Community Forums

Bill Spencer · 09-10-2021, 08:04 AM

Demco Stay-N-Play Duo works great for me.

Marshalone · 09-10-2021, 09:44 AM

I am in the same boat. I just 'retired' a tow dolly and spent the money to install a Blue Ox system on the wife's Equinox and a Blue Ox brake system. Only used once so far and not sure if the brake system drained the car battery or not so still learning. Always a new experience on every trip. Happy camping.

lrwinddancer · 09-10-2021, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeanluc001

To me the only reason to use a dolly is if your tow vehicle can't be flat towed. otherwise if it can be then the additional weight of the dolly not being there is less weight to get stopped. less wear and tear on your brakes. i tow a fiat 500 which is pretty light and use a used rv2 brake system off of craigs list. in just normal driving it doesn't engage at all but in sudden braking incidents it kicks in and works well. talked to a guy in wyoming that was pulling the same car as me and he never used a brake system and didn't feel the need for it.

With respect, I use a Dolly because the car I am towing has a stupid ugly kit that has to be installed to use a flat tow bar set up. I spent a lot of money on my GMC Arcade and do not want two big holes in the grill where the tow bar mounts. Just my two cents.

calendarboy · 09-10-2021, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlduck

Who says I was using a tow dolly without a supplemental braking system?? I was using a Demco Kar Kaddy with surge brakes that worked fine. I was merely asking for feedback from others as to the issue of less wear and tear on the motorhome's brakes associated with flat towing versus dolly towing

Dave, your original post definitely made it sound like you were using a tow dolly that had NO brakes. Maybe you should read your post to someone there with you to get immediate feedback. You take too much umbrage over someone wondering why you were using a tow dolly without brakes.

BillNTerri · 09-11-2021, 06:24 AM

If you have been pulling tow dolly with brakes, then you may gain a little on your brake life but not that much. Simply because you are going from 2 wheel braking to 4. We pull a tow dolly with disc brakes with an equinox on it and I can’t tell any difference whether it’s back there or not. The only reason I would like to flat tow would be having to deal with the dolly at a back in site. 2500 for a good dolly vs 5-7K for everything needed to flat tow just don’t add up for us.

Steve-n-Sue · 09-11-2021, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlduck

TandW,
Who says I was using a tow dolly without a supplemental braking system?? I was using a Demco Kar Kaddy with surge brakes that worked fine. I was merely asking for feedback from others as to the issue of less wear and tear on the motorhome's brakes associated with flat towing versus dolly towing. I am continually amazed by people who jump to wrong conclusions just to make wrong statements before investigating the facts first! I can assure you that as a responsible motorhome owner I take every precaution to ensure I am operating at a high level of safety before I put my coach and vehicle on the road.
Dave

Hey Dave, I too, assumed that you were using a tow dolly with no brakes, based on how you worded your statement. Sorry.

AKIQPilot · 09-11-2021, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillNTerri

If you have been pulling tow dolly with brakes, then you may gain a little on your brake life but not that much. Simply because you are going from 2 wheel braking to 4. We pull a tow dolly with disc brakes with an equinox on it and I can’t tell any difference whether it’s back there or not. The only reason I would like to flat tow would be having to deal with the dolly at a back in site. 2500 for a good dolly vs 5-7K for everything needed to flat tow just don’t add up for us.

5 to $7k??? Hahahaha

Beabop · 09-11-2021, 07:23 PM

Your surge brakes must not have been adjusted correctly, I used to pull 6000 lb horse trailer with surge brakes and I didn't need a lot of pressure on the brake, we flat towed for 15 years with Brake Buddies and the last 6 with a Patriot.

Doc Gade · 09-16-2021, 02:18 PM

I started a reply and lost it. So I will Start Over. In 2004 I bought a 40ft pusher and towed our F-250. My wife hated towing a 22 foot truck. Then we bought a Jeep Wrangler (2005) and updated to a 2008 tiffin Zephyr. Between the 2 RVs we have driven/towed 150k miles. we originally had a large high brake controlled with no in rv info. It also was a pain to put it in the new jeep so we bought a RVI-1. Shortly thereafter they came with an RVI-2 with a trade in that was only $100,00. Great I took it. Now they have a RVI-3. I couldnt resist because an option available was a tire monitor that was valve installed. I have a smart tire system but that company was sold from a Canada company to a US one. They no longer make in tire low pressure sensors so the RVI-3 was a great option. The RVI-3 has an in rv, magnetic readout. It is wi-fi run. With the in cab readout you have the option to set the braking sensitivity and the tow vehicle size so you can maximize the braking of the towed vehicle and lesson the rv braking system markedly. I never have to worry about dolly tires or storage. i live in a 55 and older 600 lot class A community and rent a spot in the storage lot where i can only park 1 trailer. My boat trailer lives there. I have never had a problem towing 4 wheels down since 2004. My spouse pulls up to the RV and I tell her when to stop. She puts both hands up indicating it is in park and I can hook up the tow bar. Then I take over putting the jeep in neutral, etc and putting the RVI-3 in push the button 3x and i am ready to go.To make the jeep towable 4 wheels down you have to put the transfer case in N and the transmission in P and the ignition in the 2nd slot to disable the steering lock. DONE. Text me if have any questions and I can call you back. I don't usually answer unknown numbers.