Car Dolly, Brakes or no brakes?

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Larry Browning

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Joined
Oct 11, 2016
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Location
Mountainburg, AR
I am a RV newbie, In fact I do not even own one yet.  I am still doing research.  We have pretty much decided to go with a motorhome and tow a car behind.  I know this is called a toad or dinghy (I think)  I haven't learned the lingo just yet!  Anyway, my question has to do with a car dolly.  I have a 2012 Hyundai Elantra with automatic transmission.  I do know enough to know I cannot tow it without a dolly.  The question is, does the dolly need to have brakes or will one without brakes work for this car?

Thanks,

Larry
 
It all depends on the Prime Mover brakes and the weight of the TOAD.
For instance, I have a 3500 Sprinter based "C" and tow a Geo Tracker (2500#) and do NOT use or need additional brakes.
By the way, I tow 4 down but the same applies to a Dolly.
Marvin
 
GA_Boy said:
It all depends on the Prime Mover brakes and the weight of the TOAD.
For instance, I have a 3500 Sprinter based "C" and tow a Geo Tracker (2500#) and do NOT use or need additional brakes.
By the way, I tow 4 down but the same applies to a Dolly.
Marvin
Click to expand...

I have my eye on a Thor Axix 25.2 I think it is on a Ford E350 frame will that require the dolly brakes to pull the Elantra?  Or would I just be better off getting a dolly with brakes just to be safe?
 
Most dollys come with brakes, either a surge or electric type.
Myself I would be very hesitant on towing without brakes, why risk it when the cost to be safe is soooo cheap???


Corky
 
I would never tow a car on a dolly behind a motorhome without brakes on the dolly, unless in some kind of an emergency.
 
The general rule is anything over #3000 must have brakes, per DOT. That includes the weight of the toad and the dolly together. Very few cars will hit that weight, so most dollys, and toads, have brakes.
 
Ok, awesome!  Thanks for the information.  I will cross off dollys without breaks.
So next question.  What is the difference between surge brakes and electric brakes?  How does each work?
 
Surge brakes have a mechanism that uses the weight of the dolly & toad to apply brakes.
Electric brakes have a controller mounted inside the towing vehicle that works in conjunction with the braking system to apply the proper amount of braking force to the dolly.

I have a dolly that has surge brakes and it has worked flawlessly for me. The one downside is that you can't adjust the amount of braking applied to the dolly, but you can with the electric type thru the controller. The upside of surge brakes is that there aren't any other connections to be made, nor the expense of the controller.

Corky
 
Corky said:
Electric brakes have a controller mounted inside the towing vehicle that works in conjunction with the braking system to apply the proper amount of braking force to the dolly.


Corky
Click to expand...

The American Tow Dolly has the brake controller built on to the hitch, so one is not needed inside.
 
Paul & Ann said:
The American Tow Dolly has the brake controller built on to the hitch, so one is not needed inside.
Click to expand...

+1
A great system. Brakes activated by the brake line in the harness.
Took a few trail runs to adjust the brake force on the adjustment wheel.
Dolly wheels locked up the first time I tried it. I think they intentionally set it too hard when they deliver it.
 
You are at around 2700# so to be on the safe side I would get surge brakes on a dolly.  Less wiring to do with SB, more with electric.
Marvin
 
Master Tow is the most popular tow dolly.  3000# for car and tow dolly is the limit without brakes.  And tow dollys are heavy, so most cars will need brakes on the dolly.  Personally I towed with a tow dolly and had electric brakes on the Master Tow.  Many used tow dollys available without brakes.  I far prefer electric brakes and a P2 or P3 brake controller.  That is progressive brake application and hugely to be desired. 
BTW, after a long trip, I vowed to flat tow, and get rid of the tow dolly.  Final straw was foot slipped on accelerator and car went over the front of the tow dolly, straddling the tow dolly axle.  Should have called a tow truck, but with a friends help, and a couple jacks, got it back off.  Also broke a wheel strap and needed to order new ones.  All together, flat tow is vastly easier and more comfortable, but more expensive.  Between tow bar, baseplate, lights (diodes or whatever), and car brake, its a pain to set up and more expensive.
 
Hi, I tow a Honda Accord on a tow dolly behind my 36' Journey DP, I chose the surge brakes as the setup is ultra simple, no electrical hookups, no brake controller. I bought a harbor freight trailer dolly to move the 400lb tow dolly around....yes, it's a dolly for the dolly...
I think that flat towing would be the easiest to deal with, but you need the right car, with an electric servo brake system, and the tow hitch connection must be bolted to the vehicle chassis. And that is a bucket of cash to set up. I got the tow dolly with surge brake for $1700 new, I can basically tow any front wheel drive car with automatic transmission, any manual transmission car, with rear wheel drive cars you must disconnect the drive shaft...a tricky procedure as it must be done after you drive it up on the dolly! The biggest problem with the dolly with surge brakes is you can't back it up! The brakes lock up!
Overall, the dolly has worked out well, it is easy to get the car on and off.
 
It doesn't matter what you are towing it depends on which state you are towing through. In NC the max is 1000 lbs and in MA it's 10000 lbs. Most states are 3000 lbs, but some states have special requirements. To legally tow anywhere you need supplemental brakes and a breakaway system. And in most states the legal towing speed is 55 mph.

http://www.readybrake.com/state-towing-laws.html
 
You can back up a dolly with surge brakes, just just have to lock out the activator pin with a magnet or a "key"made for that purpose.  See picture:

Just don't forget to pull it out or you won't have brakes.
 

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Flat towing is the way to go if your car can be flat towed. A surge brake is cheap and works well, a Ready Brake system is only about 200 bucks and is simple to install also check them out.
 
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