Has anyone towed with a dolly?

[dawndandy]

Looking for advice on towing an 09 Brabus behind a motorhome on a tow dolly, heard its not advisable, has anyone done it successfully?

[Kermit]

MOST dollies are too wide. One member did buy a dolly with adjustable width ramps and was able to do it, somewhere here is pictures.

[ColonelPan1c]

Well it's a rear wheel drive car, which means your front wheels would need to be the ones rolling, which can turn, and cause problems. Get a small trailer. The towing section of these forums has a ton of great information about that.

I'd advise against putting ANY car on a dolly. Uneven and unnecessary wear on your bearings, and more of the weight could potentially be shifted to your rear tires, and result in fast and uneven tire wear. Also, you shouldn't rotate the tires on smarts front to back-they are different sizes. Also, with how the car is tilted, the risk is small, but theres also a risk of front end or bumper damage if you hit a nasty bump depending on which end is on the road.

[wrumbarger]

Tow it all w/ all four wheels on the ground.
Brackets and tow bar avail from Blue Ox (and others)

Bungee the steering wheel.

[radar231]

Or get a smart car trailer. We have 15,000 KM plus pulling on this trailer and there is not a single mark on the front from kicked up rocks etc. You will also be able to back up, something you can not do towing four down or on a dolly.

[redoregon]

I've had a Raggedy Ann in the car, but haven't towed with her in there.

[Kermit]

Question. Have you considered flat towing. Lots of us do it and have done it successfully. Do you already have a dolly and that is why you are considering it? If you have it set in your heart not to modify the car then the trailer above is the way to go.

I was going to get an Aluma trailer at one time. It is lightweight enough it can actually be pulled by a smart. Sad thing is it won't partially fit under the back of your rig at the park like the trailer above. Good thing is it can be used for things other than towing a smart.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by radar231

Or get a smart car trailer. We have 15,000 KM plus pulling on this trailer and there is not a single mark on the front from kicked up rocks etc. You will also be able to back up, something you can not do towing four down or on a dolly.

Just looking at the photo I'd say you've got at least 1000 lbs of tongue weight on the trailer. Most gas-powered motorhomes have a 500 lb weight limit for tongue weight so you'd be seriously exceeding the specs of a lot of vehicles out there. Diesel pushers tend to have higher limits - buy they're still limited to 1000 lbs tongue weight if I recall...

[radar231]

The tounge weight is 212 pounds. Thats not a guess, thats exactly what it weighed when we weighed it at the factory. Here is another shot of the combo. The heavy part of the car is behind the axle and the ramps pivot weight off the tounge.

[Kermit]

The vertical portion of the 'T' in the picture below is the center of balance for a 451. I think I came up with 1000lbs for the rear axle and 840lbs for the front (or something very close to that). I could see the 451 chiming in at around 425lbs +/- 50lbs for a tongue weight (I have a strange knack for guessing weights/center of balances etc).