Pardon my Dolly

We were going to flat tow and skip the auxiliary braking mechanism. With such a little car and such a big tow vehicle we figured we could put that $600 to better use (like fuel :-)).

Well it turns out that the automatic transmission equipped PT Cruiser (called a toad or dingy when pulled behind a motor home) requires a pump, that with parts and labor would be nearly a grand!

So we decided to go with a dolly instead. At just under $1400 we could get a dolly with electric brakes. This would have been about what flat towing would have cost sans brakes and the tranny pump. I had Neal at Performance Trailers, just outside Budd Lake in Ledgewood (technically, more like Flanders) check for a electronic brake controller. While the bus has the 7 prong plug, it did not have a controller installed. Add $175 and the time, then the $1550 dolly with hydraulic surge brakes became much more appealing. Electric brakes require more driver input, adding even more switches to this space shuttle like vehicle ( ground control to Major Tom). Hydraulic surge brakes come on in direct response to pressure that the dingy puts on the ball and tongue (no extra switches). There are more moving parts and hydraulics, which mean more maintenance though.