IMPORTANT NOTES
NEVER ATTEMPT A U-TURN WITH A LOADED DOLLY!!
90 DEGREE LEFT AND RIGHT TURNS ARE NEAR THE MAXIMUM
TURNING RADIUS FOR ANY LOADED TOW DOLLY
UNCRATING AND ASSEMBLY
Lay the dolly and crate on its side. Remove the bracing bolts. Roll the dolly out of the crate. You’re almost finished. Next plug in the lights and attach them to their mounting plate. You will need a simple wire cutter/stripper. Attach and bolt up the fenders. Lock Tight is a good idea for the light bolts. Light bolts should be tightened VERY tightly. Observe that the driver's side light has a window in the bottom to illuminate a license plate should you need one. Attach the reflectors onto the front of the fender. Test your lights. You’re done. Ready to go. Be sure to read the loading and unloading instructions before attempting to tow a vehicle. Be sure to review the assembly pictures in our photo galleries thoroughly before attempting assembly.
NEVER TRY TO BACK UP WITH A LOADED TOW DOLLY!
IT CANNOT BE DONE . DAMAGE TO THE DOLLY AND CAR WILL RESULT. ALWAYS PARK OR STOP IN SUCH A MANNER THAT YOU CAN PULL OUT OR TURN AROUND. YOU MUST ALLOW FOR A WIDE TURNING RADIUS. IF YOU TURN TOO TIGHTLY THE TOWED CAR MAY MAKE CONTACT WITH THE CORNER OF THE DOLLY FENDER RESULTING IN DAMAGE. USE CAUTION AND COMMON SENSE WHEN TOWING A LOADED TOW DOLLY. CHECK ALL WHEEL STRAPS , RATCHETS & COUPLER AFTER THE FIRST FEW MILES. ADJUST IF NECESSARY. CHECK AGAIN EVERY TIME YOU STOP FOR FUEL OR REST.
THE TOWED VEHICLE CANNOT EXCEED 4700 LBS. CURB WEIGHT. CONSULT YOUR OWNERS MANUAL FOR YOUR VEHICLES WEIGHT. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATING, WHICH IS TOTAL VEHICLE WEIGHT PLUS THE WEIGHT IT CAN TOW AND HOLD. IF YOUR NOT SURE ASK US TO HELP YOU. acmetrailer@triad.rr.com
SAFETY
Check that all wheel nuts are secure and tires are properly pressurized to
90 P.S.I. “COLD” Check all lug nuts before departing.
Never tow with a bumper ball, use a properly designed hitch system. Make certain that the coupler is securely tightened . There should be no play at all.
MAINTENANCE
If your dolly is equipped with the "VAULT" hubs, no maintenance is required. If your dolly has a blue tell- tell on the hub please refer to the manual that came with your dolly for comprehensive information about maintaining your hubs. For all others Remove the rubber grommet from the cap on the hub to reveal the grease zerk. Apply fresh grease until you see old grease emerging from the outside bearing. You have now lubricated both the inside and outside bearings. If the bearing grease is very old and you wish to change it, keep filling the zerk until you see new grease emerging from the front bearing. You have now completely changed the bearing grease. Bearings should be greased on a regular basis depending upon use. Any quick oil change facility can do this very easily with their pressurized grease system for a nominal fee. Replace safety chains that have been dragged and damaged. Check all nuts and bolts that can be easily seen.
WIRING
| Color | Feature |
| Yellow | Left turn signal |
| Brown | Tail lights & running lights |
| Green | Right turn signal |
| White | Ground |
| Blue | Electric brake if so equipped. |
If your tow vehicle has rear lights in which the turn signal is a separate bulb from the brake light, or in other words, separate turn signals and brake signals, you will need to wire the tow vehicle with a power converter if it is not already so wired. The reason for this is that this type tow vehicle has 5 wires going to the back and these 5 wires must be converted down to 4 wires to work on any trailer with a four flat plug. Any trailer repair center can install this for you. We sell them for $29.95.
LOADING & UNLOADING
THE COUPLER HEIGHT MUST BE BETWEEN 12 TO 16 INCHES HIGH TO THE BOTTOM OF THE COUPLER FROM THE GROUND. PURCHASE AN ADJUSTABLE BALL IF NECESSARY. IT’S IMPORTANT.
Pictures of all this can be seen in our gallery.
Always have a second person on the outside watching and assisting.
Connect the dolly to the tow vehicles 2 inch ball.
Pull car up within feet of the ramps and align ramps to center on the cars tires.
Car must be centered on the dolly.
Drive the car slowly but steadily onto the ramps and up onto the dolly.
Pull car up all the way to the front of the dolly.
Be careful not to drive over and off the front of the dolly.
Fit wheel straps over the tires and adjust to snug.
The hook end of the strap goes to the back of the dolly and hooks onto the bottom of the dolly. The flat end of the strap goes forward and into the ratchet. Insert strap into ratchet, pull thru all excess strap and crank ratchet until the strap is very snug.
Apply the center safety chain from the dolly to a strong point on the under carriage of the towed car adjust chain to a snug fit.
Emergency brake must always be released. Front wheel drive cars can be towed in park. Consult owner’s manual about towing Four Wheel Drive or All Wheel Drive vehicles. If your car uses a locking steering column, we recommend that you leave you keys in the accessory position to allow your wheels to turn freely.
Check straps and all connections after a VERY short distance. Some settling and movement can occur and must be adjusted out before continuing to tow long distance.
To unload reverse the process. To open the ratchet pull the center release handle and open the ratchet to its full length, pull the strap and it will release easily. If you cannot open the ratchet fully you can use a screwdriver to insert into the ratchet to pry the cam buckle loose. New ratchet designs do not lock the ratchet handle down.
Loading And Use
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE DOLLY IS ON LEVEL STABLE GROUND. THE DOLLY COUPLER SHOULD BE AROUND 12 TO 16 INCHES OFF THE GROUND TO THE BOTTOM OF THE COUPLER. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE ON THE OUTSIDE OBSERVING AND TELLING YOU WHEN TO STOP AS NEEDED. AGREE ON THE SIGNALS OR LANGUAGE BEFORE STARTING. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DRIVE OFF THE FRONT OF THE DOLLY, IT IS A MESS TO CORRECT. YOUR CAR SHOULD BE CENTERED AS WELL AS CAN BE TO THE DOLLY. CENTERED TO THE DOLLY AND ALIGNED STRAIGHT TO THE DOLLY. PLACE YOUR RAMPS IN FRONT OF THE CAR TIRES SO THEY ARE CENTERED ON THE TIRES. THE RAMPS SHOULD BE CONTACTING THE DOLLY AND SITTING DIRECTLY ON THE GROUND. DRIVE UP THE RAMPS SLOWLY BUT STEADLY WITH ONE FOOT OVER THE BRAKE PEDDLE. AFTER YOU ARE ON THE DOLLY DRIVE UP VERY SLOWLY UNTIL YOUR TIRES ARE TOUCHING ON THE STEEL UPRIGHT ON THE FRONT OF THE DOLLY. APPLY YOUR BRAKE SO THE DOLLY CANNOT ROLL OFF. NOW ATTACH THE STRAPS. TAKE CARE TO REMOVE ALL THE SLACK FROM THE STRAPS THAT YOU CAN BEFORE USING THE RATCHETS. OBSERVE HOW THE ADJUSTABLE RING AND THE RATCHET ARE ON THE SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE. COMPRESS THE STRAP AS TIGHT ONTO THE TIRE AS YOU CAN. IF YOU RUN OUT OF ROOM ON THE RATCHET SPINDLE THEN YOU HAD WAY TO MUCH EXTRA SLACK IN THE WHEEL STRAP. RELEASE IT AND DO IT OVER. THE CENTER SAFETY CHAIN GOES FROM THE TIE LOOP IN THE CENTER OF THE WHEELPAN TO A CONVIENANT LOCATION ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CAR. KEEP THE CHAIN SHORT AND VERTICAL. CHECK ALL YOUR LIGHTS. RELEASE THE BRAKE. IF YOU ARE TOWING A CAR WITH A LOCKING STEERING COLUMN LEAVE THE KEY SET TO ACCESSORY AND THE CAR WILL TOW AND TURN JUST FINE. BEFORE LETTING OUT ONTO THE BIG ROAD TRY A FEW SWERVES AND STOPS BEFORE GOING. CHECK THE WHEEL STRAPS AND RATCHETS. NEW STRAPS WILL STRECTCH. WET STRAPS WILL STRETCH, GOING FROM WARM TO COLD CLIMATES WILL CONDENSE THE AIR IN YOUR TIRES AND THE STRAPS WILL BECOME LOOSE. WATCH AND CHECK YOUR STRAPS VERY CLOSELY.
The most recent generation dolly uses ramps that are 32 inces long, 7.5 inches tall and 10 inches wide. These ramps allow for fast easy loading of 98% of all cars. For some cars you may have to place 2- 2x6 boards, 18 inches long and staggered in a stair step fashion to allow the car to “step” up twice before reaching the ramps. See pictures in our gallery.
Unloaded tow dollies are noisy and bounce quite a bit.
Once loaded they are very quite and smooth riding.
IMPROPER USE OF A TOW DOLLY CAN BE DANGEROUS.
NEVER ALLOW AN INEXPERIENCED DRIVER TO USE A TOW DOLLY.
MANUFACTURED BY; ACME TRAILER LLc
1031 EAST MOUNTAIN ST BLDG 305 STE 110
KERNERSVILLE NC 27284
336.996.4396 (phone)
336.993.2229 (fax)
acmetrailer@triad.rr.com (e-mail)
RICHARD BROWN, OWNER
