UHaul Car trailer experience

Ken;

I manage an equipment rental yard, though not a U-haul they call me all the time to see what my requirements are for towing heavy loads. First off I require anyone hauling any equipment other than my smallest tractor or excavoter to have a 3/4 ton tow vehicle. Any half ton vehicle can pull but most can't stop a heavy load in an emergency situation. Even with trailer brakes most half tons are not adequate. The other thing is vehicle width, my Hash is too wide to go between the fenders. The other problems with half ton trucks is the axles are too light and if they are running normal tires they are too light for the load of towing heavy cars. What I am trying to tell you is for your safety and the safety of others on the road find a friend with a 3/4 ton truck or better yet a 1 ton truck to tow the trailer for you. I talk with U-Haul employees all of the time who tell me about their customers who ruin their tow vehicles trying to tow heavy vehicles on trailers. For pulling heavy equipment I use two axle trailers with electric brakes, double safety chains and chains and binders to hold everything down. If you use straps use the widest heaviest straps you can buy and stop and check them often. And remember that just because someone will rent you a trailer doesn't mean they know what is safe for you to use. Most of my employees are good guys but they will take short cuts to make their job easy and I have to double check everything to prevent law suits.



Harry

Ken

I pulled a 51 Commodore 8 from Jasper Tx to East Tennessee last year on a U-Haul. Very tight fit between the fenders and rocker trim. My passenger side trim is going to have to go to the stainless doctor for some major straightening. When the car moves around it impacts the trailer fenders. I found it hard to pull at more than 50 to 52 MPH. The trailer would start swaying badly at anything above that speed. I towed with an 02 Ram with 360 auto. No problems pulling the load, even in mountains. Only real problem was speed ( or lack of).

Joe

Sam, it may be there way of insuring the tow vehicle is up to the job. If they service the truck then they know the brakes are good and the bearings and other essentials. One thing you find out in the rental field is no matter how many safety instructions you give or what you do to protect the renter they will undo it all with stupidity then sue you because you didn't realize how stupid they are. We were sued for a million dollars from a customer who rented a trailer with a CJ Jeep, had it grossly overloaded, tried to beat a red light and had to turn at the last second going to fast, rolled the jeep and killed his friend. He won because he convinced a jury that even though we had warned him and he had signed papers saying he knew the risk, we really shouldn't have rented to him because he wasn't a responsible person and we should have known that, he also claimed we should have known not to hook a trailer to a CJ, which we no longer will.



Harry

We have a 16' trailer with 2 dexter 3500 axles and electric brakes. Hudsons are a tight fit width wise compared to Olds and pontiacs that we've trailered. We've towed with full size Blazers, a Tahoe and even a 1400 mile round trip to Kentucky with a Ford F 150 302 5 speed stick. A little slow on some of those long hills with the Ford, but no problems. We've never been limited on how fast we could go, but I'm sure a heavier longer wheelbase truck with a diesel could do better. I thought the electric barkes with a good controller work well.

when i first picked up my 52 coupe i used a u haul trailer. i lied and told them i was towing a vw bug because i was worried they wouldnt rent it to me if i told them i hudson. when i got the car on the trailer i think i had about an inch clearance on bothsides. and the rear wheels were about a foot from the rear edge. it was close! if you need transport i have a friend that does that. pm me if you want his number, his name is wayne, bill knows him too. -john

Used a U-haul trailer to take my 53 Hornet coupe to Bill Albright's Vintage Coach for restoration from Ventura county. I used my 2004 GMC sierra 1/2 ton pickup, The truck bed was loaded with a 308 twin H, tranny,loads of parts no issues. A little hairy coming down the conejo grade (6 % grade I think) when the beautiful restoration was complete.

People will endanger their own lives and the lives of those around them, I know, I turn them away every day. It isn't a matter of having the power to pull it's having the brakes to stop and the suspension to handle the load. No rental guy worth his salt rents without checking the tow vehicle, you can tell me all day your truck is 3/4 ton but if I don't see it for myself you can't rent. When I was younger and dumber I did a lot of towing with not enough vehicle and had some really hairy rides, I'm glad I never killed any one. Brownie, a heavy half is still a half ton truck and it isn't up to the job.



Harry

I don't expect everyone to agree with me. The tow ratings you see on your half ton are determined using fifth wheel trailers loaded correctly, not frame hitch or bumper hitch set ups. If the world were perfect though and people didn't try to pull too fast and left plenty of room in front of them and would downshift going down hills a half ton truck would probably work okay. But as witnessed even on this list people are trying to tow at over safe rates of speed and crowding traffic and generally towing as though their is no weight behind them.



Harry

Both things are sadly missing in todays society. No one wants to take responsibility for their actions.



Harry