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Post by spanks79 on Feb 19, 2012 21:29:53 GMT -5
I figured this topic might make a good how to once I complete it! ;D So, in a couple weeks I plan on heading to North Carolina to purchase my Monaco. See bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cars&action=display&thread=578It looks to be just shy of 400 miles each way. The plan is to use a tow dolly pulled by a Chevy Surburban. I know the suburban is up to the task, but I'm not sure how a big heavy Monaco will do on a tow dolly. The last time I used a tow dolly was never, so any tips would be apperciated. I was thinking of putting the front of the Monaco on the dolly, then removing the driveshaft from the car so it rolls nice, plus the car can be in park with the steering wheel locked. Joe (the seller of the car) has offered to make sure the Blumo has a couple good tires running on the road. Does anyone know the width of the front of a Monaco? I just want to be sure the car will fit on the dolly.
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Post by sigmfsk on Feb 20, 2012 4:10:52 GMT -5
Does anyone know the width of the front of a Monaco? I just want to be sure the car will fit on the dolly. Width of? The MVMA specs at www.74monaco.com have these specs: 79.3" overall width. 64.0" tread width, front. So that should get you some idea of what you're working with. That's a wide taco.
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Post by spanks79 on Feb 20, 2012 21:09:23 GMT -5
Cool, That is a nice site, I have never seen that before. That provided a nice deversion to my Monday morning.
I measured the tow dolly today and the width of the front pads where the wheels sit is 77" the width between the fenders is 83" so it looks like the Monaco will fit easily.
Now to determine if the 175/80-13 tires on he dolly are up to the task of 2310 lbs (front curb weight according to MVMA).
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Post by sigmfsk on Feb 21, 2012 4:31:52 GMT -5
Now to determine if the 175/80-13 tires on he dolly are up to the task of 2310 lbs (front curb weight according to MVMA). 2310 pounds plus the weight of the dolly. Tire rack has only one 175/80-13 tire for sale: www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Marathon+Radial&partnum=78R3MAR6V2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yesand it's a Goodyear Marathon radial, load rating C. Working through the goodyear site, one finds the load rating page: www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdfthat shows their 175/80-13 tire has a maximum load rating of 1360 pounds at 50psi. So it looks like you're fine if your dolly weights no more than 1360 * 2 - 2310 = 410 pounds. But the front end weight is only 2310 pounds when the car is level, since the dolly will have the front end higher, the weight on the dolly will be slightly less than 2310 pounds. It looks like you'll be running on the ragged edge, but I'd go for it (as far as tire loading is concerned). I think another concern would be the maximum load the dolly itself was designed for. It'll probably say don't move a car that weights more than 4000 pounds, in which case I don't have a feel for how well it will handle with a much heavier load on it. your friend in avoiding "lost a Monaco on the highway" stories, arthur
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Post by spanks79 on Feb 21, 2012 7:49:24 GMT -5
I think the tires are Marathons. I have a history of destroying Goodyear Marathons on my old enclosed race trailer, but I know we had some load distribution issues.
You are probably right about the 4000 lb max, I will look closer next time I see it. This dolly is a unit owned by a shop around the corner from mine and they offered it for me to use any time I need it.
To take some weight off of the dolly, I could load it backwards So the 1990 lb rear end is up on the dolly and the heavier front end is on the ground. This seems a bit unconventional but the owner of the dolly says he has done it that way in the past with a racecar that got cracked up at the track and the rear would not track straight. It was a Honda. It would take about 300 off the dolly. I was only worried about strange tracking or strange loads on a steering system I have personally never inspected for wear.
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Post by Mr Mercer on Feb 21, 2012 16:23:07 GMT -5
If the weight is heavier on the rear , it might get into a speed wobble . Happened to me before with a dolly and car hauler . Same with a a-train semi combo . If the rear trailer was heavier than the lead it would sway back and forth to the point I couldn't control it . But I survived .
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Post by spanks79 on Mar 3, 2012 23:47:57 GMT -5
Just made the 400 mile trip, towing a Monaco on a tow dolly with no issues. We loaded the car on nose first and disconnected the driveshaft from the differential. We left the driveshaft in the transmission and just tied it up with a ratchet strap and a couple bungee cords. The car fit nicely. There was not much room to spare but it did fit between the 83" width of the fenders with no problems. Someone else mentioned that a u-haul dolly was a bit tight but the one I used, not u-haul, fit fine. On the road the car tracked fine, we were able to run the speed limit, 70mph, on the interstate easily. I just made sure the tires on the dolly were properly inflated to max psi to get the full 1360 lbs of load carrying capacity per tire. Only once did we hit some decent size pot holes with the right side tires at 70 and the car got a little squirrelly, I just remained calm, let off the accelerator and held the wheel straight and it straightened out. The main thing I noticed was that with the car on the dolly, the tongue weight on the truck was essentially zero, or even negative. It seems it is designed to be that way, as there is no way to really adjust the weight distribution. At least with a car this big, since the tires take up all of he available space on the dolly pads. I would think a little tongue weight on the truck might help the keep it more stable over the bumps.
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