ACME and AMERICAN tow dollies

[brican]

Also, in the Phoenix area Camping World has Roadmaster dollies.

I towed a Mini Cooper S with an ACME dolly and it was terrible. Aside from the hassles of loading and unloading which took 20 or more minutes each the damage to the Mini Cooper S was severe. Acme has a 'dam' or stop that rips at the front of a Mini (I think just a 'S' type). This caused damage that cost over $300 to repair. I have since sold the Mini and the ACME, and changed to flat towing a Jeep.

The other issue I experienced was the need to check and tighten the straps at every stop. Also, the car would slide to one side or the other and the safety change would bind preventing its removal without cutting (happened twice). If I had to do it over again I would try something other than ACME, probably Master, Roadmaster or Demco in that order. I would probably get one that has an articulating base.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by brican

Also, in the Phoenix area Camping World has Roadmaster dollies.

I towed a Mini Cooper S with an ACME dolly and it was terrible. Aside from the hassles of loading and unloading which took 20 or more minutes each the damage to the Mini Cooper S was severe. Acme has a 'dam' or stop that rips at the front of a Mini (I think just a 'S' type). This caused damage that cost over $300 to repair. I have since sold the Mini and the ACME, and changed to flat towing a Jeep.

The other issue I experienced was the need to check and tighten the straps at every stop. Also, the car would slide to one side or the other and the safety change would bind preventing its removal without cutting (happened twice). If I had to do it over again I would try something other than ACME, probably Master, Roadmaster or Demco in that order. I would probably get one that has an articulating base.

Thank you for posting that information. I considered Acme but ordered an American Tow Dolly and your post makes me glad I did. American delivers to your house and lets you set it up before you actually have to buy it so I will see how that goes and be able to check the way the Honda Fit sits on the dolly. As for the toad, I thought about a flat-towable Jeep but none of them were light enough for us to flat tow, given that our max tow weight is about 3400 pounds.

I thought seriously about Roadmaster since their dolly has an adjustable axle and can be set to as narrow as 93 1/2 inches, but it is too heavy for our RV, and Demco is even heavier so neither really works for us.

Master has dealers in the Phoenix area and I have looked at them, but they are very long (121 inches) front to back and I would prefer to be able to stand the dolly up and store it in our garage. I can not do that with the Master tow dolly because we have only about 100 inches of height in the garage. The specs for the American tow dolly indicate that it should fit without any issue so that is one more thing for us to check when they deliver it.

[jcurtisis]

AJmike: the Tow Smart Tow Dolly (“Stand-Up EZ Haul”) Tows 5,000lbs is designed to store vertically without any assistance. Simply Stores neatly taking up only 102"L X 24 W x 88"H amount of space.

[Carolinagurl]

Originally Posted by Oldchinahand

Mike
We flat tow our Ranger (auto trans w/RemCo shaft conversion) and dolly tow our Camry XLE when destination warrants.

Im a little late to the game since this thread was begun over a year ago.

We are thinking of dolly towing our 2007 Camry XLE. Has this worked out okay for you? We are in the process of choosing a dolly and really appreciate the detailed information supplied by everyone. Thank you!

[Oldchinahand]

Carolinagurl, Our XLE is easy to load, unload, on our ACME/EZETow/cartowdolly (they seem to be floundering for a name to stick)(great product tho). The Camry trails well and its curb weight is well within recommendations for our '07 Journey.

We have a receiver hitch installed on the Camry. Occasionally, fuel stations have a serious curb to at the entrance and the hitch drags a little. But that would happen with any dolly.

Since you have to travel with the steering wheel unlocked, we have a simple $3 battery disconnect installed on the negative post. Downside is that you then loose all the memory settings (radio, seat adjustment, etc) Minor issue for us. You can also install a switch to isolate just the fuse to the steering wheel lock. We just haven't gotten around to it. Also, auto parts stores sell a device that plugs into a 12v outlet (cigar lighter). Some mechanics say those are hard on cars loaded with accessories like XLE's, so we've not tried that.

As with all dollys, the most difficult part is attaching the safety chains to the vehicle. Following conversation with cartowdolly, we have made attachment mods to the dolly to make chain attachment easy peasy.

It is very helpful to have a ratcheting wrench to tighten the tire baskets.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

[Carolinagurl]

Terry, Thank you for your feedback! My husband is retired Air Force; we spent 25 years traveling the world and loving every minute. Though we are not full timers, the adventurous life suits us. This scratches the itch to move and explore, as we have become accustomed.

Thank you to you and your wife for your service to this great country! Happy 4th!