Tow dolly. Yay or nay.

[Darter6]

Murphy's law,, No matter what you have with you,you won't have what you NEED !

 

[barnfind]

I've towed with one for the better part of 30 years. Kept with it mainly due to storage space restrictions. This year my current dolly is getting upgraded and gone over. The only thing I've found to be a negative over the years is going long distance empty, it will tend to bounce all over on rough roads, so speeds must be reduced to minimize that. The rest as others have discussed apply. Here there's no need for plates. Spare tires for the dolly and your new project should come with you. Mine has a bolt for backing as well. Floor jack, come along or mounted winch as well. I've also tied down a ready to mount rear end with springs to get a 70 charger home. Large cars (like C bodies) require more room on turns or you can get some damage if your dolly has fenders, so care must be taken. It takes more planning and time with a dolly, but to me its part of the fun. If I come across one that needs a trailer, Ill rent one from u-haul, or ask a friend with a 2 place trailer. Happy Hunting.

 

[retractable]

I vote for a trailer. We had a 20 ft flat bed with a 57 T Bird behind the motor home was always nice to be able to back up and had the trailer brakes for stopping. I once used a U Haul tow bar to tow a 63 VW from Minot ND to Mankato Mn (500 mile )behind a 65 Corvair . It went well but it was not safe.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Flatbed/trailer/dolly...…. but years ago moved a few with a tow bar. Was made by Jerr-Dan. It just clamped to the bumper. Talk about scary! I think it's still in my buddy's shop somewhere. Hadn't thought about it in years

A friend of mine still flat tows his 57 Chevy to the track,changes all the tires,races all day,changes back and drives over 80 miles each way.......LOL Charlie!

 

[BeatersRus]

i lost a mint 70 duster once,towing it thru maryland i think?
i was heading up north from nc,cant recall what state it happened in but the towbar was attached to the bumper and the front tire blew out,which then dragged me across 2 lanes of Heavy traffic and into the guardrail.
ripped the bumper and supports out of the car even.
the staties wanted to charge me for the guardrail section too..

i ended up chaining it together and dragging it off the nearest exit,and into a small station on a corner where i GAVE them the car for free and left it there.
this was a light green 70 duster,with a 318 4bbl motor w auto trans,Very clean.
at the time of accident it had slot mags all the way around.
often wonder what happened to that car..hope it got saved.

anyways,after that i never used a towbar again and i still have a few laying around somewheres.

 

[mopar 3 B]

I think some of you with bad luck just need to have things commercially transported. I have used all three for what ever reasons. Anything can happen even with a trailer no matter the quality. But yes I prefer a trailer.

 

[YY1]

I don't think I've seen it explained yet, but there is no suspension on most dollies.

They use the suspension of the car.

That's why there's the bouncing when empty, and why you don't want to put anything besides a car with working suspension on one.

 

[Cranky]

I don't think I've seen it explained yet, but there is no suspension on most dollies.

They use the suspension of the car.

That's why there's the bouncing when empty, and why you don't want to put anything besides a car with working suspension on one.

One of the things I did with my small trailer with no suspension was to lower the air pressure in the tires to make it ride better. Down side to that is you either need to carry something to air them back up or stop someplace to air them up before you get to your loading place.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Dollies are great (I have a used Demco that I got for like $400) for emergency, local stuff. I love the fact that I can tow it with just about anything since they don't weigh anything significant. My Demco already has a lock pin for the pivot, so I can lock it at will (or forget to unlock it when I'm towing...whooops, heheh). They're also nice because they're easier to load dead cars onto - low load height, just give a push. I've also backed the dolly UNDER a parked XJ Cherokee to load it up after hitting a deer.

However.

If you KNOW you're going to tow something a lot (i.e. race or show car)...I prefer a trailer, either open (again, weight savings) or enclosed (secure, safe, clean...but heavy). Also, the trailer can be used for "other" things when not being used for the car(s).

 

[Cranky]

Dollies are great (I have a used Demco that I got for like $400) for emergency, local stuff. I love the fact that I can tow it with just about anything since they don't weigh anything significant. My Demco already has a lock pin for the pivot, so I can lock it at will (or forget to unlock it when I'm towing...whooops, heheh). They're also nice because they're easier to load dead cars onto - low load height, just give a push. I've also backed the dolly UNDER a parked XJ Cherokee to load it up after hitting a deer.

However.

If you KNOW you're going to tow something a lot (i.e. race or show car)...I prefer a trailer, either open (again, weight savings) or enclosed (secure, safe, clean...but heavy). Also, the trailer can be used for "other" things when not being used for the car(s).

I'm using my enclosed trailer as a storage building now......

 

[Triplegreen500]

I'm using my enclosed trailer as a storage building now......

Yeah, mine has been moving more furniture than cars lately...

 

[monaco66coupe]

I tow across country often, and when I get behind a dolly I try to stay back or pass. They are constantly moving around, as the track of the wheels are wider than what they are being pulled with.they are good behind a large RV, but I wouldn't pull one behind a car, except for local use.
I did that only once in Houston traffic with a 71 New Yorker. it was a handful.I use 20 ft dove tail now.

 

[Cranky]

I tow across country often, and when I get behind a dolly I try to stay back or pass. They are constantly moving around, as the track of the wheels are wider than what they are being pulled with.they are good behind a large RV, but I wouldn't pull one behind a car, except for local use.
I did that only once in Houston traffic with a 71 New Yorker. it was a handful.I use 20 ft dove tail now.

I absolutely avoid driving Houston's freeways as much as possible!! I'm going to a funeral visitation in a bit and will take the back roads even if it means a longer travel time and can deal with that a whole lot better.....!

 

[monaco66coupe]

I worked downtown, and had to drive in from spring,,,,,FM1960 and treschwiig.
to 1400 smith,,50 minutes at 2:00PM and 23 minutes at 10:00pm. five days of the week! I once pulled a 73 challenger on a dolly from Galveston to the house,with the dolly 8 or 9 inches wider on each side than the car. those narrow lanes going 80MPH definitely raise the blood pressure.
I followed a grand cherokee one time, with a dolly behind and a 69 Roadrunner on it,,,,Man that was an accident waiting to happen!(circa 1997)

 

[Triplegreen500]

the track of the wheels are wider than what they are being pulled with.

..that's kinda....anything that can carry a car, unless you tow with a dually. Dolly, open trailer, enclosed trailer...all their tracks are wide, to allow a car to get between them. Even then, they may be wider than the outer rear wheels.

 

[monaco66coupe]

there a couple things different,the cars rear wheels are not the same width apart as the dolly wheels. a four wheel trailer has the same width axles,and the axles are closer together.Also the distance beween the dolly axle and the rear axle of the car is what contributes to the instability.also,the two front wheels are following a certain groove in the road,and the car axle is following another. hence the old saying referring to the tail wagging the dog. all of that can be overcome,if the towing vehicle is so big it doesn,'t notice.
a big truck at 140-160 inch wheel base can,but a 115-124 inch wheel base car notices it.

 

[67charger383]

Nah. Get a trailer, but if you're gonna tow it alot buy a used ramp truck

 

[YY1]

I don't have any "wagging" or tracking issues at all towing with a Dakota!

My truck is low, perhaps that helps. it's even lower than factory non-R/T Dakotas.

For me, the worst handling issues are turning radius, and virtually no ability to back up.