I have the same surge brake tow dolly, and I use the Camco yellow ramps when I load my Honda fit on the back. I put a little 2 x 4 under the ramp as well. I use yellow nylon straps instead of chains to secure the axles of the car to the dolly. I’ve seen videos where those tire straps come loose and they have all kinds of problems and I put a little S snap on the end of the strap, and that makes it real easy to put on and off. Have you checked your brake fluid to see if it’s getting dirty one thing you can do is get a turkey baster and suck the dirty brake fluid out and then fill it up with new and then in a few weeks later check it again and by doing this, it’s sort of cleans up the old with all the new that gets kind of moved around inside. I’ve also been having a problem with my left side wheel break, dragging and heating up and now I’m still trying to figure out how to solve that issue.
Great idea with the turkey baster. Great minds, we got some of those Camco ramps and cut up some 2×6 the width of the ramp. Works great. Thanks so much for watching. I do not like doing brake work and will take it to place I bought the dolly to have it serviced.
Haven't ever used this type of Dolly, Jim and Pearl, but I can see where in your situation it makes a lot of sense. I recall once making a comment that you wouldn't be able to get your RV though the Needles Highway in Custer State Park in SD! Enjoy your upcoming trip! It will be much easier to pass though the "Eye of the Needle" in a humble Honda. 😁😁 Enjoyed seeing it and we hope you have many more years using it!
Since the RV is so big, we have to have something smaller with us if we hant to explore. It's definitely nice having two vehicles on a trip. This way, we get to ride together in the coach. It only takes around 10 minutes to load or unload. You basically do this once you arrive.
It has been working out great. It is nice we do not have to drive seperate. Pearl gets to keep an eye on me, after all she sits in the commander's chair. Where as I'm the Master of the Helm. Hmm, maybe we should have that put on the side under our windows.
I just bought this same dolly used. I added a hand crank winch on the tongue to pull up vehicals that dont run and use as a secondary safety chain. I like the idea of crank jack wheel and will probably add that also. I also have a 2007 Civic and it sits low enough that it will rub it's lower valence when loading and unloading like your Accord did. My solution was a 5ft 1x12 board under the ramps and that solved that problem.
I was thinking about adding a hand winch. Also, the idea of the boards is a great idea and was thinking about that. Our problem is loading the dolly on gravel, sand or wet anything. The front tires will slip on the edge of the dolly ramps and spin and dig a hole. We just purchased some loading ramps that look very promising. They are small enough to keep in the trunk of the car with the spare and stuff. I plan on making a video of them once we get some use. I have been surprised how well these videos on the dolly have been doing. Thanks so much for watching
If your car has an automatic transmission then you will most likely have one choice and that is the dolly. This was what we discoved for our Honda Civic. How exciting to be getting a Class A. We had a travel trailer for over 16 years. The trailer and truck were getting a bit on the old side. We went with the Class A so we did not have to buy a truck and trailer. Our is a 2001 in great condition. I had been shopping for a while, then we found it. Wish you the best of luck in what ever you find. We got some videos on our RV hunt. They may be useful to you. Thanks for watching.
We have had no issues so far. With all things, the more you use it, the easier and quicker you get the job done. So nice having a second vehicle along.
Thank you Thank you Thank you for posting. I’ve done lots of searching and only found 4 to 7 year old videos, and most are just loading and unloading. Do you have to lock the steering wheel of the car? The tpms is a great idea, I would add them to my tow car so I would know if the tow car had tire issues. Again thanks for posting.
You do. Our first car in the video had a locking steering column. Unfortunately, someone decided to plow into me and destroy that car. The white car has a button to start it, and the steering column does not lock. I take the seat belt and wrap it through the steering wheel and buckle it. I then move the seat back to take out the slack. Found that idea on. TH-cam and works well. Right about the TPMS. I purchased one that came with 10 sensors so i can monitor every tire on the road.
Our honda Civic had an automatic transmission and the car was paid for. I'm glad we did go with the dolly. That car got totaled when someone plowed into me. If we had been flat towing, we would have had to purchase a new adapter plate, had it, and the wiring installed. After dealing with the insurance company, my guess was that we would have to eat the cost. Insurance companies are bad, very, very bad. Hey, I kept the comment clean. Pearl has been a very good influence 😁 Jim
Any trouble storing the dolly in camp? Any concerns about theft or do you secure it somehow? Or do you lock it back to the RV after backing in? I knew someone years ago who had their dolly stolen.
Theft is always concerned for the dolly. When we're back in I will back the RV over top of the Dolly with it laying on the ground. There's enough clearance for the dot way to set underneath the r v. If there's enough room, I'll just leave the dolly hitched up to the harvey and put a lock on it. I also have a chain that I can either change it to something or change it to the RV. If I can't get it secured too well
Hey guys. Looks a very useful item. Easier taking your car along for trips away from campgrounds I guess. Love the teamwork. 😂 Pearl supervising really well. Hope you are both well. Best wishes from across the pond. 👍🏻🚶🏻♂️🚶♀️
Having such a large coach makes it hard to get out and explore. Bringing the car is a must. The dolly is nice since Pearl can ride in the coach with me and keep me out of trouble. Thanks for watching
I have an old dolly by Master Tow. It had seen better days when I got it and I felt like I overpaid a little. Meanwhile it has been used a thousand times and has been a great tool to have around. tHanks for the video
Thanks for watching. Our dolly has been a great tool allowing us to bring our car along. My only concern is the brand of tires on it. Making sure to keep a good eye on those tires and check them at every stop when i do my walk around. Does yours have the electricor suge brakes. We went with the surge and really like them so far.
Good morning @@TheGrayLifewithJimPearl Mine does not have the breaks. For that matter it barely has a single part on it that isn't dented or scratched. I would say it is 20 plus years old. I carry one or two spare wheels when I travel with it, and locally just one. It is a real life saver, as they say, I move my old jalopies with ease locally.
Couple of quick questions. 1. What speed do you travel on the interstates 2. Have you ever needed to back up attached 3. Have you ever traveled with it unloaded any distance Thanks for doing a real world review
Hello and thanks for watching. Here is some answers 1) we run around 60mph, 65 max for distance. This is due to fuel cost. We will hit 65-70 going down hills some times. 2) we have backed up but it was a straight backup and maybe for 10-15 feet. We could do more bit that would require the wife out there with the radio letting me know if the car is swiveling too much on the dolly. 3) When we bought it we towed it home about 40 miles. If I remember right the manual tell if you go over 50 miles you just set the dolly tire pressue to 10psi and you can go farther. You can get the manual from their site.
I once backed up a dolly with a car on it. Did just fine. Then my friend told me that you can't.....Ever since I realized first hand that you can't back them up. Farmers have the same issue with manure spreaders that have two axles. Rule of thumb is they do not back up; that is what people should plan on.
Our general rule is to never back up. We try not to go in anywhere that requires us to back up. Have overshot a fuel pump before and did back up for that. There is a lot of thinking before we put it in revese. We definitely agree that you should never rely on backing up to maneuver out of some place. That requires taking the car off. This is why we got the jack added. If we ever have to get in somplace tight (fuel), we will drop the dolly off at a nearby parking lot with the car on it.
Since we added a jack to it, we can unhitch with the car on the dolly. In fact this is one of our backup plans it we have to get the coach in someplace tight for fuel. We will drop the dolly off in a near by parking lot then get fuel.
Got the GUTA GT107 ten sensor system off Amazon. Had not a bit of trouble. It came with a repeater but I did not need to use it. The unit can pick up the rear tires of the car on the dolly from the dash. The rv is 32 foot. It is a simple system but very effective. Thanks so much for watching.
I have the same dolly, we’re going out for the first time this weekend to Tucson AZ . It’s our go to for test runs on our RVs. I noticed you Don’t have the safety chains to rap around the cars underside … ours have it ..
No, we decided not to have the chains. They are not required here. I do check the straps at every stop and inspect them before using. Good luck with the trip to Arizona. Hope all goes will and you arrive safely.
Got one similar and just put the 3rd set of tires on it. The first were cheap and only lasted like 3000 miles but then I put Carlisle and they lasted about 24,000 miles. Lasted from trips to the Dakotas and back and then to The Grand Canyon this past year.
Hear what you are saying about those cheap tires. Right now, they seem ok. I check the tires at every stop. We also have tire pressure sensors on them to keep an eye on them as we roll. We are heading to the Badlands and Custer State park in May. We have never been there and can't wait to go. The Grand Canyon is just too far right now.
Made that trip a couple years ago, well during the COVID and really had a great time. We hit it right cause boy it was near 95 each day. Don’t miss out on spending some time at Walls, wife really wore me out shopping there
We are heading out to the BadLands in May. I have a day planned to visit Wall Drugs. Looking forward to the trip. We also just got back from Florida and the dolly did great for the 2000 mile trip. That reminds me I need to lube the bearings before heading out to South Dakota@@terrynall2152
If you are worried about it resting underneath you can go to a store and you can buy some stuff that's made by blaster that's called surface shield and you could spray the dolly underneath and it would help with rock chips and stuff like that it creates like an oil film and keeps it from rusting
I have the same surge brake tow dolly, and I use the Camco yellow ramps when I load my Honda fit on the back. I put a little 2 x 4 under the ramp as well. I use yellow nylon straps instead of chains to secure the axles of the car to the dolly. I’ve seen videos where those tire straps come loose and they have all kinds of problems and I put a little S snap on the end of the strap, and that makes it real easy to put on and off. Have you checked your brake fluid to see if it’s getting dirty one thing you can do is get a turkey baster and suck the dirty brake fluid out and then fill it up with new and then in a few weeks later check it again and by doing this, it’s sort of cleans up the old with all the new that gets kind of moved around inside. I’ve also been having a problem with my left side wheel break, dragging and heating up and now I’m still trying to figure out how to solve that issue.
Great idea with the turkey baster. Great minds, we got some of those Camco ramps and cut up some 2×6 the width of the ramp. Works great. Thanks so much for watching. I do not like doing brake work and will take it to place I bought the dolly to have it serviced.
Marvelous Master tow dolly presentation, Jim and Pearl👍12
Keep up the wonderful work! Have a great Year ahead 🥰
Stay in touch and best wishes ~
Thanks for watching. It is so nice to be able to have a car with us when we go out on our adventures.
Haven't ever used this type of Dolly, Jim and Pearl, but I can see where in your situation it makes a lot of sense. I recall once making a comment that you wouldn't be able to get your RV though the Needles Highway in Custer State Park in SD! Enjoy your upcoming trip! It will be much easier to pass though the "Eye of the Needle" in a humble Honda. 😁😁 Enjoyed seeing it and we hope you have many more years using it!
Since the RV is so big, we have to have something smaller with us if we hant to explore. It's definitely nice having two vehicles on a trip. This way, we get to ride together in the coach. It only takes around 10 minutes to load or unload. You basically do this once you arrive.
Looks like a great way to go 👍😃
It has been working out great. It is nice we do not have to drive seperate. Pearl gets to keep an eye on me, after all she sits in the commander's chair. Where as I'm the Master of the Helm. Hmm, maybe we should have that put on the side under our windows.
That great master Towing Dolly
Have a nice Day❤❤
Thank you! You too!
Great review!
This dolly has really been handy for our travels. So nice to have a car along to go and explore.
Great review Jim. Loved the towing footage!
Glad you enjoyed it. Wanted to give some real life useage examples. The footage was easy since we had a GoPro mounted on the rear of the RV.
I just bought this same dolly used. I added a hand crank winch on the tongue to pull up vehicals that dont run and use as a secondary safety chain. I like the idea of crank jack wheel and will probably add that also. I also have a 2007 Civic and it sits low enough that it will rub it's lower valence when loading and unloading like your Accord did. My solution was a 5ft 1x12 board under the ramps and that solved that problem.
I was thinking about adding a hand winch. Also, the idea of the boards is a great idea and was thinking about that. Our problem is loading the dolly on gravel, sand or wet anything. The front tires will slip on the edge of the dolly ramps and spin and dig a hole. We just purchased some loading ramps that look very promising. They are small enough to keep in the trunk of the car with the spare and stuff. I plan on making a video of them once we get some use. I have been surprised how well these videos on the dolly have been doing. Thanks so much for watching
@@TheGrayLifewithJimPearl The hand crank could help loading in gravel, sand or wet. And it's not necessarily an extra thing to keep track of ;-)
If the ramps do not work then this will be next.
Haven't seen them before. Great one
They are so nice for bringing a smaller vehicle along. This way we get to ride together for the long drives in the coach.
Thanks for the info. I'm just acquiring my class A and trying to decide to flat tow or use a dolly.
If your car has an automatic transmission then you will most likely have one choice and that is the dolly. This was what we discoved for our Honda Civic. How exciting to be getting a Class A. We had a travel trailer for over 16 years. The trailer and truck were getting a bit on the old side. We went with the Class A so we did not have to buy a truck and trailer. Our is a 2001 in great condition. I had been shopping for a while, then we found it. Wish you the best of luck in what ever you find. We got some videos on our RV hunt. They may be useful to you. Thanks for watching.
I'm glad the dolly worked out for you, it's a handy tool for sure 😀
We have had no issues so far. With all things, the more you use it, the easier and quicker you get the job done. So nice having a second vehicle along.
I have a RWD tow Dolly vehicle. Would I back it on and leave front wheel on road? How difficult would that be?
The dolly manufacturer only front wheel drive can use the dolly.
Do you use tow lights on back of the car or just the ones on the dolly? Thanks
We just use the ones on the dolly. Our state does not require lights on the vehicle.
Thank you Thank you Thank you for posting. I’ve done lots of searching and only found 4 to 7 year old videos, and most are just loading and unloading. Do you have to lock the steering wheel of the car? The tpms is a great idea, I would add them to my tow car so I would know if the tow car had tire issues. Again thanks for posting.
You do. Our first car in the video had a locking steering column. Unfortunately, someone decided to plow into me and destroy that car. The white car has a button to start it, and the steering column does not lock. I take the seat belt and wrap it through the steering wheel and buckle it. I then move the seat back to take out the slack. Found that idea on. TH-cam and works well. Right about the TPMS. I purchased one that came with 10 sensors so i can monitor every tire on the road.
@@TheGrayLifewithJimPearl Thanks for the quick reply, safe travels.
So what was the reason you chose dolly towing over flat towing? Just curious . Lynn and Danny
Our honda Civic had an automatic transmission and the car was paid for. I'm glad we did go with the dolly. That car got totaled when someone plowed into me. If we had been flat towing, we would have had to purchase a new adapter plate, had it, and the wiring installed. After dealing with the insurance company, my guess was that we would have to eat the cost. Insurance companies are bad, very, very bad. Hey, I kept the comment clean. Pearl has been a very good influence 😁 Jim
Do you add magnetic stop/turn signal lights on you toad? Or do you only use the lights in the tow dolly fenders?
Not required in my State of Ohio. The lights on the dolly are all that is needed.
Any trouble storing the dolly in camp? Any concerns about theft or do you secure it somehow? Or do you lock it back to the RV after backing in? I knew someone years ago who had their dolly stolen.
Theft is always concerned for the dolly. When we're back in I will back the RV over top of the Dolly with it laying on the ground. There's enough clearance for the dot way to set underneath the r v. If there's enough room, I'll just leave the dolly hitched up to the harvey and put a lock on it. I also have a chain that I can either change it to something or change it to the RV. If I can't get it secured too well
Hey guys. Looks a very useful item. Easier taking your car along for trips away from campgrounds I guess. Love the teamwork. 😂 Pearl supervising really well.
Hope you are both well. Best wishes from across the pond. 👍🏻🚶🏻♂️🚶♀️
Having such a large coach makes it hard to get out and explore. Bringing the car is a must. The dolly is nice since Pearl can ride in the coach with me and keep me out of trouble. Thanks for watching
@@TheGrayLifewithJimPearl ah yes gotta keep you under control. 👍🏻
If you ask her, Pearl would inform you it is a full time job 😂
you can mount the tire on the side with the u clamp I did it with mine ( FYI) I welded the bracket on it will loosen up
I will have to take a look at that the next time the car is loaded. Thanks for the tip and for watching.
I have an old dolly by Master Tow. It had seen better days when I got it and I felt like I overpaid a little. Meanwhile it has been used a thousand times and has been a great tool to have around.
tHanks for the video
Thanks for watching. Our dolly has been a great tool allowing us to bring our car along. My only concern is the brand of tires on it. Making sure to keep a good eye on those tires and check them at every stop when i do my walk around. Does yours have the electricor suge brakes. We went with the surge and really like them so far.
Good morning @@TheGrayLifewithJimPearl Mine does not have the breaks. For that matter it barely has a single part on it that isn't dented or scratched.
I would say it is 20 plus years old. I carry one or two spare wheels when I travel with it, and locally just one.
It is a real life saver, as they say, I move my old jalopies with ease locally.
Thank you for the update
Thanks for watching
Couple of quick questions.
1. What speed do you travel on the interstates
2. Have you ever needed to back up attached
3. Have you ever traveled with it unloaded any distance
Thanks for doing a real world review
Hello and thanks for watching. Here is some answers
1) we run around 60mph, 65 max for distance. This is due to fuel cost. We will hit 65-70 going down hills some times.
2) we have backed up but it was a straight backup and maybe for 10-15 feet. We could do more bit that would require the wife out there with the radio letting me know if the car is swiveling too much on the dolly.
3) When we bought it we towed it home about 40 miles. If I remember right the manual tell if you go over 50 miles you just set the dolly tire pressue to 10psi and you can go farther. You can get the manual from their site.
I once backed up a dolly with a car on it. Did just fine. Then my friend told me that you can't.....Ever since I realized first hand that you can't back them up. Farmers have the same issue with manure spreaders that have two axles.
Rule of thumb is they do not back up; that is what people should plan on.
Our general rule is to never back up. We try not to go in anywhere that requires us to back up. Have overshot a fuel pump before and did back up for that. There is a lot of thinking before we put it in revese. We definitely agree that you should never rely on backing up to maneuver out of some place. That requires taking the car off. This is why we got the jack added. If we ever have to get in somplace tight (fuel), we will drop the dolly off at a nearby parking lot with the car on it.
Can you unhook the dolly from the coach with the car on it?
Since we added a jack to it, we can unhitch with the car on the dolly. In fact this is one of our backup plans it we have to get the coach in someplace tight for fuel. We will drop the dolly off in a near by parking lot then get fuel.
Just curious, what tpms do you use with that?
Got the GUTA GT107 ten sensor system off Amazon. Had not a bit of trouble. It came with a repeater but I did not need to use it. The unit can pick up the rear tires of the car on the dolly from the dash. The rv is 32 foot. It is a simple system but very effective.
Thanks so much for watching.
I have the same dolly, we’re going out for the first time this weekend to Tucson AZ . It’s our go to for test runs on our RVs. I noticed you Don’t have the safety chains to rap around the cars underside … ours have it ..
No, we decided not to have the chains. They are not required here. I do check the straps at every stop and inspect them before using. Good luck with the trip to Arizona. Hope all goes will and you arrive safely.
Good job.. have a ice day and enjoy vlogging
Thank you! You too!
Got one similar and just put the 3rd set of tires on it. The first were cheap and only lasted like 3000 miles but then I put Carlisle and they lasted about 24,000 miles. Lasted from trips to the Dakotas and back and then to The Grand Canyon this past year.
Hear what you are saying about those cheap tires. Right now, they seem ok. I check the tires at every stop. We also have tire pressure sensors on them to keep an eye on them as we roll. We are heading to the Badlands and Custer State park in May. We have never been there and can't wait to go. The Grand Canyon is just too far right now.
Made that trip a couple years ago, well during the COVID and really had a great time. We hit it right cause boy it was near 95 each day. Don’t miss out on spending some time at Walls, wife really wore me out shopping there
We are heading out to the BadLands in May. I have a day planned to visit Wall Drugs. Looking forward to the trip. We also just got back from Florida and the dolly did great for the 2000 mile trip. That reminds me I need to lube the bearings before heading out to South Dakota@@terrynall2152
Haven't seem them before looks like a way to go
It is very handy to have for an RV coach. We can bring the car along without driving seperate.
If you are worried about it resting underneath you can go to a store and you can buy some stuff that's made by blaster that's called surface shield and you could spray the dolly underneath and it would help with rock chips and stuff like that it creates like an oil film and keeps it from rusting
Great tip. I am going to get some and give it a try.
very nice i would to a much smaller car
It is amazing the things you can find out there to let you tow a car along. Thanks for watching
Hello Hello
Thanks so much for watching
speak up !