[Trulyvintage]

Originally Posted by Shiny

Wow, these national transport brokers are all over the place, both in cost and literally.

Is there any way to pick one over another? Does it really matter? Seems they are all just posting a job on some board and it's a crap-shoot who ends up hauling the car... is that accurate?

Ghost Busters !!

At least if I tow it on a trailer, I know who to reward or blame!

You are needing local tow.

Jim

[Shiny]

Thanks again, Bill

Local tow companies I've contacted so far value their time more than I do!

If I could find and figure out how to contact a local-only carrier with a multi-car open trailer, the cost would probably be more in line with my budget. But I haven't found one of those yet...

I'll try harder.

Or rent the U-Haul and move on.

Mike

[b-man]

Rent the U-Haul.

No big deal.

Handling the car and the tow yourself insures your car is loaded and unloaded safely, take the slower safe less traveled route.

I’ve done my share of both local and out of state towing with my own 18” open trailer with nary a bit of trouble. It’s really not that difficult.

[Shiny]

Yes, just reserved the trailer...

[Bills Auto Works]

Mike,

I have to agree with Bart, I honestly think you are overthinking it & giving yourself undue anxiety!

You are less likely to have an accident pulling the trailer caused by the folks that bother you because they are going by you at a higher speed or darting in & out of lanes than in your passenger car. You are much larger & can be seen easier. Cruise along at 60-63 MPH, stay in the right lane or once in a while the center lane for passing & they will most all cruise on by you with no problem.

To answer your question about brokers......YES, they all put your info on a commercial site called Central Dispatch. The vast majority of brokers (unfortunately) will take the lowest bid regardless of the reputation or quality of equipment of the transporter. The small handful of good brokers vette the guys they contract out to.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...closed.614419/

[GT182]

I've hauled a couple of cars using a U-Haul trailer. My GTO being one of them. No problem whatsoever. I'd even buy one of them if I had the room for it.

[Shiny]

Thanks for all the info and support.

Got it done without incident. Had my son follow me to help with lane changes, stayed off the highways, and took 2-1/2 hrs for what normally takes 1-1/4 on the interstate.

My truck was about at its limit, but did fine. It's rated to tow only 6200 lbs because it has a 3.08 axle. If it was 3.42, it would be something like 9000 lbs., so I figure the stress was on my transmission. I have an extra cooler on it and it never went over 140 degrees but thankfully, the roads were pretty flat. The trailer obviously put a lot of tongue weight on the truck...I probably don't want to know! Not enough clearance, but never bottomed out. Should have used a higher ball mount but I went with what I had.

Yes, the U-Haul trailer is built pretty stout and the brakes worked well. It was old, but tires were new and the last brake inspection was in the spring.

I was not happy with U-Haul, though, as I had gone into the local store, reserved the trailer, and was told no issue because they have several on the lot. So Monday, I check in online and am told I have to drive 30 minutes to pick it up. The local guy confirmed he had 3 trailers but could not over-ride their central traffic coordinator and figured it was because I was towing one-way. I will admit to being harsh with more than one employee. It makes no sense. My 5-minute pick-up was almost 2 hours by the time I got the trailer back to the house.

Car is now in its new home and all is well.



Was kind of fun to have a Pontiac in my rear-view mirror.






Mike

[dataway]

I think the way your truck and trailer were sitting is not bad at all, I've seen WAY worse. Trailer attitude is pretty good .. could use a bit more spring in the truck.

If tranny temps never got over 140 then it wasn't feeling anything abnormal, I think empty running temp on mine is 138 with factory cooler.

U-Haul as a company is a mess, some of it's locations are mind bendingly bad. My experience using their "U-Boxes" to move was an absolute nightmare because of the location at the end of the trip.

Nice to have it all done isn't it

[sdbob]

When I'm traveling and especially towing I stay out of times where traffic is bunched up. I try to run alone or keep at least 6-8 cars between me and guy in front. Sometimes slowing down below 60. Truckers pass. I watch for any drivers weaving,cell phone use. Also I'm always looking ahead for brake lights. My 2 cts.

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by dataway

I think the way your truck and trailer were sitting is not bad at all, I've seen WAY worse. Trailer attitude is pretty good .. could use a bit more spring in the truck.

Yes, it rides stiff... Z71 must do that?

If tranny temps never got over 140 then it wasn't feeling anything abnormal, I think empty running temp on mine is 138 with factory cooler.

Chevy cheaped out in 2018, integrated the trans cooler into the AC condensor with no factory option to add trans cooling capacity. We had the trans over-heat pulling our 4000 lb camper up a mountain. I found out there was a service bulletin to replace the stock 192 degree bypass valve with one that opens at 154 degrees. I had this done, and I added a Mishimoto cooler. No issues since! The worse condition was maneuvering the camper in the yard. Before the fixes, trans temp would hit 240... all because of no airflow. Overall, a bad design but the two changes resolved it.

U-Haul as a company is a mess, some of it's locations are mind bendingly bad. My experience using their "U-Boxes" to move was an absolute nightmare because of the location at the end of the trip.

My two locations were great... it was their corporate scheduling policies that ruined my experience.

Nice to have it all done isn't it

YES! Now for the rest of the move... in about a week. We're excited to get settled again.

Originally Posted by sdbob

When I'm traveling and especially towing I stay out of times where traffic is bunched up. I try to run alone or keep at least 6-8 cars between me and guy in front. Sometimes slowing down below 60. Truckers pass. I watch for any drivers weaving,cell phone use. Also I'm always looking ahead for brake lights. My 2 cts.

Agree and 90% of us are used to it. It's the other 10% that need to stay home. On the trip up, I had one driver get frustrated behind me, whip around and pull right in front of me. She suddenly realized there was a traffic light turning red and slammed on her brakes. Closest I came to having the extra stopping distance bite me. This is so common it's exactly why I was concerned about pulling a heavy trailer.

We also drove past a small truck that was merging onto a minor highway without understanding they had to yield. When they figured out there was no place to merge, it was too late to think and they ran into a steel barrier. The husband and wife got out of the truck unharmed as we drove past, but it was another head-shaker. Fortunately they did this before we got there or I have no doubt they would have tried to merge into my truck.

Mike

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I had a 2" or 3" drop hitch on my Grd Chkee because my 5x8 trailer need that.
Had to flip it over into raised position for the Uhaul trailer and it worked out good.

Glad you conquered the mission safely.

[Drag Star Le Mans]

dataway how did your trip workout with the UHaul auto transport? I borrowed and rented many types of trailers and always liked the UHauls. They load easy, tie down easy and the surge brakes are good if properly maintained by them. I liked them so much I bought one years ago with Uhaul support for parts.

[dataway]

Drag Star,
Worked out well, the U-haul trailer itself is a tough, well thought out piece of equipment as you know. No issues on the trip that weren't my fault (scared myself a couple of times). Trailer pickup location was great, drop-off location not so great. I had one panic braking situation and the trailer and vehicle tie down did it's job great.

Other than the car being exposed to a couple of rain storms I'd do it again. Truck handled the load without issue.

A note on towing with a GMC 5.3 with tow package and in my case a 3.50:1 (ish) rear end. I find it strange that the truck drives pretty much the same towing 2,000 lbs, or 7,000 lbs ... but in kind of a backwards way. It's not that 7000 lbs feels like 2,000 lbs, it's more that 2000 lbs feels like 7000 lbs. Both tow quite well.

Based on the way it felt towing 2000 lbs I expected it to struggle with 7,000 lbs .. but it behaved pretty much the same, maybe requiring just a bit more pedal on hills, and I used the "tow/haul mode" on the trans more.

Truck is rated for 9,600 ... I have a feeling the computer is kind of running the show and it's doing some magic that tries to compensate for the load, so whether it's 2,000 lbs or 7,000 lbs. it tries to make the truck drive the same way.

Fuel mileage was only slightly worse towing the heavier weight, I was expecting it to be way worse.

[OG68]

The tow haul switch works pretty good. I have noted it functions differently between my '06 Silverado with a 4L60 and my '15 Express van (6L80). Its best feature is the re-calibration of the shift points. But I noticed on my van it when on cruise control, it will also downshift automatically when going down a steep grade. It doesn't do this when driving without a trailer.

[Shiny]

Agree with dataway - my truck did not drive a lot different towing 6000 lbs than it does towing our 4000 lb camper. I could definitely feel the weight braking, but the transmission control kept it feeling civilized without any strain. I have also found the tow mode helps downhill and the hill descent feature that can engage the brakes is also a very nice feature, towing or not. I guess they learn a little after building these trucks for 40 years or whatever it is!

Mike

[MUSLCAH]

Rented a U Haul car hauler...to go to New Jersey...from New Hampshire to buy my GTO.

Drove and handled like a dream on that trailer...even ovah the George Washington Bridge....nevah doing that again !!!

But I did have a 2015 GMC 2500 tow vehicle

[dataway]

Yep the trailer is definitely a good design, you'd never know it was back there except for starts and stops .... meaning it doesn't try to push the tow vehicle around, it doesn't do any jerking or funny behavior, and it track nice and straight.

Only thing I've ever towed that was better was my home built mini-gooseneck race trailer, it had a dangerous level of "You'd never know it was back there" .. as more than once I forgot I was towing it.