daveward Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 This may be in the wrong category...I'm new here...sorry....... I wonder if someone would like to praise the car dolly? I sense that a toad would be "easier" but I also see that there are fewer and fewer cars that can be toad without extensive prep. My father-in-law used a dolly for many years and seemed pleased with it. I never got the chance to get his take on the pros and cons. Maybe someone out there would like to encourage me to look at a dolly. Thanks!!! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark and Dale Bruss Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 Depending on your travel habits. We make 40-50 stops per year and the time to mount a car onto a dolly is just not reasonable. Also, almost all the places we stay, there is no handy space for a dolly. And if you ever find yourself in a spot where you have to backup and to so you have to disconnect, you will really appreciate four-down. Yes there are fewer cars that can be towed four-down but that is just one of many choices you have to make when RVing. We chose our toad because it four-down towable with just a base plate and a brake unit. Please click for Emails instead of PM Mark & DaleJoey - 2016 Bounder 33C Tige - 2006 40' Travel SupremeSparky III - 2021 Mustang Mach-e, off the the Road since 2019 Useful HDT Truck, Trailer, and Full-timing Info atwww.dmbruss.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch_12078 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I agree with Mark & Dale... Over the years, and not necessarily with an RV, I've dolly towed and trailer towed cars, and there's no question for me that four-down is easier with fewer hassles. We didn't start towing with an RV until I retired in 2005, and we already owned a 2002 Toyota RAV4 at the time that we really liked, so adding the needed $1000 Remco transmission pump made sense rather than trading for a different car at a higher cost. In 2011 when we wanted a new car, I determined that all the tow equipment on the 2002 RAV4 would transfer to the 2011 RAV4 Sport that we preferred except the base plate, and that's what we're currently towing. I guess my point is that the pool of four-down towable cars enlarges quite a bit when you add in those that can be made towable, albeit at a price. I would not willingly switch to dolly towing if it was at all avoidable... Dutch 2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS 2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 Welcome to the Escapee forums! The dolly systems work fine with most front wheel drive cars and they are the vast majority of available choices, but to date, I have not seen even one case of someone changing from flat towing back to a dolly because they like the dolly better! A dolly works very well when towing with a truck where you wish to tow a car somewhere but behind a motorhome it becomes a much different situation as you are not just transporting a car. Even with the car off of the dolly, it is can be challenging to back into an RV site with it attached, so what do you do with the dolly after the car is off of it? If cost is part of the question, a dolly may be somewhat less expensive but the good dollies are expensive also. In nice weather, it really isn't that difficult to put a car on or off of a dolly, but in a pouring rain, it is more interesting with a dolly and should you be in a muddy area it can be much more interesting. Using a trailer for the dingy car gives an even greater choice of towed car, but that comes with an even larger set of special problems. No question there are people who successfully use both trailers and dollies, but the vast majority of fulltimers choose to flat tow for many very good reasons. Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill&Jean Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I agree I would never go back to Dolly towing Bill & Jean O'Dell with Lucy 2014 Tiffin Phaeton QBH 2018 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmac9 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 Same here, we are very new to the RV towing scene so we have limited experience but on our first long (1200 miles) trip we definitely did not like using the tow dolly at all. Many of same the reasons mentioned above but we also had problems with the straps that went around the tires. One of them came completely off and was a pain in the rear to get it untangled and back around the wheel. From that point on I never trusted it and would stop periodically and check it...we were pretty sure before we took the trip that we wanted to tow four down but that definitely made our decision for us...there are some relatively cheap options out there if you decide to look for a car that you can tow four down...I had seen lots of Jeeps being towed behind RV's and thought I wanted one, but I found out there is a huge price difference between the popular CJ-7's and Wranglers and the Liberty's and Compass...we found a very nice four wheeled drive Liberty for a fraction of the cost of the more popular models so that is what we are using now. Best of luck in your travels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveward Posted October 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 I had a feeling this would be the response...and your comments are appreciated. As was suggested, it seems this matter is just one of those that has to be dealt with once you say you will be fulltime. Thanks for the helpful comments. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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