[getmygoat]

Hi all,

I don't have any experience with towing, but am considering renting a uhaul car trailer and towing my 69 judge about 150 miles with my chevy traverse. it has the tow package, 3.6 liter v6 fwd, rated for 5200 lbs. the numbers seem to work but I was hoping for opinions from those more experienced than I as to whether this is a safe se up. Thanks!

[Cardo]

it doesn't sound like you have enough tow vehicle there... I wouldn't be comfortable doing it. I'm not even sure if Uhaul would rent you the trailer if you tell them what you are towing with and what you are towing. You may need to rent a pick up too.

[i82much]

I towed my GTO with a Jeep Liberty one time, maybe 25 miles. I wouldn't do it again.

[goatless]

I'm thinking it's not a great idea.
It might be okay for across town, but you're really at the limits for the tow rig. That combined with no towing experience is a recipe for disaster.

[indymanjoe]

Maybe rent a tow dolly? Less dependent on how ya load it and the tongue weight may be less? Good luck.

[Jim Zeek]

just because something has a hitch doesn't mean its a tow vehicle. and especially towing a 69 judge.

[cdrookie]

rent a box truck also. it's close enough to drop it off at the same place you got it from and on the same day.

[madokie]

my friend has a tow dolly, he only reccomends it for short, slow trips,,for 150 miles get that car completely on a trailer,,hire someone off craigslist who has 3/4 ton truck and a big car hauler trailer..

[Ben M.]

"Rated" for 5200lbs does not mean it will safely haul your 4000lb Judge + 1000lb trailer. If you had no other way to do it and 150 miles was across flat land with no freeways or highways, I could see doing it in a crisis. As it is, that vehicle is too small to safely do it. Yes, it can do it, but it won't be safe especially considering the idiots out there who assume everything stops on a dime.

Not to mention U-Haul will not rent you a full size trailer for that tow vehicle and I doubt they'd even be happy letting you rent a dolly for it. Tell them you're towing a 1969 model car and they'll probably say "no way" just out of principle due to how old the vehicle is. If you manage to do get a trailer from them and have an accident, your fault or not, you can bet U-Haul is NOT going to help you out in any way and it may even be an insurance violation issue.

I see people towing similar cars all the time with these type of vehicles along I-10, they're proof that just because you can do something doesn't mean it's a great idea.

[geeteeohguy]

What these gents said: you need a bigger tow vehicle. The U-haul trailers are heavy, and with the GTO on it, you'd be over. I would do a dolly or rent a tow vehicle and trailer. BTDT.

[ponyakr]

Can probably have it shipped for $300 or so. I had a Ventura shipped from Topeka Kansas to North Louisiana, which is almost 700 miles, for about $550.

I'd get some quotes, then check reviews of those with the better prices. It's a very competitive business. Some are just brokers. Some have their own trucks.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/h...ht-online.html

http://www.shipmycar.com/myths-about...ping-services/

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...0car%20shipped

Also might check with car guys in your area. Many car clubs have members who have had cars shipped. Can probably get some good references.

Between the car club guys and local racers, you might be able to hire a local guy to haul it for you. There is usually somebody around who would like to make a few extra bucks, for a daylight haul. Back when I had a rig, I made quite a few such hauls, to help others & sometimes to make extra racing $$.

At our local U-haul place, I recently saw a late model GMC 1500 reg cab long bed. They also have a car trailer. With my trailer towing experience, I wouldn't be afraid to use that rig at all. But, I'd add lots of weight to the bed, such as tool boxes, floor jack, generator, charger, spare batt--most any kind of weight. An empty, reg cab single wheel pickup can be very dangerous, since the rear of the truck will be so much lighter than the load you're pulling. For a guy with no towing experience, I would not recommend it.

The only bumper pull trailer towing trucks I've felt really safe using were dual rear wheel crew cab one tons. With all the extra weight I carried, they weighed more than the combined weight of the car/trailer.

[Goatracer1]

You can't safely do it. My 16ft car trailer was 1600 lbs empty. U-Haul trailers are longer and much heavier. Even if your Chevy had the rating you would need a load leveling hitch and sway controls. Most U-Haul places will rent you a truck and trailer combo. A much safer way to go.

[Radman]

You may get it moving with your towing rig. Getting it stopped is an entirely different matter. The best advice was rent a box truck along with the trailer. A 15 foot box truck will move everything just fine, and it will stop it also.

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by Radman

You may get it moving with your towing rig. Getting it stopped is an entirely different matter. The best advice was rent a box truck along with the trailer. A 15 foot box truck will move everything just fine, and it will stop it also.

I'm just curious, for you guys with experience using this type of U-haul rig, what would be the aprox cost of renting this type of rig, for this haul ?

I'm guessing it would be more than having a pro haul it.

[brad900]

First if you've never towed anything before I would say no. The U-haul trailer is 2210 lbs empty so you would be over the weight with the GTO on there. U-haul website won't let your Traverse tow a Honda Accord so do you think it's safe enough to tow something 3x's the weight. Either pay somebody else to trailer it or just drive it back yourself, it's only 150 miles

[400 4spd.]

I have rented the UHaul "car haulers" a few times. You have to roll your front tires to the very front stop in order to strap the front tires. This puts too much tongue weight on the tow vehicle, but it also prevents people from loading tail heavy and losing control from fish tailing.
The other limiting factor is the deck is only 16' long. Cost for local use per day here is about $65. One way would be more.
Like the others have said, I would not try what you've proposed with the tow vehicle you have. I was using an Excursion to pull with and didn't like the feel of towing a Firebird on one.
I've since bought a longer trailer that serves me well.

[daduck]

just because you can find a business entity that will rent a trailer to you does not mean it is a good idea. Short wheel based vehicles make towing exciting (dangerous).

At minimum....It can be done with a 1/2 ton 4x4 if you have a car hauler trailer (7,000 lb capacity) with electric brakes and a controller in the truck.

getting the load moving is not a problem,....,,stopping is the problem.

When the average commuter vehicle sees that you are coming down the road, they will assume you have good brakes and WILL pull out in front of you on zero notice.

Happens every time I hook up my car hauler.

Dave

[MUSLCAH]

Find a friend with a 3/4 ton truck......rent a u-Haul car carrier. I towed my 67 GTO from Jersey to NH....didn't even know it was behind me...those trailers have their own brakes...all you need is a 4 prong for the lights.

[supercar]

All good advice that has been given. You may be able to pull it but you will probably damage your transmission. The big deal is stopping it. I have owned 3/4 ton trucks for the past 15 years due to towing trailers. I don't even like towing with a 1/2 ton truck. You would be better off in the long run to have it transported with a rollback. If you think you cant afford it, consider all the damage that you could cause otherwise. JMHO.

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

Find a friend with a 3/4 ton truck......rent a u-Haul car carrier. I towed my 67 GTO from Jersey to NH....didn't even know it was behind me...those trailers have their own brakes...all you need is a 4 prong for the lights.

The brakes are called surge brakes. They react when the trailer tongue senses the vehicle slowing. The problem with those is they are slow to react, and often don't work because of a poorly maintained master cylinder on the tongue.
My son rented one a few years ago to haul his Cadillac to Florida. I took the cap off of the master and it was dry rust flakes inside. They brought us another trailer.