Demco Kar Kaddy SS

August 29, 2014, 10:23:10 am

I just completed the assembly of our new KK460SS. I thought a brief description of this process might be of interest. If you are considering the purchase of a tow dolly, or wonder how difficult it might be to screw one together, this post is for you!

Why did we decide to use a dolly? We have a nice little SUV (2011 Kia Sorento) that we really like, but which cannot be towed 4-down. We did not want to sell it, and didn't want to buy a second vehicle specifically for towing, so we decided to try the "tow dolly" solution. We have zero experience with towing vehicles behind motor homes, so all my comments will be from the perspective of a total novice. Only time will tell if this decision was the right one for us...

First I will make some general comments about my experience, and then I will include some photos. I won't get into specifics here, because the details will vary depending on what brand/model tow dolly you purchase. I only want to provide enough info to allow a person to decide if this is something they really want to attempt. If you have specific questions about this particular model, the assembly manual is available online:

http://demco-products.com/assets/users/documents/RD20018_rev4.pdf

Should you buy it assembled, or have it shipped with "Some Assembly Required" to your residence? We chose to have it shipped. We could have driven down to PPL in Houston and got one already assembled, but it would not have saved us any money, plus I hate the Houston area traffic. Also, I like to "do things myself" when possible. DO consider the delivery process when you make your decision. The shipping container for any tow dolly will be BIG and HEAVY. You must think about where the delivery truck will be able to drop the package, and how you will handle it after that. In our case, the truck backed up in our driveway, unloaded the container with a lift gate, and the driver and I were just able to slide it under our carport using his pallet jack + a moving dolly supplied by me.

You will see in my photos that the container arrived in pretty bad shape. Fortunately the contents survived, and everything got here. I pulled the lid off to check inside before I signed for the delivery, but there was no way we could have gotten it back on the truck, so I was stuck with it either way.

It took me the better part of a day to complete the assembly. I did it by myself - but it would have been a LOT easier with a strong helper. I substituted creative use of a floor jack and several jack stands for a 2nd set of hands. Much of my time was spent carefully moving and positioning parts, so as to avoid back strain, pulled muscles, or pinched fingers. There are not a lot of parts involved, and the assembly is pretty simple. The instruction book is well written, but the line drawings are VERY small and finely detailed. My old eyes had to really strain to make out where things went. Tools required include a torque wrench, 1/2" drive ratchet wrench, some sockets and box end wrenches (up to 1" in size), and screwdriver and pliers. Take your time, think ahead, and this project is well within the capability of most Foretravel owners!

So far I am very impressed with this product. The construction and included hardware all appear top quality. Everything went together easily, all the holes lined up, nothing had to be forced. The disc brakes come pre-bled, the wheel bearing are sealed, the LED lights should be maintenence-free. We won't know how easy or hard it is to use until we get a chance to try it out, but based on my experience so far I am pleased with this purchase.

Photos below are roughly in order of assembly:

Re: Demco Kar Kaddy SS, Assembly

Reply #1 – August 29, 2014, 01:24:42 pm

I picked one up used (2 year old) for $1500. I am impressed that it is all galvanized. The only thing is mine has drum instead of disk brakes. But brakes are really not that important behind a Foretravel!*

*legally brakes are needed. Practically.....

Re: Demco Kar Kaddy SS

Reply #2 – August 31, 2014, 03:37:33 pm

For many of the same reasons, decided to tow with a dolly. Our research found the Demco SS to have an excellent rep for quality and ease of use, and it was our first choice. But we could not find one in our area already put together -- new or used -- and we lacked the ability, strength and desire to attempt assembly ourselves, unlike Cajk. We wound up purchasing an assembled Master Tow with disk brakes from Bart at Big Tex Trailers in Fort Worth. It does the job we need it to do, but we know we need to keep it painted.

Deb and Mike

Re: Demco Kar Kaddy SS

Reply #3 – August 31, 2014, 05:42:34 pm

PPL in Houston had them in stock, fully assembled, for which they added a $400 labor charge to their "internet sale" price. I figure I probably worked about 10 hours (including lots of breaks cuz it was 95 in the shade that day), so at that rate I "earned" about $40 an hour. Not bad - I never made that much when I was workin' for a living! Plus, I have the peace of mind knowing nothing is cross threaded, or mounted backwards, etc.

HOWEVER, I don't think I want to do another one anytime soon.

Re: Demco Kar Kaddy SS

Reply #4 – August 31, 2014, 05:45:42 pm

We have towed our Prius for 4k miles with the Demco unit (bought it used) it tows great and you never know its back there....It steers in the exactly track of our coach and I never worry about cutting it "short"

Our best buy .!!!

Hans

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