Thor Forums

[EA37TS]

Dave,

I have been dolly towing for years. Yes there is a little inconvenience with getting the car on the dolly and strapping it down.

I have a Master Tow dolly that can handle any front wheel drive car. Since I am registered in Virginia their laws apply to the dolly wherever I tow. They require lights on the dolly when towing only, no additional lights on the towed vehicle (although I always use them for safety) and no brakes required (although I purposely bought a dolly with surge brakes). My dolly also has the rotating bed which makes navigating sharp corners easier. The cost of my dolly new was about 500.00 less than it would have cost to outfit my Ford Fusion for flat towing.

In my opinion the dolly's convenience far out weights the inconvenience. With dolly towing your question becomes moot since most any front wheel drive car can be dolly towed. As FW stated, I don't contend with dead batteries, trans lube pumps, and all of the other stuff necessary to flat tow some vehicles. I will say that some of the new cars are becoming more difficult to tow in any manner. I have not verified this, however, I was told recently that one of the most popular TOADS, the Honda CRV, has been removed from the towables list for 2015.

You will read about folks saying campgrounds can't support a dolly at sites etc... In all of the years I have been doing this I have only had one issue. That was at an FMCA chapter rally where all sites were back in. Guess what, the folks flat towing had to disconnect before backing in as well.

My decision to continue dolly towing was reinforced at a Christmas Rally in December. A chapter member was flat towing his Jeep Grand Cherokee and when he arrived he found that the Jeep had locked its own doors with the key in the ignition, his battery was dead so the keyless entry would not function and it took five hours for roadside assistance to come out and unlock and start his car. I backed my car off the dolly and took him and his wife to dinner that night.

With the dolly I do have a maintenance factor. I have to check the brake fluid before each trip and periodically lube the wheel bearings. I also have to inspect the tires for wear and the lights, but that should be done on a car being flat towed as well. Since my dolly uses the same wheel bearing grease as my John Deere lawn tractor I do the services at the same time in spring and fall. The straps on my dolly are three years old with no signs of wear or fraying (manufacturers recommendation for replacement). I do carry an extra strap and tilt bed pin assembly for my sanity rather than necessity). Also, I have mine outfit rigged so the dolly lights and magnetic lights on the car all function when I am rolling so I have to maintain both sets. I can legally use one or the other but I chose both for safety.

One important note, regardless of which way you decide if you plan to tow into Canada, you must have brakes on the towed vehicle or dolly.

Bottom line, you have to make the decision best for you. My decision is primarily economic. Two cars in the garage and both can be towed on the dolly without the need for two base plates. I can go to a car dealer and buy a new vehicle then immediately tow it off the lot.