Dolly tow a 2017 CR-V

[heidisdad]

I have a 2017 Honda CR-V on order and am trying to figure out if the front wheels will freely turn left & right on a tow dolly. I'm leaning toward an Acme EZE tow dolly, that has a straight axle vs a turn table geometry. Thanks in advance for any help.

[elcheapo]

Br0wnf0x wrote:
So my husband and I just bought a used 2016 Honda CR-V EX with 2WD. We have a TOW-It 2 Tow dolly, which we want to use to pull it using our Class A RV.

Our problem is that with the Honda, there is no key, so the steering wheel doesn't lock. The TOW-It dolly requires that the steering wheel be locked in order to use it.

We have tried a couple things, including a home made tool, using the seat belts, etc to keep the wheel in place, with no luck. Any idea of something else we could buy or use to lock the Honda steering wheel in place?

Thanks for any help.

Try this Clicky

[Br0wnf0x]

Okay, Thank you. I will check with the dealership.

[STBRetired]

Be careful with a non-turntable dolly if the CR-V has electric power steering. Damage to the steering mechanism can result from turning the tires as opposed to the steering wheel. Check with Honda dealer to be certain. A turntable dolly avoids that issue.

[Br0wnf0x]

So my husband and I just bought a used 2016 Honda CR-V EX with 2WD. We have a TOW-It 2 Tow dolly, which we want to use to pull it using our Class A RV.

Our problem is that with the Honda, there is no key, so the steering wheel doesn't lock. The TOW-It dolly requires that the steering wheel be locked in order to use it.

We have tried a couple things, including a home made tool, using the seat belts, etc to keep the wheel in place, with no luck. Any idea of something else we could buy or use to lock the Honda steering wheel in place?

Thanks for any help.

[wowens79]

Not sure about the towing, but my wife got one in March, and she absolutely loves that little car. Drives great, great gas milage, and lots of cool tech features.

I will say that it has a tiny battery, so if you have to leave it "on" while towing, you'll probably want to crank it up when you get to the destination to charge that little battery. They had a software glitch in some that caused the electric parking brake to drain the battery overnight.

[wowens79]

Not sure about the towing, but my wife got one in March, and she absolutely loves that little car. Drives great, great gas milage, and lots of cool tech features.

I will say that it has a tiny battery, so if you have to leave it "on" while towing, you'll probably want to crank it up when you get to the destination to charge that little battery. They had a software glitch in some that caused the electric parking brake to drain the battery overnight.

[newsomer]

heidisdad wrote:
I stopped by the Honda dealer and we did what you described. This gave me the option of either a turntable dolly or a fixed dolly. I went with the EZE tow (fixed) dolly because of it's lighter weight, fewer parts to fail, and price point.

I went with the Master Tow turntable dolly. Have towed our 2017 Honda CR-V twice behind our coach and it works well.

Note: I have been ignorantly towing with the dolly without brakes. I now have all the parts to install the electric brakes and control with the integrated wiring in the coach with the Prodigy 3 brake controller I am transferring from my truck that used to tow our travel trailer.

EDITS:

• changed "fixed" to "turntable" for dolly type.
• deleted part about stresses which were not an issue due to the turntable.

[heidisdad]

Thanks mda....I stopped by the Honda dealer and we did what you described. This gave me the option of either a turntable dolly or a fixed dolly. I went with the EZE tow (fixed) dolly because of it's lighter weight, fewer parts to fail, and price point. Thanks to everyone for your experienced advice !

[mda]

Yes. Front wheel drive can be towed on dolly. If going with an acme ez tow, you put key in accessory position unlocking steering. Turn off all electronics. If your battery goes down, you might want to add either a charge line from the motorhome or pick up a jumper battery. If you go with a pivoting tray dolly, you don't have to do the above.

[ronfisherman]

Moved from Class C.

[johnwalkerpa1]

heidisdad wrote:
Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice. Here's a short video describing how the tow dolly works...and why I am trying to find out if the front wheels are free to turn left & right. I guess a picture (video) is worth a thousand words....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xktb6wuoo4o

Thanks OP for including the video link! That will be helpful to others who may be reading the thread to understand how the ACME dolly works. Some of the above posts stating that wheels are always locked need to take into account the type of dolly....some do and some don't. This one does not...in fact, must not.

I have an ACME dolly and it works great. Of course, none of this answers your actual question but may be helpful to others 🙂

[heidisdad]

Thanks again Snowman for the "spot on" analysis of my situation !!!

[heidisdad]

Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice. Here's a short video describing how the tow dolly works...and why I am trying to find out if the front wheels are free to turn left & right. I guess a picture (video) is worth a thousand words....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xktb6wuoo4o

[Snowman9000]

If OP gets a dolly that pivots, then he needs his STEERING wheel locked. Either by its own locking device, or by strapping it. If he gets a dolly like the ACME, then he needs his steering wheel unlocked.

If his new car does not lock the wheel, I'd recommend the ACME so he doesn't have to mess with strapping the steering wheel. I've used our ACME with both kinds of steering, and it's very easy to leave a locking steering unlocked.

More and more cars do not have steering wheel locks. That points to bigger future market share for dollies of the ACME style than the older pivoting style.