Hello,

Moving to the east coast from WA and will be towing a single axle, 4x8 box trailer with our misc stuff. Can't really guess the weight, but should be well below the 3500 limit.

While pulling it from Tacoma, it did fine on the freeway and smaller hills but once I got to a steep grade it was 45MPH pedal to the metal.

Am I crazy for thinking the 2nd gen, auto runner is capable of getting us to the east coast safely?

 

as long as you aren’t in a hurry, it should be fine. the important issue is stopping distance; how well does it come to a stop with the loaded trailer? if it can handle hard braking without worry, that would be good. if hard braking at highway speeds is a problem, rethink your plan.

 

once I make sure the trailer is fundamentally safe; bearings , tires, electrical all being replaced, I will load the trailer down with my last dump run and see how she stops.

Would be nice have an american v8 for this job, and would get better gas mileage lol

 

for a one-time trip, the gas mileage really doesn't matter that much. obviously it's nice to get good mileage, but in the end, you are moving, so the important thing is having everything arrive without major (or any) issue.

 

Yep, you're right. Moving will cost money no matter what and it beats the cost those POD companies charge + airfare. I imagine I'll be getting about 10MPG, with a 3400 mile trip, calculating a 10%+ due to stopping, scenic detours, I'm looking at 374 gallons of gas at $5.00 $1870. We'll be driving 8 hours a day, and should take us about 6.5 days at that rate.

Appreciate the reply

Cheers

 

Make sure you load the trailer tongue heavy, truck should squat when loaded. Don’t want any whip lash from improperly loaded trailer

 

You're probably well down the road by this point.
What I've done (about 4x now) is rent a penske, and a trailer to put my vehicle on.
That does a couple of things - even if all my garbage weighs a ton.
First I am covered by the optional insurance (which only seems to be wasteful unless you need it).
Second I know they can't claim "You were overweight, we're not covering your claim" because I rented the trailer as well.
The truck will also have the GVWR rating to safely drag, and more importantly STOP reasonably well in a hurry. With out the trailer pushing the two vehicle around.
I usually get pretty dang good mileage (I never rent the gasoline models) and can drive reasonably quickly and comfortably.
Last time I moved to CO I had the truck for 5 or 6 days included (extra time typically no issue) and the cost from College Station was $1k or so.


Hope the trip is / was safe and enjoyable.