lunchindabox

Will my little truck be able to handle a Uhaul trailer with another truck (96 taco) on it? The kind I am thinking about renting is where all 4 wheels of the towed vehicle will be off the ground. Traveling about 100 highway miles and 8city miles. The uhaul website said it will not be able to handle it, but a durango should if equipped with the right hitch.

3.0 v6 manual tranny

Also, I have never done any towing, is it hard? any tips or advice?

ChickenLover

I seriously doubt Uhaul will even rent you the trailer if you show up with your 3.0 truck. A taco on a car-hauler is way over your truck's tow rating. I've towed some heavy stuff around town, but what you are describing isn't something I'd attempt.

MMA_Alex

you can do it, but it'll be a pain. Uhaul may not let you do it since its over the towing capacity. You should call and ask them if you can rent the trailer or not.

edit: looking at the uhaul website the trailer alone weighs 2000lbs. I wouldn't recommend towing that much

Elton

sure it can but i would be worried about stopping it do you have a bigger truck you can use ?

91TPU

how about rent the trailer, drive it to wherever the taco is, then hook the trailer to the taco, and put your 3.0 on the trailer, and tow it with the taco...so long as its not the small 2wd taco...

92sr5yota

Ive done some towing with my 3.0 five speed, towed a jeep wranger about 6 miles through town, it did alright hills were very noticible power loss.(this was with a tow strap). Towed my ice shack on a 8 snowmobile trailer, prolly weighing close to 3500 or so pounds, it did the job, if its flat land you can do bout 50mph and thats bout it, i never got into 5th gear, towed it bout 26 miles. by the way my rig is stock and the ice shack is good sized and created tremendus drag. its about 7 feet tall, 8 feet wide and 12 feet long

ChickenLover

They build those things heavy, so it's harder for the idiots to f-k 'em up. Curb jumping, planter side-swiping, etc.

Jay351

How long is this trip going to take you?

Use a friends truck?
Rent one?

I doubt that our little 3.0s can tow an extra car and a half on top of the truck its trying to power..

TNRabbit

I wouldn't tow that much unless it was on flat ground with trailer brakes. Stopping is the main issue.

Sonofmayhem

when i trashed my 4runner we got the smallest uhaul truck and a car hauler from a uhaul and towed my 4runner about 50 miles, and just dropped it off at the closest one, was like 100 bucks.

80W90

I wouldnt tow it. borrow a Ford.

BTW way, f a w k Uhaul!

2 friends, 2 storys:

first renta a trailer to do the same exact thing. has hes going down the interstate, the tounge breaks 80% of the way off. causing both vehicles to barrel roll. both vehicles were totaled. my friend and the 2 kids were ok.
the morons at uhaul had welded and rewelded the tounge. which is illeagal, for this exact reason. he sued them, and eventually got reimbursed.

second incident: same situation again as yours. my buddy went to get a trailer. the retard that worked there hooked up the trailer to the truck. but he didnt do it right.
as my friend took off, it came loose and smashed into and through the back door of his van. he made a claim it, and they denied. messed up part was he bought the insurance. he has yet to sue them.

so my advice to you. dont use U Haul.
and if thats the only choise you have, inspect the tralier, WELL.
and take someone that has done this to make sure it is hooked up properly.

and the extra $$ for insurance is just a way to screw you. but its up to you.

be safe!

lunchindabox

Well, based on what you all are saying, I am not going to attempt it. I do have a durango I can borrow. I have check the hitch on that sucker.

What I am towing back is a totalled taco, 95.5. with a 4 banger, not drivable.

Renting another small Uhaul is not a bad idea...I am only going 200 miles round trip.

I have a guy coming from South Carolina to pick up a broken ass vw passat, maybe I can stalk him into grabbing the truck for me on his way through richmond to Northern Va, based on timing though, i don't think it will happen. Darn!

Thanks for all the good advise folks. I knew you all would come through for me.

Sonofmayhem

When i went i had the vet do it, did an awesome job. It was kinda sad, i was driving and saw a U'haul truck pulling a trailer with an explorer on it, when they stopped for the light, BOOM! the explorer went over the trailer and into the back of the truck.


Go ahead and do uhaul, if something happens you tell them the taco was in perfect shape, before the incident

intense

If your gonna spend the coin already, might look into this:
www.uship.com

Bill

Just a note with U-haul(and I could be wrong): but don't they require that if you're going to be towing a vehicle the tow rig must have a higher GVW the rig being towed?

I'm betting GVW Taco > GVW 3.0 pickup

NaeSLaS

last i checked, uhaul said the tow vehicle has to have 650lbs on the towed vehicle...with a 2-wheeled dolly (which is what i would use, just disconnect the driveshaft...if it's easy on these trucks...i'm a n00b). For a 2000lb trailer, i'd assume you'd need at least 1000lbs on the tow vehicle. I would borrow a truck if possible. Around town you'd be ok, but 100 miles i'd be worrysome.

As far as towing tips, i have a few from hauling the 4500lb boat. Drive like you were a low-rider. IE your acceleration sucks, your brakes suck, and you can't turn for s***. Give yourself plenty of room ahead of you, always give yourself extra distance, and leave yourself plenty of space.

seriously...drive like a lowrider...or a semi truck. Take it slow.

xcmountain80

Thats correct they call it a either a recommended hookup or not recommended.
Your towing vehicle:

* Must be equipped with a hard top if it is an SUV. U-Haul does not allow any type of sport-utility vehicle not equipped with a hard top to tow U-Haul equipment.
* Must weigh at least 3,500 lbs. (curb weight), and must equal or exceed 80% of the combined weight of the trailer (2,000 lbs.) and the vehicle being towed (up to 4,000 lbs.).
* Must have Class 3 tow hitch (5,000 lbs. minimum weight-carrying rating)
* Must have 1-7/8", 2" or 2-1/8" hitch ball (5,000 lbs. minimum)
* Must not exceed maximum allowable hitch ball height 25"
* Must have external mirrors on both sides
* Must have fully operational lighting
* Auto transport lighting must be operational at all times, day and night, loaded or unloaded
* Maximum recommended speed is 45 MPH

The vehicle being towed:

* Must not weigh in excess of 4,000 lbs.
* Must have a maximum outside-to-outside tire width of 79.25"
Note: outside tire width over 75" must use late-model U-Haul Auto Transport (identifiable by silver galvanized color).
* Must have a maximum wheelbase (distance from front axle to rear axle, usually posted on the driver's side door jamb) of 133 inches.
* Low-hanging equipment on the vehicle being towed such as spoilers, air dams, ground effects, etc., may be damaged by contact with the Auto Transport during loading and unloading. Make sure there is enough clearance for these items.


Aaron

MMA_Alex

dolly towing would probably be better as the dolly is only a few hundred pounds, but its still probably not something I would do for that kind of distance. I believe the tacos are actually slightly lighter than the p/u's but only by a couple hundred lbs. It says above that the vehicle must weigh 3500lbs, which I dont think a regular cab p/u will meet.

You could also get AAA Plus, and get it towed for free

lunchindabox

Thanks for all the info guys, I am NOT going to attemp this.

yeah, AAA plus has saved me over 2 thousand dollars total in the past, but for a wrecked car with no tags and registration, i don't think i fool them into it!

NaeSLaS

Borrow a friend's F350 superduty. Thats what I do when i have to tow crap.

Gas money sucks though.