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View Full Version : Tow dolly. I need some answers.



fabiodriven
09-08-2013, 05:41 PM
So this guy has driven by my house twice now with a good size RV and a really big (22-24 feet or so) enclosed trailer. He's obviously had the same issues I have with overloading the rear axle of the tow vehicle because he had a dolly on the back that would solve all of my issues. Here is a detailed schematic of what I saw. I've scoured high and low on the intranets and have come up with nothing at all as far as where I can get one of these, and more importantly the legalities of it. Doubles are not allowed here in Mass, so I'm not sure how this would work.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r275/fabiodriven/IMAG0266_zpsfeea12ae.jpg (http://s146.photobucket.com/user/fabiodriven/media/IMAG0266_zpsfeea12ae.jpg.html)

The problem with towing with an RV, or with my truck with the truck camper on the back, is that the point at where your trailer hooks to the hitch is several feet from the rear axle. I have a 44" extension to essentially "reach under" the overhang from my truck camper in order to hook up the trailer. The problem with that is the 44" extension on top of whatever distance there already is from the rear bumper to the rear axle becomes a big lever. Now if you have 500lbs of tongue weight, you're more than likely at least doubling that with the distance from the rear axle to the point where the trailer hooks up. I realize this is not the simplest concept to understand.

I had to get load distribution bars to compensate for the overloaded rear axle and they work great, but I have a problem with them. I run very heavy load distribution bars because I have to. I need to get as much weight off of my rear axle and onto both the front wheels of the truck and on the trailer as I can. The problem that has arisen is the bars are stronger than the trailer and in turn the trailer tongue has begun to bend as opposed to the distribution bars. So this is why I want to run one of these dollies. It would take the entire load off of the rear of my truck and put it all on the dolly. Now the truck is just pulling the trailer and not carrying it. My rear axle is rated for 6000lbs. Last year on our way to Trikefest we weighed the unit and there was almost 8000lbs on my rear axle. I could always use a bigger trailer and camper, but I don't want to get a different truck. I thought that my options were going to be limited because I'm overloading my rear axle already. This dolly could change everything. I can't find any info on them at all. I could very easily make one, but I have no idea if I should register it or not. I'm thinking if I register it, I'm openly admitting that I'm pulling two trailers, illegal in Mass. If I don't register it and claim it to be part of the existing trailer, then I'm only pulling one trailer. ;)

Anyhoo, if anyone has seen one of these or knows anything about them, I'd like to learn. Thank you.

dave ytz250s
09-08-2013, 06:03 PM
I don't if it's legal where you live but around here I've seen some trailers with a front axle.
They have a pivot point in the center of the front axle, the tongue is attached with the front axle.

RoscoW
09-08-2013, 06:32 PM
Fabio, I saw this a few years back, stumbled on it and thought it was a cool idea, It is exactly what you need with that huge rear overhang. There is even a test report with a guy using it exactly the same as your setup.

http://www.trailertoad.com/index.html

http://www.trailertoad.com/id80.html

There was another called the hitchhog that employed a bogey wheel setup with an airbag to reduce tounge weight on the tow vehicle. You can find youtube videos but I think it never made it to the production stage, only a few prototypes.


Ross..

RoscoW
09-08-2013, 06:39 PM
Looks sort of familiar.............

http://image.rvmagonline.com/f/31613077+w750+st0/1011rv_07_+trailer_toad_extreme_towing+trailer.jpg

fabiodriven
09-08-2013, 06:45 PM
That's it Ross! I couldn't find that fackin thing anywhere!

RoscoW
09-08-2013, 06:58 PM
As soon as you described it I knew I had seen it before, took a bit of searching.

Glad to help

Ross..

atc007
09-08-2013, 07:34 PM
I am the last one on Earth to know a lot about towing,as my towing was tractors,wagons, and implements with a top speed of maybe 20 mph. Having said that. That looks like a cluster frig to me ! Looks like it would like to jackknife fairly easy? Hope you find a good solution to your quandary :)

Thorpe
09-08-2013, 08:11 PM
Tried airbag overloads yet? My pops has a 3/4 ton duramax with an big, heavily loaded enclosed construction trailer, and about 8-900 pounds of tounge weight... He put the overloads in, with about 20 psi in the bags and loves it... He says if it wasn't for the mirrors, he would forget the trailer was back there...

fabiodriven
09-08-2013, 08:39 PM
I have airbags. They are good for heavy loads but do nothing for load distribution. I have too much weight on my rear axle airbags or not. I need the weight elsewhere.

Dirtcrasher
09-08-2013, 08:47 PM
He has the bags, it must be able to survive 90MPH :lol:

Thorpe
09-08-2013, 11:55 PM
Gotcha... Wasn't sure if it would help or not...

RapidRick
09-09-2013, 12:27 AM
Ive done a lot of towing with heavy trailers and the like. Personally, that rig in the pic would be very suspect of it. I'd pull it if the dolly had a long tongue and was attached to the bumper in the normal position, but never at the end of an extension which was under the end of the camper (too much leverage). IMHO the dolly needs a long tongue and sequential brake controllers if I ran that setup.

I have seen a guy pull a 4 horse horse trailer, however the horse trailer had a pivoting axle at the nose of the trailer, much like a farm trailer would have.

I have also seen two 5th wheel horse trailers towed by a dealer with a converter gear like that ans sequential brake controllers to stop it all. I actually measured the overall length of the converter gear and wasn't much over 5 feet in over all length from the hitch of the first trailer to the 5th wheel pin of the second trailer.

Here's an idea which would be far safer. It actually uses a standard receiver hitch, attaches in two more places to the frame of the truck, and it's a bogy axle with brakes. Simply add another receiver hitch at the end. Trailertoad.

fabiodriven
09-09-2013, 10:21 AM
Ive done a lot of towing with heavy trailers and the like. Personally, that rig in the pic would be very suspect of it. I'd pull it if the dolly had a long tongue and was attached to the bumper in the normal position, but never at the end of an extension which was under the end of the camper (too much leverage). IMHO the dolly needs a long tongue and sequential brake controllers if I ran that setup.

I have seen a guy pull a 4 horse horse trailer, however the horse trailer had a pivoting axle at the nose of the trailer, much like a farm trailer would have.

I have also seen two 5th wheel horse trailers towed by a dealer with a converter gear like that ans sequential brake controllers to stop it all. I actually measured the overall length of the converter gear and wasn't much over 5 feet in over all length from the hitch of the first trailer to the 5th wheel pin of the second trailer.

Here's an idea which would be far safer. It actually uses a standard receiver hitch, attaches in two more places to the frame of the truck, and it's a bogy axle with brakes. Simply add another receiver hitch at the end. Trailertoad.

So what you're telling me is not to use the Trailer Toad, but rather use the Trailer Toad.

tommerp
09-09-2013, 11:01 AM
I believe in Michigan ( which doesn't help your case at all , but thought I'd mention it anyway ) you can only "double up" if your first trailer is a 5th wheel, then you can put a second trailer on the back of that. I believe in your pictures, the little "tow dolly" would be illegal here. PLUS, IMO, it looks very dangerous and could get out of control pretty quickly if loaded up with any considerable weight.

RapidRick
09-09-2013, 08:44 PM
So what you're telling me is not to use the Trailer Toad, but rather use the Trailer Toad.

Trailer Toad is something I just saw on the web in the past. just a FYI.

That rig in the first post is similar to a rig on the trailer toad website.

Pic in post #4, is too dangerous for me.

FWIW, Post #1 and #4 pics are probably not legal in my POS state of CA.

fabiodriven
09-09-2013, 10:23 PM
Pic in post #4, is too dangerous for me.



Straight from the horse's mouth-

http://www.rvmagonline.com/tech/1011rv-trailer-toad-extreme-towing/

jb2wheels
09-10-2013, 02:06 AM
I've never seen one of those before (Trailer Toad) but I've seen broken motor home frames.

Was that your rig they used?
I know it's not but it reminds me of some pics I saw of you Powerstroke/Camper combo (I think...)

just ben
09-10-2013, 07:17 AM
A shop I used to work for builds these for 5th wheels and goose necks which isn't much help for you but I think I remember them making a few for bumper pull. The shop is General welding and fabricating in Elma, ny The dolly was called a load connector.

RapidRick
09-10-2013, 09:04 AM
Straight from the horse's mouth-

http://www.rvmagonline.com/tech/1011rv-trailer-toad-extreme-towing/

I hope you're using an idiom and not speaking figuratively. It's only my humble opinion, remember.

And I'll offer another. IF, I had that much equipment and that much money tied up, I would have gone with a 5th wheel setup.

Big Mike
09-10-2013, 10:43 AM
fifth wheel is not an option with a truck camper in the bed.

RapidRick
09-10-2013, 04:28 PM
fifth wheel is not an option with a truck camper in the bed.

Ya, I guess you figured I miss that, thus you missed my qualifying "IF" statement.

coolpool
09-11-2013, 09:30 AM
Have you decided to go with one of those rigs? Looks pricey! That's new to me outside of commercial use; learn something new everyday. I'm interested as to what your Dept of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) say to running that setup in your State; although if there's one running around already maybe it's OK? Units similiar to the picture are common in Alberta and I've had the pleasure (not) of pulling one. They tend to wander like a farm wagon and are a bee-otch to back up. On a plus they track around corners nice.

fabiodriven
09-11-2013, 11:26 PM
I would like to get one, but it ain't gonna be tomorrow. They're not cheap.

I'm willing to bet they get around a lot of laws by having the dolly mounted somewhat solid to the tow vehicle rather than hitched.