Community Forums

Charles L · 07-15-2017, 07:50 PM

Now 7000 miles later I can report that the dolly stays right behind, I even forget it is there at times. The surge brakes work very well except on gravel roads going downhill. They will chatter and bounce around some. The tires appear to have slight wear after 7000 mile, I think 20 to 25k mile should be easy to obtain. Set up is easy just get it perfectly strait before cinching it on the dolly

JCGibson · 07-15-2017, 08:04 PM

Thanks for the additional responses!

C.Martin · 07-15-2017, 08:07 PM

If I made one annual migration...and the destinations had a place to store...I would have kept the dolly. We go to different places, sometimes two or three...every month. My first dolly experience drained the toad battery...2009 Rav4. I installed a toad-charger. Next trip screwed up the traction control system...I sold the dolly.

I much prefer 4-down. Takes less time, no laying on the back on wet ground hooking up safety chains, no rolling dolly around the campsite...but look beyond all that and a tow dolly works...

Cooperhawk · 07-15-2017, 08:15 PM

You are being redirected...

The redirection is a link to a place to purchase one.

On our second Demco Kar Kaddy Three with disc brakes. Let the first one go when I sold the last coach.

Good solid units. Have almost 20 thousand miles on this one. We tow my Wife's VW Passat Diesel.

PPL drop shipped the new unit to my door. I had to put the fenders ect. on myself. Took me an afternoon.

JCGibson · 07-16-2017, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C.Martin

If I made one annual migration...and the destinations had a place to store...I would have kept the dolly. We go to different places, sometimes two or three...every month. My first dolly experience drained the toad battery...2009 Rav4. I installed a toad-charger. Next trip screwed up the traction control system...I sold the dolly.

I much prefer 4-down. Takes less time, no laying on the back on wet ground hooking up safety chains, no rolling dolly around the campsite...but look beyond all that and a tow dolly works...

I agree towing 4 down is better, however, I don't care much for the few cars that can be towed 4 down. I want to have a FWD Audi, Lexus, Mini Cooper (automatic), etc. as a towed. Something nice or fun to drive. That's why I would want to go to a dolly. Or I would just trailer my Grand Sport Corvette or the wife's Mustang GT Convertible.

54bob · 07-18-2017, 08:29 AM

We just bought our EZ tow dolly a few months ago and have used it on 3 short trips to work the bugs out. After reading these posts I have issues with ACME. The fact that obvious problems have been presented to them and they deny them. Yet you can go online and find these problems are common issues. We are newbies to RVing. For the most part the dolly performs as advertised. Here are a few things that I think customers should know. The storing of the dolly upright is not feasible due to the leakage of the brake fluid. Most of us know what kind of damage brake fluid does. We received our dolly it was in the upright position with a wad of paper placed inside the frame to soak up the fluid leakage. The fluid had eaten away the paint. When we called Acme we were told that was unusual. So why was the wad of paper placed there? We also had to put more brake fluid in the reservoir to bring it up to level. Acme told us we could repaint the damaged area and then file a complaint with the trucking company and get reimbursed $250 from the trucking company!!!. ACME did send us a pair of straps. Sorry but I don't pay $1500 dollars and then have to touch up the unit. To be done right the damaged area had to be taken down to metal and all brake fluid residue had to be removed prior to repainting. Then there is the issue of getting money from a company that was not responsible for the damage. That really rubs me the wrong way. The more important safety issue that I have is that the front wheels do not stay butted up to the front rail of the dolly. The car is nice and straight when placed on the dolly. At that point I tighten the straps and it just pulls the tire down and not forward. I would really have to loosen straps and drive the car forward again and retighten the straps. Does anyone else have this issue? It is a front wheel drive Honda accord and the steering is left unlocked with the car in park. ACME responded that this was common. Call me anal, OCD or whatever other term you would like to use. Towing a vehicle needs to be taken seriously. It would not take much to have a tragic accident. I have designed a tire chock that bolts on to the frame of the dolly and wedges the wheel up against the front frame of the dolly. Since then no issues tires stay put. I can drive with one less thing to worry about. As for ACME good product but I would listen to the customer and solve the issues that are reported and not recommend to fraudulently acquire money from another company. We will be calling that transportation company and reporting this issue.

jondrew55 · 07-18-2017, 08:35 AM

We had an Acme for almost 3 years (you can go back and see my posts on the dolly). I've always found thier customer service very good. I had one guy who seemed to be annoyed at me when I insisted they send me a replacement breakaway cable because mine had a cosmetic defect. Of course the did send me another set of straps for free when it seemed the standard set was too small for my Murano.

I always stored my EZ Tow standing up. The brake fluid never leaked.

EZ Tow isn't perfect, but it was a well made product and my experience was the company stood by it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54bob

We just bought our EZ tow dolly a few months ago and have used it on 3 short trips to work the bugs out. After reading these posts I have issues with ACME. The fact that obvious problems have been presented to them and they deny them. Yet you can go online and find these problems are common issues. We are newbies to RVing. For the most part the dolly performs as advertised. Here are a few things that I think customers should know. The storing of the dolly upright is not feasible due to the leakage of the brake fluid. Most of us know what kind of damage brake fluid does. We received our dolly it was in the upright position with a wad of paper placed inside the frame to soak up the fluid leakage. The fluid had eaten away the paint. When we called Acme we were told that was unusual. So why was the wad of paper placed there? We also had to put more brake fluid in the reservoir to bring it up to level. Acme told us we could repaint the damaged area and then file a complaint with the trucking company and get reimbursed $250 from the trucking company!!!. ACME did send us a pair of straps. Sorry but I don't pay $1500 dollars and then have to touch up the unit. To be done right the damaged area had to be taken down to metal and all brake fluid residue had to be removed prior to repainting. Then there is the issue of getting money from a company that was not responsible for the damage. That really rubs me the wrong way. The more important safety issue that I have is that the front wheels do not stay butted up to the front rail of the dolly. At that point I tighten the straps and it just pulls the tire down and not forward. I would really have to loosen straps and drive the car forward again and retighten the straps. Does anyone else have this issue? It is a front wheel drive Honda accord and the steering is left unlocked with the car in park. ACME responded that this was common. Call me anal, OCD or whatever other term you would like to use. Towing a vehicle needs to be taken seriously. It would not take much to have a tragic accident. I have checked and put air in the tires and have not had the issues reported in this post. I have designed a tire chock that bolts on to the frame of the dolly and wedges the wheel up against the front frame of the dolly. Since then no issues tires stay put. I can drive with one less thing to worry about. As for ACME good product but I would listen to the customer and solve the issues that are reported and not recommend to fraudulently acquire money from another company. We will be calling that transportation company and reporting this issue.

Shawn E · 07-18-2017, 08:42 AM

I have a Landgrebe tow dolly with electric brakes and steerable tires. I have towed approximately 45,000 miles with no issues. I have towed a Pontiac G6, a GMC Terrain, a Toyota minivan (all front wheel drive) and a rear wheel drive manual transmission BMW. I have no association with Landgrebe but liked the fact that they are a US owned small business in Indiana. I picked mine up but they will ship. Check out their website. I have yet to see another one on the road but get asked about it a lot at campgrounds. Good luck with your search.

Shawn

twinboat · 07-18-2017, 08:46 AM

Locking the tires against the stops is going to add undue stress to your car and the dolly tires.

Because the steering on that dolly depends on the cars tires steering, they need to move foward and back in the straps.

Due to auto front end geometry, the outer wheel will move foward, while the inner will move back a bit in a turn.

You can see this for yourself by turning your steering wheel all the way from right to left, with your foot off the brake. One front wheel will roll foward while the other rolls back.

The other issue is that the inner tire turns sharper in a turn them the outer tire. This is to compensate for the distance between them and different tracks each takes.

All of this is unique to the Acme dolly, as others use a center point turntable for turning. The car tires are not steered.

Let them move around.

Scarab0088 · 07-18-2017, 08:58 AM

2007 era Acme EZE-Tow with Disc Surge brakes - well over 15,000 miles on the original straps...original tires lasted almost 15,000miles (just changed).
Have towed SO many cars...from a tiny 2 door Hyundai Accent to a E-250 Van (dropped the drive shaft). Works great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54bob

...Here are a few things that I think customers should know. The storing of the dolly upright is not feasible due to the leakage of the brake fluid...

The surge brake head SHOULD NOT leak. Since it leaked before delivery (rag stuffed in the head) there was a problem that someone noticed on the dolly's trip to you. Sorry you got stuck with it, but that is not normal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54bob

...The more important safety issue that I have is that the front wheels do not stay butted up to the front rail of the dolly...Does anyone else have this issue?

The car's tire DO NOT sit against the front rail. The tires will naturally seek the mid-point between the front and rear strap hooks - just the laws of physics. There is no reason to re-adjust the car up against the front rail - BUT - if the car's tires start a trip against the rail, the straps may need to be tightened after the tires seek center.

Safe travels

wredman · 07-18-2017, 10:01 AM

Stehl Tow, with hydro surge brakes. I like the pivoting tray and did not consider any other design option.

I use the safety chain because I have good access under my car.

Never had the trailer contact the car side or undercarriage. Hook up is easy, ~5 - 10 minutes.

SantaofMacon · 07-18-2017, 04:08 PM

got one for a 1/4 of retail

DAN L · 07-18-2017, 11:58 PM

Santaofmacon

Items for sale should be posted to classified thread category.
Plz update your signature on your profile page to include info on your Rv.

EZE Tow · 07-19-2017, 05:24 AM

We do regret that your dolly had brake fluid damage. It does happen occasionally. It is because a few of the rubber caps are not perfectly sized to the opening. There is no way for us to know if that is an issue before a dolly leaves the factory. Also, if the forklift driver picks up the dolly in the truck and makes contact to the roof of the truck with the actuator it pressurizes the actuator. It is not designed to be pressurized in the vertical position, it will force brake fluid out of the cap every time. However, most leaks are not the fault of the carrier and a claim should not be presented to them. If someone here told you that I would like to know who it was. No one here , neither of the 3 people in the office tells anyone that. So not too sure where that came from. We have informed Dexter of the issue with the caps and we are working to resolve the matter. 99% of all our dollies can be stored vertically without an issue.

With regards to your tires staying in place on the dolly.....

This may be the single most common question we hear. Assuming the dolly was properly loaded and the straps were properly attached there are a few things to consider here.

First, new straps will stretch. They will need to be retightened occasionally. Sometimes it may be necessary to start the car and pull it up that inch or two. Wet straps will stretch, and when transitioning from warm to cold temperatures the air pressure in the tires will condense and result in "loose" straps.

Now if what you are seeing is one side or the other "yawing" away from the front of the dolly, this is probably what is happening.

There is a visual reference to the following on our instructional video on our website home page. www.cartowdolly.com

In the video you will see that in a turn the outside wheel will "yaw" away from the front of the dolly a few inches. ( watch the safety chain go from slack to tight and back to slack ) As the RV, dolly, and towed car return to true straight the outside wheel will return to the front of the dolly. If you are getting out of your Coach and looking at the outside tire and it is "back" an inch or more, then it is because the Coach, Dolly and towed car are still in an arch or radius. The tire has not yet returned to its resting position. If you pull forward until all three are true straight and aligned and one or both tires are still not drawn up tight to the front of the dolly, then you need to pull the car up and retighten the straps.

It is ok if one or both tires are about an inch from the front of the dolly as long as that does not worsen. It is important to use the safety chains when towing.

If you still have any questions or concerns please contact us by phone. If you want to discuss the issue it helps a lot if you send us pictures of what you are seeing. Some close ups, and some overall perspective shots.

We are here for you and want you to assist you with the safe use of your Acme EZE-TOW Tow Dolly.

Finally, It is very unfair to say that we do not care about our customers experiences. That we do not respond to customer issues. There is no possible way for you know that for a fact. In fact, we just spent 180k in new equipment to make a very simple change to our dolly to make it even more user friendly for just a very small handful of potential customers. Maybe 4 a year. But the purchase also allowed us more flexibility in design changes for any future needs. Some of our best improvements have come from suggestions from our customers.

Unlike most of our competitors we are an actual manufacturer, our dolly is not made in China and shipped over in 300 pieces. They cannot make changes to their dollies , we can and we do. Yes, you can find complaints about some things on our dollies, if you look around really hard, but those are all previous generations, many of them several generations old. When we find a way to make an improvement in our dolly we do it that day. Unlike many of our competitors, whose dollies have not seen one single change in over 30 years.

100% fully welded, 5-10 year warranty that covers all the critical moving parts, sealed maintenance free bearings, Made in America.... its really an easy choice.

Thank you.