Using A Tow Dolly In The Rain

[757Dave]

Posted this over on the towing, toads, etc. board. Maybe I'll get more response over here...

OK. Had a problem with loading car on tow dolly while raining.

The tires kept slipping at the very front edge of the ramps and couldn't get it to load. Fellow camper came over and helped push the car a little until it was able to grab the treads on the ramp and all was fine after that.

Just wondering what others have done to remedy this problem.

[DaveSchwartz]

Grit tape like they use on exterior stair treads?

P.S. the 'Sent from Atari 2600'... mine from the 70's is in a box in the basement.

[clutchd]

Little more speed. It's how we load steel tracked construction equipment onto wet steel trailers. A little more forward momentum by increasing your speed a little will go a long wag

[757Dave]

Originally Posted by DaveSchwartz

Grit tape like they use on exterior stair treads?

P.S. the 'Sent from Atari 2600'... mine from the 70's is in a box in the basement.

Thanks, thought about that, but didn't know if it was enough for wet tires?

BTW, my 2600 is in a closet in the box as well.

[757Dave]

Originally Posted by clutchd

Little more speed. It's how we load steel tracked construction equipment onto wet steel trailers. A little more forward momentum by increasing your speed a little will go a long wag

Yeah, that is probably what would work. Now to convince DW that speeding up is a good thing... (she drives it up onto the dolly while I give her directions.)

[gmacklem]

Maybe use the bed liner stuff to coat the ramps?

[rsdata]

maybe put a foot long piece of 2x6 with a 45 angle cut on the front of the board, put that in front of the ramp to elevate the tires a bit so that they can grip the tread? Kind of like a ramp for the ramp...

[funfinder5]

You have to roll into it a bit.

[pdqparalegal1]

Drive toad till it stopsraining and load at next stop

[padcarroll]

3M 6 in. x 2 ft. Safety Walk Step and Reflective Tread Tape-7768NA - The Home Depot

[tkarper14]

Originally Posted by pdqparalegal1

Drive toad till it stopsraining and load at next stop

LMAO. Did you ever drive an empty tow dolly? Make sure you have a loud radio to drown out the noise. Also, make sure you can't see it in your mirrors because you will be convinced it is about to flip over at any moment.

I chuckle at this because I just drove ours empty about 5 miles to put back into storage. And to top it off, I just got a text from a friend asking if he can borrow it. Now I get to drive it another five miles tomorrow. I can't wait.

[Al Fiallos]

Hmmmmmmm. Tow dolly's. I like the idea of the stair tread tape. I tried loading my toad in the rain and I had to gun the engine - but guess what - I drove over the dolly!!! and the wheels were hanging in mid air. Had to jump through hoops to get the wheels back on the dolly. I am definitely going to line the dolly with the stair tread tape.
Kind regards, Al

[757Dave]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

[RedLdr1]

If you have an Acme dolly they recommended dropping the dolly's tire pressure to 35PSI when towing it empty. We hauled ours home from Acme's shop empty like that and it wasn't too bad.

[tkarper14]

Originally Posted by RedLdr1

If you have an Acme dolly they recommended dropping the dolly's tire pressure to 35PSI when towing it empty. We hauled ours home from Acme's shop empty like that and it wasn't too bad.

Awesome, thanks for the tip.

[Garrette]

Speaking of tire psi, lower the tire psi by 10lbs. Will give better traction than Re-inflate. Just a thought.