The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Towing Your Truck With A Tow Dolly

I'm considering doing this for my '48. It only gets about 10 mpg, so it's expensive and time consuming to drive long distances. I've considered trailers (too much weight for my 2013 Flex) and towing four wheels down (doable, but I'd have to modify the truck permanently, which I'm not sure I want to do). Now I'm looking at tow dollies. Has any Stovebolter done this? Any does and don'ts?

I drove to a show about 120 miles from me last weekend and had to fill up twice to get back home. I'm also not too keen on driving long distances at 70 mph. Then there's the rocks and other things chipping the front end...Seems like a tow dolly is the perfect solution. My truck weighs 3400 lbs (certified on a truck scale), and my car has a max 4500 lb towing limit. I have a factory towing package with a 2" receiver and anti-sway system, so towing up to 4500 shouldn't be a problem. The tow dolly I'm considering weighs about 380 lbs, so I'd still be under 4000 lbs, even with the hitch, the weight of the dolly and the truck.

Those tow dollies were a common sight behind motorhomes a few years back. It seems feasible to me. There should be some on your local Craigslist. You can still rent them from u-haul so you might give it a trial run.

There are no brakes on most tow dollies, I would look at your braking system on your towing vehicle?

Ed

Paul... Have you read our towing/hauling tech tip?

Ed's comment is germane. With no brakes, it is recommended that the tow vehicle outweigh the vehicle being towed by a good margin or else you will have a very dangerous situation in panic braking or marginal traction events. The last time I used a tow dolly, I ended up in the median facing the wrong way after having the tow dolly enter into uncontrollable oscillations from crossing over a bridge joint at 55 MPH.

Backing up is difficult, even for experienced drivers (did you ever pull tandems when you drove a large car?)... keep that in mind pulling into the gas station, parking lot or other tight quarters.

I forget what tranny you have -- some trannies need some sort of lubrication circulation if the driveshaft is spinning but the input from the engine is not.

I don't like tow dollies. They tend to create more problems than they solve.

Paul
Here is the link to the tips.
https://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/trailering/index.html

As for the dolly, you also have to have working brake and tail lights on the towed vehicle.

See ya in Sept.
Don

The tow dolly that I'm looking at is the Acme EZE Tow. It has hydraulic surge disc brakes, so braking is not an issue. It also has the emergency breakaway system (which is now required in many states.) So the dolly is completely self-contained. I would not need to alter my truck at all.

I would get some kind of a portable light setup for the back of the truck, although the brake lights on the dolly are clearly visible from the rear.

I'm assuming that if I put the tranny in neutral, the truck will tow fine. The rear end and driveshaft would be moving, but the tranny wouldn't be, except for the output shaft.

The problem I have is I can't find a trailer, even an aluminum one, that keeps my total weight under 4500 lbs. My GCWR is 9321. My car weighs about 4800 lbs. Max trailer weight is 4500. My truck weighs 3400. The lightest trailer I've found is 1400 lbs, and that doesn't include the weight of the hitch. So towing the truck on a trailer is out of the question, using my Flex. Using the tow dolly, my total combined weight would be less than 3800. That's well within the range I'm allowed. That's why I'm considering the tow dolly.

Paul, looks like you have done some research on the issue. I fully understand John and Ed's concerns, however, the set up you are looking at addresses those concerns. I believe I would still drop by the local U-Haul and rent one for half a day. Hook everything up and load your truck. Drive around a while til you either feel comfortable or decide it's not for you. Bet it won't take an hour of driving to make up your mind. Good luck.🛠

Justhorsenround, I fully intend to check out U-Haul tomorrow. I don't know if they have brakes on their dollys. That would be a deal breaker for me. I want brakes and emergency breakaway, or I'm not doing it.

Paul, I would make sure that your trans is going to be well lubed. I put my 46 on a tow dolly to take down to the muffler shop. I didn't make it 1/2 mile before the trans seized up. Had to rebuild the trans again. Not a good thing.

Just some food for thought.
George

46forme, was the trans low on fluid? What kind of trans was it? Mine's a T-5 with overdrive. It uses ATF as lube.

After doing more research, the driveshaft has to be removed, or the tranny will be toast. So....maybe not such a good idea after all. Or, I need to rig up a cradle for the driveshaft so I can remove the back end only and let it hang. Hmm...

Baling wire? Just make sure you loop it around several times and make sure the end can't get back too close to the yoke on the third member. Tape the u-joint caps in place and wire the shaft so it won't work its way out of the transmission. Hey, you are from Texas, make it work!👍🏻

Yeah, I just found an aluminum trailer that would work - the Trailex CT-8450. Only weighs 910 pounds. The problem is, it's $7000. Too rich for my blood. Plus I've got nowhere to store it. I'd have to add a gate to my back yard fence and park it there. Oh well. It's tow dolly or nothing.

Duct tape should do the trick, right?

Pair of pliers, baling wire and duct tape will fix anything. BTW, the other option would be to put the rear wheels on the dolly and tie the steering wheel. Wrecker drivers did that for years before flatbeds.

I hauled my 49 3100 home on a U-Haul car hauler. My 1/2 ton truck has the optional 6000lb max towing weight option and that along with 2 other passengers pushed the truck to it's limit. I believe the car hauler weighed in at around 2500 lbs and I estimated the 3100 at 3500. The 3 of us are on the healthy side + jacks, tools and spare tires so I'm sure we pushed the GVWR envelope LOL..

The car hauler had hydraulic brakes so stopping wasn't bad. I live in hill country and thats what taxed the truck.

If I were to haul my 3100 long distance I'd use nothing less than a 3/4 ton Super Duty but thats just me.
Good luck

https://cartowdolly.com/faqs/
Look at towing rear wheel drive vehicles.

"All dollies are designed for front wheel drive vehicles. However many people have told us that they have towed their car backwards. Sorry we cannot advise you on this technique."

Yeah, I'm not gonna do that. IF I decide to do this, I'll remove the driveshaft and tow it facing forward.

Paul
The reason you have to drop the drive shaft is because the input from the driveshaft does not spin the cluster gear.
Which in turn, splashes lube, all over the inside of the tranny.
Had a Jeep that I was moving, do that to me years ago because I did not isolate the tranny.
No wreck, but when the output bearing seized up, I left some some interesting tire tracks down the interstate.

Volfandt
You do know that a Super duty is a Ford, don't you?
I have a Stovebolt license plate on the rear of mine.

Don

Have you priced Super Duty trucks lately? It's enough to give me a heart attack. If I can't afford a $7000 trailer, I sure can't afford a 3/4 ton truck to tow it.

Absolutely.... I've seen the blue oval towing all kinds of differing makes and models LOL.
Does 2500HD sound better?

Paul, yeah, I've priced all the new 3/4 ton offerings, they cost more than my 1st house. I don't like this new Tier 4 requirement that calls for additional fuel additives and that the diesels can go into regen but I sure do like the bells and whistles.

I definitely see your conundrum, I'm basically in the same boat but my 49 can't even dream of doing 70. John posted his harrowing experience with a tow dolly but I see all kinds of vehicles being tow dollied behind RV's all the time, and the tags I see are sometimes 1000's of miles from where I see them.
My 1/2 ton was rated to pull a U-haul car hauler and the 3100 but I'm glad I only had to go about 50 miles. I didn't figure it but I doubt it got better than 10 mpg..... Towing is tough work on a vehicle.

Is your drive shaft open? I'm guessing so. So all you need is a great deal on that aluminum tow dolly LOL.

Yes, my drive shaft is open. Price-wise, the tow dolly beats all the other methods hands down. And having the brakes integral to the dolly is a big plus. I've posted a question to the etrailer people. My Flex has a 7-pin connector and a 4-pin connector. The Acme tow dolly has a 4-pin connector. So, I'm thinking, wire the truck lights to a 7-pin connector that's permanently installed and wired (and looking nice), then use a cable from the 7-pin connector on the car to the truck. That way I could have the truck lights working along with the dolly.

My wife wants to know why we can't just drive to the show and not worry about towing the truck. Anybody want to tell her?

I'm not jumping in the middle of that.

The wiring thing sounds like it would be very convenient.👍🏻

Years ago I bought a vehicle that was towed behind an RV. It had a special driveshaft that you could disconnect by pulling a cable that was routed into the engine compartment. It was similar to this (this is not exactly what it had, and this is not a recommendation. just info):

http://www.remcodsc.com/driveShaft.php

Unless you overfill the transmission enough to keep the pocket bearing where the input and output shafts meet submerged, the pocket bearing runs dry and can seize up. An over-full transmission leaks lube into the bellhousing and soaks the clutch disc with oil. The simple solution is to back the truck onto the tow dolly and let the front wheels do the turning. Just tie a slipknot into a piece of rope around one of the steering wheel spokes, shut the door on both ends and tie a granny knot or two outside the door so the steering is locked. That's how we did it in the wrecker business for a lot of years when we had a long haul tow to do.
Jerry

I don't see prices, but crawling under the truck to disconnect the u-joint would surely be a lot cheaper.

I don't see why you only get 10 mpg with your truck, especially with a T-5, what is your diff. ratio?

It is pretty easy to make a light bar for all occasions, a piece of long 4 conductor wire, 2 tail lights, a fence post or similar, and you are fixed for life.

Ed

I have a 3.73 limited slip rear, but the motor is bored .030 over and it has an Isky cam, so it's not exactly designed for economy.

Volf
My tow vehicle is a 2000, 7.3, F-250 with the six speed.
24,000 pounds tag on the front and a Stovebolt plate on the rear.
John, thanks for the plate BTW..
One owner, me.

Don

I really like surge brakes. I have a dump trailer with surge brakes. Unless your vehicle is factory equipped with a brake controller, electric brakes are a lot of trouble. If you have an open drive shaft, it isn't hard to disconnect the drive shaft depending on what kind of drive shaft you have. The problem with U-joints is after they are rusty. If you dissemble them regularly it should be easy. 50 something years ago, I towed my 56 Ford to the drag strip about 70 miles from here with a 1950 GMC with a 302. I don't think duct tape had been invented back then, but I had lotsa baling wire. I think baling wire and a bungee strap pulling the shaft forward would work. I used to use a screen door spring to keep the shaft in my BW T89. I used a tow bar which I wouldn't recommend at all and I crawled under the the Ford using a bumper jack which I wouldn't recommend either. But back then I was skinny enough that I might have been stuck, but not crushed. I have pulled tow dollies before and I like them. And I never had the luxury of having brakes on the dolly. As for the wiring, any auto parts will have an adapter from the 7 way RV plug to 4 pin and vice versa. I would recommend lights on the rear of the towed vehicle also.

Thanks, crenweige.

7.3 is a great engine, worth keeping and rebuilding if/when needed.

Here you go Paul, Camper/hauler it kills a couple birds with one proverbial stone. Course you'll need something to pull it with but think of the savings on hotel/motel fees LOL.

Dave

Shoot, Volfandt, for less than $100,000 I'm ready to go. Sheesh. At $150 night, I only need to use it 670 times before it pays for itself (not counting gas, oil, and maintenance, of course.) Whaddadeal.

I crawled under the truck this morning, to see how difficult it might be to remove the u-joint coupler while laying on the ground at a truck show. I'll be seventy in September. Don't wanna do that. So now I'm checking on driveshaft disconnects. If they're too expensive, this whole project is kaput.

Remember, the truck will be raised by putting it on the tow dolly so it will give you more room to work.🛠

Paul
Is this about attending the Reunion?
If so, don't worry about having your truck there.
You are a famous person around us and just be there, to enjoy the weekend.

Heck
I drove a Ford the last two Reunions and did not open the hood due to the envy it would cause.
This year I should have something on the trailer.
Probably the 65 1-Ton.
It's even street legal.

Don

Paul,

Have you thought about renting a U-Haul truck and trailer for the few times you are going long distance? Might be the cheapest way until you can come up with a better tow vehicle.

Or, have you thought about changing the gears in the truck rear to get better mileage? That might be cheaper than buying a dolly...then you can drive to the show!

Mike B

baldeagle, sent you a pm.