Rock Damage on a Dolly?

[lenny-shawna]

Originally Posted by ByeTheWay

I like many others have removed the Ad Flap in the back and tow without rock protection of any kind except mud flaps behind the duallies. No dolly. It is our belief that the Ad Flap causes the rock problem.

I agree

[lenny-shawna]

Originally Posted by Jimtom

Thanks for your reply. Please be specific, why was your neighbor disgusted?

Jimtom,
As for my experience in over 40,000 miles in the last 5 years I am a huge proponent of simplicity and ease of operation. Sometimes RVing can be quite stressful and I look for ways to reduce that stress.

To answer the question of dolly shortfalls is camp site. Many times at check-in you will need to unhook the toed, then unhook the dolly, move the motor-home, go back and hook the toed to the dolly and find a place to store it while you camp. Many time the site will not accommodate a dolly nor will a parking spot designed for you toed.

Lets not forget the expense of your toed being able to tow the dolly. While you most likely will not need lights you will need a trailer hitch. Of course if your toed is a truck it is already set up for towing.

A few years ago when I had a Winnebago Tour 42QD my DEF system failed requiring a tow and a long stay for a repair. I think it took 3 weeks in Atlanta. So we had to drive back to South Florida without the RV. I'm glad I did not have a tow dolly for sure.

I currently tow a 2016 Ram 2500 quad cab 4x4 with an 8 ft bed diesel truck. My Dutch-star has no problems pulling it.

I use Blue-Ox 10,000 lb with their Kar-guard protection for rocks and debris. And as I stated prior, I can hook or un-hook in less than 5 minutes. Not to mention the tires on the dolly are not as good as that on your toed and has maximum speed limits as well.

with all this said, there are pros and cons to all set ups and you just have to find what works best for you. Take your time and maybe watch You tube videos.

Good luck

[Oldman5145]

I have owned 2 dollies with 2 different MH and I have flat toed for the last 10,000 miles. Get a rock guard, either broom or solid rubber. The damage to the toad on the dolly will come from loading and unloading. When it is wet the tires want to spin getting on the platform. Or the unloading has a little steeper angle and the bumper cover hangs on the dolly. The dolly is usually 102" wide and tires easily go off the edge of the road. Let me say it this way, if I had to use a tow dolly again I would sell the MH. It is not if, it is when will you damage it and how many times. I HATE a tow dolly! You will have to push the 400 lb. beast by hand. The cost is usually higher to flat tow, but if you were looking for cheap you would not be looking at a MH.

I wish you the best in your travels and welcome to IRV2.

[FarmerB4]

Originally Posted by ByeTheWay View Post
I like many others have removed the Ad Flap in the back and tow without rock protection of any kind except mud flaps behind the duallies. No dolly. It is our belief that the Ad Flap causes the rock problem.

Originally Posted by lenny-shawna

I agree

X 3

[Jimtom]

Thank you all for your input. Very helpful to me. The following are the highlights of what I have gathered from your comments:

• The ACME tow dolly works well and owners seem happy with it.
• Get the model with surge brakes (the one I ordered has surge brakes)
• Rock damage, in general, seems not to be of great concern in any towing application, even without extra protection of some sort.
• Rocks thrown up by oncoming traffic probably account for more rock and debris damage to a toad than anything coming from underneath the MH.

The primary reason I have such a great concern about rock damage to my toad is that I will be towing it down 97 through Oregon later this month (January). The last time I drove that route (last month with no tow), my rig was showered with the gravel Oregon road crews apparently include in their traction sand. I'm realizing now that what comes from under my rig will not be my main concern in towing a car behind me. Instead it will be the debris thrown up by oncoming traffic, which actually has more velocity to it anyway. And, from what I can find on the market, I don't see any solution to that problem...

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by lenny-shawna

I have to disagree on a few of your points. There is virtually zero custom modifications needed. The base plates are vehicle specific and not "custom". The breaking system and lighting are fairly standard as well. Now the install is costly but so is the dolly.

You simply order the parts you need based on your vehicle and most likely everything is in stock.

As far as cost is concerned my setup which includes Blue OX 10,000 lb system with Air-force breaking system cost me around $2,000 if my memory serves me correctly. I have had this same system for 5+ years now.

The rocks debris problem is not specific to flat toe but any toed or even a trailer. For that protection I added a Blue Ox Karguard.

As for ease, well, I can attach and detach in less than 5 minutes.

We don't know the original poster's reason for wanting to dolly. For us, it was simply because our RAV-4 couldn't be towed 4-down. Our only options were tow dolly or trade cars. We like that car. We bought a tow dolly from a nearby RV store. It was already assembled and ready to go. It's worked well for us, but I understand that some people just can't or don't want to deal with it.

Times vary for loading / unloading depending on whether we can leave the dolly attached or not. But it's seldom more than 10 minutes unloading or 15 loading. What the heck; we're retired.

[Jimtom]

Originally Posted by lenny-shawna

Jimtom,
As for my experience in over 40,000 miles in the last 5 years I am a huge proponent of simplicity and ease of operation. Sometimes RVing can be quite stressful and I look for ways to reduce that stress.

To answer the question of dolly shortfalls is camp site. Many times at check-in you will need to unhook the toed, then unhook the dolly, move the motor-home, go back and hook the toed to the dolly and find a place to store it while you camp. Many time the site will not accommodate a dolly nor will a parking spot designed for you toed.

Lets not forget the expense of your toed being able to tow the dolly. While you most likely will not need lights you will need a trailer hitch. Of course if your toed is a truck it is already set up for towing.

A few years ago when I had a Winnebago Tour 42QD my DEF system failed requiring a tow and a long stay for a repair. I think it took 3 weeks in Atlanta. So we had to drive back to South Florida without the RV. I'm glad I did not have a tow dolly for sure.

I currently tow a 2016 Ram 2500 quad cab 4x4 with an 8 ft bed diesel truck. My Dutch-star has no problems pulling it.

I use Blue-Ox 10,000 lb with their Kar-guard protection for rocks and debris. And as I stated prior, I can hook or un-hook in less than 5 minutes. Not to mention the tires on the dolly are not as good as that on your toed and has maximum speed limits as well.

with all this said, there are pros and cons to all set ups and you just have to find what works best for you. Take your time and maybe watch You tube videos.

Good luck

Thanks for this. Many of the details you mention I had not thought of, like the need to be able (and willing) to tow the dolly with the car. That gives me pause. I hadn’t considered towing four down because I assumed my car (Honda Accord coupe), or any car for that matter, would not fare well having the drive wheels on the ground. But since I’m now coming to understand that some vehicles are suitable and some are not, I realize that I don’t really know if mine is or not. There has also been mention of the cost of “set up” for four down and I don’t know what that entails (I assume it has something to do with protecting the drive train). I guess I need to do some research to understand how four down works before settling on the tow dolly. It hasn’t shipped yet...

[Jimtom]

Update: As it turns out, my vehicle cannot be flat towed, due to it having a six speed manual transmission that is cooled by engine oil. So, tow dolly it is.

[lenny-shawna]

Originally Posted by Jimtom

Update: As it turns out, my vehicle cannot be flat towed, due to it having a six speed manual transmission that is cooled by engine oil. So, tow dolly it is.

I do not know about your car but for years I have towed (and sometimes still do) my wife's car which is a 2012 Cadillac SRX two wheel drive.

Regardless of what you use, you will still enjoy the open road.

Happy traveling

[lenny-shawna]

Originally Posted by EdInArk

We don't know the original poster's reason for wanting to dolly. For us, it was simply because our RAV-4 couldn't be towed 4-down. Our only options were tow dolly or trade cars. We like that car. We bought a tow dolly from a nearby RV store. It was already assembled and ready to go. It's worked well for us, but I understand that some people just can't or don't want to deal with it.

Times vary for loading / unloading depending on whether we can leave the dolly attached or not. But it's seldom more than 10 minutes unloading or 15 loading. What the heck; we're retired.

Being retired is a plus for sure, looking forward to it myself. All systems work it just what will work best for you. I have seen many people struggle moving the dolly by hand around tight campsites. But if your car cannot be towed four down then you need a dolly, not a big deal.

Enjoy

[pushtrk99]

we tow a 2006 aveo or 2016 Kia Soul or 2003 ranger so obviosly we use a tow dolly Demco Kar Kaddy- never a problem, never a hurry, and extra wheel lets me roll on site before backing in , dolly goes under MH- if you look close, you
will see most people against dollies are driving new big Class A and money is not a problem, most of us with dollies use a dolly because of the car or cars we already have-not all things are equal-YOU have to decide what is best for YOU

[Finance]

Originally Posted by Jimtom

Thank you all for your input. Very helpful to me. The following are the highlights of what I have gathered from your comments:

• The ACME tow dolly works well and owners seem happy with it.
• Get the model with surge brakes (the one I ordered has surge brakes)
• Rock damage, in general, seems not to be of great concern in any towing application, even without extra protection of some sort.
• Rocks thrown up by oncoming traffic probably account for more rock and debris damage to a toad than anything coming from underneath the MH.

The primary reason I have such a great concern about rock damage to my toad is that I will be towing it down 97 through Oregon later this month (January). The last time I drove that route (last month with no tow), my rig was showered with the gravel Oregon road crews apparently include in their traction sand. I'm realizing now that what comes from under my rig will not be my main concern in towing a car behind me. Instead it will be the debris thrown up by oncoming traffic, which actually has more velocity to it anyway. And, from what I can find on the market, I don't see any solution to that problem...

You have it right. Our recently sold toad had 40k miles behind the MH, flat towed, much of it in western states, Canada and Alaska. Lots of gravel, and it was driven solo mostly the same areas. Zero front end damage, with no special protection. No bra, no big flap, protect a tow or any of that.

What it did have was a dozen or more paint chips on the side panels (doors and rear fender) from stones. Either self inflicted or from passing traffic. As well as one chip in the windshield from a stone tossed by a truck while driving solo.

[barmcd]

We towed our Jeep Cherokee 2WD on a tow dolly for over two years and I'd say the rock damage due to being towed was minimal. There are a few chips, but my truck, which had never been towed, had some chips too. The crack in the windshield happened while driving down the highway.