The Best Tow Dolly Designs With Built-In Brakes

Inexpensive brakeless car tow dollies are easily available (as are instructions for retrofitting them with add-on brake designs). Yet we recommend investing up-front in an easy-to-maintain braking system when you buy a car tow dolly. That’s because the best tow dolly is the safest tow dolly, and the biggest benefits of brakes on a car tow dolly are increased safety for you, your load, and everyone else on the road.

The best tow dolly brake design for you depends on both your experience driving with a car in-tow and your plans for using your car tow dolly. Here at Tow Smart Trailers, our high-quality car tow dollies come with different standard and optional brake equipment. Specifically, our customers can buy a car tow dolly with electric brakes, surge brakes, or disc brakes; each of these comes with its own considerations, though the benefits of brakes on a car tow dolly always outweigh the costs!

The Benefits Of Choosing To Buy A Car Tow Dolly With Electric Brakes:

If your tow-vehicle is already outfitted for an in-cab electric brake control device (or has an in-dash “quick plug” for installing one), choosing to buy a car tow dolly with electric brakes makes perfect sense. That’s because electric brake designs give you the same benefits of brakes on a car tow dolly with less maintenance than other brake designs. Plus, the benefits of brakes on a car tow dolly are improved by having the ability to manually apply small amounts of brake force, especially when controlling trailer-sway in high winds, when going downhill, and around 18-wheelers. Nevertheless, many people think equipping the brake control device is a hassle, making other brake designs more appealing.

The Benefits Of Choosing To Buy A Car Tow Dolly With Surge Brakes:

All surge brakes are self-contained; they don't rely on the tow-vehicle’s brake system (like electric brakes). Consequently, people who buy a car tow dolly with surge brakes can get all the safety benefits of brakes on a car tow dolly without having to do anything by hand. Surge brake designs work through passive pressure. When the tow-vehicle slows, the car tow dolly pushes against a surge actuator/coupler, triggering the brakes. This brake design is great for people who don’t plan to use their car tow dolly under conditions that pose a high risk for trailer-sway. Plus, traditional surge brakes exert good braking torque with little pressure on the surge actuator, making them better for lighter loads than disc brakes.

The Benefits Of Choosing To Buy A Car Tow Dolly With Disc Brakes:

Heavy haulers who like DIY maintenance, especially, may find that the best tow dolly brake design for them is disc brakes. Disc brakes are a specialty surge brake design; they’re less susceptible to heat fade (cumulative loss of stopping power), which ultimately makes disc brakes vastly more efficient. Plus, a disc brake is far easier to maintain at home or on the road. That said, disc brake designs are often a little less sensitive than traditional surge brakes under low brake force. This means that disc brakes are highly efficient — and may be easier to maintain — but these benefits of disc brakes on a car tow dolly are felt most under heavy loads.

For more information about the different brake design options you get to choose from when you buy a car tow dolly, check out the listings (below) for each of our differently equipped (but equally amazing) car tow dolly designs. Otherwise, feel free to contact us to speak with our car tow dolly experts about which car tow dolly brake design would be best for you.