jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 i'm just wondering if many people use tow dollies [two wheels] to get their track cars to/from the track. it seems like an economical way to not have the car registered for public road use, but also not have to have a mondo truck to pull a heavy trailer and a heavy [mustang] car. i was thinking you could put two 'tow' wheels/tires on the front of the vehicle being towed and put the car on the dolly backwards to keep the driveshaft from spinning the entire time. i'm not saying i'm going to run out and buy one; i'm just looking over the horizon to see what my options are for next year! thanks all jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99HOSS Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 ... you may want to look a lil further into the '... way to not have the car registered for public road use' idea.' With two wheels on the highway, it may be a requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 ah yes, too true. i guess i was making the assumption that reg wouldn't be req'd, but you know what happens when we assume: we presume something is true without first determining its verity. [you thought i was gonna say something else didn't you? ]. [hijack: so if you do sell the car/truck/trailer, then what?] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malibuguy Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 i've tow-dollied a few cars with no tags, with no issues but the tow-dolly needs to be tagged, registered & insured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 ... you may want to look a lil further into the '... way to not have the car registered for public road use' idea.' With two wheels on the highway, it may be a requirement. In MD you do not have to have the vehicle on the dolly registered. I know jon's in DC so he'd need to check local laws. Jon, not sure what you are planning to tow with but an explorer sized vehicle is more than enough to tow a mustang with an aluminum trailer and a MUCH better alternative for a track car, especially when you smack a wall and lose that front suspension . I understand trailer storage is a concern for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 good point! i didn't think of the 'i may not have front suspension to put on the dolly' possibility. hopefully the storage concerns won't last forever [fingers crossed] but yeah you're right, the near future is tight as far as storing equipment goes. and those aluminum trailers are schweet but a little dear . . . .so maybe i'll just keep all my pop cans and use that aluminum to build a trailer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 good point! i didn't think of the 'i may not have front suspension to put on the dolly' possibility. hopefully the storage concerns won't last forever [fingers crossed] but yeah you're right, the near future is tight as far as storing equipment goes. and those aluminum trailers are schweet but a little dear . . . .so maybe i'll just keep all my pop cans and use that aluminum to build a trailer For now I think you'd be better off saving the money you'd spend on something to tow it with and just get the car in a condition where you can DRIVE it to the track. Maybe get you a little tire trailer IF you start using track tires (which I don't suggest until HPDE3). The cash you will save registering another vehicle and doing PM on it and the cost of the trailer you can take 1/10 of that and stick in an envelope and write on it 'Roll Back fund' in case you are ever in the position where you need one to get yourself and car home . The other 9/10 you can give to me for fixing your cars . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 For now I think you'd be better off saving the money you'd spend on something to tow it with and just get the car in a condition where you can DRIVE it to the track. Maybe get you a little tire trailer IF you start using track tires (which I don't suggest until HPDE3). The cash you will save registering another vehicle and doing PM on it and the cost of the trailer you can take 1/10 of that and stick in an envelope and write on it 'Roll Back fund' in case you are ever in the position where you need one to get yourself and car home . The other 9/10 you can give to me for fixing your cars . hahahahaaaaa thanks for the laugh Chad! I needed that. . . i totally agree. It's just that I go to these track events and see all the cool trailers/dirtbikes/trucks/rigs/etc. and the old gears upstairs start cranking away with visions of diesel trucks and gooseneck trailers and sucheruther. [hijack: chad did you get my email re: wrenching the red car this week? /hijack] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 For now I think you'd be better off saving the money you'd spend on something to tow it with and just get the car in a condition where you can DRIVE it to the track. Maybe get you a little tire trailer IF you start using track tires (which I don't suggest until HPDE3). The cash you will save registering another vehicle and doing PM on it and the cost of the trailer you can take 1/10 of that and stick in an envelope and write on it 'Roll Back fund' in case you are ever in the position where you need one to get yourself and car home . The other 9/10 you can give to me for fixing your cars . hahahahaaaaa thanks for the laugh Chad! I needed that. . . i totally agree. It's just that I go to these track events and see all the cool trailers/dirtbikes/trucks/rigs/etc. and the old gears upstairs start cranking away with visions of diesel trucks and gooseneck trailers and sucheruther. [hijack: chad did you get my email re: wrenching the red car this week? /hijack] Oh I know all about those gears! I'll tell you what man, some of my favorite memories of going to the track is loading up 4 tires, tools, jack, stands, clothes, food, tent, chairs, camera, girlfriend, etc into a mustang w/ a 4pt rollbar, sparco seats and a suspension that would knock fillings out and heading down to VIR only to unload the car, change tires and brakes for the next 2hrs and then bum a ride to the hotel. Not that I don't enjoy loading the car into an enclosed trailer and winching it out Friday night and driving it straight to tech. It's sort of a different kind of enjoyment that I don't think I'd get if it weren't for all the 'little' steps it took to get there, if you know what I mean . Both have drawbacks and I'd encourage everyone to hold off on the towing until they just HAD to start towing b/c of spares or the car is no longer street legal. I did get your email and I was trying to work something out but it appears the only time would be tomorrow and as of right now I don't think I can make anything work for you . We are having 'house guest' this weekend of the in-laws variety and theres a lot of 'stuff' we need to get caught up on since we've been away every weekend for the past month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 hey thanks for tryin i gotta get one'a those aluminium jacks and a couple o' jack stands anyways, so i'll just do it the old fashioned way and hope it don't rain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 hey thanks for tryin i gotta get one'a those aluminium jacks and a couple o' jack stands anyways, so i'll just do it the old fashioned way and hope it don't rain Those 'cheap' $300 or less alum jacks are crap. Unless you need the 'low profile' aspect don't waste your money. I've seen way to many leak or just flat out stop working to waste my $$$ on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 an aluminum lo pro will serve my purposes in two ways: low enough to get under the red car and LIGHT enough to not give me a hernia when i go to lug it around. my craftsman 3 ton jack feels like it WEIGHS three tons!! i'm just gonna get a craftsman and if it breaks i'll get a new one or trade it in on tools or something. . . thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasaregistrar Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 good point! i didn't think of the 'i may not have front suspension to put on the dolly' possibility. hopefully the storage concerns won't last forever [fingers crossed] but yeah you're right, the near future is tight as far as storing equipment goes. and those aluminum trailers are schweet but a little dear . . . .so maybe i'll just keep all my pop cans and use that aluminum to build a trailer For now I think you'd be better off saving the money you'd spend on something to tow it with and just get the car in a condition where you can DRIVE it to the track. Maybe get you a little tire trailer IF you start using track tires (which I don't suggest until HPDE3). The cash you will save registering another vehicle and doing PM on it and the cost of the trailer you can take 1/10 of that and stick in an envelope and write on it 'Roll Back fund' in case you are ever in the position where you need one to get yourself and car home . The other 9/10 you can give to me for fixing your cars . buy the best AAA plan and they will bring it home for you...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon dawes Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 . . . yet another great idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 My AAA plan runs like 50/yr and I get 1 or 2 tows up to 100 miles. Pretty sure it's 2 (and no you can't use 1 tow for 200 miles). A buddy of mine wrecked his M3 and AAA only took him as far as C-ville plus a little cash. So stuff a little bit of $$$ in the envelope anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmcrespo Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Last time (first ever trailering) I rented a u-haul trailer. Less than $100 Fri-Sun. If I do an average of 12 events per year... it is not bad economics as I don't have to worry abt storage, maintenance, tagging, insurance, etc. (I live in the City in Philly). If only the darn things did not weigh a million pounds!..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoBuk 517 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Tow dollies work pretty well. I'm using one to drag my H5 car to events this season and yes, I'm the guy towing with the Subaru. The previous two seasons I was driving the racecar to the track with a nice little Uhaul/roll back/rental car fund set aside. Regarding dollies and the car being registered at least in NJ you need to have the vehicle registered and insured, the dolly does not have to be. I got stopped one day by a local police officer for having an unregistered trailer as there was no car on it and he was unaware of the law. The Uhaul dollies do not have tags on them either. The only thing that sucks about a dolly is that if your car is low you need to use boards to get the car to clear all the lips and tie down points and you also have to put on "transit" tires on the wheels that are staying on the ground. With mine I also put transit tires on the front recently so as to avoid ripping off the air dam. Storage of a dolly is great as well. They take up much less space then a trailer, if you're creative you could rig up something to lean the dolly up against the back of a garage too. I'm not sure that towing with a Uhaul trailer is a reliable option though. Uhaul can be pretty flakey at times and not have stuff that is rented. You show up and there is no trailer and you have to go 50 miles to a different location that has one. Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I'm not sure that towing with a Uhaul trailer is a reliable option though. Uhaul can be pretty flakey at times and not have stuff that is rented. You show up and there is no trailer and you have to go 50 miles to a different location that has one. Z Not to mention they have surge brakes that hardly ever work, and the lights usually don't work and you end up pulling over every few miles and doing a re-wire job on those pieces of junk. Ugh, never again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmcrespo Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I hear you on the uhaul... I guess I was lucky and all went seamlessly with a trailer that appeared to have been very recently refurbished (if not new) with everything working... I am giving it another shot for Pocono Sept 14th... we shall see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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