If you are comparing tow dollies against full car hauler trailers, the first question is not price. It is what you are towing. Both move a vehicle behind another vehicle, but they do it in completely different ways, and picking the wrong one can cook a transmission or a differential you never intended to touch. Here is how each one works, what belongs on each, and what the cost and storage tradeoffs look like once you know which category you are in.
How a Car Dolly Works
A tow dolly is a two-wheeled unit that lifts one end of a vehicle, almost always the front end, off the ground while the other end rolls along on the pavement. The front wheels sit in a tire cradle on the dolly and get strapped down, and the rear wheels trail behind on the road. We carry the Stehl Tow ST80TD, rated at 2,999 pounds GVWR with 2,449 pounds of capacity, running 7,000-pound lashing winches, dual safety chains, and heavy-duty 8-ply tires. It comes with a surge brake axle, and we also stock the ST80D without brakes. Because two of the towed vehicle's wheels are still turning on the road, everything about dolly towing comes down to which wheels are driven and whether leaving them stationary causes a problem.
How a Full Car Hauler Trailer Works
A car hauler carries the whole vehicle, all four wheels off the ground, on an open deck. Nothing about the towed vehicle's drivetrain matters because none of its wheels touch the road. We stock the Big Tex 60EC and 70CH, both tandem-axle on 3,500-pound axles. The 60EC is the economy wood-deck model: 6,000 pounds GVWR, 1,710 pounds empty, so 4,290 pounds of payload on a 16-foot deck. The 70CH is the heavier Pro Series unit: 7,000 pounds GVWR, 2,060 pounds empty, 4,940 pounds of payload on a 20-foot deck.
Watch the payload, not the deck length. Buyers get burned here. A 20-foot deck will physically hold a full-size truck, but a 4,940-pound payload rating will not. Most sedans, small crossovers, and classic cars fit either trailer fine. Full-size trucks and three-row SUVs run 5,000 to 6,000 pounds and need a heavier trailer than these two. Weigh the vehicle you actually plan to haul before you buy.
The other advantage of a hauler is that it works for vehicles that are not running, which a dolly generally cannot do safely without the towed vehicle's engine available to help steer and brake during loading.
What a Dolly Can Safely Tow
A dolly is built for front-wheel-drive vehicles. When the drive wheels sit on the dolly and stay stationary relative to the vehicle, the transmission is not being asked to do anything it was not designed for. Most compact and midsize front-wheel-drive sedans sit comfortably inside a dolly's rating, which makes it a practical lower-cost option for tow operators and owners moving that category of car.
Where a Dolly Falls Short: AWD and RWD
This is where the dolly stops being the right tool. All-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles generally cannot ride on a standard dolly at all, because the rear wheels stay connected through a transfer case or center differential to the front wheels sitting motionless on the dolly. That mismatch overheats the differential and does real damage in a surprisingly short distance. Rear-wheel-drive vehicles are towable on a dolly, but only after disconnecting the driveshaft, which is a step most owners and plenty of tow operations are not set up to do correctly. For any of those, a full car hauler is the only option that leaves the drivetrain alone.
Cost and Storage Differences
A dolly costs meaningfully less up front, and it is lighter and easier to park when it is not working, since it is a fraction of the size of a trailer built to carry a whole vehicle. If you exclusively move front-wheel-drive cars, that is a real advantage every time you buy one and every time you store one. The tradeoff is flexibility. A dolly is useless for the AWD, 4WD, or driveshaft-disconnect jobs that come up eventually for anyone doing this regularly. For a towing business quoting work sight unseen, that flexibility usually beats the upfront savings.
Towing Setup and Hookup Differences
Both connect to a standard ball hitch, but loading is different. Getting a car onto a dolly means driving the front wheels up the ramps into position and strapping each tire down individually, which takes practice to do quickly in tight spaces or bad weather. Loading onto a car hauler means driving or winching the whole vehicle up a ramp onto the deck and securing it at multiple tie-down points, which is easier for a vehicle that will not run but takes more deck space and a longer ramp approach. Lighting is simple on both since each uses a standard trailer plug, but the dolly's shorter length and lighter tongue weight make it noticeably easier to back up.
What We Stock at Both Lots
NC Trailers carries Stehl Tow dollies and Big Tex car haulers side by side at Thomasville and Winston-Salem, so you can walk both and measure against the vehicle you will be towing. If your work is front-wheel-drive sedans only, the dolly's lower cost is hard to beat. If you move a mix, including anything all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, or dead in the driveway, the car hauler is the safer default even at the higher price.
Ready to compare them? Browse the current tow dolly inventory, read up on car hauler weights and ratings, or apply for financing online to get pre-qualified before you come by either lot.
About the Author
