Towing a car

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I am making a run to Los Angeles the first weekend in June to haul a car to Spokane. I am considering my hauling options. We may rent a dolly, or whatever they are called that you strap one axle to and trail the other, from U-haul. It is a fairly lightweight Alfa Romeo Alfetta.

I have no experience towing/using these and am wondering how roadworthy/reliable/stable these setups are, especially if you are trying to cover 1300+ miles in less than 2 days. The car is rear drive and I assume you'd strap the rears and trail the fronts, but I would think dragging a car backwards at high speeds is asking for problems.

My preference would be to use a flatbed trailer for the haul but coming up with one is the question. **Rob Hanson** if you are reading this, email me.

Thanks, Vaughn

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'01 2500 QC Shortbed 2wd, 6-speed, 3. 54LSD, Cab & Fog lamps, Camper & Tow Pkg.
BOMBed: DD2 Injectors, PS Boost module, Amsoil air filter, straightpiped exh. , Aeroquip 3/8" fuel line w/tank mounted lift pump, AutoMeter Sport Comp gauges, Line-X'd, Amber turn signal conversion.

 

[JohnB]

Tow dollies work good. You can remove the driveshaft and drag the rears or tow backwards. You will have to tie the steering wheel if you tow backwards which is ok, but sometimes are a little difficult to get it perfectly straight and the car will trail a little "dog legged", but it won't hurt anything. U-haul also rents flatbed trailers. I followed a u-haultruck pulling a u-haul trailer with car today traveling 75 mph. Caught him later when the CHP was giving him an invitation to the policeman's ball.

 

[MikeR]

U-Haul rents car trailers that are real nice... they sit low and aren't very long. I would be leary of using a dolly towing a car for 1300 miles at a decent speed.
Rob's trailer is nice and big,but make sure it has the proper anchors to strap down a car.

-Mike

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Go with a good trailer and brake controller. Handles MUCH better. I towed a Jeep plus a couple thousand ponuds of crap on Rob's trailer and it worked great... Plus, I pulled Vantage hill at 78 MPH in 6th... That was with a stock motor and 8,000 lb trailer. #ad

 

[wyosteveOLD]

Definitely go the trailer route. This past week I followed several of the dolly type haulers and they all looked like an accident waiting to happen. As mentioned, if you tow backwards, you have to tie the steering wheel and if you don't get it perfectly straight or if there is some play in the wheel, the towed vehicle fishtails all over the lane. Also, those nylon strap attachment mechanisms don't look as secure as good chain tie downs. If you tow forward, you have to remove the driveshaft which, while not difficult is just an additional pain. With a trailer it's drive on drive off. FWIW, Ryder and Penske also rent the trailers.

 

[Crash_AF]

Ryder will not rent just the trailers. (at least not around here) You have to rent their truck too.

Later,
Joe

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Joe Hinson, 93 D-350
3in straight pipe, pump turned up 20%, ISSPRO pyro - For now

 

[Okie-Go]

Gosh, if yall were a little closer I might let yall borrow my gooseneck to haul your car on.

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2001 quadcab slt 2500 HO 6spd. LWB,2wd,dk garnett red, trailer tow package,camper special, lock-right locker, 3. 54 gears,ez edge, speed liner,oversized stainless steel chicken slide,66 gallon in bed aux. tank,K&N air filter,Reese 20k hitch, Terry 2000 EX 30ft. double slide 5er, 2000 20ft gooseneck for haulin jeep, firewood and huntin stuff. 5X12 tagalong for haulin the 4 wheeler. Okie Newton

 

[illflem]

While a trailer is the best bet I've towed two cars over 1500 miles with just a tow bar. Just make sure the steering wheel is unlocked and the towed rig will track straight behind, the front wheels will even turn with the curves. It's best if you can bolt the bar right to the frame rather than clamping to the bumper. Another thing to watch out for that even applies to a dolly is the front of the towed rig gets pounded by gravel thrown past your mud flaps, cover the front of it. If you rent from U-Haul check the rates one-way vs. local, sometimes one-way costs much more.

 

[Big-D]

I've used both the dolly and surge type trailer with sucess. For speeds above 65 I wouldn't tow backwards on a dolly if you paid me. Even 55 is a gamble.

Put the car on a rental trailer or one which is set up to haul a car and set the cruise at 70 all day. Well worth the money for a one way rental.
Dave

 

[Batman]

I've towed using both a dolly and a car carrier. I know alot of people use a tow dolly w/motorhomes, but my preference for long distances is a car carrier.
These carriers keep your car of the ground, which I fell is better for rear-drive cars.
We just towed an Acura for Arizona to Rhode Island last year on a carrier and had no problems.
Best of luck!

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George
2001, 3500 4x4 dually, auto, 4. 10 LS, camper & tow groups, RBW 15K hitch, Lund Visor, Westin Platinum CPS nerf bars, OEM front mud flaps, after-market rear flaps.
Stock... ... ... . for now!

 

[Timinator]

I have used the tow dollies for cross country moves of an Acura Legend and a Honda Prelude. The drawback I didn't like: No trailer brakes. I will use the double-axle flatbed from UHaul this year.

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'95 2500 SLT ClubCab, automatic, 3. 54 LSD

 

[Skydiver]

From experence!
I had to tow my sisters 90 mazda van 125 miles with a wide tow dolly. To save time we put the rear wheels on the tow dolly because it was rear wheel drive. We did not want to disconnect the drive shaft. It never did feel stable. About 1 mile into the trip at 65 mph the front of the van with the steering wheel locked started whipping across two lanes. Remember we had the rear wheels on the dolly. This is about the 3rd most scared I have ever been in my life. Luckly the 18 wheelers behind us saw the problem and braked hard. We almost flipped.
I guess the steering geometry had just enough play in it to allow the front end of the van to start changing lanes. We got it on the shoulder and pulled the drive shaft out loaded it the right way and came on home at 75mph no problem.
Pull it foward on a wide tow dolly or put it on a trailer with its own brakes.
Good luck Tim
p. s. I did not own a Dodge at the time.

 

[Eric_77]

I rented a trailer to haul a car from U-Haul I thought I would go the cheap route and get the dolly found out dolly or trailer was the same price. Go the trailer route and if you are making round trip it is well worth it to pay the local rate than to do a drop off.

 

[MikeR]

I have a 16ft car trailer sitting at my in-laws in CA that I'd like to have brought up. This would have been the best opportunity... unfortunately,it needs a new set of tires and some wiring work.

-Mike

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

MikeR, email me. . . maybe we can work something out?? Trailer wiring isn't that bad when you know what you're doing. It could be Saturday Night entertainment #ad
. Unless the tires are totally shot they should hold a 2600lb car OK.

I called U-haul and a 2-axle flatbed is only $60 the first day then $30 a day after that. So for 4 days it's only $150. I will definitely do that instead of the dolly route for the exact reason Skydiver experienced!

Thanks guys for your input!

Vaughn