Difficulty securing my car to the tow dolly

[rspickel]

I have a Master Tow Dolly and a Hyundai Sonata and am having some difficulty and could use a bit of help. My Sonata was too low to the ground to load onto the tow dolly... I saw that Master Tow had extension for the ramp but I bought a couple of plastic ramps, used for leveling, and they work pretty good. So now I can get the car onto the dolly and tighten it down fairly easily. Now my problem is loosening it to get it off of the dolly. The Ratchet is too long and I can't get it vertical to loosen it. I can loosen it a bit by using a screwdriver to release the catch but it still isn't loose enough to move the ratchet to vertical, so I have to try to hold down the catch with a screwdriver and use pliers to rotate the ratchet enough to get it undone. Very time consuming and frustrating. I thought about getting a ratchet that works by using a socket on the side but I can't figure out how to secure it to the dolly and still have it able to slide from side to side. Hopefully I've attached pictures of my existing ratchet. The ratchet connects to the dolly using a bolt through the slide where the side ratchet permanently connects to the dolly.

Any help or suggestions would he apprciated.

[bruno1950]

I had the same issue until I bought straps that had an adjustable buckle on the side. You can release the tension enough allowing the ratchet to be moved far enough to the side to get it vertical.

[rspickel]

Thanks a bunch Bruno. Can you give me a bit more info about what you purchased... perhaps a site online where I can look at it. Any help would be appreciated.
Bob

[bruno1950]

Sure. Tow Master's site has the adjustable straps that you get when you purchase a new one. Also we just ordered a new pair from Amazon (got them cheaper). Company called Lift-it-ez. About 44 bucks a pair.

[rspickel]

Thanks a bunch, Found them on Amazon. A couple of reviews talked about the straps slipping in transit. Have yours stayed securely tight while traveling?

[bruno1950]

I have not had them slip but they will loosen a little at first. By that I mean after you tighten them and go down the road it is always good to stop and check them. I do that after about 50 miles or anytime I pull over. You may notice that you have to give the ratchets another crank. I think that may be true for almost all tire straps.

[rspickel]

Thanks Bruno,
I frequently have to tighten my existing straps a bit so that isn't new news.
I think I will get them on Amazon.