Does a Tow Dolly Add Miles to Car?
Using a tow dolly to transport a newly-purchased vehicle or your family vehicle behind an RV is a great way to ensure safety during your trip. Tow dollies from Car Tow Dolly are lightweight, easy to assemble, easy to hook up to the towing vehicle, and easy to load the vehicle being towed. Another great feature of the tow dolly is that it takes up little to no space when being stored.
When looking into towing a vehicle either to the next town over or across the country, the tow dolly from Car Tow Dolly makes this task as easy as 1, 2, 3. There are many questions that people who’ve never used a tow dolly have before making their first purchase. One of those questions does a tow dolly add miles to car is going to be answered in this blog post.
Using a Tow Dolly with Front Wheel Drive Vehicles
Should you use a tow dolly with front-wheel drive vehicles, you will find that these vehicles do not see mileage added to them when using a tow dolly. The emergency brakes are integrated into the rear wheels, while odometer sensors are integrated into the front suspension. Therefore, since the front wheels are stationary on the dolly no mileage is being recorded or accumulated. This fact may be the most significant difference between dolly towing and four flat towing with a tow bar system.
This is a very important consideration when it comes time to sell your car. Mileage is the single most depreciating factor for all vehicles. If you have lease mileage restrictions to consider it’s even more costly to consider.
Four Flat Towing
Probably a bit simpler to connect to your towed car than a dolly would be. Most Tow Bar installations are very expensive and require some dismantling or cutting /modifications of the front of your vehicle. Of course, when it comes time to sell the vehicle this will result in an additional expense or depreciation of the car.
With the cost of the Tow Bar system, the cost of a brake activation system being installed into your car, and the labor to do so can easily cost between $3500.00 to $7500.00.
When you decide to sell or change cars, guess what…That system will not work with your next car. You have to start all over with a brand new system. If your towed car is damaged or totaled for some reason, your insurance company most likely will not compensate you for the monetary loss of the Tow Bar installation. Even if you remove the system for the above reasons, with the idea of selling it… You must pay labor costs to have it removed, then you must find someone with that exact same car, that needs a Used Tow Bar System. That’s when you find out that Used Tow Bar Systems have little or no resale value at all.
Finally, with a tow bar system, you will be towing four flat. That means that your towed car will be accumulating ” Ghost ” mileage. A significant depreciating factor in resale values. In addition, you have also now turned your car into a beast of burden. It has to do its own turning and most importantly, braking.
Towing four flat with the engine off means that there is no steering assist helping the front wheels to turn, resulting in a much stiffer wheel articulation. Meaning more rapid tire wear. Tire wear, brake pads wear, ghost mileage…. adds up to depreciation and added hidden maintenance costs.
Also, make certain that your car can even be flat towed. Understand that flat towing results in engine and transmission internal components moving and spinning and turning. This generates heat, without the assistance of the car’s ventilation and cooling system keeping things in check.
Car Tow Dolly Towing
Probably a little bit more involved to hook up your car than a Tow Bar system would be.
Dolly towing has many advantages. The most important thing to understand about dolly towing is that you do not want to try to save money by buying the cheapest dolly. There are several different ” Names ” of dolly models. However, most of them are copies of copies that are just cosmetically different.
The most common and most copied is the Master Tow Tow Dolly. At the time of this writing, there are probably 16 knock-off copies being sold under different names. However, they are all the same basic design with some minor cosmetic changes.
If you decide to dolly tow I recommend that you consider the UltraLight ” EZE-TOW ” Galvanized Disc Brake Car Tow Dolly. $1500.00 to $2400.00. Or, one of the Demco dolly products. $2600.00 to $5000.00. Without question the two most reliable, well-built, and engineered dollies on the market. Both are original designs, very well built and thought out.
Now, why a Car Tow Dolly instead of Flat Towing.
Car Tow Dollys are very versatile pieces of equipment (They are not Trailers…. they are equipment…). Most dollies are designed to tow front-wheel drive vehicles that weigh 3500 to 5000 pounds with the front wheels on the dolly. That allows you to tow any eligible vehicle! If or when it becomes necessary to change your towed car, there will be zero expense associated with the change with regards to the towing system you will use.
When your dolly is not towing your car, it can be used to tow someone else’s car! Take one of your friends or children’s car to the garage, pick up a stranded car, and take it home or to a garage, take a car in for service using only one person. Very versatile.
Because your front wheels are on the dolly, a Car Tow Dolly keeps Ghost miles from accumulating on your towed car’s odometer. A very important resell consideration.
Unlike Flat Towing, the Car Tow Dolly is doing all the work. Not your towed car. The Dolly is doing all the turning and braking. Less wear and tear and unscheduled maintenance on your towed car.
No risk of damaging the internal engine and transmission components.
Unlike Tow Bar Systems, Used Car Tow Dollies have remarkably good resale value. Well cared for dollies command very high resale values and sell within hours or days on Craigslist or FaceBook MarketPlace (For more information on buying or selling a used Car Tow Dolly click here.)
So when your wondering caravan days are over, you know you can sell your well cared for dolly online very quickly and probably get most of your investment back.
You cannot do any of the above with a Tow Bar System.
Why Car Tow Dolly?
The Car Tow Dolly Company offers very well designed, engineered dollies with an abundance of clever design features that make dollies intuitive and easy to use. They cost a little more but they are worth the difference. They are also the most sought after dollies in the used dolly market. They quite literally sell within hours.
The UltraLight ” EZE-TOW ” Car Tow Dolly only weighs 400 pounds and easily stands and stores vertically in your garage or outside, Backyard, driveway, or campgrounds. No need to take your dolly to the trailer corral while camping.
So, in conclusion, no matter how you decide to do it, there is no simple way to tow a car along with you. Towed cars will suffer some indignities along the way. They will get very dirty. They will suffer some small road debris. They will get nicked, bumped into, dragged into things… The list is long, but mostly just small nuisance things. I recommend buying a small, inexpensive lightweight front-wheel-drive car so you aren’t suffering any angst about the occasional bump or nick.
Also, Always, ALWAYS carry a spare for your towed car and your dolly. Know how to change the tires and make sure you have the necessary tools to do so.
Happy and Safe Motoring…. enjoy your retirement. You’ve earned it.
