Tow dolly width

[AJMike]

I have been planning to buy a tow dolly to tow our Honda Fit. Since the car is automatic it can not be flat towed and hence the dolly. I had pretty much settled on the American tow dolly for a number of reasons but am a bit concerned about the width of the dolly. We will be towing the Fit (68 inches wide) with a Winnebago Fuse (90 inches wide) while the narrowest American Tow Dolly is 102 inches wide. I worry about the extra 6 inches on each side of the RV knowing that just because the RV will fit in a tight space does not mean that the tow dolly will fit.

Are there any tow dollies that are more narrow than 102 inches? I have not seen any but my knowledge of tow dollies is very limited, never having looked at them until a couple of weeks ago.

[be happy]

Roadmaster dollies are somewhat adjustable.
https://www.roadmasterinc.com/produc...Mastertowdolly
93.5 to 101.5
I would however not worry about the total width of the dolly. Your wider car will need the width of the dolly. Pulling straight is no problem, its when you turn (sharp) you will want as much room from tire to dolly fender as possible.

[be happy]

Forgot, the most important measurement is the inside, dolly fender to fender measurement. It goes to what I said before about the turning.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by be happy

Roadmaster dollies are somewhat adjustable.
https://www.roadmasterinc.com/produc...Mastertowdolly
93.5 to 101.5
I would however not worry about the total width of the dolly. Your wider car will need the width of the dolly. Pulling straight is no problem, its when you turn (sharp) you will want as much room from tire to dolly fender as possible.

Thank you. I will look into this. I have flat-towed but never towed a dolly, so perhaps my concerns are overblown, but I do have two.

First, on the highway passing trucks and/or narrow roadways during construction will make it difficult to keep the dolly within the lane markers and this might cause an issue when traffic is especially heavy.

The second is that on back roads and in cities it might be difficult to know exactly where the outside fenders of the dolly are since they will extend beyond the outside of the RV and that they might get too close to parked cars or cars in other lanes. And, of course, in built up areas I also worry about turns.

I need to check with Roadmaster about this dolly when they open tomorrow but, if I read correctly, at its narrowest the inside width is 68 inches and that is the width of my Honda Fit. The outside width, 93 inches, is just about perfect for our Winnebago Fuse (90 inches) but I am not sure there is enough room on the inside when the dolly is at its narrowest setting. Is the width adjustable between those two limits (93.5 and 101.5 inches) so that it could be set to 96 inches? Or is it only one or the other?

[Americanrascal]

Never had a problem observing the fenders on the American in my review mirrors. I can see the dolly fenders and the tires well giving me some comfort in knowing the dolly tires are doing well


I know what you mean about construction zones, I think its normal to get puckered up around construction walls . We drive them all the time. All that said I've never experienced a problem. I just stay focused on the motorhome's position and the dolly tracks right along without any problem.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Americanrascal

Never had a problem observing the fenders on the American in my review mirrors. I can see the dolly fenders and the tires well giving me some comfort in knowing the dolly tires are doing well

I know what you mean about construction zones, I think its normal to get puckered up around construction walls . We drive them all the time. All that said I've never experienced a problem. I just stay focused on the motorhome's position and the dolly tracks right along without any problem.

Thank you. As always your posts are very helpful.

[Americanrascal]

I know how you must feel about all this. I had a lot of initial anxiety, concern and was a bit up tight my first two trips or so. After that I found I was even forgetting the dolly was even behind us-- now we have to remind ourselves to check it in the mirror or on the rear camera. In forward motion it seems to be one with the motorhome.

I do pay close attention whenever I stop (about every 2 hours is our routine) as I get out and do a good safety check to make sure all is snug and safe as a regular habit.

I can't think of a time in 70,000 plus miles that I've experienced any anomalies other than to maybe tighten or snug a strap here and there.

[Sears532]

Thanks for the question and answers...... bought a used one to tow my Rogue Sport for the same reasons..... same concerns expressed.... answers were all helpfull

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Sears532

Thanks for the question and answers...... bought a used one to tow my Rogue Sport for the same reasons..... same concerns expressed.... answers were all helpfull

You bought which one? The American? Or some other?

[Sears532]

EZ tow.... was used but in excellent condition

[NXR]

The bigger issue may be that in a turn where the RV tires get close to but clear the curb, the dolly tire may not. That is my biggest worry. My RV tires are 96" outside to outside but the Acme EZE Tow Dolly also are 102" outside to outside.

[camato5]

I just want to comment on something you said. Just want to make sure you cannot flat tow your vehicle because you said it was automatic and could not flat tow. Be sure to check your owners manual or the flat tow guide. Just because it is an automatic transmission does not mean it can not be flat towed.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by camato5

I just want to comment on something you said. Just want to make sure you cannot flat tow your vehicle because you said it was automatic and could not flat tow. Be sure to check your owners manual or the flat tow guide. Just because it is an automatic transmission does not mean it can not be flat towed.

Yes, that is correct. Some automatic transmissions can be flat towed, as we used to do with our old Jeep Liberty, but the Honda Fit is different. The manual can be flat towed, the automatic, being a front wheel drive, requires a tow dolly.

The actual Honda manual says that the automatic can not be towed at all, but the techs at the Honda dealer tell me that using a tow dolly would be fine, Fit owners on these forums say that they tow with a tow dolly and the online sites that I have visited about towing all say that the car can be towed with a tow dolly. The car is a front wheel drive and I would think that any FWD car with free moving rear wheels can be towed with a dolly.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by NXR

The bigger issue may be that in a turn where the RV tires get close to but clear the curb, the dolly tire may not. That is my biggest worry. My RV tires are 96" outside to outside but the Acme EZE Tow Dolly also are 102" outside to outside.

It is stuff exactly like this that makes me worry. I am not worried about being on the road but I do worry about driving through cities where turns are needed and where cars are parked next to the traffic lanes.

We do not plan to do a lot of towing. We have been talking about a trip from southern Arizona to Key West, but I would not tow a car on such a long drive just to have it available for a couple of days in the Florida Keys. I don't want to hassle with getting into and out of gas stations for 5000 miles (round trip) just to save the cost of renting a car for one or two days. But I would take it for local trips where getting around in a city is important.

[cthiggy]

FWIW: We currently have a Class C Cambria and have towed a SMART car (flat) and a FIT on a U-Haul dolly with no issues. It just takes a little planning. For instance: we always carefully survey the access lanes to a gas station before entering. Since we usually frequent Flying J and Pilot stations, we have never encountered a problem. If we have to turn around, we simply look for a Church, a shopping center, a Walmart, a Home Depot, even a school with a large parking lot which we can enter and leave without backing up. Class C RVs are difficult to turn around even on some divided four lane roads.

[RTrider]

Something to keep in mind. Your mirrors are probably as wide as the tow dolly. In a straight line, if the mirror fit, so will the dolly. I tow a trailer regularly that is 102" with our class A and wish I could see the fenders on the trailer. Actually I can just see the left fender, but can't see the right at all unless I am in a right turn. Just use your mirrors to tell you where the dolly wheels are and you will quickly adapt to the little extra swing out you need. I pull this rig through gas stations regularly. Again, you quickly learn where you can and can't go and how much allowance you need.

[jcurtisis]

AJmike: Fear Not! We have a post the exact same issue: tow dolly for a Automatic Honda Fit. We have a 2018 ND model, and have had no problems at all driving freeways with construction zones or narrow one-way access roads to our Daughter’s house. “Dolly” does take up more of the available lane, but keeping her on the road is not onerous.
Many styles of dollies are out there- we went with the Tow Smart Tow Dolly with surge brakes as it is designed to be stored upright...making it easier to stay in RV parks and National parks (as the RV+upright tow dolly = 28’ long (just 2 feet more than the RV(!). It was also less expensive (when we bought it last year) but had great ratings...and we were able to pick it up assembled from the dealer in LOs Angeles area (“Santa Fe Springs”) towsmarttrailers.com .

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by RTrider

Something to keep in mind. Your mirrors are probably as wide as the tow dolly. In a straight line, if the mirror fit, so will the dolly. I tow a trailer regularly that is 102" with our class A and wish I could see the fenders on the trailer. Actually I can just see the left fender, but can't see the right at all unless I am in a right turn. Just use your mirrors to tell you where the dolly wheels are and you will quickly adapt to the little extra swing out you need. I pull this rig through gas stations regularly. Again, you quickly learn where you can and can't go and how much allowance you need.

That sounds like really good advice. Thank you.

I am a bit surprised that you can not see the right side trailer fender because it is wider than your RV. I would have thought that it would have been visible.

Perhaps it is just a question of practice, but getting into and out of gas stations is the single biggest concern I have. I have done this with a Class A and a flat-towed Jeep so I would think this would be easier - our Fuse is shorter than the Class A and the Fit is shorter than the Jeep Liberty, but if I have to unhitch the dolly to get out of some place it is going to take a lot more work than with a flat-towing hitch.

[jcurtisis]

AJmike: actually, I can see BOTH tow dolly wheels while towing (just a bit).
To be sure: backing up with a tow dolly is not practical (for more than a few feet) as you just don’t know which way the dolly will go. That said, I’ve never has a problem; mostly because I am very careful about where I am going so as not to get into a bind. The tow dolly is great at tracking right behind the RV so I can pull around in gas stations - as long as I can go forward and fit the RV the tow dolly also fits (carrying the “Fit”-pun intended). Main trick here is really nothing new: Proper Prior Planning Prevents P___ Poor Performance (as we used to say in the Navy).

[Flagstick]

Just for information on selecting a tow car. I have towed a 2008 Honda Fit automatic four wheels down for over 50,000 miles with no problem. I can't confirm other year models but the 2008 automatic can safely be towed.


Itasca Horizon 36
Honda Fit Sport