Patty98311
Arkansas
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Joined: 09/11/2006
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Bumpyroad wrote:DeanLinAZ wrote:snip
All said, if the PT Cruiser wasn't my wife's car, I would probably chose to tow a four-down towable vehicle instead--maybe.
a definitive and meaningful statement from someone who does it both ways. 
If you rarely have to tow something, what does it cost to rent a tow dolly from uhaul etc.? and in some states, don't you have to license them as a trailer, if you ever tow them without the toad on them?
bumpy
Can only speak for the state of Arkansas, the answer is no. Car dollies are not titled or licensed in this state and do not require a license if being pulled without a car, I asked that specific question of the Revenue Office(name for Ar dmv).
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ronmc
Brownsville Tx. 78526
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Joined: 09/05/2002
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Try moving the dolly around by yourself. See if you want to do that every time you unhook. I didn't want to move it ever again.Been towing 4 down for 17 years.
Ron
2002 Kountry Star
2007 Honda CRV
Used Brake Buddy
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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ronmc wrote:Try moving the dolly around by yourself. See if you want to do that every time you unhook. I didn't want to move it ever again.Been towing 4 down for 17 years.
Yessir, that's why there is a hitch on the Jeep. Once it is off the trailer, the motorhome is parked, and the Jeep spots the trailer in whatever overflow lot is required by the campground, then when it is time to go the Jeep is used to bring the trailer back for hitching up.
It works for me.
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 274,000 Miles
'99 Monaco McKenzie 32' triple slide
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
Daily driver: '08 Subaru Outback
Towed: '06 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited/Load Trail 16' flatbed
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Bobbo
Memphis, TN
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I have one of these trailer dollies supposed to be delivered by Fedex tomorrow. I will see if it makes it any easier to move my tow dolly around.
Bobbo, Linda and the furry kids (German Shepherd and German Shepherd mix)
2007 Winnebago Outlook WF331C on a Ford E450 Super Duty Chassis
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Near N35 12 17 W89 50 57
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jauguston
Bellingham, WA
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Just one more thing you have to find a place to store )-:
Jim, Sharon and Buddy the Yorkie
1999 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 31' ISB Cummins 275
AIMS 2500w inverter 4-6v GC batteries
4-Kyocera 130w solar panels SB3024iL MPPT controller
Pressure Pro TPMS
1987 Suzuki Samurai tintop Toad w/VW 1.6 turbo diesel power
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Dan Mcgrew
s.e.pa.
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I sratch my head on this one all the time. I am currently using a Truck camper for this reason. I want to get a bigger Rv/MH but a need a toad.I use to flat tow my old CJ-5 all the time. That will probaly happen again.Stick shift and 4 manual locking hubs.
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Peralko
San Antonio, Texas
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Towing four downis definitely much easier to hook up, and takes less space when parked. That being said, I will probably get a tow dolly soon.
Why? I quite simply have a hard time finding a car with 4-down capability that I like enough to buy--ever since they stopped putting manual transmissuions in Nissan Maximas.
Peralko
USAF Retired
95 Country Coach Affinity
2006 Nissan Maxima
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curtellisjr
Hendersonville, TN
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DeanLinAZ wrote:We used a Blue Ox/Brake Buddy set-up for four years towing a Miata four-down. We have used a Demco Kar Kaddy 460SS for four years towing a PT Cruiser with an automatic tranny. This is a very polarized subject with "experts" on both sides. IMHO there is very little difference in hookup,loading,unloading and storage with a tow bar or a dolly. The Demco dolly folds and stows in a short space. I have never had an issue at a RV park with it, yet (knock on wood).
All said, if the PT Cruiser wasn't my wife's car, I would probably chose to tow a four-down towable vehicle instead--maybe.
I am looking at the KarKaddySS myself for my Mitsu Lancer FWD. Have you ever tried to load the Miata on yours and are there any limitations for the PT Cruiser with this dolly? My concerns for my Lancer are the front & side air dam heights, the 18" low profile tires working with straps and the exhaust when loaded if it would drag. I also would like to get you opinion on travel speeds with this dolly?
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Buck62
Charleston, South Carolina
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I bought the KarKaddy SS tow dolly and towed a front wheel drive car for a couple of years since we already had the car, I was forced into the tow dolly. The KarKaddy SS is to me one of the best dolly's around since it is galvanized so it won't rust, it has an axle that turns and is foldable for compact storage. It is still a PITA to use due to getting down on your knees and putting on the tire straps, hooking up the safety chains on the frame and of course pushing the dolly around for connecting to the motor home. Also the tire straps due stretch and need to be tightened. We finally replaced the front drive car with a Saturn Vue and set it up for 4 down towing and I have never been happier. It tows like a dream and all I have to do is attach the tow bar, electrical cable and safety chains while standing up. Install the supplemental brake and off we go. A lot of times when traveling we would only stay overnight on our way to our final destination and we would always try to get a long pull through and not have disconnect the car. With a tow dolly it seemed I always needed to remove the car from the dolly since the car and dolly stuck out farther than just a towed car. Then a lot of campgrounds did not have the room to store the dolly at your camp site or did not want you to store it at your camp site so I had to leave it in their parking lot. I would not want to ever go back to a tow dolly again and will make sure that I always have a car that is 4 wheel down towable. So speaking from someone that has done it both ways, four down towing is the only way to go.
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Deb and Ed M
SW MI, USA
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Joined: 06/07/2004
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We're kind of going the opposite way of many of you - we towed 4 down with our Wrangler, which was so simple/quick/easy to do!!
But... now that we own a small used-car lot, we just sold the Wrangler, and hope to buy a dolly. *IF* we need a toad, we can just take one of the cars off the lot; and the dolly will come in handy when we have to pick up multiple cars from the auction.
And before we bought the Wrangler, we simply rented a car at some of the destinations where we wanted to poke around for a few days. That's the easiest way of all!
Deb
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