Community Forums

brandss · 08-19-2017, 07:05 PM

We are doing our homework and one of many questions is about trailering a car with dolly. Do most parks have an area when you pull in to remove your car and dolly before going to your space? I see a lot of places have spots that you can only back into and this newbie wonders what the process is.

On a side note, because I've been involved in other forums and some get angry about the same questions being asked, is there a way to find answers to the newbie questions I'm bound to ask. Don't want to upset being new to the forum.

Spk64 · 08-19-2017, 07:19 PM

There is a good search function at the top of the web page. Uses google to search only iRV2.com. When I am researching that is where I go first. If I cannot find anything then ask. It is inevitable that there are some topics that will get brought up on a regular basis.
So just feel free to search and ask away the only bad question is the one not asked.

As far as trailering, most RV parks you can unhook where you register. If it is a pull thru site you may not have to unhook at all. If I have a choice pull through sites are what we go for first. The difference with your setup is how to get the tow dolly back to site. Most likely leave it attached drive to site. Unhook and push out of the way then back in to site. The camp host will help in letting you know where it is best to unhook.

MisterT · 08-20-2017, 07:27 AM

many folks dolly their vehicle, but it does require some extra work and planning

- either remove the vehicle at the office area, or when you are in front of your Back-In site(best not to leave your coach engine running or your new neighbors may frown)
- if at the site, park the car somewhere close by, if room, then remove the dolly and find a place to park it also - at the rear or side of the site, if possible
- back your coach in
- park your vehicle in front of the coach

those who 4-down tow their vehicles dont have to worry about man-handling a dolly or finding room to park it - one less thing to worry about

any rv park or campground knows how to help you manage your dolly, ask politely - you'll soon figure it out : )

brandss · 08-20-2017, 08:34 AM

Thanks for the responses. So many questions as I'm sure everyone goes through each of them.

Jake21 · 08-20-2017, 08:46 AM

I always unhook just after checking in unless i have a pull through or I am told that there is plenty of room near the site to unhook.

We pulled into Chula Vista two days ago. Registered at the same time as another guest was registering. I went outside, unhooked as the other guy was driving off. We drove to our spot and there was the other guy, slowly unhooking, blocking the road. We idled for about 10 minutes while he got unhooked and out of the way. 10 minutes is not a huge deal, but when you have been on the road and just want to get settled, 10 minutes feels like 30.

petrel · 08-20-2017, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandss

We are doing our homework and one of many questions is about trailering a car with dolly. Do most parks have an area when you pull in to remove your car and dolly before going to your space? I see a lot of places have spots that you can only back into and this newbie wonders what the process is.

On a side note, because I've been involved in other forums and some get angry about the same questions being asked, is there a way to find answers to the newbie questions I'm bound to ask. Don't want to upset being new to the forum.

It is good to try a search or two, but if it isn't working out, just ask. If someone pipes up to complain, and they don't at least provide you with a link to what you are looking for, just dismiss them. We are all here to learn.

Yes, most places have plenty of room (usually near check-in) for you to get a trailered, dolley towed, or 4-down vehicle squared away both inbound and outbound. If it isn't marked or obvious, just ask or ease along until you find a suitable spot where you won't block any traffic.

We don't use a dolley, but we do switch back and fourth between four-down towing and towing our vehicle on a trailer. When using the trailer, it is helpful to have the towed vehicle equipped with a hitch to tow the trailer, if necessary. That comes in handy in tight campgrounds, and when satellite parking the trailer. I'm guessing it may be handy to be able to move the dolley around with the towed vehicle too.

l1v3fr33ord1 · 08-20-2017, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandss

On a side note, because I've been involved in other forums and some get angry about the same questions being asked, is there a way to find answers to the newbie questions I'm bound to ask. Don't want to upset being new to the forum.

Thank you for being concerned about asking questions that have easily-found prior answers. It makes it easier for everyone if you perform a reasonable search of prior posts before posting.

I often go directly to Google and enter a search string such as:

"tow dolly" site:irv2.com

This is the same thing as using the blue "powered by Google" search box, as "Spk64" suggested.

I suggest that you explore the fora here by opening them and then reading as many threads that catch your attention as you can. For instance, you'll find a lot about tow dollies on the Toads and Motorhome Related Towing forum. By looking at the thread titles you'll see what questions come up often. When I first considered buying a Monaco, I read the title for every thread on the forum at that time (265 pages worth, now up to 370 pages). I found listed there a number of specific issues for which I needed to be aware should I buy a Monaco coach. Don't do this all in one day, though- too much information.

On the actual topic of tow dollies, I'm of the opinion that unless you absolutely must have a car that cannot be towed any other way, it's better to tow four down, especially for older folks. It doesn't get rid of the need to hook and unhook, it just seems faster, and you don't have to hassle with the dolly afterwards. "To each his own," though.

Do26 · 08-20-2017, 10:37 AM

Use Google sat view to preview the location. Will give you a good idea of the space.

Spk64 · 08-20-2017, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

I often go directly to Google and enter a search string such as:

"tow dolly" site:irv2.com

I also do this is as the iPad app does not have this same search functionality. Just figured most users would find it easier using the box on IRV2 if using a browser. [emoji3]

affreeman · 08-29-2017, 02:24 PM

I usually ask while checking in whether it's better for us to unhook/unload the car there or whether we should do so when we get to our site.

Basically I'm asking them whether they prefer me to spend a bit more time parked there at their registration area, or whether they prefer I block the campground road for a few minutes while I unhook the car.

Mr_D · 08-29-2017, 02:35 PM

Most places have a space to unhook as you register, some have space down the road, others there is room at the site. Due to the late DW's death I don't have anyone to drive the towed once unhooked so I prefer at the site but it doesn't always happen that way.

Ron_H · 08-30-2017, 07:53 AM

It's great to hear that you are doing your homework by educating yourself beforehand. Unfortunately, the search tools for this forum are challenging to use effectively. Generally, a search provides far too many results to be effective. As an example, an iRV2.com search for "trailer disconnect" yields 13,300 results, a quantity far too great to sift through. On the positive side, many newbies as the same questions over and over but seldom receive the "know it all" replies you refer to that are far too common on many other forums. Most of those responding here are very respectful. The biggest thing you can do to increase the effectiveness of queries here is to add your RV info and location information to your signature. If you don't have an RV yet, include info on what you expect to get as a question might be answered differently for a motorhome, 5th wheel or travel trailer, or even vary depending upon the length of the RV and if you are towing.

As for disconnect areas... About the only thing that is consistent between all RV parks is their lack of consistency. Some have lots of disconnect space and others have nothing other than the narrow one lane entry road you came in on. Generally, we disconnect our TOAD from our 43ft MH while parked to register. If it does hold someone else up, I'm sorry, but locations with little space around the registration area generally get worse when you pull into the park proper.

I hope you enjoy RVing. We retired three years ago and bought a MH to travel and we've never looked back.