Community Forums

Gunny068 · 08-19-2012, 03:14 PM

We are new to RVing, (and if this has been beat to death I'm sorry)

Would you tow a vehicle or buy a Dolly?

Dutch Star David · 08-19-2012, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunny068

We are new to RVing, (and if this has been beat to death I'm sorry)

Would you tow a vehicle or buy a Dolly?

Do you already have the toad or you going to buy one? I much prefer to tow 4-down as I don't then have to worry about what to do with the dolly when I'm not using it.

MickBrennan · 08-19-2012, 03:42 PM

Yeah it has been beat to death.
We have a dolly.
YMMV

danandcarol · 08-19-2012, 03:53 PM

Part of it will depend on whether you already have the vehicle you're planning to tow. We prefer 4-down, but not all vehicles can be towed that way.

Gunny068 · 08-19-2012, 04:07 PM

We have the toad...auto thou, need to pay to put on a Lube Pump

Just looking over the overall cost and which way might be better.

Mr_D · 08-19-2012, 05:27 PM

We're probably one of the few that have towed the same vehicle both four down and on a dolly with the same MH.

I've gone back to the dolly after the last trip to Phoenix via CA towing four down. Battery ran down and had to have the aliognment redone on the van along with finding a lot more rock chips.

The dolly follows the MH wheel tracks better than the van does four down. Can tow almost any front wheel drive vehicle with no modifications.

We have the Demco KK-460 as it was about the only one that was wide enough and heavy enough to tow the Odyssey.

Sky_Boss · 08-19-2012, 05:32 PM

Don't most dolly rigs come with surge breaks? If so, that could be an advantage for the dolly.

TXiceman · 08-19-2012, 05:37 PM

We have had both a dolly and 4-down towing. If I was to go back to a motorhome, I'd go with a dolly with brakes.

Yes, you have to deal with a dolly for parking and in some states a registration, but you can switch tow vehicles easily.

Once you get one set up with the brakes and tow brackets, you are stuck towing that one vehicle. If you trade vehicles, you have to set up the new one again.

Ken

milasman · 08-19-2012, 05:41 PM

Dolly.

okmunky · 08-19-2012, 05:45 PM

I would suggest you rent a tow dolly and try it before deciding.

I rented a U-haul tow dolly to take my 2007 Prius about 150 miles. It beat me up driving in a crosswind. I decided to trade-in the Prius for a Smart Car which I tow 4 down. If not for the rear view camera I wouldn't know the car was back there.

tomwalt · 08-19-2012, 05:52 PM

Dolly allows you to use any front wheel drive as a toad. Search this site for some ideas.
Two thoughts:
1. Buy new - used aren't that much cheaper (ex. Acme EZ tow is about $1500 new).
2. I put a hitch on my toad and it allows me to unload a convienient locatopn and move the dolly easily.

Scarab0088 · 08-19-2012, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomwalt

Dolly allows you to use any front wheel drive as a toad. Search this site for some ideas.
Two thoughts:
1. Buy new - used aren't that much cheaper (ex. Acme EZ tow is about $1500 new).
2. I put a hitch on my toad and it allows me to unload a convienient locatopn and move the dolly easily.

I picked Dolly!

On what Tomwalt said.

On what Okmunky said - rent the dolly - I did - to see if it will work for you.
AND YES, It's been beat to death

but that's because there are reasons for each side's opinion.

Do a search on this forum and you will see:
~The dolly crowd likes to save the miles on the toad and has no real problem doing the hook-up/drop-off.
~The flat-tow crowd likes the ease of hook-up/drop-off and doesn't mind the miles put on the Toad.

I think the hottest topic is cost

~The cost of a dolly is what you pay for it - that's pretty simple - for new you can spend $1600 to over $6000. And, you can swap to a different Toad if you need with no equipment change.
~The cost of flat-tow is much more complicated - There's the purchase/install of towbar - the purchase/install of a brake system (really should have this), the purchase/install of an aux lighing system (tail and brake lights) and the purchase/install of a transmission/transaxle lube pump (that you seem to need). Can you DIY some of this - yes!

Then there's the lost value of the toad, that is IF you tell a buyer that it was a toad

Good luck!!

C-PHartley · 08-19-2012, 06:22 PM

Dolly. Primarily for the flexibility to change vehicles without incurring additional cost.

okgc · 08-19-2012, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunny068

We are new to RVing, (and if this has been beat to death I'm sorry)

Would you tow a vehicle or buy a Dolly?

Towing four down is much easier to hook up and go.
Less weight behind MH and no tow dolly to find a parking spot for at campgrounds.

Regarding cost, I have been using the same towbar since 1994. Just bought new brackets for toad when we switched so cost is about the same as new tires for a dolly.