A trailer dolly is one of the handiest tools you can have if you want to move your boat into your storage space or hitch it to your vehicle. Trailer dollies lessen the strain of moving trailers by giving an additional axle to spin, position, and steer the trailer precisely where it needs to be for storage or hooking up to your car. When used properly, it’s a terrific tool, and choosing the best dolly for the job will require some study. You should look for a trailer dolly that fits your trailer weight, is appropriate for the environment you’ll be operating it in, and connects properly to your trailer’s hitch.

What Is A Boat Trailer Dolly?

An accessory for your boat trailer called a dolly makes towing a boat trailer simpler and easier. Even though the trailer is hefty, the dolly can move the trailer around with relative ease on its two or three wheels. Dollies attach to the tongue of the trailer and can fit in even the smallest locations because you have a better perspective and a handle that makes it easy to maneuver. 

Benefits Of Boat Trailer Dollies

Help With The Load

The little, hard plastic wheel that usually comes with the boat trailers is not the best option for guiding your boat, as you may have discovered when attempting to drag your boat trailer along on it.

With a boat trailer dolly, you can attach a ball mount to the hitch and transfer the tongue weight to much better wheels with much better tires, which offer greater traction and are less likely to run flat on one side like plastic wheels often do.

When using hand-pulled trailer dollies, the long handle acts as a lever to help move your boat with less force. This optimizes effectiveness since it enables you to maneuver your boat over the same distances with less effort.

Simplified Steering

You have a lot more control over steering using a dolly because a dolly allows you more minute changes than a motorized vehicle. Using a boat trailer dolly for steering also helps because you have a much clearer view of the surroundings. 

A trailer dolly makes getting in and out of a position much easier if you store your boat in a garage or similar compact area that is difficult for a car to maneuver to.

Injury Prevention

Moving a heavy trailer with a boat on it might cause injury to anyone trying to move it or lift it with his bare hands without using a dolly. There is a chance you end up with a strained back or even break a few bones if you try to do it without help. 

Damage Prevention

Using a dolly to move your trailer around can prevent any damage that may be done to your trailer or boat because you have greater mobility with a dolly. You also have a better view of everything around you and you don’t have to rely on mirrors like when you are steering with a towing vehicle. 

Minimum Maintenance

There isn’t much upkeep involved with dollies, and if you store it somewhere dry and secure over the winter, it will be good to go for next year. 

Related: How to Use a Trailer Dolly

What To Consider For Your Trailer Dolly

Total Weight Of Your Loaded Trailer

The manufacturer usually provides a number of crucial information somewhere on the trailer and the boat. Look for a plaque or a placard to find the following:

• Trailer weight without any cargo
• Payload capacity (how much can the trailer safely carry)
• GTWR (Gross Trailer Weight Rating) – maximum weight the trailer can safely handle which includes the weight of the trailer and the cargo you are transporting
• GTW (Gross Trailer Weight) – this is something you calculate and it’s the total weight of the trailer and the cargo. 

Manual Or Motorized Trailer Dolly

Because they have fewer moving parts, manual dollies are more economical, but because they depend on manual labor, they are only as strong as the person using them. Motorized or electric trailer dollies are much more energy efficient and easier to operate especially if you have a trailer that is quite heavy.

Terrain

The best form of terrain for moving a trailer is without a doubt one with hard, flat surfaces. Gravel and grass offer extra resistance, making it more challenging to operate your trailer dolly. Sloping ground necessitates the purchase of a model with brakes to ensure that you maintain control of the trailer. Rough terrain may not be appropriate for motorized dollies because they often travel slowly and have difficulties moving over bumps on the road. 

Best Boat Trailer Dollies

Trailer Valet XL

The Trailer Valet XL is a portable trailer mover that can move up to 10,000 pounds. The XL is easy to set up on your trailer and even easier to steer and tune the position of your trailer. It can be moved manually by turning the hand crank that comes with it in either the low or high gear to act as a trailer hand dolly. The XL can be converted into a motorized boat trailer mover by using the drill attachment that comes with it and a regular cordless drill in the low gear. The XL is one of the strongest portable trailer movers on the market with this weight capacity making it very valuable to have as an accessory. 

Trailer Valet RVR9

The self-moving, remote-controlled RVR Series of electric trailer dollies is intended to make towing your trailer less of a hassle. You may move your trailer with the RVR9 without exerting any physical effort. The lithium ion battery gives it a runtime of 30 minutes. The RVR9 also has a remote control with a 40-foot operating range that lets you easily move your trailer with the touch of a button. Since you can see exactly what you are doing from every perspective, the RVR9 makes it simpler than ever to maneuver your trailer into confined locations. The RVR9 includes four planetary gear motors that can drive both single and twin axle trailers.

Having one of the accessories above are just a few examples of the greatest boat trailer dollies available on the market. These trailer movers will keep yourself and everything around safe from any injuries or damage because they allow you to move your boat trailer with higher precision. They can be used and are effective on a variety of terrains and makes moving a boat a breeze.