Towing

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Fergusontd

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I've never towed with my '17 1500. I'm thinking of pulling a tow dolly hauling a car. I know to use tow/haul but what would be the trailer setting +or- or do I need that? Thanks
 

crash68

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Yeap use the Tow/Haul mode and don't worry about the engine revving upwards of 4K rpms, that where the torque band is for the engine.
Does the car dolly even have electric brakes? If your renting one from U-Haul those use surge brakes which are not electrically actuated.
If the car dolly has electric brakes follow the instructions in the trucks owners manual on how to adjust the trailer brake. When it's adjusted correctly you shouldn't feel the trailer pull or push on the truck when stopping.
 
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Fergusontd

Fergusontd

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Thank you for that response. It's much appreciated.
 

buckeyexx

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The car dollys I’ve seen only have hydraulic surge brakes. Nothing you can do to adjust them from the truck just applies pressure from the tongue as you hit your brakes. I personally dislike surge brakes. Never seem to let go when you want them too. If it does have electric it will depend on the weight you will be pulling to determine how much gain to set your brakes at. Like said before you don’t want the brakes locking down pulling you and you also don’t want them set so light it is pushing you.
 

jejb

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We own a Kar Kaddy tow dolly which we use behind our RV. AFAIK, they are all hydraulic/surge.
 

mtofell

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As far as towing goes, car haulers, dollies, etc. are pretty easy due to the aerodynamics. The weight is much lower/centered compared to a travel trailer or 5th wheel that acts as a sail. As the others said, just put it in tow/haul and you should be good. The brakes on all the Uhaul trailers I've had are automatic
 

jejb

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BTW, towing a tow dolly empty can be harrowing. They jump all over the road when you hit road imperfections. Air the tow dolly tires WAY down when doing that, like 10psi or less.
 

2003F350

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BTW, towing a tow dolly empty can be harrowing. They jump all over the road when you hit road imperfections. Air the tow dolly tires WAY down when doing that, like 10psi or less.

This is SOLID advice - especially if it's an older one that hasn't been upgraded to LED lights. Bouncing like that tends to blow out the running light/turn signal light bulbs.

You can also strap several concrete blocks to them to put some weight on it, but make sure they're VERY well secured - I've done it but used 4-5 ratchet straps to make sure they couldn't move. Airing down the tires is safer, but if you don't have a way to re-inflate them (like I didn't at the time) then adding temporary weight is possible.
 

nekkidhillbilly

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i borrowed a dolly once to tow one of my buicks. it was blue and white had e brakes so idk they out there. that said how heavy is this car. tow dollys can suck vs an actually trailer. they walk much worse. i would only recommend using them on a fwd car or for a very short trip. also backing one up is impossible. as for towing cars. i just towed a 72 buick centurion 6 hours home. truck did flawless. just hit tow haul and drove on.
 
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