new to towing, looking for advice

[JDMills]

On thursday I am setting out to retreve a Mercedes diesel, which is about a 600 mile trip. I am planning on renting one of those Uhaul car trailers to do the job. Upon looking up the information on their website, they say a D350 is not heavy enough to pull what would turn out to be about 6000. lbs total, between the trailer and the car, and all. I say hogwash, but then I have never pulled anything heaver than a 14 foot fishing skiff...



Are they just being conserative, or has the trailer they rent got some thinng to do with it? (I once saw a fella tow a M-37 on a uhaul trailer and the truck alone went for just under 6000, he did that with a 1/2 ton ford. )



Also, any advice which you have discovered from the school of hard knocks about towing will be carefully digested. I want this trip to go smoooothly!

Thanks

Jason

 

[BigIronRam]

They're being ultra conservative. I've hauled 8000 pounds of car and trailer (1,400 miles) with a 318 Ramcharger and had no problems other than getting the car positioned properly for good weight distribution. The 106" inch wheelbase Ramcharger is picky about weight distribution. Go for it.



Robert

 

[RMcCulloch]

As Robert said, they're being ultra conservative. Their recommendation is probably based upon pulling one of their enclosed box trailers: slab front and sides make for a lot of wind resistance that you simply don't get with a streamlined car.



Last Christmas I pulled a Chevy Celebrity Wagon [~5000#] from the Texas Gulf Coast to Northern Minnesota on one of those and had to look in the rearview mirror to tell that it was even there.

 

[JDMills]

Thanks for the positive reinforcement. I will be psyched way up if it all works smoothly.

Jason

 

[wcjp]

The weight of my carhauler and Jeep is 5500 pds. My 2500 has no issue with the weight.

 

[Beast2B]

As stated, an open car hauler is great for towing. Tandem axles make for better tracking. The only thing I'd add would be to do a complete check of the lights and brakes once you've got the trsiler hooked up. Make sure your controller and truck wiring is matched correctly and the brakes work! Have a good trip.

 

[DPelletier]

Your proposed load is WELL within the tow capacity of a D350.



Cheers,

Dave

 

[ntillm01]

I'm getting the idea U-Haul is being very conservative for liability reasons, and has nothing to do with the tow vehicle or the vehicle/load being towed. After reading this thread and my own experience, I'm getting un-thrilled at using U-Haul ever again.



I wanted to rent one of their car dollies to tow a 96 Saturn. Their website said not recommended, I reserved it anyway. The day I picked it up, they asked what I was towing... 96 Saturn... nope won't rent it to you. (Apparently too much nose overhang). Ok, how about a 96 neon? Nope, too low to the ground. What the crap? What common, modern car could anybody tow with these things then? Carefully and sensibly loaded, I'm convinced the car and dolly would be fine. They must be figuring in the idiot-factor big time these days and aren't renting anything unless it absolute can't be done wrong.



Anyway, I would think a D350/3500 anything should be able to pull closer to 10k or more. That's why they call it a "3" something truck in the first place.



My 0. 02.

 

[JDMills]

I am not sure what I am gonna say when they ask what I am towing, bet they would say no to a stationwagon! so I will make something up. .

 

[DPelletier]

Tell 'em your towing a Nash Metropolitan or a Cooper mini!



Dave

 

[JDMills]

It all went off smoothly. Dude at the counter asked what kind of car, I said a mercedes benz, and he took it from there. Wish I was towing a '95, 500 SEL, then it could be sold quick for more truck parts.



thanks for all your imput, looking forward to the next towing event, as that one was fun.

Jason

 

[ndurbin]

good to hear everything went off w/o a hitch.



Nathan

 

[n5ifi]

My 40' flatbed trailer weighs 8000# empty. I try to haul no more than 17000# on top of that.