Towing With Dolly - A Little Confused

[twinboat]

See how they word stuff ? Not all dollys are 700 pounds. Mine certainly isn't. 450 to 475, I believe.

Besides I put a wheel on the tongue. I don't carry it around.

Ask how many miles the little tires last before needing new ones.

I have 16,000 miles on mine. Look great.

Portable ramps sound great until you have to pick them up and store them all of the time.

[Dennis Dean]

So just to be fair Here is your comparision..... Research away LOL
Acme Tow Dolly Acme "EZE-TOW" Tow Dolly $1,700 330-380 - 4985IBS --- Hydraulic Disc Brakes (Surge) - LED System - 5 - 10 years

Demco Kar Kaddy SS $2,589 --- 615 lbs--- 4700 lbs --- Hydraulic disc Brakes (Surge) --- LED System ---- 3 year limited

Demco Kar Kaddy 3 $2,530 --- 520 lbs ---- 4700 lbs ---- Hydraulic Disk Brakes (Surge) ----lights -----3 year Limited

Master Tow Master Tow $1,200 ---- 551 lbs ----4750IBS --- Electric or Surge Drum brake --- optional LED System ---- 1 year

American Car Dolly American Car Dolly $1,400 --- 455 lbs --- 6500 lbs ---- Electric Drum Brakes --- Lights --- 1 year

Stehl Tow Stehl Tow $1,135 ---- 540 lbs --- 2990LBS --- Electric braking system --- Lights --- 1 year

Landgrebe Mfg. Inc Landgrebe $4,700 --- 800LBS ---NA Electric Drum Brakes (Std) ---Lights ---1 yr full, 3 yr frame

Forest River Open $1,100 --- 517 lbs---- 3320 ---None --- Lights NA

Tow Max Tow Max $825 --- 400 lbs --- 3000LBS --- None --- Lights--- NA

Premier Car Tow Dolly Premier ( Stehl Tow ) $1,375 --- 550 lbs --- 3000LBS -- Electric Drum brakes --- LED Lights ---1 year Roadmaster

RoadMaster $3,387 --- 620 lbs ---4380LBS -- Electric Drum brakes --- Lights ---- 1 year

[ChasL]

X2 on the Acme. I Tow 2014 Toyota Camry With Push Button start. There is a way to unlock steering Lock. Call Acme and talk to Customer Service which is the best.

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by tim myers

When you have to unlock the steering wheel you have to leave the key in at least the first position which may mean something battery powered is now on and can run your battery down. Your auto's user manual will usually tell you about this and that you need to remove one or more of the fuses to prevent battery drain. In some cases that is easy and in some cases nearly impossible to reach for which they make remote fuse switches.


YMMV

Not exactly. My Murano (keyless FOB) required I unlink the steering wheel and then pull a fuse for the steering wheel lock mechanism to allow me to not drain the battery. My CRV lets me unlock the steering wheel with the key and then just turn the key to the off position but not remove it. The wheel stays unlocked, but no battery drain. Like Tim says, YMMV.

[BoA36]

Ok, I had a 2013 VW with no ignition key and towed on the Acme. To keep the steering unlocked I had to open the door before turning off the ignition and then be sure I didn't lock the door after closing. This info was buried in the owner's manual, so you may want to see if something similar can be done for another car with similar circumstances.

[purrin along]

Originally Posted by twinboat

See how they word stuff ? Not all dollys are 700 pounds. Mine certainly isn't. 450 to 475, I believe.

Besides I put a wheel on the tongue. I don't carry it around.

Ask how many miles the little tires last before needing new ones.

I have 16,000 miles on mine. Look great.

Portable ramps sound great until you have to pick them up and store them all of the time.

The small tires have me concerned.I also don't want to return
to find my ramps missing.Still on the fence.Thanks for starting
the thread. Good info.

[tim myers]

The small tires get a bad rap. I found them to run very smoothly due to the balance beads. They are 10 ply and tough as nails. I out roughly 4000 miles in mine before we opted to buy a 2013 CRV and went with four down towing and the tires still looked like new.

[twinboat]

http://www.irv2.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2925579

Tow Dolly Tires Cracking

[tim myers]

Originally Posted by jondrew

My CRV lets me unlock the steering wheel with the key and then just turn the key to the off position but not remove it. The wheel stays unlocked, but no battery drain. Like Tim says, YMMV.

What year CRV do you have? I would love to be able to do that with mine but the manual does not mention it.

[Hikerdogs]

One thing I do not see mentioned yet is the fact that the only type of dolly that will follow directly in the path of the rear wheels of the motorhome is one with steerable wheels.
Both those with the pivot plate and those that rely on the towed vehicle wheels to provide a pivot point will cut the corner shorter than the rear wheels on the motorhome. These style dollies will have a turning radius similar to a 2 wheel trailer.


EZ tow's claim of "a better turning radius and easy usability." is a matter of interpretation. With the smaller tires and fixed axle it will indeed cut corners shorter than those with larger steerable tires. They interpret as "a better turning radius". The fact of the matter is that the combination requires the motorhome to make a wider turn to avoid having the dolly wheel on the inside of the turn hit or run over a curb.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Maybe if it's a wide vehicle. Mine don't. Of course, I followed the directions for proper hitch height.
Keep in mind that when you read about a product from the manufacture, it is always better then the competition.

twinboat
That's correct

Barmcd
To prevent damage to the car being towed, the tow dolly and/or the towing vehicle, the instructions for the particular make and model of the tow dolly being used must be read, understood and followed to the letter.

Mel
'96 Safari

[Mainuh]

Originally Posted by Dennis Dean

So just to be fair Here is your comparision..... Research away LOL
Acme Tow Dolly Acme "EZE-TOW" Tow Dolly $1,700 330-380 - 4985IBS --- Hydraulic Disc Brakes (Surge) - LED System - 5 - 10 years

Demco Kar Kaddy SS $2,589 --- 615 lbs--- 4700 lbs --- Hydraulic disc Brakes (Surge) --- LED System ---- 3 year limited

Demco Kar Kaddy 3 $2,530 --- 520 lbs ---- 4700 lbs ---- Hydraulic Disk Brakes (Surge) ----lights -----3 year Limited

Master Tow Master Tow $1,200 ---- 551 lbs ----4750IBS --- Electric or Surge Drum brake --- optional LED System ---- 1 year

Dennis,

Where are you finding the Demco Kar KAddy SS for $2589? The cheapest I've found it is $2799 at PPL motorhomes with $115 shipping to Maine. And Acme just had price increases and they are $1799 for the surge brake model and they've doubled their shipping charge from $100 when I checked a week ago to $200.

Like the OP, I have a front wheel drive, push button start vehicle (no key). I have read the turning it on by pushing the start button without your foot on the brake and putting it in ACC mode unlocks the steering, and on my 2013 honda accord, it's supposed to turn itself off after about 1/2 hour and leaves the steering unlocked. I haven't found anyone actually towing this model and would not want to risk that it locked back up after a couple hours towing and does thousands damage to it while I'm blissfully driving down the road. The pivot base seems safer since I can't find anything explicit in my Honda owners manual about this.

But with the recent price increases at ACME and double the shipping charge, I'm leaning back towards the Demco Kar Kaddy SS. If I can find the Kar Kaddy SS for the price you're quoting, I'll probably order one.

[jondrew55]

It's a 2014

Originally Posted by tim myers

What year CRV do you have? I would love to be able to do that with mine but the manual does not mention it.

[barmcd]

Thanks for all the information. I didn't realize there were so many choices to make when I started looking at towing with a dolly. At this point I'm thinking I'll just tow my motorcycle on a small trailer!