Tow Bar or Tow Dolly?

[Scottro]

I prefer and like the idea of a tow bar over a tow dolly, mostly for the sake of simplicity, but I do not currently own a vehicle that can be towed behind a motorhome and I am not really currently in the market to buy another car.
Does anyone have or know of safety concerns with a tow dolly or any other reason, besides stowing it at your campground not to go the dolly route?
In my brief research I have seen some that actually will stand up vertically to save space etc. Also... Are they difficult to handle after unhooking from your motorhome to stowaway?

 

[Utclmjmpr]

It depends on how old you are when it comes to handling and moving a dolly,, the next thing is storage when not used,, tire wear and replacement,, the tieing down of the wheels and continuous checking the straps.. In other words, just another thing to worry about..>>>Dan ( For about the same price of a dolly, you can buy a small used car to tow 4 down, does not have to be fancy.)

 

[95f5334j]

Having previously owned and used a tow dolly, my experience was a P.I.T.A. for all of the reasons already stated!

 

[Isaac-1]

Also be aware not all cars can be towed on a dolly, many 4x4 and AWD cars must be trailer towed, or possibly flat towed (front and rear wheels need to always be turning at about the same speed)

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The only safety concerns would be if you fail to load and tie down the car properly. The wheel straps in particular are susceptible to loosening in travel, cuts from rubbing on suspension parts, or just plain poor positioning. Reasonable care will avoid all of those.

Moving and storing isn't too bad if you are young & gung-ho; more & more of a PITA as you get older. Ditto for loading & unloading the vehicle - not too bad if your knees bend easily.

 

[dcrbtt]

I also did not have a car that would tow 4 wheels down so the same day I picked up my first RV I traded in my car for a Jeep, one of the best moves I made.

 

[LarsMac]

A dolly brings a lot of extra work with it. I used a dolly many times. It's great for getting a specific vehicle from one location to another. But, to become part of our RV lifestyle, I went out to find a vehicle I could tow 4-down.

 

[8Muddypaws]

After watching the couple next to us spend over an hour trying to get a smart car on a dolly and hearing the expletives they used in the process I decided that dolly's aren't something I ever want to deal with.

 

[scottydl]

I used a dolly for a few years and never had any major problems. For occasional use, and the ability to tow multiple different FWD vehicles, I much preferred the cost of the dolly (around $500 used, most of which I got back upon selling) rather than the thousands it would have cost to equip a 4-down toad... which I also didn't have yet at the time.

 

[malexander]

Having previously owned and used a tow dolly, my experience was a P.I.T.A. for all of the reasons already stated!

I totally agree.
I dollied for 23 years. Then I bought a 4 WD GMC Canyon and had the tow bar stuff put on it and pull it behind the Bounder. I'll NEVER go back to a dollie.

 

[LarsMac]

When we were setting up our outfit, we had a Lincoln Town Car. We realized that the TC was going to splash our towing weight budget, and would require pulling the drive shaft each time we were going to venture out. So, we had to shop for a toad.
I began researching for a car that met our weight budget (under 5000 lbs) and was capable of being dollied, or towed 4 down.
I worked up a list of likely candidates and rigged up a script that could run through Craigslist and find cars on that list. and to find Tow dollies for sale.
It was a bit of work. Then one day, I plugged in "Blue Ox" in the search, and voila!!!
Our little Saturn popped up. It was already equipped with a Blue Ox towing rig.
And the price was reasonable for the car alone, not to mention the towing rig and the EvenBrake included.
That was how we decided between Dolly and 4 down.
Moral of the story, do your research, and be flexible.

 

[Virgie & Fred]

I have used a tow dolly for my entire RV life, since 2013. It does have it's challenges. My recommendations are to double strap your front tires. Use two to strap front and back and two to tie down from the side of the tires. Put a rubber or other suitable material on your windshield for objects thrown up to the windshield. Get you a set rabbet ear type lights with a magnetic base to put on the rear of your tow vehicle. The tow dolly has light but they sit low, other lights mount higher on the vehicle for better visibility. Also don't forget to take you hand brake off! I hope this helps a little. Happy towing.

 

[larslink2000]

We've been towing 4 down for 2 years now and anything you do has its drawbacks. We bought a VW rabbit off of rvtrader that was setup for towing for what the car was worth and got the blue ox tow bar and accessories included. It takes me 5 minutes or less to hook it up and off we go. I don't want to say anything negative about people that use a dolly because I considered buying one myself, but I wouldn't ever consider it now that I've towed 4 down. The only drawback to 4 down that I can tell you about is you can't backup with your toad on the back. I don't know if a dolly is the same or not because I have no experience with one. You have to be very aware of this pulling into gas stations or parking lots, you always need to leave yourself a way out. Worst case scenario you have to unhook your toad and get out of your situation. Like I said we've been doing it for 2 years and I've never had to unhook our toad....the day will probably come but so far I've been ok. Good luck with your decision, whichever way you decide to go you'll learn to manage it. I hope my post helped you!

 

[LarsMac]

We've been towing 4 down for 2 years now and anything you do has its drawbacks. We bought a VW rabbit off of rvtrader that was setup for towing for what the car was worth and got the blue ox tow bar and accessories included. It takes me 5 minutes or less to hook it up and off we go. I don't want to say anything negative about people that use a dolly because I considered buying one myself, but I wouldn't ever consider it now that I've towed 4 down. The only drawback to 4 down that I can tell you about is you can't backup with your toad on the back. I don't know if a dolly is the same or not because I have no experience with one. You have to be very aware of this pulling into gas stations or parking lots, you always need to leave yourself a way out. Worst case scenario you have to unhook your toad and get out of your situation. Like I said we've been doing it for 2 years and I've never had to unhook our toad....the day will probably come but so far I've been ok. Good luck with your decision, whichever way you decide to go you'll learn to manage it. I hope my post helped you!

Well, yes, Backing up with a loaded dolly will get you into trouble in a Heartbeat. I speak from experience. trust me.
A dolly is great for hauling a front-wheel drive vehicle down the road. The wide track will complicate maneuvering through tight places, and adds a bit to the loading process, and is an extra bit that requires storage considerations when not in use.
I saw a dolly when I was shopping around that would be a good one to have. The tongue folds up so that when not being used could be stored up underneath the MH in a campground.

Folding Car Tow Dolly - Tow Better Dolly

We offer a variety of high quality and affordable car tow dolly options to make hauling your vehicle safe and easy.

towbetterdolly.com

Worth giving a look.

 

[larslink2000]

We had a front wheel drive car that I was considering towing with a dolly, that's why I was considering one myself. I was looking at the Demco dolly because the tongue folded around and the dolly wheels steer and follow around in the RV'S wheel tracks. Nice outfit and made in America!

 

[Scottro]

Thanks for all the info guys.
It’s funny I did actually contact the company Demco. They were very helpful and friendly. We have a 2013 Honda Odyssey which is front wheel drive, but interestingly enough,the vehicle is not towable on a dolly. I have not finished researching, but it is too wide for any dolly that they manufacture. It also is not designed to be towed. So with all that has been said I would prefer to go with the tow bar. I would like to save the money with the tow dolly and the versatility of being able to tow different vehicles not just one, but I do not want to deal with the hassles of having to manhandle the dolly around a campground and/or having problems stowing it away. I’m understanding they weigh around 500lbs.
So hopefully we’ll be able to find a toad for a reasonable price or possibly a trade-in for our van. We really can’t just buy a puddle jumper, because we normally will have 5 to 8 people that will need to ride in the car.

 

[scottydl]

Regarding dolly weight and storage... there's a bit of manhandling involved, but the dollies can be rolled around pretty easily. With ours, I'd stop and unload the car before reaching our site. When reaching the site (but before backing in) I'd unhook the dolly and roll it straight back into the site with the tongue facing forward. Then I'd back the RV in right over the top of the dolly tongue (resting on the ground) and it would naturally store underneath the back end of the RV. When departing, I'd pull forward a few feet, lift and hook up the dolly, and pull out & drive someplace straight to load the car.

There are plenty of convenience reasons for choosing 4-down, but just wanted to share my dolly stowing and equipping process, as I never found it overly difficult to handle.

Be advised that most gas motorhome hitches are limited at either 3500# or 5000# so that can limit towing larger vehicles. Your Odyssey, or any 5-8 passenger vehicle may be pushing those limits. Not to mention that the motorhome would need to have sufficient Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) for towing and that number can be a limitation too... which is one reason you see small cars as RV toads.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Note that storing a dolly partially under the back of the coach depends on the terrain, which determines the height of the coach back-end after leveling. The leveling system on our coach auto-dumped the air to lower the coach, so the rear end was often too low to get more than a foot or two of the tongue under the back.

Another factor is the type of surface. A dolly (with a tongue jack/wheel) moves easily enough on paved or firm smooth ground; not so easily on gravel, rutted dirt, or even a slight uphill incline. You can pull a dolly ok by grabbing the upper end of the tongue jack, but pushing one is a PITA. Nothing to grab in the center and if you push on a fender, it turns to the opposite side.

 

[larslink2000]

We found our toad on RVT.com and it came with everything we needed to pull it. If you look on that site and do the advanced search scroll down and you'll find towables down a ways. Scottydl is right when he commented on the weight and size of a toad you're looking for, be sure and check that out before going to far.