This article is going to review a few things you should consider before you buy a tow dolly. First, you should think about the warranty. Most manufacturers offer a very restricted one year warranty on the "assembly" of the tow dolly. That is very vague. There really is not much that can go wrong with the tow dolly “assembly”. The real warranty concern is that of moving parts like brakes, bearings, actuators etc. These are the essential moving parts and really about the only thing that can fail or go wrong on a tow dolly. You should look for a firm that offers a five year warranty on these parts. That is a good indication to you the high confidence they have in their product.
There are no warranties for lights, tires, wheel straps, ratchets. In fact these items are considered to be consumables on a tow dolly. Car Tow Dolly comes in 4 styles. An idler, ( No Brakes ), an Electric Brake System, A Hydraulic Surge Drum Brake System, or a Hydraulic Surge Disc Brake System.
The idler system is frequently assigned for around town use, moving small cars from here to there around town. If you intend to travel it is vital to know that many states require brakes of one type or other on a Car Tow Dolly. Eachyear more states are added to the list. Also, if you ever want to re sell the unit you will find that 9 out of ten callers will want a brake dolly.
Electric Brake System is better than not having anything. But not the best system. Electric brakes need a Brake Control Box inside your RV. The box has internal inertia sensors, and external adjusting knobs. If you are not very accurate in your comprehension and setting these controls then in reality you do not have brakes on your Tow Dolly and just don't know it. In addition to that, if you ever have a brake problem you will have to solve the problem by starting with the brake control box, the wiring from the brake control box back to the trailer plug, then the entire wiring system of the tow dolly. A real burden and expensive.
The most efficient and trouble free is the Hydraulic Surge Brake System. The cost is higher, but it is worth it. Nearly all manufacturers use a Hydraulic Surge "DRUM" Brake System. This is actually old technology. Drum brakes tend to become much hotter, have a tendency towards chucking or sudden hard braking. Due to the features of a Tow Dolly, Electric and Hydraulic DRUM Brake Systems are very difficult to adjust. The adjusting port is blocked by a spindle plate and one cannot access the adjuster port to adjust the brakes. A number of dealers will tell you that tow dollies have brake adjusters. Well that is a play on words. These are manual adjusters and without any automatic mechanism. There are no trailers of any type with self adjusting brakes. Even after just one long trip tow dolly brakes need to be adjusted or you just will not have brakes and may never know it. So, the near perfect braking system is a Hydraulic Surge "DISC" Brake System. DISC brakes run much cooler, never need adjusting, they do not chuck or hit hard when put into action and they are 4 times more capable than a DRUM system. The pads are in clear sight and very easy to replace with pads obtainable at all auto parts stores.
The perfect tow dolly will also come equipped with bearings that require no maintenance. Bearings that never need oiling. These are very common on very costly high end equipment trailers but are rarely seen on small trailers. These are just a couple of points to consider before you make your purchase decision. One should take their time and shop carefully. Go to the manufacturer's web site and see for yourself how much information they provide to you about their product.
The more information the better. Safe Trailers Save Lives. Acme Trailer specializes in
Tow Bars and
Tow Dollies
