Tow Dollies

Hi All,

Finally getting around to researching a tow dolly for the Midnight Rambler.

Which dolly to you use/like and why? The Acme line looks great and is USA made!

Your thoughts?

Hope everyone has been good this year and Santa is nice to you.

Merry Christmas to all, and

a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Bill and Karen Graser  

What, nobody uses a dolly?  Surely not everyone tows 4 down!  I'm new at this so could use some advice. 

I used a Demco Kar Kaddy SS for 2  years. Good , solid well built rig, had no mechanical problems with it. I did find it to be a bit of a hassel loading the car on the Dolly and strapping it down and not being able to back into sites without disconnecting everything. It also is considerably wider than the Phoenix. The dollys are also quite difficult to move around unless you are on perfectly flat pavement. The big plus to them is  the ability to tow any front wheel drive vehicle so you therefore may not have to spend money buying a vehicle that can be towed 4 down. You also don't need to buy custom tow brackets and braking systems. I previously towed a small trailer with a Goldwing motorcycle trike in it. That setup was much better because It was easy to back up. I really don't like towing anything at this point in life so I have downsized to a 2350 Phoenix and there will be nothing behind it, we'll see how that works out. Most seasoned rv'ers pull a small toad 4 down and I believe that is the best way to go but in this hobby there is no one size fits all, lots of options, you just find what works for you.

For me personally, I would surely use a tow dolly for one-time use, to get from point A to B, like moving across the country.  Also as a snow bird moving south for the winter and north for the summer.  In both scenarios, I would rent the thing.  But dealing with a tow dolly during the types of trips we take and places traveled such as national parks, monuments, etc. I think it would be too much to manage.

Towing 4-wheels-down without a tow dolly, when in a rush, we can unhook and drive away in the tow vehicle in 45 seconds and re-hook in 3.5 minutes.  And there is no third wheeled thing to deal with.

Dynadave brought up a good point about the width of a tow dolly.  It just might be wider than a PC.

If you are seriously considering buying a tow dolly, rent one for your first trip and see how it works for you.  Maybe our comments are unfounded for your types of trips.  Cost to rent is cheap, and cheaper yet if you return it to the place you are renting it from.

Thanks Dave & Ron,

I have an email out to Acme on the overall width, but I suspect it will be close to the 93" exterior width of the Midnight Rambler (2552).

I have a black '08 Ford Focus Coup that can't be towed 4 down, but would look good behind our rig.

Wouldn't the price of a 4 down set up be around 2Gs? Not to mention to price of a good used car to tow 4 down.

On our trip to our beloved New Hampshire last October, I checked with a local U-Haul dealer. The rental would be $45 + tax per day, and on both fenders of the doll was posted, 'Not to be towed over 45 MPH'.

Our planned two week trip turn into one, due to other life issues, so we went solo and sat by beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee, drinking wine and listening to the loons.

I'll post the width later. 

We used to own, and love, our Toyota Prius (2 of them). Our original plan was to use a dolly to take one along but we tossed that after our two week test camping trip in Florida. We met a man who spent his vacation in bed in pain because he tore out his back moving the dolly into his campsite. We hadn't thought about needing to have extra space for it in the campsite and then physically dragging it into and later out of that campsite. On a later trip we watched someone spend a good half hour getting their car onto a dolly and secured. It was an ordeal with three people working on it. We had just spent about three minutes hooking our car up so it was a startling comparison. One other thing to consider is clearance. The Prius we saw on a dolly was almost kissing the road - and it was in a level spot. We figured it would slam every time they pulled into and out of sloped driveways... like most gas stations have.

We tow a manual shift, all wheel drive, Subaru Forrester. We sold the two Prius' and used the money to pay for the Subaru and tow set up.

Wouldn't the price of a 4 down set up be around 2Gs? Not to mention to price of a good used car to tow 4 down.

$2000 will be shy of the actual cost if you take your PC and vehicle to a hitch shop.  If shopping frugal buying what you need below retail on the internet and installing it yourself, you'll be well below the $2000 mark.

10.5 years ago it cost me roughly $1100 to tow our 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder without tow brakes, primarily the cost of the Roadmaster tow bar and mating tow bar bracket for the car.  I bought them direct from Roadmaster.  We switched to a 2006 Jeep Liberty 3 years later which cost another $800, reusing the tow bar.  Most of the cost was for the Unified tow brake kit.  I bought them during the recession at discounted prices.

The cost of the tow bar brackets for the two vehicles were different, as was the installation.  The MR2 with a uni-body, the bracket was a huge bar with odd angular mounting points on the ends.  It spanned across the radiator and bolted into many places.  I had to remove the front bumper cover to mount it.  The Liberty kit could fit in a shoe box because it utilized the vehicle frame for strength, a very easy installation by comparison.  Unlike the MR2, the Liberty was designed to accommodate a tow bar bracket.

Our 2006 Liberty is my wife's daily driver, currently with 75,000 miles.  It's a cream puff for a Liberty.  She continues to love it so very much which is great for me.  I think (and hope) it will be around here for many more years.  I dread the thought of replacing it because so few new vehicles today can be towed 4-down.  The selection today is nothing what it was 10 years ago.

HI folks, my name is Bob although for the purposes of this forum I am ROO. I have had the opportunity to tow both four down and with a tow dolly. They both have their positive features. Although I do not have a Phoenix Cruiser at this point, maybe down the road that will happen. I joined this forum to hear what the owners of Phoenix Cruisers have to say about their motor homes and I must tell you I am impressed. I presently own a 2004 Born Free 26 Rear Side Bed unit that I purchased new. Born Free owners, like Phoenix Cruiser owners are very loyal to their brand. However, Born Free recently closed their doors leaving the Born Free Leap’n Lions RV Club owners to carry on without factory sponsorship. Luckily a number of club members stepped up and the club continues.
Getting back on topic, those considering using a towing dolly should keep in mind the points made in previous posts. The dolly is wider than the coach. This is on your mind when traveling on narrow roads, through construction zones and over tight bridges. Entering and leaving fuel stations requires extra care. Most stations do not have comfortable turning areas for motor homes towing cars or trailers, thus requiring vigilance when driving in and leaving. When you arrive, you must find a place to store the dolly. Some sites are too small to store the dolly which means you must store off-site. I am a resident of Florida and Florida does not title or register tow dollies. They are considered part of the hitch. That means that anyone can hitch up the tow dolly and leave if the dolly is not properly secured.
On the plus side is the fact that most front wheel drive cars can be towed with little to no additional expense. Rear wheel drive cars are a little trickery because you must back them onto the dolly. Also I would recommend having someone with you as the car is driven and off on the dolly. There is little room for error. 
In most cases the choice is based on economics, the number of uses per year and personal comfort level.
Hope this provides additional food for thought.

Well, it seems the dolly in question is 102" wide, which means it will be 4.5" wider on each side.  Nothing can ever be simple and straight forward!

Thanks to all for your thoughts and insights. 

Sorry, know this is late for your question but just got on the board and thought you might be interested in a couple of pics of the ACME dolly behind a 2910. I did not find the width of the dolly as an issue as it can hardly be seen in the mirrors. Not that I wasn't concerned on my first trip last month to Ft. Lauderdale using it. My main concern was getting thru toll booths on the FL turnpike but it turned out to be a non issue.

Thanks for the pictures GHS, most helpful. 

What are pit stops like. Does the toad whether on a dolly or not, follow the tracks of the rig or does one need to swing even wider?

Bill G.

Here is another shot before the Mazda was loaded. The treadplate I added as I wanted more support under the tires. Wish I had a picture down the side front to back of the RV so you could see how little the dolly stuck out but I got side-tracked somewhere. The 2910 has enough rear overhang so that everything followed very well, much better than the trailer I normally tow. I found myself over allowing for turning radius almost every time but wide swings are easier on everything anyway. For pit stops I always plan as many possible stops along the way for pumps that are parallel to the highway for easy entrance and exit with minimum turn. If you get too tight on a turn I noticed the dolly tires tend to scrub some sideways but I think the problem was more because of the high ratio steering on the Mazda not letting the front tires turn enough. Pilot Flying Js (if they are in your area) usually have RV diesel and gas pumps easy to access. On the Florida Turnpike the fuel islands were accessible on the car outside pumps. Easy go around while waiting on either side to open up. Google maps are a lifesaver when it comes to planning fuel stops for a trip.

I had no problems with the car or dolly on the trip. One flat on the RV in Ocala on an overnight stop. The duals have valve extenders and only one is secured from turning. The outside tire went down because the extender turned just enough to let the tire go down. Simple fix and part of the experience. Had the same problem a couple of times on my last class C.

Thanks again GHS! 

You're quite welcome. FYI I normally tow a 28' enclosed trailer (with a Trailer Toad) (what I made reference to in the above post) and with it milage works out to 7 mpg loaded. With the dolly and car it got 7.1 mph! My previous C had a 7.3 diesel and it only got 6.5 to 7 mph with the same trailer. The older coach had the 5 speed trans and this PC has the 6 speed. BIG difference (positive) in acceleration and RPM management on grades with the V10 and 6 speed. Could not tell the car was back there. Excellent stopping with the surge disc brakes and no banging or rattling from the tongue of the dolly on the hitch. Good balance without too much tongue weight. One caution about lug nuts. Checked them several times and would find 2 to 4 loosened about 10 lbs. Normal for new wheels I think but it was about the fifth time checking before they were staying tight.

George S.