Tow dolly to tow Uplander

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
1vortec

1vortec

Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2017
Posts
5
Location
West Michigan
Hi community, my wife and I are considering the purchase of a motor home to travel to the western states.  If we do make the purchase, I plan to buy a tow dolly to haul our Chevy Uplander behind the coach.  My question is; has anyone had issues with their camp site because of the dolly?  I figure I could push the tongue under the coach...I am sure the wheels of the dolly would be too tall to fit underneath the coach?!  I just want to be sure that leaving the dolly with the coach would not be an issue with the camp site.
Please note that we are newly retired and the traveling will be a new adventure for us!  :)

Thanks!
Brian
 
We tow both with a dolly and four down. Have A little front wheel drive car (2800lbs) that goes on the dolly. Have a tracker and a Jeep that we flat tow. Never have had a problem storing dolly, but our dolly weighs under 400lbs and is easy to push around by hand.
Our granddaughter has an Uplander and it weighs over 4500 lbs. If your uplander weighs that much, your going to have to have a beefy dolly to handle weight. Dolly  Could weigh 800-900+ lbs. and be hard to man handle.
Just a thought.
I don't know if you Uplander is four down towable or not, but if it is, I'd sure look that direction.
 
There can be no general answer - each campground has different rules and layouts, and each campsite is potentially different as far as space and terrain. A few campgrounds will insist that all trailers & dollies be kept offsite. Others will allow it, but the site can be small or large, flat or tilted, smooth or rough.  My limited (one season) experience with a dolly found it rather challenging to move by hand except on flat & smooth terrain. A little bit of grade, loose gravel surfaces, ruts, even some grassy places made the dolly awkward  and I needed help a couple times.  But I'm 72, though not in bad shape.

Whether the dolly slips under the back depends on the terrain as well.  On some sites the back of the coach will be low after the rig is leveled; on others it will be sufficiently high to slip much of the dolly tongue underneath.

The dolly only carries the front axle weight of the car, so only a portion of that 4100-4500 lb car weight rests on it.  Probably something like 2500 lbs. That should be within the capability of most dollies, but check before buying one.


jubileee: The Uplander is a front drive and not 4-down towable unless equipped with a tranny lube pump
 
Thanks guys, I have used a Master Tow tow dolly...and owned one at one time.  I am confident that it would handle the Uplander, but I would want a spare tire for the dolly.
I would be concerned about leaving the dolly offsite from where we camp for fear of it being stolen.
I guess I would need to contact the site owner/manager before reserving a spot.

Thanks for the reply fella's!  :)

Brian
 
Besides the spare tire for the dolly, I highly recommend a nose wheel/jack, i.e. a foldable wheel & jack that attaches to the tongue. It helps immensely when maneuvering the dolly by hand. You can even get behind it and push if you have to!
Something like this: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200631762_200631762
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 712 (members: 3, guests: 709)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,928
Posts
1,387,654
Members
137,677
Latest member
automedicmobile
Back
Top Bottom