American Car Dolly wheel strap question

[AJMike]

I bought the American Dolly last February for a trip we planned to make in March, but then when the virus hit lots of things closed down and we were told to stay home so I did not get to use it then. In fact we did not get to use it until this week and after 8 months the instructions I got about how to install the tire straps had faded enough that I was left with a couple of questions. I figured out all of the answers except one.

Each strap that comes with the dolly consists of one long base strap that has a loop on its end and is threaded through that loop like a lasso, and that goes around the entire tire. There are two additional small loops, one of which is for a bracket that hooks around part of the dolly to keep the car from moving forward and one which loops around the top of the tire. See the photos below.

When I first put these one the tires I ran into several problems. One was that I had not done it before and was unfamiliar with how to place them so that all of the straps fit where they were supposed to, and it took me several tries to understand how to place the small straps to get it to fit. The second issue is that I don't know if the long part of the strap (see the arrows in photo 1) goes on the inside or the outside of the tire, and it is this question that I would like to get an answer to. Part of me assumes it does not make any difference, but in fact when I put the long part of the strap on the inside I had a lot of trouble getting the setup tight enough so that it did not shift during the trip and I began to wonder if it should go on the outside instead.

It seems to me to be an odd question, but perhaps it does make some difference. I don't know if the straps vary by manufacturer so I posted the question for the American Car Dolly but if there is a standard way of doing this and they are all the same principle perhaps people can tell me how to do it.

Thanks.

BTW - towing a Hond Fit (about 2600 pounds) on the dolly (about 450 pounds) seems to have cost me about 15% in fuel economy numbers. I don't know if that is about average or not.

[creativepart]

This company has next to no documentation on their website.

However, I did find this:

If you do not understand something about your car dolly, Please ask Anyone or call us at 970-380-3305.

The "please ask Anyone" seems an odd thing to say - but OK.

I watched YouTube videos and the straps all seem to work the same - though I never found one for your exact Dolly. The E-Z Tow Dolly seemed the most popular.

Here's a strapping video - the strap looks similar though the dolly is a different brand. In the link below you'll start viewing where the guy hooks on the straps.

https://youtu.be/ZywmnAeEc4E?t=340

PS. After watching a few dolly loading videos I am SO very glad that we flat tow!

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by creativepart

This company has next to no documentation on their website.

However, I did find this:


The "please ask Anyone" seems an odd thing to say - but OK.

Yes, and I should have mentioned that I did call before we left on our trip to try to get some of those questions answered. Never got a call back. I will try again but since I never heard back from the guy I thought I should ask online.

When I was researching tow dollies I ended up picking this one for a couple of reasons. (1) It was one of the lighter ones and I have an issue with max tow weight with the Winnie Fuse and (2) The guy delivered the tow dolly fully assembled and spent an hour helping to set it up and showing how to do it. At the time we took some videos of the process but, of course, the questions we ended up with were those that were not displayed in the videos.

Still, I have been making some progress. The first time I set up the car it took 90 minutes. The second time about 45 minutes and the last time about 30 minutes.

Originally Posted by creativepart

I watched YouTube videos and the straps all seem to work the same - though I never found one for your exact Dolly. The E-Z Tow Dolly seemed the most popular.

Here's a strapping video - the strap looks similar though the dolly is a different brand. In the link below you'll start viewing where the guy hooks on the straps.

https://youtu.be/ZywmnAeEc4E?t=340

PS. After watching a few dolly loading videos I am SO very glad that we flat tow!

Thanks for the link. I will take a look. I also looked at some of the replacement straps available on Amazon and they seem a lot easier to use.

When the dolly was first delivered I worried about not being able to properly set up the straps so I also ordered some 3' and 4' high strength straight web straps. The idea was to insert them through the wheels and around some of the dolly braces and then use high strength carabiners to tie them together. Then I would have straps tying both the front and rear of each tire to the dolly well where the wheel sits and thought that that would probably be enough to keep the car on the dolly without the regular straps. In the end I use them along with the regular dolly straps, but as a backup. The regular tire straps keep the wheels locked in place and prevent them from turning and the backups are for my peace of mind.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by creativepart

PS. After watching a few dolly loading videos I am SO very glad that we flat tow!

Yes, and had we had the choice that is what we would have done as well. The problem with the Winnie Fuse is that the max tow weight is somewhere around 3100-3500 pounds, depending upon how loaded the coach is. For the way we travel the max tow weight is about 3400 pounds and I could not find a vehicle that fit our requirements - an automatic (DW does not drive a stick shift), was comfortable enough to use for normal driving, was light enough to fit within our tow weight limits and could be towed at normal driving speeds.

We had owned Jeeps until about a year ago when we got something both smaller and lighter with better fuel economy. At the time I also looked at the Chevy Spark but DW did not like it so we ended up with the Honda Fit, but it can't be flat towed because it is an automatic.

Fortunately we don't plan to tow much since most of the trips we make are just to sit and relax in some beautiful area, and that does not require towing. But we do have a tentative trip scheduled for Florida for next year and if we stay there long we will either need to rent a car or take a toad.

[CoolBreeze]

In the past I used an Acme Dolly so have a little experience with these things. Some ancillary info, for what it’s worth-

New straps will stretch a little so you do need to pull over and snug them up a few times.
I’d put the long strap on the outside...or whichever side it doesn’t get caught up in the Fit’s steering knuckle or brake parts.
Your toad will always back off an inch or two from the wheel stop no matter how taut you ratchet down the straps. As long as the straps are tight, it’s not a problem.
I think your extra strapping is overkill. Look at how car carriers tie down car tires and at what wicked angle those cars are loaded and carried at. 1 per tire!

I’d like to see a dolly manufacturer devise something to eliminate straps altogether by incorporating some kind of a 4-down towbar attachment. It’d be the best of both worlds IMO.

[Dray1953]

Buy new straps. The first time I tried the straps Gary supplied, I knew there had to be a better way. Get a new set from Amazon and you'll see how much easier to use they are. You can keep the ones that came with the dolly as backups.
And yes check them often for stretching and tighten as needed.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Dray1953

Buy new straps. The first time I tried the straps Gary supplied, I knew there had to be a better way. Get a new set from Amazon and you'll see how much easier to use they are. You can keep the ones that came with the dolly as backups.
And yes check them often for stretching and tighten as needed.

I actually looked at new straps on the Amazon site before I posted but did not know which ones would work for the dolly. Do you have a link to the one you bought since I assume that one worked?

[Americanrascal]

AJMike:
I've been using my American Car Dolly for about 7 years now and 70,000 miles. I've used both the single hook type of strap Gary sent and also the double hook universal straps from Amazon. Both work fine but I prefer the double hook/strap system especially if I am towing a heavier vehicle.

The double universal strap I use is here as depicted on Amazon. Other suppliers sell them also.
https://www.amazon.com/JCHL-Universa...3627614&sr=8-5

On the single hook original straps, one only must balance equally each side of the strap over the tire, with one end tailing down to the hook in the rear centered over the tire and the running end forward to the rotating ratchet bar. It too is centered. The remainder of the strap system is balanced equally left and right over the tire.

By the way, Amazon has a single hook/strap system like what comes with the Dolly and here is a pic of how its set up.

https://www.amazon.com/Vulcan-ProSer...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

We alternate towing a 2007 Ford Ranger and a 2016 Ford Focus (curb weight 2900-3000 lbs) on the dolly. The American dolly has been perfect for us and extremely safe and reliable.

We've probably towed around 70,000 miles criss-crossing the continent numerous times and between GA and AK. My wife and I kind of play "pit crew" loading and unloading from time to time and have the total load out time under 10 minutes- 7 was our best!. Having towed both ways (4 down and dolly) I prefer and will always like dolly much better. We had very bad experiences towing 4 down and like the versatility and lower cost of the dolly approach.

We like towing our Ranger pickup and it sits rearward on the dolly. Give us a lot of room to haul junk in the bed and works well as a run around vehicle for us.

When I first got the dolly I too found that strapping appeared to be abstract. I made the call to Gary and it then became so obvious and simple I had to laugh at myself. In fact, I no longer do the strapping- the DW does and she's faster at it than I am. All this talk about wallowing in the dirt while loading a dolly is not true. It's easy and quick once you get it figured out. I take care of loading the ramps and tightening the ratchets.

Please let me know if I can help

All the best

Joe

[Americanrascal]

Originally Posted by AJMike

I actually looked at new straps on the Amazon site before I posted but did not know which ones would work for the dolly. Do you have a link to the one you bought since I assume that one worked?

One other note- I have learned to wash my straps in a bucket of water after a trip when I've run through rain. Straps tend to pick up a lot of grit and grime off the road and that wears them down hard. A quick wash and dry seems to make them last longer. We use our dolly a lot and as such, I only get about 2-3 years out of a set. I do burn off frays but new straps every few years gives me peace of mind (I never had one break though)

[Dray1953]

AJ
What Joe said.
I use the same strap from amazon he shared.
Del

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

AJMike:
I've been using my American Car Dolly for about 7 years now and 70,000 miles. I've used both the single hook type of strap Gary sent and also the double hook universal straps from Amazon. Both work fine but I prefer the double hook/strap system especially if I am towing a heavier vehicle.

The double universal strap I use is here as depicted on Amazon. Other suppliers sell them also.
https://www.amazon.com/JCHL-Universa...3627614&sr=8-5

On the single hook original straps, one only must balance equally each side of the strap over the tire, with one end tailing down to the hook in the rear centered over the tire and the running end forward to the rotating ratchet bar. It too is centered. The remainder of the strap system is balanced equally left and right over the tire

Thank you for the link. What is interesting is that the straps you referenced are the same straps that I liked when I looked at the available ones on Amazon, but I did not buy them because I did not know if the hooks would fit into the slots provided on the dolly. Now I know that they will.

By the way, Gary stressed that the hooks should be set the reverse of how they are shown in the Amazon photo - with the open end of the hook toward the back rather than toward the front. That is what I have done, and what I expect I will continue to do, but I never understood why the direction mattered. Do you know?

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

We alternate towing a 2007 Ford Ranger and a 2016 Ford Focus (curb weight 2900-3000 lbs) on the dolly. The American dolly has been perfect for us and extremely safe and reliable.

We've probably towed around 70,000 miles criss-crossing the continent numerous times and between GA and AK. My wife and I kind of play "pit crew" loading and unloading from time to time and have the total load out time under 10 minutes- 7 was our best!. Having towed both ways (4 down and dolly) I prefer and will always like dolly much better. We had very bad experiences towing 4 down and like the versatility and lower cost of the dolly approach.

We like towing our Ranger pickup and it sits rearward on the dolly. Give us a lot of room to haul junk in the bed and works well as a run around vehicle for us.

When I first got the dolly I too found that strapping appeared to be abstract. I made the call to Gary and it then became so obvious and simple I had to laugh at myself. In fact, I no longer do the strapping- the DW does and she's faster at it than I am. All this talk about wallowing in the dirt while loading a dolly is not true. It's easy and quick once you get it figured out. I take care of loading the ramps and tightening the ratchets.

Please let me know if I can help

We have only made one trip with the dolly, but we unloaded at our destination so we have gone through the load process twice (for real), and once as a test before our trip. The first time the process took about 90 minutes - I had to figure out how to thread the straps because they came apart, and I had to go hunting for all of the stuff I needed. That taught me a lesson and now all of that stuff is in a single box. The second time was about 45 minutes and the last about 30 minutes, so I am getting there.

Thank you for your offer of help, and I will ask any questions that come up.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

One other note- I have learned to wash my straps in a bucket of water after a trip when I've run through rain. Straps tend to pick up a lot of grit and grime off the road and that wears them down hard. A quick wash and dry seems to make them last longer. We use our dolly a lot and as such, I only get about 2-3 years out of a set. I do burn off frays but new straps every few years gives me peace of mind (I never had one break though)

Just water? Or water and soap?

I want to make sure that nothing weakens them and I did worry about using soap since I worried that the soap might loosen the threads that keep the loops closed on the piece holding the hook as well as the short piece that goes over the wheel and the loop at the end of the long piece.

I guess I am still a bit paranoid about the straps coming loose and that is why I have been using the second set of straps through the tires. Perhaps that will pass when I have used the dolly enough.

We used to flat tow our Jeep behind our old Class A RV but the Winnebago Fuse does not have the towing capacity for a 4000 pound Jeep and so we are using our 2019 Honda Fit which only weighs about 2600 pounds.

[Americanrascal]

Originally Posted by AJMike

Just water? Or water and soap?

I want to make sure that nothing weakens them and I did worry about using soap since I worried that the soap might loosen the threads that keep the loops closed on the piece holding the hook as well as the short piece that goes over the wheel and the loop at the end of the long piece.

I guess I am still a bit paranoid about the straps coming loose and that is why I have been using the second set of straps through the tires. Perhaps that will pass when I have used the dolly enough.

We used to flat tow our Jeep behind our old Class A RV but the Winnebago Fuse does not have the towing capacity for a 4000 pound Jeep and so we are using our 2019 Honda Fit which only weighs about 2600 pounds.

I usually only wash the straps if they have gotten wet and/or if I was on a road with less than clean surfaces. It's usually easy to tell if they are gritted up after you take them off- you'll feel it. If I have had a dry run on good roads they do fine just storing them.

They are designed to be used in all sorts of weather so I am comfortable getting the grit out of the fabric to reduce wear. My process is I just wad them up and drop them in a 5-gallon bucket. I then use about 1/4 cup of Simple Green or laundry soap (something mild)added to a full bucket of water. I then agitate it a bit and let it sit for a day or so. Then I drain the wash water and run rinse water through and agitate 2X. After that, I hang them on the line to dry. The straps are extremely tough and I have never had a problem washing them. It definitely reduces the dirt, grime, and grit that can weaken the nylon thread and fibers.

The straps will almost always loosen after the first 1-5 miles of starting out. I always find a spot to pull over to check/tighten the ratchets within the first 5 miles. In my case, I hit the local mall 2 miles away after leaving the house or the local pharmacy which has good traffic circulation around it. Just takes a second to run around and tighten things up. After that, I stop every 2 hours ( for more than dolly reasons LOL), get out, walk around and check the straps.

On any run, there will likely be some slack (maybe 3 ratchet clicks?) develop in the straps somewhere along the line on a long trip. Nothing to worry about, just snug them up when you stop. Sometimes I can run 1,000 miles and never need to tighten them.

You will find that new straps will require a bit more attention until they get stretched out and worn a bit. Once all the stretch works out things will remain snugger.

I remember Gary telling me about the hooks facing out. I don't know why that's important but I am doing exactly as he said also-- mine face out!

In 7 years and over 70,000 miles, I have only had a strap come completely lose one time. It happened about a month ago. I stopped for a pit stop- went back and checked and found one wheel strap had lost its attachment to the ratchet bar and was dangling loose. Probably hit a bad bump and sprung the ratchet loose. Nothing happened, nothing was damaged, the strap was fine, the car was fine and had not moved a bit. The other strap did its job and the car with its weight and brakes on the dolly pads did nothing!

I once met a fellow RVer who drove over 200 miles up to the mountains with his truck on his dolly and totally forgot to put the straps on. The truck did fine never moved a bit and it was as if it was strapped the whole time! That would have my heart skip a beat or two but it does give some comfort about the stability of these set-ups. The bottom line is these dollies -- at least this model made by American seems forgiving!

I used to add all sorts of chains between the car and dolly and other safety devices-- I gave that up about 2 years ago as I was way overthinking and worrying. It's a rock and I am comfortable with it now.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

I usually only wash the straps if they have gotten wet and/or if I was on a road with less than clean surfaces. It's usually easy to tell if they are gritted up after you take them off- you'll feel it. If I have had a dry run on good roads they do fine just storing them.

They are designed to be used in all sorts of weather so I am comfortable getting the grit out of the fabric to reduce wear. My process is I just wad them up and drop them in a 5-gallon bucket. I then use about 1/4 cup of Simple Green or laundry soap (something mild)added to a full bucket of water. I then agitate it a bit and let it sit for a day or so. Then I drain the wash water and run rinse water through and agitate 2X. After that, I hang them on the line to dry. The straps are extremely tough and I have never had a problem washing them. It definitely reduces the dirt, grime, and grit that can weaken the nylon thread and fibers.

I stopped twice on our initial trip (which was short, only about 2 hours) and the straps had not given one bit. Perhaps I tightened them too much at the start but the straps were as tight after 2 hours as they were when we started. Perhaps that is because they are new straps. I plan to order the Amazon straps today so they will be here for our next trip, and perhaps they will give more than the ones we got from Gary.

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

I once met a fellow RVer who drove over 200 miles up to the mountains with his truck on his dolly and totally forgot to put the straps on. The truck did fine never moved a bit and it was as if it was strapped the whole time! That would have my heart skip a beat or two but it does give some comfort about the stability of these set-ups. The bottom line is these dollies -- at least this model made by American seems forgiving!

I suppose that is comforting to know, but it does remind me of one question I still have.

Gary gave me the demo last February and because of COVID-19 we never got to use it until a week ago or so, so there was plenty of time for me to forget the instructions. We made a video but, of course, the parts I could not remember were not shown in the video (or perhaps I did not remember because they were not shown in the video).

Anyway I still have this one question. When I drive the car up the ramps and onto the body of the dolly there are two places I can stop. One is with the tires sitting in the wheel well and the other is a bit forward of that with the tires up against the front rail of the dolly itself, not the front of the wheel well. Which is correct? For better or worse I used the rectangular wheel well and centered the tires in that before I strapped them, but they are not up against the front rail of the dolly and I am not sure if the wheel well is the correct place. Where do you put the wheels?

[Americanrascal]

I have loaded both ways. Most of the time I bump against the forward stop bar, throw on the straps, and snug them but not overtighten them. I have also seen/read that another approach is to set the wheels in the middle on the plate, leave it in neutral, then strap and using the straps pull the car forward to the stop bar-- then put it in park. I've used that second approach a couple of times to see if there is a difference and I can not find one.

I have no idea which way is best, but typically I just run it to the stop bar then tighten it down. My experience has been once the wheel is snugged with the straps you are done. I just like the wheel against the stop bar to assure no forward movement????

PS. When ordering note there are different sizes and lengths from different suppliers. Make sure you get enough length. Mine were a bit too long for the Focus but just right for the larger Ranger tires.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

I have loaded both ways. Most of the time I bump against the forward stop bar, throw on the straps, and snug them but not overtighten them. I have also seen/read that another approach is to set the wheels in the middle on the plate, leave it in neutral, then strap and using the straps pull the car forward to the stop bar-- then put it in park. I've used that second approach a couple of times to see if there is a difference and I can not find one.

I have no idea which way is best, but typically I just run it to the stop bar then tighten it down. My experience has been once the wheel is snugged with the straps you are done. I just like the wheel against the stop bar to assure no forward movement????

PS. When ordering note there are different sizes and lengths from different suppliers. Make sure you get enough length. Mine were a bit too long for the Focus but just right for the larger Ranger tires.

Thanks for the information. I did not notice that there were different sizes so I guess I need to pay more attention before I order.