Dollies: Jotag versus Dynamic ...

I would really like to get a nice dolly for my ‘79 Sunfish; but, they’re pretty expensive. I see that Intensity Sails has the Jotag dolly on sale for about $100 off ... that’s a pretty hefty discount, and pretty tempting.

Does anyone have experience with the Jotag dolly? I would be interested in your thoughts about it. For me, a dolly should be light, durable, easy to break down for storage / transport in my car, easy to use, maintenance free, and it should make loading / unloading my Sunfish from the trailer to the dolly, and vice-versa. Yeah, that’s about all it needs to do!

Does anyone have any experience with the Dynamic dolly versus the Jotag? Again, interested in any insights or observations there.

I’m looking for a decent dolly, at a decent price ... something that will make getting the boat from the trailer to the water easier.

Thanks for any feedback!

- Bob
 
Dynamic is worth every penny. Good quality materials, lightweight, tube tires with nice bearings. Breaks down into 5 pieces. Excellent customer service and spare parts. Ships from the US, usually same day. If you decide to get one I can get it to you in CONUS with free shipping, send me a PM.

Because we don't like lifting our boats to shuffle them around we have 7 of them.

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Oh yeah, it will do all those things you mentioned...

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Intensity Sails Jotag I sent them an email and got a quick reply. The foam filled tires are described as "firm". I like not having to pump up tires periodically, but you may want to evaluate the different surfaces you are traveling across to see if that blends with your needs.

Dynamic Dollies and Racks Lots of information on their website, we like the bearings in the wheels more than the design on the Seitech. As for the tires, as the Seitech tires aged they could deflate, come off the rim and take some gyrations to reseat. Didn't like fooling with plastic rims and tires of an indeterminate age and compressed air. I had not idea how old the dolly was so in fairness to Seitech maybe I needed to buy a new tire and/or new rim. The Dynamic tires caught our attention because they had tubes, a common upgrade that people were doing to their Seitechs. They can go down a bit over a season, over 7 dollies and 4 years I've pumped up about 6 of them. (Maybe I should name them too and keep track of whether it tis the same one slowly losing air...). Dynamic made in the USA, they build racks too, great customer service.

Some folks like to tinker and build. We designed one, I thought I could build and ship and axle, frame and wheel kit, you buy a 2x4 and head to the beach. Around $200 in lumber, screw, pipes, washers, cotter pins, tires, bushings, carpet, tacks lots of cutting and drilling, heavy and there is still a tire deflation issue. And nothing was going to last one in the marine environment, the prototype rusted in about a year under a beach house in Buckroe Beach. Alas, my Dolly Empire crumbled into metal bits :)

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Fun stuff!
 
Wow, Clark, you have a lot of “dolly” experience! And you make a good case for the Dynamic dolly ... I like “made in the USA”, and typically am happy to pay a little more for that. Really cool set-up that you have there ... I need to spend some more time on your Facebook page - lots of cool boatwork underway. Thanks for all of the great feedback ... I’m not sure what I should do next; but, you’ve given me a lot to think about. I do think that I need to order a trailer in the next couple of months ... I’m anxious to get sailing on the Sunfish.

I tend to be “thrifty” (my wife says “cheap” ... and maybe that’s more accurate), so I loved your 2x4 kit idea! I’ve looked at various homemade dolly solutions online, and haven’t found anything that appeals to me. Some great ideas, but, there is a bit more hassle factor than I want with many of those dollies - I like sailing to be “low hassle”. The PVC dollies look interesting; but, I am getting away from plastics as much as I can, and so I’m not interested in building one of those. I’m probably going to need to pry open my wallet one of these days soon and get a commercially manufactured dolly ... and you’ve provided lots of data points to support the purchase of a Dynamic dolly. I’ll noodle on it for a little bit. Thanks again.
 
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Hi Barnacle B

I'd definitely call or email the folks at Intensity or Dynamic with questions. Might come down to what type tires you want. Free shipping if you get a Dynamic through us, factor that into your price, otherwise shipping averages $40-65.

We have never regretted a commercial dolly purchase, I am encroaching age 60, had herniated discs from my time with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, dislocated shoulder, etc... And Skipper started making squeaky noises when I put her on the end of a Sunfish. We deserved something nice and budget plenty of other places. Free shipping if you get a Dynamic through us.

Cheers
Kent
 
Regarding tires that go flat: I have several hand trucks, wheelbarrows and garden carts with cheap tires and tubes made in China. (It's programmed obsolescence—like their cheap flashlights that assure that Chinese batteries go in when the light starts to dim). The only good news is that new tires (on rims) go on sale on occasion. :rolleyes:

My test vehicle, below:
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Instead of buying replacement tires, I drilled five ¼-inch holes through the tread and inflated each deflated tire with Great Stuff expanding foam. It took about 1½ cans for a firm tire. Remove the valve stem core to add the required water (as catalyst). If the tire has fallen off the rim, add some slivers of a cut-up pool noodle to take up some empty space, then over-inflate to reseat the tire. A bicycle shop may be able to help with the reseating process.

At today's prices, it's an expensive "workaround"; however, they don't tell you that Great Stuffexpanding foam has a shelf life :( so I used some rusting cans that had been on the work bench for a few years. (There's no "use-by" date: outdated Great Stuffcans are heavy at one end). Buying in quantity, you can get a dozen cans today @$5 each through Amazon.

.
 
Beldar: thanks for the link to the previous thread on Jotag dollies ... I should have thought to search for earlier threads. That info was really useful ... just enough to make me think that I’ll pass on the Jotag and pony-up for the Dynamic ... at some point, hopefully soon.

L&VW: thanks for the tip on tires ... I may give that a try.

- Bob
 
Expanding foam in a tire is okay for walking speed tires. Do not use in road tires though. There are several videos with people that have tried that in car tires with disastrous results. I think even at walking speed the foam could break down over time. Expanding foam is not meant to carry weight, just fill gaps.
 
Tires are designed to flex and Great Stuff is designed to be rigid; the Great Stuff is going to flex and break down.
 
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Signal charlie is a very good salesman. I humbly recommend our dollies. Try them, there are 3000 sold in usa. You will not regret . Gunwale support are sold separately and does not fit sunfish dollies
 

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What? No discussion for yesterday's perusals? :( OK...

Tires are designed to flex and Great Stuff is designed to be rigid; the Great Stuff is going to flex and break down.

Correct, but Great Stuffexpanding foam—drilled through the tread—keeps the rubber tire on the steel rim. (For light loads).
 
The latest Harbor Freight catalog (March) shows a large selection of foam-filled AND solid rubber tires. (At reasonable prices).

Watch that replacements have the same shaft diameter and the same number of rivets through the rim—four or five.

.
 
Tires are designed to flex and Great Stuff is designed to be rigid; the Great Stuff is going to flex and break down.
Once the tube valves disappeared into the steel rim, there wasn't much that could be done—outside of trip to the bicycle shop. :oops:

After a couple of years on the Great Stuff "repair", the rubber tires wouldn't stick to the steel rims, so I replaced two complete units. (I tried epoxy and Superglue to no avail).

Curious as to the condition of the Great Stuff, I cut through the tire, and found this:

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This was the "Pond & Stone" variety of Great Stuff, so it was dark gray and soft to the touch. You can see where it squished the erstwhile useless tube out of the way.

I'm trying a different adhesive—Liquid Nails—on the new tires, and see what happens. ;)
 

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