Top dolly speed

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
RVMommaTo6

RVMommaTo6

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Posts
2,139
Location
Rochester, NY
I'm looking at general tow dolly info online and I've read that the maximum speed for a tow dolly is both 45mph and 55mph. Does it depend on the dolly? Is this accurate? 45 is a lot less than 60 :/
 
It depends on the tires and hubs. Many trailer tires are rated for 45 mph, these are often used on equipment like light duty utility trailers but obviously are not suitable for your application. Ditto for cheap wheel bearings and hubs. Remember too that many tow dollys don't have brakes. Do your research to ensure you get one that meets your needs.
 
Roy M said:
It depends on the tires and hubs. Many trailer tires are rated for 45 mph, these are often used on equipment like light duty utility trailers but obviously are not suitable for your application. Ditto for cheap wheel bearings and hubs. Remember too that many tow dollys don't have brakes. Do your research to ensure you get one that meets your needs.
Click to expand...
Mine has brakes (I bought one tonight) but I thought they would all be able to go on the highway, it never dawned on me to check that ahead of time. I'll have to find out the speed rating for this one specifically, thank you!
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
Mine has brakes (I bought one tonight) but I thought they would all be able to go on the highway, it never dawned on me to check that ahead of time. I'll have to find out the speed rating for this one specifically, thank you!
Click to expand...
Everyone knows Dolly can't go very fast anymore, she is 73 years old. ;D
 
Where did you read about dolly speed limits? I've not encountered such a thing.  If it didn't come from the manufacturer of your dolly, or the tire manufacturer, don't lose sleep over it.  A dolly may have ST type tires and those are usually limited to 65 mph (as stated on the tire sidewall). Otherwise, it probably has LT type tires and those usually have a 77 mph max.

Prudence says that around 65 mph is as fast as you want to tow any sizable trailer.  Why push your luck?
 
Due to a lack of suspension, Tow Master dolly owners manual suggested that you deflate the tires and reduce speed when towing the dolly when empty.

When under load the dolly will behave differently, so speed is less of a factor.
 
I'd suggest you keep it below 60-65. That's not a limitation of the dolly, it's just my personal opinion as to what's prudent.


As far as actual limitations, as others have mentioned you are limited by the rated speed of your tires, the same consideration you'd have with any trailer.


Some U-haul dollies and trailers are placarded for 45 MPH, perhaps that's where this came from. That limitation is a fake number made up by the U-haul legal department, not an actual limitation of the dolly/trailer
 
Tom I don't put anything past Dolly, she's like a super hero lol
Gary I was looking for something else online and I came across an "everything you need to know about tow dollies" page. It was a sheet of facts and that was one of them. I thought, oh no, 45?! I planned on hitting 60 on the faster highways so I'm glad to hear that isn't the case.
That all makes sense, it's a Tow Master. Idk about the tires, I'm definitely going to check and possibly get new tires if need be.  I got a killer deal on this so I don't mind putting a little money into it.
Thank you so much, this forum has been priceless for me! You guys are the best!
 
I have a dolly for two years and several thousands of miles.  I keep the speed around 60.  No problem using it while traveling to several states.
 
Hey RVMomma, is it perhaps a Master Tow vs a Tow Master?  I kept getting the former in web search results.
Here is a Master Tow operations manual, probably good generic instructions here anyway.
https://www.mastertow.com/image/pdf/Manual.pdf
Only discussion of speed in that reference is in regard to tire ratings as discussed above.
Do you have a rear view camera setup to watch the towed vehicle.  May be useful. 
Also tire pressure monitor system is another potentially useful addition for you.
Cheers,
 
Hmmmm, could be lol, I'll have to look, I probably mixed up the words. I do have a rear camera.
I'm glad to hear it's not just "common knowledge" like yeah of of course you can only go 45! I thought that's going to make for some LONG drives!
 
wackymac said:
Keep in mind California's 55 mph speed limit when towing.
Click to expand...

You must not have driven here lately. On I-5 in the central valley 2 weeks ago, no one was going 55, towing or not. 65-70 was generally the flow of traffic for everyone, the limit was 70, and the occasional idiot going 80 or more.  It's the same on 101, except around here the limit is 65, and no one goes 55.
 
Maybe people don't follow it, but according to the DMV website, there IS in fact a 55mph speed limit when towing in California.
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
Maybe people don't follow it, but according to the DMV website, there IS in fact a 55mph speed limit when towing in California.
Click to expand...
Yep and there are signs all over California announcing the 55mph towing speed limit. If a cop pulls you over for speeding while towing then telling the cop everyone else is doing it will not get you very far.
 

Attachments

  • 55.png
    55.png
    193.6 KB · Views: 20
SeilerBird said:
Yep and there are signs all over California announcing the 55mph towing speed limit. If a cop pulls you over for speeding while towing then telling the cop everyone else is doing it will not get you very far.
Click to expand...

Yep, and the CHP have no sense of humor for dangerous driving, and that includes RVers speeding while towing. And Ca has added signs in addition to the one that Tom posted above that state "All vehicle when towing anything" is 55 MPH.  There must have been some wiggle room in "Auto's with Trailers and Trucks" sign.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 567 (members: 31, guests: 536)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,913
Posts
1,387,284
Members
137,666
Latest member
nativoacai
Back
Top Bottom