Not too long ago, I wrote about taking the kiddos on a solo RV trip because Jeremy couldn’t come with us. That was a good experience that helped me feel much more confident when driving the RV. But I recently had an experience that pushed me even further out of my comfort zone while building my confidence in my driving skills.

I took the kiddos on another solo trip (Jeremy was on a business trip), but this time I pulled our car on the tow dolly. I had planned some sightseeing stops while we were camping, and I knew they would be much easier to get to in our car than in the RV.

When I realized I needed to bring the car, I was a bit apprehensive about it. Would I be able to get the car on the dolly by myself? How would it affect the way the RV drives? Would it be a huge pain, or worth the effort?

After successfully towing the car behind the RV for a total of 500 miles, including twice covering a 20 mile stretch of bridges and tunnels (the CBBT, for those wondering), I have to say it was mostly a positive experience. There were a couple moments of stress or frustration (those narrow tunnels were a bit hairy and gas stations are a pain), but I will definitely be towing the car again.

Here’s 8 things that helped me have a <mostly> good experience towing the car behind the RV

1. I practiced loading the car on the dolly by myself before we left on our trip

This was one of the things I was concerned about, so I made sure get some practice in ahead of time. I drove the car onto the dolly many times last summer, but it was always with Jeremy spotting me. I’d then go inside and finish getting things stowed away while he secured the car to the dolly. When I practiced, Jeremy watched and gave me pointers, as he has loaded it solo a few times and could tell me what to be aware of. As it turns out, it’s not actually that different having a spotter versus not.

Now, I did take it slow and I hopped out of the car multiple times to check my positioning. This felt similar to when I learned to back our first travel trailer, though this was actually a much quicker process, since I just had to line up the tires of the car with the dolly ramps. The hardest part is getting the positioning right at the top of the ramps (I was afraid of over-shooting the mark and getting the car stuck on the dolly), but going slow and being careful got the job done without any unfortunate incidents.

2. I took a quick practice run into town

The RV needed gas, but it was also a good way to get a feel for how the RV handled while towing. I wanted to be able to focus on the vehicles, without the distraction of the kiddos, so I left them at home with Jeremy while I went on this little trip. I tried to time the trip so it was late enough there wouldn’t be a lot of traffic, but it would still be light enough to see well, but I missed the mark.

There wasn’t much traffic, but it was mostly dark as I drove into town, and it made it a lot more difficult to tell where the car was behind me. Since Jeremy was leaving on his business trip the next morning, I couldn’t put this trip off for another day. Despite the darkness this little trip was a confidence booster and showed me that it’s not actually that hard to tow a car behind the RV.

3. I drove slower than the posted speed limit on the freeway

The max recommended speed when towing is 55 MPH. This helps avoid problems with the trailer swaying and cuts down on the risk of the dolly tires overheating and blowing as you’re driving down the road. It also makes braking a little easier. The trip took longer than google maps said it would, but since I knew I would be going slower than the speed limit I didn’t have any problems with the delayed arrival.

4. I allowed plenty of time for the outbound trip and the return trip

I was driving slower than the speed limit, but I also didn’t want to get caught in traffic as I skirted Richmond, so I planned our drives to avoid rush hour traffic. Consequently, we were in the Richmond area mid-morning Monday and about lunchtime on Friday, and didn’t have any problems other than some slow going in a construction area. I also didn’t plan anything else for the day we arrived at the campground and the day we arrived home. Having a super flexible schedule those days made it a lot easier to go with the flow and not stress out about running late.

5. I checked the route for tolls, hazards, etc, and familiarized myself with the route

Most of the trip was on a freeway, which I found to be easy driving, but the last leg was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel system with its accompanying toll plaza and 20 miles of tunnels and bridges. Because I researched it ahead of time, I knew what to expect, including the toll ($31 for the RV and car on the dolly, passenger cars are about $15) and narrow two lane tunnels.

6. I kept in mind the extra length behind me and focused on staying in my lane

I towed our travel trailer with our pickup truck, and I’ve towed a utility trailer with our small SUV, so I do have some experience towing and being aware of what’s behind me. The car towed easy enough that on the straightaways it was sometimes hard to remember the car was there. However, I did find curves to be an issue because it was very easy to drift out of my lane. The car on the dolly didn’t swing wide, but it did want to follow the path of least resistance: ie, a straight line.

I found the Chesapeake Bay tunnel system to be a bit nerve wracking. The bridges were fine (two lanes each way), but the tunnels were one lane each way with semi trucks coming at us constantly. There was no room for error between the trucks on one side and the tunnel wall on the other. I tend to keep the passenger side dolly tire close to the white line, but I was afraid to do so in this instance- there wasn’t much space between the white line and the wall, so I had to make sure I stayed centered in the lane. The lack of options if something should go wrong made me nervous, but the tunnels aren’t super long so the stress was manageable.

7. I watched my blind spots

The car is much smaller and lighter than our travel trailer was, but the RV has much bigger blind spots than our truck did, so both towing situations have advantages and disadvantages. I couldn’t always tell where the car was, but I always knew where the heavier travel trailer was because it was easy to see. The RV has a backup camera that we can leave on, which allowed me to keep an eye on the car as I drove. I found this helpful for checking that I was staying in my lane and not drifting one direction or the other. Changing lanes with extra length behind me required a longer signal period as I double and triple checked that no one was too close.

8. I avoided situations where I’d have to backup (and have to unload the car to do so)

I lucked out with our campsite- arriving on a Monday meant the campground was pretty empty and we had our pick of spots. There was a pull through water/electric site in the shade of the trees, so we picked that one over a more crowded, full hookup site in the full sun. The lack of other RVs around us made it super easy to park the RV and get the car on and off the dolly.

Gas stations are notorious for having tight spaces. I had to go to three different gas stations to find one that had space for me, wasn’t full of other vehicles, and had electricity (!). Even then, the angle wasn’t great and I had to be super careful as I left. Truck stops are much roomier and nicer for getting gas, but after looking for miles and not finding any truck stops, I had to take what I could find before we ran out of gas.

Jeremy’s work schedule can be very busy and unforgiving and there are times when he can’t take time off for vacations. Back when we had our travel trailer, the kids and I went on a couple road trips without the trailer, primarily because I was too nervous to tow the trailer by myself. Now I’m regretting those missed opportunities. We still had fun on those trips, but the hassle of hauling children and suitcases into hotels by myself is not one I care to repeat anytime soon. Having the confidence to drive the RV while towing the car opens up so many more adventuring opportunities for the kids and I.

Do you have any tips to add to what I shared? Do you have any concerns about towing? Leave a comment and let me know.

Like our trip to Gettysburg, we stayed at a Thousand Trails RV campground. We’ve enjoyed using our Thousand Trails membership to explore new areas and still have another trip or two planned for this summer. If you’d like to know more about Thousand Trails or to sign up for your own membership, use my link and you’ll receive a discount on an annual camping pass.

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