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Old 08-29-2019, 06:04 PM   #1
Itasca Owner
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Edgewood, NM
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Towing With Dolly

We have a 2014 Itasca Suncruiser 37F and tow a 2016 FWD Volkswagen Tiguan (3400#). The dolly is an American Car Dolly (500#). We are well within hitch and tongue weight of 5000# / 500#.

The receiver on the coach is 24" off the ground and the dolly manufacturer wants the ball at 16-17" off the ground. The problem is that Winnebago specifies no more than a 4" drop hitch (note I need an 8" drop for the dolly specs).

Winnebago engineers (and probably lawyers, too) say that a greater drop (for example: 8") is essentially a longer lever and therefore puts more pressure on both the hitch and receiver. I thought about welding the hitch to the frame to augment the bolts.

Has anyone else had a similar problem. I'm open to suggestions!

We leave the New Mexico heat in a few weeks for the cool and beauty of South Dakota - specifically Mount Rushmore. Can't wait to leave!

Thanks in advance for a reply!
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Old 08-30-2019, 03:38 AM   #2
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I am no wheres near smart enough to give 100% advise, but. Can you not meet somewhere in the middle and feel comfortable. I would try and follow closer to the Winnie/ Hitch mfg guide lines then the dolly mfg.
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Old 09-01-2019, 04:17 PM   #3
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I use an 8" drop hitch to tow my 2014 Chevy Sonic and has had no issues. Been all over the United States. Of course it only weighs about 2500 lbs I think. It was the only way to get the towbar anywhere near level or slightly above.
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Old 09-02-2019, 11:55 AM   #4
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Thanks

Thanks for the replies. Yesterday I checked with a local trailer dealer - everything from car to utility to cargo to horse, etc. They've done some work on a couple of my trailers - as well as some plumbing on the motorhome - and have an excellent reputation.

I showed them the paragraph from the Itasca manual that specifies a 4" drop and they were unanimous that a) they had never heard of such a limitation and b) if someone had a problem it was likely with a defective hitch and not anything to do with the amount of drop. They regularly sell and install dozens of longer drop hitches and have never had any problems. The only obvious caveat is to be careful of steeply sloped driveways.

So we'll hitch up the dolly, load up the V Dub and head up the road to the Black Hills!

Thanks again for your replies!
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Old 09-06-2019, 09:28 AM   #5
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Been towing our American Car Dolly all over North America, over 60,000 miles for almost 6 years. First with about a a 4 inch drop on our 2014 Sunstar (19.5 inch wheels) and since 2016 with our Adventurer with 22.5 wheels. The drop on the 2016 has been all of 8 inches. The Adventurer hitch sits very high off the ground.

I need the drop mostly to assure the front wheel pan stops on the dolly don't interfere with loading the car and catching undercarriage parts , or going over road surface differences. I generally like the dolly nose as low as reasonably possible in the 16- 18 inch range.

Worked perfectly all these years. Just made sure I have a very heavy duty drop down hitch.
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Old 09-08-2019, 05:36 PM   #6
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We tow a Honda CRV four down. Our 2014 Adventurer manual says the same. No more than four inch drop. Tow bar manufacturer (Roadmaster) says the tow bar should be level with the hitch receiver. I have used a 8 inch drop. Seems more appropriate to me.
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Old 09-09-2019, 04:59 PM   #7
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Interesting drop info

First of all, when I bought the coach I did not read everything about drop and such. I hooked up the dolly using a 2" drop and looked at the dolly up & latched distance from the ground to the top of the far aft position of the dolly. It just looked a bit high but I loaded our very low Honda Civic. The front air scoop sort of scarped going into the "pan". Oh Oh. A visual inspection showed the up angle being too high for the Civic and within 3" from the Civic rocker panels.



We tried to unload and the front air dam of the Civic caught and detached it from the front of the Civic. After I put it back on the Civic I did a little thinking: LIGHTBULB. I used the 4" drop and the angle of the ramp to the Civic frame looked pretty good. However the very low air dam was still touching.


What to do:? I cut 4ea 2x6 boards about 16" long and put them under the aft ramp edge and successfuly backed the Civic out of the dolly. We have this setup with the 4" drop to this day! However, I cut one of the 18" boards to 12 " so as to make a little better ramp..


So use the 8" drop if you want but I stayed within spects and used 2x6's to compensate and it resulted in a better loaded distance from the Civic rocker panel to the ramp distance. I hope this missive helped someone determine their way forward. Peace to us all.
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Old 09-14-2019, 07:05 AM   #8
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We have a 2015 Itasca Sunstar and tow a Nissan Sentra. I have the Acme tow Dolly and they recommend a height between 12-14 inches from the ground for my car. My total drop is 10 inches. Have had no problems.

You do have to be careful though of the inclines going in or out of parking lots, gas stations. I bent the hitch one time on a very steep incline but I learned after that to avoid those.
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