Towing my GN -Dolly or Trailer?

[turbojimmy]

Hi all,

Due to the alarming rate at which my brother and I break our Buicks, last week we got together and bought a pickup with which we can tow stuff (it's also 4WD and has an 8 ft. bed so it's useful for other things). It's a '95 F150 with a towing capacity of 7,100 lbs. It's a V8 auto w/ OD. I have a class IV hitch and a trailer lighting hookup on it.

I plan to rent a dolly or trailer from U-Haul to tow my car 100 miles to the engine guy. If I go to the U-Haul site, it won't let me select a trailer for this exercise because the combined weight of the trailer (2,000 lbs) and car (3,300 lbs.) is more than 80% of the weight of the GVW of the truck. But, the 5,300 lbs. is well under the towing capacity of the truck. U-Haul car trailers have brakes.

The 'legal' option that their website presents me with is the dolly, which only weighs 650 lbs. I'd need to take the driveshaft off the car, which is inconvenient but not the end of the world.

So WWTB do?

TIA,
Jim

 

[Grumpy]

take the motor out of the car yourself or is that to easy ?? then your car stays home in a nice warm garage

 

[turbojimmy]

take the motor out of the car yourself or is that to easy ?? then your car stays home in a nice warm garage

You know I like to do things in the most difficult manner possible.

But in this case, I'm operating under the engine guy's instructions. The thrust bearing went bad in a a new engine. Engine guy wants the whole thing, as-is to see what the problem might be. Per his instructions, I haven't touched it since the day I got home from the track last month. I didn't do anything but put it up on the lift and walk away. Haven't even wiped the shoe polish off the windows.

Jim

 

[SGRIM]

Trailer if possible!

 

[Grumpy]

You know I like to do things in the most difficult manner possible.

Jim

yup.. see if this goes 10 pages sorta like "how many people do ya need to move a car" type thing. then just leave it in your garage and fix it next year :biggrin:

 

[jasjamz]

Trailer it. Hope he takes good care of your car.

 

[TurboRegal84]

Trailer it.....and BTW...U-Hauls trailers are terrible. I towed a GN with my Lightning and there is only one place in the front to strap down the car on the U-Haul trailer. Getting even weight distribution on their trailers is near impossible because you strap in the front wheels all the way at the front of the trailer putting too much weight on the front of the trailer. I am sure a Manga member would be glad to loan you a trailer!

 

[turbojimmy]

yup.. see if this goes 10 pages sorta like "how many people do ya need to move a car" type thing. then just leave it in your garage and fix it next year :biggrin:

Or what sort of modifications would I need to make to a 3-cylinder Yugo in order to tow a trailer? Or can I construct a trailer out of pine cones to save weight? What if I converted the truck to a dually and added smoke stacks?

I need to get it fixed over the winter, though, so I'll be towing it down between Xmas and New Years. I've never towed anything before, but it's the main reason we bought the truck. I don't want to do anything risky or dangerous.

I'm not worried about leaving it with the guy - I've done it before and he takes good care of it.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

Trailer, but rent an actually car trailer,

Not a pos U-Haul trailer-

 

[Grumpy]

this is how we moved a few years ago.. saved us from renting a truck who needs a truck anyway car trailers are great!! even if ya only use them every now and then !!

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

this is how we moved a few years ago.. saved us from renting a truck who needs a truck anyway car trailers are great!! even if ya only use them every now and then !!

I dont see the DOG:biggrin: I call B.S.

 

[Grumpy]

I dont see the DOG:biggrin: I call B.S.

he wouldn't fit !! damm was he pissed

 

[1985GN]

i've done both a trailer and a tow dolly with mine and have went about 65 miles with mine on a dolly to get the cage done and after that i always said ill never got a far distance without a trailer...my vote is for trailer if going that far

 

[ijames]

The trailer is much better than the dolly. Can you just tell them you are going to be carrying a Toyota or something else light enough so they will rent it to you, or will that violate all kinds of insurance stuff? Main thing when pulling a trailer is to go slow. Allow plenty of room between you and the car in front and take your time. You want about 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue, so that's about 530-550 lbs in this case. Before you hook the trailer up, get enough guys to add up to 550 lbs and have them stand on the bumper and measure the distance to the ground. After you get the trailer hitched up and the car on the trailer you want the bumper to be the same distance so you know you have the right tongue weight. Shift the car forwards or backwards as necessary. A little heavy is ok, light is very bad. Too light will cause swaying above some speed which will start suddenly. If this happens do not try to accelerate out of it because that just means you will be going faster when you finally wreck. Lift off the gas to gently slow down and it should come back to straight. Don't stomp the brakes, but if you can hit just the trailer brakes that will get it straight the fastest.

 

[turbojimmy]

The trailer is much better than the dolly. Can you just tell them you are going to be carrying a Toyota or something else light enough so they will rent it to you, or will that violate all kinds of insurance stuff? Main thing when pulling a trailer is to go slow. Allow plenty of room between you and the car in front and take your time. You want about 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue, so that's about 530-550 lbs in this case. Before you hook the trailer up, get enough guys to add up to 550 lbs and have them stand on the bumper and measure the distance to the ground. After you get the trailer hitched up and the car on the trailer you want the bumper to be the same distance so you know you have the right tongue weight. Shift the car forwards or backwards as necessary. A little heavy is ok, light is very bad. Too light will cause swaying above some speed which will start suddenly. If this happens do not try to accelerate out of it because that just means you will be going faster when you finally wreck. Lift off the gas to gently slow down and it should come back to straight. Don't stomp the brakes, but if you can hit just the trailer brakes that will get it straight the fastest.

Thanks - that's what I was looking for. It does look like the U-Haul puts a lot of weight on the tongue, which I guess is okay. The truck sits high and the suspension is good on it. I rented a U-Haul in the past to get the car up to Level10 but we were towing with a 1/2-ton Chevy. I wasn't driving so I don't know how it handled.

On the U-haul site if I pick a super cab it's fine with me hauling a trailer - the weight is that close. I might just pick a different car for the rental agreement, but if something goes wrong then I'm hosed. Or I could list it as a super cab. I doubt the u-haul guy will even notice. If I pick an F-250 it's okay, too.

Jim

 

[gnxtc2]

Jimmy

You can borrow my trailer if need be.

I rented a U-haul trailer when I had my '91 Toyota V6 P/u truck.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[supergenius]

trailer for sure!!!

 

[turbojimmy]

The deed is done.

I dropped the car off in Camden today.

The U-Haul trailer is actually kind of nice. Inertia brakes, built-in ramps and swing-out fenders so you can open the doors on the car you're towing. It seems to load up the tongue properly - it was totally solid and steady at 65 MPH. It had chains and ratchet-down-straps for the front wheels.

Evidently I did a satisfactory job installing the Class IV hitch because it stayed attached to the truck the whole time.

The 13-year-old Ford performed flawlessly. It's nice having a truck around again.

Jim

 

[Sleeper-6]

Man, if I knew you were going down to visit Dan I would have had you keep an eye out for my short block down there. It should be done this week.

 

[turbojimmy]

Man, if I knew you were going down to visit Dan I would have had you keep an eye out for my short block down there. It should be done this week.

He's got a lot going on down there. When I rolled up another GN was leaving, and he was expecting someone else to pick up another car so he could put mine inside.

I'll probably be going back down in February to get the car if you need anything then.

Jim