. It's quite likely most ACDs were hand-built by Gary himself.
If he were to grow and market his business more aggressively I think he could put many of his competitors under a lot of pressure to improve their products or lose much of their market share.
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