2011 Honda Fit- Tow Dolly or 4 Wheels Down?
Question:
This Fit is a front wheel drive auto and the manual says to use a tow bar, but there’s no mention if a dolly is an option. The steering wheel is left unlocked. Is there an advantage to using one over the other?. Cost comparison between the two.? I have zero experience other than pulling my trailer camper for a few years. Thank you
asked by: William G
Expert Reply:
Your Fit can indeed either be flat towed all 4 wheels down or dolly towed. To dolly tow, you'd leave the steering column locked. Which would be your best option? The best fit for you depends on several factors:
How long are you planning on keeping the vehicle? Many components for a flat towing set-up are semi-permanently mounted to the vehicle, such as the base plates, and taillight wiring and some of the supplemental braking systems. The base plates are vehicle specific, so they wouldn't necessarily transfer to a new vehicle. The wiring and the braking system could be removed, but if you lack the know how to do so, you'd be paying somebody to do that. These are some of the potential disadvantages of towing wheels down. A big advantage of the tow dolly is that it could easily be used on subsequent vehicles since many different vehicles are capable of being dolly towed.
What kind of storage space do you have available at the campsite? At home? A tow dolly takes up a lot space when it's not being used. Do you have a good place to store it at home? How about when you're camping? Some campsites aren't very big. Some pull-through sites won't be long enough to accommodate both your motorhome and the dolly when it's hitched, so you have the dinghy to park and the tow dolly, finding space to put all of this in a small campsite can be challenging. Flat towing components are pretty self contained, and would take little to no extra storage space either at home or while traveling. The need to store the dolly and the lack of space for it in most campgrounds is the biggest knock against dolly towing we hear at etrailer.com
How much do you value convenience? Tow dollies are pretty easy to use. Load the vehicle up, plug it in and go. But, they can be difficult to move around by hand when the need arises. Towing 4 wheels down requires some initial outlay to get the braking system, base plates and wiring installed but in most cases once the initial installation is completed getting ready for a trip is pretty simple. Hitch up the bar, follow the set-up instructions outlined in the owner's manual, plug in the wiring umbilical and off you go.
As far as cost goes, the tow dollies we carry from Roadmaster and Demco run from around $ 2500.00 to about $ 4000.00. The flat towing package I'd recommend for you would run a bit more than $ 2000.00 plus installation. You can go less expensive on several elements of the flat towing package, but doing so would sacrifice some safety and convenience. All in all, the flat towing route is typically a bit less expensive.
I have linked you to several help articles we have about flat towing a vehicle with 4 wheels down. The articles explain how the various components work and how everything fits together. If you'd like some specific recommendations, I'd be more than happy to assist with that. Simpy reply to the email.
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Roadmaster Tow Dolly with Electric Brakes - 4,250 lbs
- Trailers
- Tow Dolly
- Wheel Decks
- 4250 lbs
- Cars/Trucks/SUVs
- 8-1/2W x 12L Foot
- Powder Coated Steel
- Roadmaster
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