wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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I have looked at tow dollies and trailers, In fact I've used 'em from time to time, but to be honest I really like towing my Lumina 4-down
Many cars can be towed 4-down.. Now if I had a choice I'd likely be pulling a jeep, but the Lumina is what I had. Go to REMCO Towing and check to see what needs to be done on your car to tow it
Remco has 4 procducts that make most cars towable Plus they sell Roadmaster tow gear (I prefer Blue Ox but that's what my dealer sells)
Drive Shaft Disconnects.. Basically this is a spline clutch, disengage it and the drive shaft is no longer connected to the drive wheels. Turns car into a trailer
Axle lock: Technology is the same as the old Wagner Locking Hubs for jeeps (PS> use them on a jeep) save it goes in the half axle behind the wheel, When you unlock it you can tow the vehicle in PARK of all gears.
Lube Pump: I don't like these because they can fail.. Pumps fuild around the tranny to keep the bearings lubricated, You tow in neutral
INSTRUCTIONS: on some cars.. That is all you need.
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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Javacart
AZ
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Joined: 10/07/2008
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Rollincool wrote:Wingman02 wrote:How do you go about winning a 2008 40' Monaco Knight?
Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask. 
I bought a raffle ticket for $100.00 and my number got picked.
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Javacart
AZ
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Joined: 10/07/2008
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wa8yxm wrote:I have looked at tow dollies and trailers, In fact I've used 'em from time to time, but to be honest I really like towing my Lumina 4-down
Many cars can be towed 4-down.. Now if I had a choice I'd likely be pulling a jeep, but the Lumina is what I had. Go to REMCO Towing and check to see what needs to be done on your car to tow it
Remco has 4 procducts that make most cars towable Plus they sell Roadmaster tow gear (I prefer Blue Ox but that's what my dealer sells)
Drive Shaft Disconnects.. Basically this is a spline clutch, disengage it and the drive shaft is no longer connected to the drive wheels. Turns car into a trailer
Axle lock: Technology is the same as the old Wagner Locking Hubs for jeeps (PS> use them on a jeep) save it goes in the half axle behind the wheel, When you unlock it you can tow the vehicle in PARK of all gears.
Lube Pump: I don't like these because they can fail.. Pumps fuild around the tranny to keep the bearings lubricated, You tow in neutral
INSTRUCTIONS: on some cars.. That is all you need.
Thanks for the advice.
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Blake and Deb
Conroe, TX
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Joined: 12/24/2005
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Congratulations on your new coach! We have a tow dolly for one car and tow our truck 4 wheels down. I much prefer towing 4 down over using the dolly.
Blake and Deb
2005 Monaco Windsor 40 PAQ
2006 f250 Lariat toad
Currently Bakersfield, CA. soon, Houston, TX
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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Javacart that was $100 well spent to get a new MH. You have read the pros and cons. Quality tow dollies retain their resale value very well because they are a simple way to start towing with most any vehicle as your toad at once especially with surge brakes. If you change your mind or toad you can always sell the tow dolly. They have other uses as well unlike your 4 down equipment.
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FUN BOX
Camarillo, California
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Joined: 07/20/2006
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Listen to these folks, as they've been there, done that.
I also have used my tow dolly for years and never had a problem with tucking it behind my MH at campgrounds. I've also towed 4 of my front wheel drive cars and didn't have to add base plates, wiring, supplemental brake systems, etc. to any of them and saved big bucks.
You can tow your car NOW and not change a thing to do it. You can try to modify your car to tow 4down (if it is even possible) or buy a different car that is towable 4down. Let's see.... tow dolly 
pcarrell wrote:I've had a tow dolly for 5 years and never had a problem of where to put it in a campground, always behind my MH.
Art D wrote:I like my tow dolly just fine. It's not so much trouble once you get the routine down. One thing that I do is keep a thick soft rope in the car trunk to hitch around the dolly at the axle midpoint and pull it around where I want to while the wife holds the tongue up and steers. They are very difficult to handle on rough ground just by the tongue.
the silverback wrote:I like my tow dolly just fine. It came with brakes. 10 minutes to hook up. 5 or less minutes to unhook. No need to mess with hooking up a brake buddy if towing four down.
2003 Monaco Knight 38 1/2' Triple Slide - Cummins 8.3 / Allison 6spd LIC= FUN BOX
2001 Lexus RX300 on a Master Tow dolly LIC= CHKYDEE
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Big Katuna
Deland, FL
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Joined: 12/27/2003
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Congratulations!! I can't even win a 2005 motorhome.
I have done both and it would take extreme circumstances to make me go back to a dolly. Loading in the rain was a real PITA. Car tires spinning and the car almost overshooting the dolly, which happens all the time. Some places you have to unhook when you get there so you have to drop the car, unhook the dolly, push it somewhere, then reverse the process the next AM. With four down; two minutes to disconnect and the wifey drives the car to the site. I can hook up in a few minutes.
The dolly is wider than the toad and will hit gas pumps, curbs etc. Four down toad tracks inside the turning radius of the RV. Extra tires and bearings to fail and worry about.
My Kharma ran over my Dogma.
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ArchHoagland
Clovis, CA, USA
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Joined: 11/28/2004
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I vote for four down. Next time you are on the highway keep track of four down vs dolly. The numbers speak for themselves.
If you are near Yuma the best place to have a car setup for towing is:
Southwest Driveline Of Yuma. (928) 782-3611.
They do excellent work and can tell you exactly what you need to do to tow your car.
2004 Monaco
La Palma 36DBD
Two Slides
2 Potties
Workhorse 22 chassis
8.1 gas engine & Allison transmission
6.9 MPG based on a 6,000 mile trip around the U.S.
2000 LEXUS RX300 FWD 22MPG 4020 LBS
US Gear Toad Brakes
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Diggin
Wherever I may wander
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Joined: 10/26/2005
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I too have towed with both. We bought a Jeep when we started fulltiming and tow that flat. Before that, I had a couple of cars I towed with a dolly with electric brakes. The dolly is a little more work, but RVing in general is not as easy as sitting at home on the couch  Here are some observations from me:
Tow Dolly:
+ Fairly inexpensive to get started towing (I paid ~$2200 for new dolly, controller and installation, magnetic lights, additional safety chains)
+ Nothing really to "install" on towed vehicle - just brake controller in MH
+ Can tow most front wheel drive vehicles
+ Can tow multiple vehicles - lend it out to friends as well
+ Easy to use magnetic lights that can be used on multiple vehicles
+ Tucks under rear of RV while stored and camping
+ With a locking pin, you can back up for a short distance
+ Easy to sell if you change to 4-down
- Moving the dolly without a vehicle is a pain - lots of bouncing around
- Must stop and re-adjust straps after 50ish miles
- Hooking up takes longer
- If it is raining or cold, hooking up seems to take forever
- Does not seem to maneuver as easily as 4-down when in close quarters
4-Down Towing:
+ Very simple hook-up and disconnect
+ Equipment stashes away easily when parked - towbar attached to the MH, brake system in basement storage compartment
+ Easy to upgrade towbars
+ No brake controller in MH
+ Very simple hook-up nad disconnect (worth saying again)
+ Seems that with a baseplate installed, resale would be more attractive to other RVers
- Tow vehicle need to be modified. Sometimes as simple as just adding the baseplate to the vehicle. Some vehicles get transmission pumps, driveshaft disconnect, braking assist systems, etc.
- More costly - towbar, baseplate, safety cables, light system, axillary braking system
- Tow one vehicle with this setup. If another vehicle needs to be towed, the addition of a baseplate and lighting system must be added. Axillary brakes can be moved between vehicles
+ When it is raining, it is still easy to hook/un-hook
The above is from my experience. I bought the dolly and accessories new, as well as the 4-down towbar setup I currently use. I am sure you can find stuff cheaper, or used. I felt comfortable towing with the quality equipment I bought. I am kind of a careful tower - maybe too cautious. Also, the time difference didn't bother me. In the RV, I try not to worry too much about time taken for doing things. I usually do most things slowly. Usually have a beer in my hand moments after we arrive, and I don't usually have to be anywhere at a particular time.
Ending recommendation: if you have one car you want to tow, and you know you will have that car for a while, look into if it can be towed 4-down without much modification. If you have a couple of cars you might tow, get rid of your car often, have a lease that you will turn in, or just not sure what you want to do, look into the dolly.
Did I mention how simple connecting 4-down is? Even in the rain? 
Congrats on the Knight. I have an '06 and love it.
--kevin
Kev's Blog: When the Geek Hits the Road | NüRVers - The Next Wave
2006 Monaco Knight 40PLQ
2008 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited 4x4 w/Blue Ox Baseplate and Aventa LX Tow Bar
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wagonmaster2
northcentral oklahoma
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Joined: 02/18/2005
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I have towed 4-down with 3 different vehicles for about 35,000-45,000 miles on each toad since 1993 with no problems what-so-ever. They were all 4-wheel drive, one with standard transmission and two with automatic. The only advantage for me to have a dolly would be the ability to back up. Towing a vehicle with a tow bar prohibits any backing up other than just a couple feet or so on smooth level ground. But the disadvantages of a dolly far out weigh that one advantage.
Golly, winning a new 2008 Monaco - you'd better head for a casino or Las Vegas with that kind of luck. I've been buying 5-10 lotto tickets a week when I'm on vacation in Colorado for several years now and only once did I even come close by getting 3 out of 5 numbers right. Got $3 for that. Good luck on your choice of toads.
Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G, 2001 Jeep Wrangler
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