Tandem Tow Dolly Issues

[Howdyb]

Originally Posted by W3BY

I want to try it with a small car and motorcycle. Car weighs 2300 and motorcycle about 800. Hoping to balance some weight towards the rear to get it off the tongue. I will weigh first.....

They have a formula for this. Some of your auto weight is on the rear wheels rather than the tow dolly. The position of the front wheel carrier moves forward and back to adjust the tongue weight. Take a look at their web site for the formula, very easy to adjust.

[W3SI]

Originally Posted by Howdyb

They have a formula for this. Some of your auto weight is on the rear wheels rather than the tow dolly. The position of the front wheel carrier moves forward and back to adjust the tongue weight. Take a look at their web site for the formula, very easy to adjust.

Yes, the manual shows the adjustments, I've read it many times. Try this scenario..... Place an 800# motorcycle on the platform closest to the hitch, then load a 2300# Miata (facing the rear) using the 36" setting. Note: load the Miata on the tow dolly with all 4 tires on the dolly, hence you are using the dolly as a trailer.

Question: How much tongue weight is on the hitch?????
Answer: Too Much for my hitch.

If I could weigh it I might be able to 'BEEF UP' the hitch mount and frame supports to make traveling safe.

[Shark2]

Originally Posted by W3BY

Yes, the manual shows the adjustments, I've read it many times. Try this scenario..... Place an 800# motorcycle on the platform closest to the hitch, then load a 2300# Miata (facing the rear) using the 36" setting. Note: load the Miata on the tow dolly with all 4 tires on the dolly, hence you are using the dolly as a trailer.

Question: How much tongue weight is on the hitch?????
Answer: Too Much for my hitch.

If I could weigh it I might be able to 'BEEF UP' the hitch mount and frame supports to make traveling safe.

This looks very unsafe!

[chunker]

Originally Posted by W3BY

Yes, the manual shows the adjustments, I've read it many times. Try this scenario..... Place an 800# motorcycle on the platform closest to the hitch, then load a 2300# Miata (facing the rear) using the 36" setting. Note: load the Miata on the tow dolly with all 4 tires on the dolly, hence you are using the dolly as a trailer.

Question: How much tongue weight is on the hitch?????
Answer: Too Much for my hitch.

If I could weigh it I might be able to 'BEEF UP' the hitch mount and frame supports to make traveling safe.

In my opinion, you would need to beef up more than the tow vehicle and frame. I had one on the Elite Tandemtow dolly briefly and sold it. I weighed mine and will tell you their weight loading matrix is way off. The actual tongue weights are much more that they show. I put a Ford Escape on and used the bolt hole they recommended with the Harley Davidson loaded and according to the matrix should have been around 50-100 pounds. WRONG. Several hundred pounds wrong. Before the defenders reply, yes I can read and yes I know the adjustments. Maybe I got a uniquely wrong matrix with my owner's manual.

While I'm on the subject, the installed ratchets are junk and very difficult to use. We had bought a VW Beetle to use as a toad but we couldn't get the ratchets to work with that car. The ratchet design requires a large wheel well opening and higher ground clearance. The ratchet release mechanism is difficult and very poorly designed. The "tool" is nearly worthless. Soft steel and bends faster than a wet noodle. On the good side, loading the bike was a piece of cake and once you properly install tie down hooks, bike rode very secure.

I decided to sell the dolly, put a Hydralift on the back of the coach, got a used KarKaddy SS, and we traveled many happy and easy miles with that setup. In the meantime, I changed directions and will be flat towing a Jeep from now on. Still have the M/C lift also.

I would be very cautious of buying a dolly that uses the term tandem tow. Some out there do not have an adjustable car plate and you will find the tongue weight potentially far exceeds a hitch tongue weight. I believe that Elite Metals has copyrighted the term Tandemtow, no spaces, and there are dollys that use the term tandem tow, space in the term. If you feel the Elite metals version is right for you, it does work well. But I would load it the way you expect to travel and weigh the tongue weight. Following the matrix you might be surprised.

Happy towing and traveling.

[Howdyb]

I have towed with a Tandum tow for years without any issues. Why would you want to put an entire car on the dolly? Why would you want only 50-100 lbs of tongue weight? No wonder people are not happy with their purchase.

[W3SI]

Originally Posted by Howdyb

I have towed with a Tandum tow for years without any issues. Why would you want to put an entire car on the dolly?

I bought the TANDEMTOW HDXL to haul the Ultra and tow a mid sized van. It works great for that purpose. I have put over 10,000 miles on this dolly and it is worth every penny I spent on it.

I am thinking of taking a very light car, 2300#, on the next trip and thought of putting it entirely on the dolly as shown above. I hate the thought of towing it with the rear wheels up and nose down so thought this might work. Trailer is rated at 5000# and towing is around 8000#. My post is to ask for opinions. I see no reason, if you can load two 900# motorcycles and then place the front end of a full sized pickup on the dolly, why this setup would be unsafe?

I wish I had enough gross rear axle weight to handle a motorcycle lift but I am already within 1000# of max there. Dollies and trailers are all I can use.

Thanks for your opinions!!!!!!!!!!!

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Howdyb

I have towed with a Tandum tow for years without any issues. Why would you want to put an entire car on the dolly? Why would you want only 50-100 lbs of tongue weight? No wonder people are not happy with their purchase.

I didn't want a tongue weight that light but the matrix had that. In reality the tongue weight was much greater.

[Hlounsbu]

Originally Posted by bafrance

Back in May, before full timing in August, we purchased a used Tandem Tow Dolly from an individual in Daytona Beach, Florida. These are pretty expensive dollies when new, so I sought out a heavy duty model on the internet. After looking it over thoroughly, we purchased it for towing our golf cart along with our Toyota Highlander behind our 41' Four Winds Mandalay.

We struck out for North Carolina for a month, then onto Atlanta for about 10 days. When we arrived in Dallas for about 5 days, I noticed that the right tire was bald on the inside of the tread. I replaced it with my spare and we headed onto San Antonio, for a month.

I contacted the manufacturer to find out why this may have happened. The spindle assemblies are welded onto the heavy duty square stock, so there is not adjustment and the axle is so strong that it was not bent (no damage was noticed upon inspection) I was told by the new owner, Dave Ault, with Elite Metal Performance, that he would research the issue and get back to me. The following day, Dave contacted me and said that it must be the angle of the tire was out of kilter. My dolly is a 2010 and out of warranty, but he told me that if I were to bring it to them, they would fix it for free. Well, I was about 1700 miles away and that just wouldn't be cost effective. Therefore, I sought out a metal fabrication shop in San Antonio.

Working with them, we calculated changing the angle of the tire only to find out that if we went by the specs we were quoted, the wear would have been worse. After thinking about it for a day & doing measurements, we came to the conclusion that the tire was welded onto the axle with a "tow-in". Therefore, the left tire was going straight down the road and the right tire was trying to go to the left. Therefore, the inside of the right tire was wearing out in about 1700 miles. (I put new tires on the dolly before we left). The fabricator almost had to cut the spindle/tire assembly off the trailer in order to straighten it out. This took about 10 hours and cost me about $800.

I would advise anyone wanting to buy a USED Tandem Tow Dolly to make sure they take accurate measurements concerning the alignment of the tires. This was something that was overlooked at the factory and I was informed that this has happened a few times on the older trailers.

On a positive note:
The trailer tracks great now. We have gone another 1500 miles and the tires are showing only normal wear!

The new owner of the Tandem Tow Trailer manufacturing, Dave Ault from Elite Metal Performance, was fantastic. He stayed in touch with me through the entire process. I didn't expect him to pay for the repair work, but he did everything short of that. The man was genuinely concerned. He said the new trailers are manufactured with very strict tolerances and I believe him. The next time I am near the manufacturing plant, I will stop in and say "thanks" to Dave for being such a wonderful and conscientious owner.

Thanks for the info, we are also looking to purchase a heavy duty Tandem Tow.

[jondrew55]

Met a guy in the Fl Keys with a tandem. Wish I remembered the brand. The tongue weight was adjustable by moving the trailer relative to the axel. This way you could adapt it for use for towing cars and motorcycles, or cars alone, or just a motorcycle.

Don't know if they are all like that.

Originally Posted by drwwicks

I didn't want a tongue weight that light but the matrix had that. In reality the tongue weight was much greater.

[chunker]

For those considering or using a TandemTow dolly to tow a motorcycle, I used a Condo wheel chock which works great. But the surface of the trailer can be a bit slippery and the rear tire of the HD had a tendency to walk around a bit. I ended up using extra straps running through the wheel to stop this but was planning to mount a rear wheel channel on it. I ended up "changing directions" and selling before doing that though.

When I had the 5th wheel and carried the bike, the garage floor was a non-slippery rubber mat and the tires didn't walk around.

[The Breeze 2]

Howdyb- I just found this post and I am looking for one of these tow dollys. Do you still have the one you were selling?

[The Breeze 2]

Howdyb- I just found this post and I am looking for one of these tow dollys. Do you still have the one you were selling?