Dollies/Farming Simulator 17
A Dolly is a type of Adapter in Farming Simulator 17. It allows vehicles to connect to a Fifth Wheel trailer even if they don't have a Fifth Wheel attachment point. In the base game, only Trucks can do this without a Dolly.
The Dolly is a simple wheeled metal frame, with a Drawbar attachment point at the front, and a Fifth Wheel attachment point at the rear. It has no other function or special ability.
With a Dolly, your Tractors and other heavy machines will be able to tow massive semi-trailers such as Tippers, Animal Transports, Slurry Tankers, and others. The usefulness of this is limited, since Trucks are generally better for the job of pulling massive weights. On the other hand, a Dolly is far cheaper than buying a Truck, if you do not already own one.
Farming Simulator 17 only offers one model of Dolly by default - the Fliegl Dolly EA. It has a Drawbar (Ball) attachment at the front, and therefore cannot be towed by vehicles that lack this specific attachment type, but is otherwise perfectly adequate for its job.
List of Dollies
Below is the only Dolly model available in the base game. It is found in the "Dollys" category at the store.
| Name | Price | Maint. Cost per Day |
Front Hitch | Rear Hitch | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fliegl Dolly EA | 9,000 | 10 | Drawbar (Ball) | Fifth Wheel | 3,986 |
Hooking Up
The only purpose of a Dolly is to serve as an adapter or "bridge" between a Vehicle and a Fifth Wheel trailer, when that vehicle is lacking a Fifth Wheel attachment point. In the base game, only Trucks have a Fifth Wheel attachment point, which means that all other vehicles need a Dolly to hook up to those trailers.
The process of hooking up a Vehicle-Dolly-Trailer combo is relatively simple:
- Reverse the vehicle into to the Dolly until you get the option to "Attach".
- Hit the button
AttachDefault Buttons: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/d/dd/FS17_Logo_PC.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234847 Qhttps://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/6/6c/FS17_Logo_XBOX.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234910 ??https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/e/e3/FS17_Logo_PS4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170828002413 ?? to hook the vehicle to the Dolly. - Reverse the Dolly under the front of the Trailer you wish to tow, until you get an option to "Attach" to that trailer.
- Hit the button again AttachDefault Buttons: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/d/dd/FS17_Logo_PC.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234847 Qhttps://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/6/6c/FS17_Logo_XBOX.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234910 ??https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/e/e3/FS17_Logo_PS4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170828002413 ??. Make sure to hit the "Attach" button only when the option is available, otherwise you might disconnect the vehicle from the Dolly instead.
That's all there is to it. Your vehicle is now attached to the Dolly, which is attached to the trailer. The whole setup will now behave (for the most part) like a Truck and Semi-Trailer.
Releasing
When it's time to unhook, you have two options: You can release the Semi-Trailer from the Dolly (taking the Dolly with you elsewhere), or release the Dolly from the Vehicle (leaving it attached to the Semi-Trailer). Choose the first option if you have another Semi-Trailer that needs towing. Choose the second option if you don't have any other Semi-Trailers, or if you have additional Dollies to use for those Semi-Trailers.
To select which equipment piece to disconnect, use the "Change Tool Selection" button Vehicle: Change Tool SelectionDefault Buttons: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/d/dd/FS17_Logo_PC.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234847 Ghttps://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/6/6c/FS17_Logo_XBOX.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234910 ??https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/e/e3/FS17_Logo_PS4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170828002413 ??. The schematic at the bottom right corner of the screen will show which tool is currently selected, in green. That is the tool that will be disconnected when you hit the "Detach" button DetachDefault Buttons: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/d/dd/FS17_Logo_PC.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234847 Qhttps://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/6/6c/FS17_Logo_XBOX.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170827234910 ??https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/farmingsimulator/images/e/e3/FS17_Logo_PS4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/30?cb=20170828002413 ??.
Why Buy a Dolly?
Semi-Trailers are massive pieces of equipment, which are explicitly designed to be towed by a Truck. Trucks are both powerful and fast - capable of moving the semi-trailer and its cargo at great speeds from one place to another. Trucks have a Fifth Wheel attachment by default, and have no need for a Dolly to attach to those Semi-Trailers.
This brings up the question: Why buy a Dolly at all? Why not just buy a Truck?
During the late-early game, when money is still somewhat tight and better equipment is getting very expensive, purchasing a Truck can be a serious expenditure. The cheapest Truck in the base game costs over $120,000, and once purchased all it can do is tow equipment from place to place; It does not really help you with your farm-work. On the other hand, your business is expanding, and the massive capacity of semi-trailers starts to become important. In pretty much any business - Crop Farming, Forestry, or Animal Husbandry - the semi-trailers are the largest and most useful containers for carrying your products.
Instead of shelling out $120,000+ for a new Truck, you can instead spend somewhere around $200,000 to get a powerful Tractor, plus several thousand for the Dolly itself. While this is much more money than you'd pay for a Truck, your new Tractor can be put to good use on your fields, operating your other machinery, or performing any other job you might need doing. It can easily end up serving you far better than a Truck would.
Of course, if you already own a Large-class Tractor, then the choice is between buying a brand-new $120,000+ truck strictly for towing cargo, or buying a $10,000 Dolly and using your tractor for towing whenever necessary. This is an even easier choice.
Not every player will find this option appealing, of course. It depends greatly on your personal play-style.
In either case, at one point or another you will be able to afford a Truck and have plenty of work for it to do anyway - making a Dolly completely redundant. Once you buy a Truck, a single one should be able to handle all of your towing needs well into the late game.
Downsides
The most important disadvantage of a Dolly setup compared to towing with a Truck is speed. Trucks are very fast vehicles - as fast as a Train. They are also very powerful, and can tow full semi-trailers up steep roads rather easily. The only vehicles faster than Trucks are Cars, and these usually lack the horsepower to tow a large semi-trailer full of cargo. There are a couple of Tractor models that rival Trucks in speed, but they are also significantly weaker than any Truck.
Another important disadvantage is the way a Dolly maneuvers in reverse. A Dolly swivels freely behind the vehicle that's towing it, and swivels freely relative to the semi-trailer behind it. When driving forwards, this makes a Tractor/Dolly/Trailer combo extremely maneuverable - capable of making much tighter turns than a Truck/Trailer combo. However when driving in reverse, the two swivel points of the Dolly make maneuvers extremely difficult and unpredictable. As a result, backing a semi-trailer up to a specific spot is very frustrating and sometimes completely impossible.
Finally, as mentioned in the previous chapter above, chances are you will buy a Truck sooner or later. At that point, all of your Dollies become utterly useless, since even a single Truck can easily handle plenty of towing, all over the map, more easily and effectively than any Vehicle/Dolly/Trailer combo.