Community Forums

Damion · 01-17-2021, 04:46 PM

Personally I do not like surge brake! When you decent mountains and your exhaust brake or jake brake is doing its job holding you back what is going to happen to your surge brake on your tow dolly? Burn the brakes up?

David 70 · 01-17-2021, 05:30 PM

FireDog53
How does your Kar Kaddy tow empty. I got one and it likes to sway back and forth when empty. It appears it has movement in the hinge on the hitch. I managed to pick one up that very little use for $500 otherwise I wouldn't have it.

David 70 · 01-17-2021, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damion

Personally I do not like surge brake! When you decent mountains and your exhaust brake or jake brake is doing its job holding you back what is going to happen to your surge brake on your tow dolly? Burn the brakes up?

I can't say for sure but I don't think they will apply much if any unless you make a quick deceleration. Most newer ones won't apply either when you back up. The early ones if you had to back up hard you had to put a pin in the actuator. I am not a fan of them either because I don't think they really do much.

ArtJoyce · 01-17-2021, 06:31 PM

I also had a larger kaddy ss. I bought it used. It had surge brakes the fold back tongue made it ideal for storage at home and campsite. I ended selling it for what I paid when I went to 4 down towing.

WyoFree · 01-18-2021, 12:12 PM

You guys brought up something earlier I’d not thought of. How well does the tow dolly tow without a vehicle on it? I can certainly see times when the tow dolly would be empty while underway. If the dolly doesn’t track well empty it’s not only bad for the tires but very disconcerting for those behind the motorhome.

Can something be done about the movement of a dolly you bought? And how would you know those that wobble so you can buy something else? I sure don’t want to spend $4 grand in a Demco dolly to find it has the wobbles. I sometimes get the wobbles but I have pills.

twinboat · 01-18-2021, 12:33 PM

I just towed mine empty from Marathon FL. to Miami. Tracked like the small trailer it is.

3 years ago, I towed it empty for a longer trip. I dropped the air in the tires to 20 PSI to stop the bouncing.

I use the tire straps to keep the swivel plate centered and not shifting around.

As far as surge brakes, I don't have an engine brake but have come down off the Blue Ridge Highway, sometimes in second gear in the steep sections. At the end of the trip I check the wheels for excess heat. They felt normal. My brake pads lasted over 30,000 miles. Cost = $12.00.

As far as not working well, I can't back my empty dolly on grass or dirt, without the tires skidding.

They work great towing and add a lot of braking when its needed. Some may not feel it, behind a 30,000 DP, but you do in an old, overloaded, class C

Rockwood27 · 01-18-2021, 12:45 PM

I used to tow with a Master Tow with surge brakes. I replaced the safety chains with axle straps. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...b?cm_vc=-10005

I did have a tire strap come off twice and the safety chain/strap kept the car in the dolly pan.

In order to tow the dolly emptied, you should reduce the tire pressure to around 15-20 psi. Otherwise the dolly will bounce all over the place, beating wheel bearings to death.

Master Tow makes two different width dollies (80 inch and, I think, 77 inch). What make and model car are you planning on towing? It will make a difference on which dolly you get.

NXR · 01-18-2021, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WyoFree

Hi guys, I've never towed a vehicle and have now decided to do so and will need a tow dolly.

Do you have an SUV or a truck with a hitch? I used my wife's Honda Pilot to practice putting my car on the dolly. We also towed it around the neighborhood a few times so we could get some practice and check the straps and stuff before we towed it with the motorhome.

Ray

EdInArk · 01-18-2021, 05:01 PM

MasterTow recommends reducing tire pressure to 10 psi of towing empty. It has no suspension itself, and towing empty with 50 psi would be a pretty rough ride.

I towed ours home from the dealership -- about 20 miles -- with my pickup and it tracked fine. That was before I read the manual, so there's no telling how much pressure was in the tires.

Firedog53 · 01-18-2021, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David 70

FireDog53
How does your Kar Kaddy tow empty. I got one and it likes to sway back and forth when empty. It appears it has movement in the hinge on the hitch. I managed to pick one up that very little use for $500 otherwise I wouldn't have it.

If it's the "SS" model, you did really well on the price...!
Mine seems to tow straight and easy. You may want to confirm you have the correct size/diameter pin in both the hitch hinge and the wheel tray. I don't know if they're the same size but imagine either the paper or on-line owners manual could tell.
The only other place for the wiggles to start might be the correct ball size and hitch coupler connection and maybe tire pressure and wheel tightness... Good luck...!

NOTE: it just occurred to me that if this dolly was overloaded or maybe twisted somehow it could also lead to excessive pin/hole wear and allow movement.

WyoFree · 01-18-2021, 05:37 PM

Rockwood27 asked: What make and model car are you planning on towing? It will make a difference on which dolly you get.

Not 100% sure at this point but primarily a mid sized SUV like Hyundai Tucson, Buick Encore etc.

Firedog53 · 01-19-2021, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WyoFree

Rockwood27 asked: What make and model car are you planning on towing? It will make a difference on which dolly you get.

Not 100% sure at this point but primarily a mid sized SUV like Hyundai Tucson, Buick Encore etc.

Check the manufacturer's specs/data. Some dollys are weight and tire track/body width limited. And there are different sizes available...

Jack962 · 01-23-2021, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firedog53

I've got the Kar Kaddy SS. It seemed to check all the boxes I needed; it's all galvanized, has a folding tongue and ramps for shorter storage (33"?), the hitch is a drop-on auto-lock type with a wheeled jack. The wheel bed is steerable when loaded and has a pin lock for empty towing. The wheels are chromed and they tires are rated for the load. It has heavy plastic fenders for no scratch on the towed vehicle and LED lights. It's a little pricey but there are used ones around.

I love my Kat Kaddy SS