Dolly or Blue Ox?

I have been debating my toad strategy with myself.  I had originally planned to get a dolly which I can get for about $1,000 and allows my to used said dolly for other purposes besides RVing - auto recovery etc... I do a lot of car stuff and rent a dolly about once per year.

I have an opportunity to pick up a very lightly used Blue Ox hitch with no adapter plates for $250.  Based on a google search this is a great deal on the surface. What else do I need to add to tow an approx 3,000# vehicle?

Toad brake system? Adapter plate? Just trying to get a ballpark figure of total budget to get a towing solution.

Yup, baseplate specific to your toad, wiring for lights, brake system.  I used a dolly for other purposes than RVing, in the past.  We tow 4 down now and I love the simplicity of the hookup and disconnect, with no concern of where or what I am going to do with the dolly while parked.

A dolly with surge breaks is great. I have been using it for about 3 months. I use the magnetic lights. The stories told about the wires on the toad and all that are way over blown. I use velcro points to secure the wire and it works great. I bought everything for under a thousand and started using it the folliwing day after putting together the correct electrical plug. I can put any car on it that is dolly friendly. I did build a winch for it. It is removable and onboard if I need it.

Flat towing is good. I cringe when I see the flat tows in parking lots and gas stations. The front of the toad gets dragged across the pavement because the steering cannot keep up. Straight line its great. If I bought a new mh and new car i would consider flat towing. The dolly offers flexibility. The flat tow is simplified but its exclusive to the vehicle.

The tow bar is the least piece of a 4-down tow rig. Base plates, brake system and light wiring are both expensive and require more effort. The tow bar is plug & play. The base plate adapters will cost more than the used tow bar. Ditto for the aux brake system.  You may be able to DIY the lighting, but figure a couple hundred $ for a pro job.

Blue Ox makes several hitch models, varying from basic to ultra-capable, so you will want to learn more about that towbar before agreeing to a price. It's probably a reasonable deal, though.

I'm not mechanical, so I had to get the wiring and the baseplate installed.  Add that to the cost of all of the pieces and parts, and I was in the Blue Ox system for around $3000.  This was three years ago.  On the other hand, I can be hitched and ready to go in under 10 minutes, and it is a pleasure to tow the car.

I towed with a dolly for a couple of years before going to a 4-down setup. It does add a extra level of work/complexity to the situation. Many places you have to unhook and move the dolly around by hand. Yes I know no big deal right. Wait till it is raining and it is muddy and slick and you have to push it up hill. The same with loading it in the rain and getting down to put the straps and safety chains on. Even with the problems I would go back to using one if it was the only way to take a toad with me.
If you do use a dolly be aware it will track behind the RV outside the rear tire track when turning. I have seen one dropped in a deep ditch because the owner didn't leave enough room on the turn.
Get the model of Blue OX tow bar make shure it isn't a light duty one.(it is still worth the money and you could flip it) I have an Avail, rated at 10,000 lbs that way I can tow nearly any toad I want.    https://www.blueox.com/recreational-commercial-flat-towing/tow-bars/.
You can often find good used tow bars and brake systems as there are people retiring from the road all the time. I had my towbar completely rebuilt and certified by Blue Ox at a FMCA rally for $35.00.
Here is anouther great source for info on towing. Remco is a great source to make shure your toad can be towed. http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php
Any questions just ask.
Bill

Thanks for all the great inputs.

I did some research (quickly) and realized that the model is no longer in production.  The target toad (right now) is a 2005 Suzuki Grand Vitara. It is unclear whether I can get the adapter plate or if it is a build to order situation. Also the lost price is about $490 for the plate - that puts me at at least $750 before I think about brakes and lights (if required).

I have used tow dollies many times and I like the flexibility of being able to tow anything anytime using either mag lights or the dolly lights. So for now I am back to the dolly idea as I can use it for other things and I may change my toad someday and be in the adapter bracket business again.

If I could have gotten into a towable situation for <$500 I would have done the flat tow.

Changing topic a bit...

My 2012 Jeep Liberty (~4100# dry) appears to exceed the tow rating of my RVs hitch (3500#) but the 2005 Suzuki is workable (~3200# dry). I have not been able to find an owner's manual for the 2005 model. That's important because in 2006 they apparently went to an electronic 4WD transfer case system and that clearly states you have to have all 4 up "unless" you have a specific disconnect switch on the dash.

My 2005 has a manual transfer case with 2H-4H-N-4L.  I tested it and in N the car rolls back and forth freely in park and there is no drive when in drive. I am taking this to mean that this year can be towed flat or fronts up and there is no tranny rotation (5 speed auto).

Opinions?

Like I said I would look at Remco.
Bill

WILDEBILL308 said:

Like I said I would look at Remco.
Bill

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Thanks Bill - overlooked that at first glance - That's the closest I have gotten to a go ahead and aligns with the procedures spelled out in my Jeep Liberty manual - Stay in Neutral and run the engine/tranny at every rest stop (200 miles).

Good stuff..

I trust Remco over a lot of outher places because they make their money by making it towable.
Bill

About 500 for the base plate (installed) Brakes and tow light on the Car. you may also need a Lube Pump or other modification depending on the car.
If car is Front Wheel drive then only tow lights (I like the add-a-lamp system where they put an additional dual element bulb in the towed's lamp fixture but added lamps work well too. or diode systems.

No other  mod to the towed is needed. 

Disadvantage of dolly is harder hook-up  The odd OPPS (more on that in a paragraph) and teh added weight (On my rig I can't tow that much if yours is a big Diesel not a problem)

The Opps
Sitting there as I was I heard a loud WHOMP
Coupe putting the car on the dolly over shot.. Took jacks. Planks and a tow truck to put 'er back on the dolly.

I get the sense that the recommendation for a tow bar is going to be something pretty substantial - $$$

I came across this and I am a bit confused.  At $209 it appears to need no base plate and comes with a couple of brackets that obviously need to be mounted. But if I can bolt directly into the bumper (not the bumper cover) what's wrong with this really cheap solution?

https://www.etrailer.com/Tow-Bar/Tow-Ready/63180.html

Is this right for you? Product Expert Kristina F says:

Yes, if you:

1. Want to tow your Jeep by its heavy-duty bumper

2. Don?t plan on towing on the highway

3. Want to use your 2" tow ball to tow your car instead of your receiver


So Ex-California...do you plan to tow it on the highway?

According to #2 that's not a good idea as per their website.

Good point although as an engineer it makes no sense to me. It either will tow a 3200 pound vehicle or it won't - State highway at 55-60mph or freeway at 60-65 mph?

I am not going against their grain but it sounds like a CYA thing.

I am still parked on the dolly idea due to flexibility but that got me curious.

I see no rationale for "not good for towing on the highway", except that the bolt-on bumper connection seems decidedly flimsy vs the heavy duty base plates used with Blue Ox, Roadmaster and Demco towbars.  But it boils down to either the bumper adapters are adequate or not, wherever you tow.  Besides, if not the highway, where would you be towing?  Driving around your backyard? 


The ball hitch, A-frame type tow bars are much less convenient to use than the higher end tow bars from any of the major towbar makers, but once you get hooked-up (and later unhooked), they all tow equally well.  And they are what everybody used back in the days before the well-articulated, swivel-mounted tow bars were invented.  The value of greater flexibility in use and owner convenience is up to you. Personally, I think it is well worth it, but I might think differently if I was age 30.

This style of tow bar is not unique to etrailer - similar models are sold by Demco, Blue Ox and Roadmaster. Or Harbor Freight, for that matter.  It's a question of bare minimum function vs extra features.
And no matter what tow bar type you used, the question of a toad auxiliary brake arises. Some form of braking is highly recommended. Some say mandatory.  But a tow dolly needs braking too.

I don't believe tow dollies are equipped with a brake away system like all flat tow braking systems are. So if I'm correct this is something to consider.  Granted, I have flat towed for years and I have limited knowledge of tow dollies. 

Gary RV_Wizard said:

And they are what everybody used back in the days before the well-articulated, swivel-mounted tow bars were invented.  The value of greater flexibility in use and owner convenience is up to you. Personally, I think it is well worth it, but I might think differently if I was age 30.

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Thanks for weighing in Gary - I really respect your opinion.  I am "old school" as well and see the newer stuff as more "convenient" and probably stronger but nothing wrong with how we did it "in the day" - If it was unsafe I trust that it would be banned by NTSB or someone and certianly for liabilities-sake no one would be selling them...

It's kinda like the 55 mph limit on Uhaul trailers - I have never seen one on the freeway doing less than 65 unless it was fully loaded going up hill - LOL...

The biggest challenge in my mind to the simple one is figuring out how to mount it flat on the bumper frame behind the plastic bumper cover without making it look ugly...

This one is clearly designed for the flat bumper Jeeps. Maybe I need to buy a Wrangler so I can save $1000 bucks on a tow hitch - LOL...

wincom6 said:

I don't believe tow dollies are equipped with a brake away system like all flat tow braking systems are. So if I'm correct this is something to consider.  Granted, I have flat towed for years and I have limited knowledge of tow dollies.

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Hydraulic surge brake dollys have a break away safety line that engages the dolly brakes if it becomes separated from the tow vehicle.

Looking at that etrailer system I think it is more meant for moving around older Jeeps on blacktops in the country.  That?s what I?ve used that style for.  The pins hooking the tow bar to the bumper brackets on it are the most concerning to me.  Not clear on the pin size but those are typically just used in situations to keep hitches locked down, etc.  I?ve used them incorrectly in a pinch in load scenarios and they don?t stand up very well.  My guess is the weight rating comes from some dynamic load rating (ie it can handle up to a 5,000 lb car bouncing over a 2? bump at 45 mph but anything more gives potential for breakage).  In similar systems I?ve used, usually shop welded locally, the pins have been 1? or larger pins used on tractor implements.  The bumper was going to rip off before the pin broke.
Josh

The biggest challenge in my mind to the simple one is figuring out how to mount it flat on the bumper frame behind the plastic bumper cover without making it look ugly...

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Many newer vehicles don't have a bumper or bumper mount system suitable for direct attachment of a tow bracket.  Modern bumpers are designed to move and survive a low speed collision and further designed to collapse (crush) in a higher speed collision as part of the energy absorption design.  One of the reason that tow bar base plates are expensive is that they have to go under or through the front end and attach to the more substantial vehicle frame behind it.

Note this statement in the tow bar description:

Tow bar mounting brackets bolt securely to vehicle bumper

• Most applications require a custom bracket due to bumper design

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You are looking at two different things with that basic tow bar: (1) a simple A-frame towbar using a ball hitch, and (2) an extremely primitive base plate for connecting to the toad.    The simple tow bar is a matter of convenience, e.g. hitching on uneven ground, lining up on the ball, etc.  The base mount design is entirely a different matter, one of mechanical strength and safety. If you choose to apply it in an unsafe way, that's your decision.  I'm confident the towbar manufacturer will have included suitable warnings about his lack of liability if you make a poor installation choice.