|
14k miles with ACME tow dolly
A few people have brought up towing with the "car tow dolly" aka "EZE tow dolly" aka "ACME tow dolly". I've had one for a few years and wanted to post about my experience. I have roughly 14,000 miles towing either an 2007 Odyssey (9k of the miles) or a 2020 Pilot (5k miles). I don't have any experience with another tow dolly so take that into consideration with my opinions on my experience. Overall I'm happy with the dolly and it has met my expectations. I don't have any issues except what I learned on the trip as I explain more below.
Pros:
- From what I hear its light for a tow dolly, but still hard on the back.
- One of the few dollys ( I think it was the only one?) that will hold 3,000lbs on the dolly. 5,000lb total weight towed.
- surge disk breaks work very well
- stands up straight in the garage and out of the way
- very strong/sturdy
Cons:
- The towed vehicle wheels need to turn for the towed vehicle to turn effectively and manufacturer says you can't turn more than 90 degrees.
- the time it takes to put on the straps over the wheels
- being on the ground putting chains and straps on when its wet or the ground is scorching.
- not knowing if a strap broke unless someone sees it and tells you - happened to me on the interstate going through downtown Albuquerque on the interstate
When I towed the Odyssey turning wasn't too much of a big deal. I could usually make most 90 degree turns with ease.
This last trip I towed the Pilot on its first long trip (had a few short 400 mile round trips prior) of 5,000 miles. After the first 2,000 my original tires on the dolly that were only 1/2 way worn when we started the trip (after 9,000 miles) were worn past the treads on the inside of both tires on the dolly. I had one spare tire/rim and put that on the worst one. I was in West Yellowstone and went to Point S tires (extremely helpful people, highly recommend if you need help in that area). Due to covid and trailer sales and China shipping, no store within 200 miles had a load E tire to fit the dolly. I decided to try and make it with the new tire (spare), had the shop flip the existing two tires so the worn area was outside and try to make it home. I thought maybe I could make it after flipping tires and having two to go through on one side. Another 500 miles one was showing wires. Never going to make it.. I found one shop local in Guernsey WY with a Carlisle load C tire. No other shops even had a tire that would fit and I went with that guy. Surprisingly it held up very well and even hit some very big pot holes with no issues. I know some don't like those tires, but it saved my rear and would try one again. $42 installed and balanced beats $120 on load E tires, especially if they only last 2k miles. After 2k miles the Carlisle is about 1/2 worn were the spare load E is about 1/4 worn.
So what was the issue? Axle bent, tire pressure, what? I've already towed 9k+ miles.. what in the world is going on? I have TPMS. I have a pump with gauge and a separate pressure gauges. All show 80 psi. Axle looks fine, but I don't have a square to be sure.. Then pulling into a gas station I noticed skid marks from the dolly and it all made sense, mostly... If you look at the pictures below you can see the skids from both dolly tires and I wasn't even turning 90 degrees. From the Pilot driver side looking toward the RV, you can see the dolly tire pointing straight toward the pump but the dolly being pulled to the side.
The one bad part about the ACME is that it does not turn. It expects the car front wheels to turn to keep it moving. If the car doesn't turn, the dolly just skips/skids to get inline. I have a few pictures below showing the skids and you can see the dolly is just being forced to slide. That is where all my inside tire rubber went. On the way up I had to do a few sharp turns at gas stations due to out of order pumps or cars that just loved being in the way or just a poor gas station choice (very little room to move).
I believe the Odyssey's longer wheel base and possibly turned easier than the new Pilot. The Pilot is only ~200lbs less curb weight but its wheelbase is much shorter. Of course these new cars (like the Pilot) jiggle the wheel if you start getting out of lanes and can turn for you for a few seconds. Perhaps all this makes it harder for the wheels to turn on the dolly and causes the skidding. The shorter wheelbase should have made the turning easier.
After I figured this out early on the return home I did all I could to make wide turns as often as possible and the tires handled it pretty well. I've been wanting to go 4 down with some vehicle and this may have just made it a little easier. Now if a toad only cost the same as new dolly tires every few trips..
__________________
2018 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS
2023 Wrangler 392
|
Linear Mode
