A have been looking for cheap tow dollies to tow my Miata with my Volvo wagon. I haven't found much below $600 worth buying but now there is a Kar Kaddy on CL for $250. It does not have a pivoting deck. Will I hate myself for buying one without a pivoting deck or does it not really matter too much?
So, it has steerable wheels?
They both turn.
If tow dolly tongue is steerable--leave car steering wheel locked
If tow dolly tongue not steerable--unlock steering wheel
From what I could tell it is not steerable, the steering wheel would be unlocked.
http://columbus.craigslist.org/pts/4597010679.html
That looks just like the dolly I had and recently sold. The wheels turn.
That's good to know. How did you like it?
My Miata was too low to put on it. It worked well for most everything else I ever tried to pull. A friend has the same model and has had much the same experience. This was mine:
As you can see, the ramps cracked. I suspect this was because of a friend's SNAFU when he borrowed it to tow his C900. They don't have steering wheel locks and he didn't do anything to keep the car's steering wheel from turning, so the straps loosened and dropped the car over the front of it, leaving the weight of the car largely supported by the ramps. I had a similar issue with a (broken) Grand Cherokee, but caught it before it got bad enough to fall off.
There's a pin just forward of the axle that you use to lock the steering when not towing anything. Mine had some brakes (poorly) retrofitted to it at some point, but it looks like the one you're considering hasn't had that done. They never worked on mine and I never felt like I needed them anyway.
We pulled it all over the eastern part of the country and never had ANY problems that weren't user-related. If I hadn't gotten a trailer, I'd still be using it.
Sounds like it should work fine for me for the price. I will be towing my rallycross Miata so it shouldn't be too low.
I don't think I've ever seen a two dolly listed for less than $750. I did see a Trailex (never knew they made them) listed for $800 last year and I seriously considered the 12 hour round trip to buy it. They're so rare that I can't even find a photo of one on Google Images.
The trick with dollies is to get the straps TIGHT, like bulging the tires tight and then another click or three.
I got it home. The seller said he towed a full size pickup on it as it sits, complete with donut spares mounted backwards. He must be crazy. One was flat but a can of fix-a-flat was enough to get it the 10 miles home through town.
It will need some parts, likely a new steering stabilizer and some various clevis pins and wire rope to replace what is rusted and missing. I have some 14" wheels that will fit once I take the rally tires off and get some normal tires on them.
Next up is cleaning, greasing and paint.
Good purchase. I'll be following the rebuild!
Test fit one of the wheels and it bolts right up.
The wheel bearing on the right side is shot, unfortunately it doesn't look like just the bearing is replaceable. I am going to take off the hub assembly and see if I can match it up with something at the parts store. Otherwise the Demco hub is available online for ~$65.
this is relevant to my interests.
EvanB wrote: Test fit one of the wheels and it bolts right up.
well you do have the correct small adjustment tool right where you can lay your hand on it easily 
The torsion axles on my car trailer have sealed hub bearing units that according to the internet were impossible to find and outrageously expensive.
Nearly every parts store has them on hand for under $50; they are rear hubs from a late 80's GM product, like a Celebrity.
Yep, I found the Celebrity hubs after some searching and have some on order.
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