A car tow dolly is a useful piece of equipment for anyone looking to transport a vehicle across the state or the country for vacation, to sell it, or after purchasing it. Many classic cars are often towed using a dolly since it is affordable, easy-to-install, and the equipment is readily available from Car Tow Dolly. A common question we often encounter is: does a car tow dolly need lights?

Check the Laws of Your State

It is important that you check the laws of your state prior to hitting the road with a tow dolly hooked up to the rear of your vehicle. Aside from checking for lighting laws, you will also want to make sure that the tow dolly you purchased is street legal. Each state has different laws when it comes to car tow dolly lights, specifically when towing or not towing a vehicle.

Tow Dollies with Lights

The EZE-TOW Car Tow Dolly comes equipped with state of the art, new generation LED lighting. The tow dolly features an LED red light on either side of the dolly that approaching vehicles will be able to see. You can also retrofit any car tow dolly from Car Tow Dolly with these LED red lights should you need to do so prior to a trip. These lights activate when you apply the brakes of the vehicle you are driving. Be sure to note that if the vehicle being towed blocks the brake and turn lights of your vehicle, you will need additional lights on the tow vehicle to alert other drivers around you.

Lighting Connections for a Vehicle Being Towed

Since the car tow dolly will have lights on it, you don’t necessarily need to add any other lights to the dolly when it is being used to transport a vehicle. However, the vehicle being hauled by the dolly is required to have working stop, turn, and running lights. Car tow dolly lights should be sufficient for the dolly, but don’t forget that the lights on the vehicle being towed must be operational when on the road.

Additional Lighting for Your Safety

Even though car tow dolly lights are not required outside of the ones that already come installed on the tow dolly, you can always add lighting for your safety. Extra car tow dolly lights can be purchased from Car Tow Dolly and installed on your tow dolly to provide additional warning to other drivers around you. This is a serious consideration you should take if you will be doing a lot of driving at night or on dark roads.

How to Install Car Tow Dolly Lights

Since the vehicle being towed needs to have working stop, turn, and running lights, you might want to consider adding car tow dolly lights before your trip. In order to have working lights for the vehicle being towed, you should purchase magnetic lights that can be fastened to the rear of the vehicle. 

The items you will need for this process include the following: magnetic rear taillights, a 4-way wiring harness, 18-gauge insulated wire, butt connectors, cable ties, and electrical tape. Be sure to follow these steps:

1. Apply the magnetic lights to the rear of the vehicle
2. Run the wires for the lights along the vehicle being towed to the tongue of the tow dolly
3. Connect the ground wire for the lights to the four-way wiring harness ground wire (white) with a butt connector (place two stripped wires at each end of the connector and compress them using pliers)
4. Connect the signal wire for the right side of the vehicle to the green wire found in the harness
5. Connect the signal wire for the left side of the vehicle to the yellow wire found in the harness
6. Connect the taillight wire to the brown wire found in the harness
7. Be sure to wrap all of the connected wires in electrical tape
8. Hold all of the connections together and wrap them again in electrical tape
9. Fasten the wrapped wires to the tow dolly tongue using a zip tie

The Benefits of a Car Tow Dolly Bundle

The Car Tow Dolly Bundle from Car Tow Dolly is an excellent choice for anyone looking to transport a vehicle across the country, around the corner, or across the state. The Car Tow Dolly Bundle offers the following benefits:

• Galvanized: 100% Fully Hot Dip
• Wire Harness: EZE plug wire harness
• Ramp Design: Lighter & stronger
• Replaceable Components: in case of damage or accident
• Wiring: All internal
• Wider Wheel Pan: easier loading & unloading
• Lights: Improved & more reliable LED lights

You will find that it is incredibly easy to install a tow dolly to the back of an RV, truck, or van. So long as the vehicle you are using has a tailor hitch, you will be able to install a tow dolly. Some people can install the dolly on their own, while others might request help from someone else. Loading the vehicle to be towed onto the tow dolly is also easy. With someone guiding you onto the tow dolly, it takes a matter of minutes to complete. 

How to Safely Use a Car Tow Dolly

Below, we have provided a checklist of items you should do each time you use a car tow dolly to transport a vehicle with your RV, truck, or any other type of vehicle. This checklist should help you safely operate the tow dolly each time. Before towing you should do the following:

• Towing hitch and hitch-ball are tight.
• The coupler handwheel is tight.
• Safety chains, tire straps, and security chains are properly attached and secure.
• All lights are connected and working.
• Check all tires for correct pressure.
• Vehicle-in-tow is facing forward.
• Ramps securely stored and latched.

On the road, you should do the following:

• Reduce your speed to 55 mph or below.
• Stop often for rest.
• Inspect your vehicles and tow dolly connections at each stop.
• Anticipate stops; brake early.

Remember that most crashes are caused by the following:

• Driver error or Inattention.
• Excessive speed.
• Failure to load vehicle-in-tow facing forward.

The Bottom Line on Car Tow Dolly Lights

When it comes to car tow dolly lights, they are not necessarily required on the road. Since most tow dollies already have rear red lights attached, you only have to worry about adding stop, turn, and running lights to the vehicle being towed. Again, it’s important that you check the local laws regarding car tow dolly lights so that you are prepared for your trip. This is especially true if you will be towing the vehicle outside of your home state.

Are you headed across the country in your RV? Do you need to bring your vehicle with you? Are you buying a car and need to transport it back home? If so, Car Tow Dolly has all the equipment you need, including car tow dolly lights, to make your trip as easy and safe as possible. Call us or visit us online to place an order for your tow dolly today. Consider the Car Tow Dolly Bundle to get every item you need for the dolly in one package for a great price.