Towing question…

[VegasRanger]

So I have to tow a 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan about 200 miles.

It weighs between 4,120 to 4,365 lbs.

I want to use a U-Haul dolly, U-Haul is saying this “combo” won’t work because of my truck.

What do you guys think? I’ve towed a Corolla (about 2,700 pounds) a while back with a tow dolly and it did great.

Any tips are welcomed

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[N559br]

Tell them you're pulling a Corolla. But, I expect the real reason for the rejection is that there are no trailer brakes. While the ranger has a 7500 pound towing capacity, it doesn't have a 7500 pound braking rating. The trailer need brakes.

 

[ControlNode]

So I have to tow a 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan about 200 miles.

It weighs between 4,120 to 4,365 lbs.

I want to use a U-Haul dolly, U-Haul is saying this “combo” won’t work because of my truck.

What do you guys think? I’ve towed a Corolla (about 2,700 pounds) a while back with a tow dolly and it did great.

Any tips are welcomed

That on a U-Haul trailer will likely be too tongue heavy for the Ranger.

Tell them you're pulling a Corolla. But, I expect the real reason for the rejection is that there are no trailer brakes. While the ranger has a 7500 pound towing capacity, it doesn't have a 7500 pound braking rating. The trailer need brakes.

This is just bad advice!
There are surge brakes on their car trailers.


EDIT: Oh wait, he said dolly... humm. that may not have brakes and should not have been used for the Corolla even since that is over the 1650lb, or 1500lb (depending on where you are reading), limit for unbraked towing. And the limit is not the truck, it's the dolly, max compacity for it is only 3,450lbs. Never follow the advice of someone saying to just tell them you are towing a lighter car so you can get it. Read up on the dolly's limits as well as your truck's limits before. If you were to tow the Sienna with that dolly using false information to rent it and it were to break free and injury/kill anyone you may be on the hook for that for negligence, and good luck finding insurance after that if your current company drops you.

 

[VegasRanger]

That on a U-Haul trailer will likely be too tongue heavy for the Ranger.


This is just bad advice!
There are surge brakes on their car trailers.


EDIT: Oh wait, he said dolly... humm. that may not have brakes and should not have been used for the Corolla even since that is over the 1650lb, or 1500lb (depending on where you are reading), limit for unbraked towing. And the limit is not the truck, it's the dolly, max compacity for it is only 3,450lbs. Never follow the advice of someone saying to just tell them you are towing a lighter car so you can get it. Read up on the dolly's limits as well as your truck's limits before. If you were to tow the Sienna with that dolly using false information to rent it and it were to break free and injury/kill anyone you may be on the hook for that for negligence, and good luck finding insurance after that if your current company drops you.

Very good points. When I towed the Corolla I inputted information on U-Haul website and it gave me the thumbs up that time.

But you’re right, might be time to ask a friend to let me borrow their truck

 

[erikf]

I think your issue is trailer brakes, not the weight of the load. The weight limit for a trailer without brakes is 3500 lbs. What about one of their dual axel flatbed haulers?

 

[VegasRanger]

I think your issue is trailer brakes, not the weight of the load. The weight limit for a trailer without brakes is 3500 lbs. What about one of their dual axel flatbed haulers?

According to their website, nope. Saying neither dolly or auto transport trailer is compatible with what I want to tow. Say I switch my vehicle to a Ram 1500 V6, then it says Yes. I don't get it. I know the Ranger will tow it. My fear is what ControlNode said. I get in an accident and they see im not towing what Im supposed to and im fucked. If I change it to a ligther vehicle then it's saying yes for both. I think the van is a little too heavy according to them

 

[VegasRanger]

Called U-Haul. They're saying its a curb weight issue. My truck isn't heavy enough to tow it according to them. Guess plan B. Phone-A-Friend

 

[VAMike]

Called U-Haul. They're saying its a curb weight issue. My truck isn't heavy enough to tow it according to them. Guess plan B. Phone-A-Friend

They have an arbitrary rule that the towing vehicle has to be 750lb heavier than the thing being towed (regardless of the tow capacity of the towing vehicle).

 

[reidmefirst]

You might be able to rent a Uhaul pickup truck (Silverado 1500/Sierra 1500 with a V8) to tow your car with a uhaul flatbed trailer.

They're not a bad deal, I've rented their pickups in the past, before I bought my Ranger. They run fine. Could be an option if you don't have a friend with a fullsize.

 

[subquark]

So I have to tow a 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan about 200 miles.

It weighs between 4,120 to 4,365 lbs.

I want to use a U-Haul dolly, U-Haul is saying this “combo” won’t work because of my truck.

What do you guys think? I’ve towed a Corolla (about 2,700 pounds) a while back with a tow dolly and it did great.

Any tips are welcomed

I stretched the truth and I also used their transport and not the dolly.

Told them I had a Scion (which is true).

The transport doesn't let you position the car, it has to be up against the front stops for the straps to hold it in place. On a short vehicle like this FJ40, it was far too much tongue weight. You can see that I have none of that poorly-engineered rake issue with this setup! =p

My front wheels also lost traction backing down a steep driveway, but let's not dwell on that! =D

But ... I preferred the transport because it has surge breaks and I've used them a few times in the past.

The Ranger pulled it down the highway for 30 minutes without any problems. No power issues and no stopping issues.

If it would have been a longer trip, I would have raised my ball mount up a few inches and maybe used some blocking to get the FJ a little further back.

 

[Grandaccess]

Tell them you're pulling a Corolla. But, I expect the real reason for the rejection is that there are no trailer brakes. While the ranger has a 7500 pound towing capacity, it doesn't have a 7500 pound braking rating. The trailer need brakes.

while mostly true, I would be careful towing anything thats more than my truck if I was in the rain or snow, my truck weighs out at the scrap yard around 5100 lbs, I have towed 5100 lbs vehicles with no issue and no trailer brakes, in fact, I tow large loads monthly, the truck stops them just fine like I didnt know it was back there
I have 1100 lbs in the bed right now, these trucks are work horses
weigh in at the yard .....

 

[ctechbob]

Every time I rent a U-Haul car hauler I am towing a 2020 Honda Civic.

This was a Civic......

 

[VegasRanger]

Every time I rent a U-Haul car hauler I am towing a 2020 Honda Civic.

This was a Civic......

How'd it tow that?

 

[ctechbob]

How'd it tow that?

As has been mentioned, those trailers are set up to be tongue heavy, but it wasn't any problem. I think I figured it was something like 6500 pounds. No oddball handling issues, got better mileage than toting our camper around.

That was before the SumoSprings as well, so I did notice a little more crashing of the axle. Not sure why Ford didn't use a more progressive bumpstop in these trucks, but the Sumo's fixed that right up.

 

[VegasRanger]

As has been mentioned, those trailers are set up to be tongue heavy, but it wasn't any problem. I think I figured it was something like 6500 pounds. No oddball handling issues, got better mileage than toting our camper around.

That was before the SumoSprings as well, so I did notice a little more crashing of the axle. Not sure why Ford didn't use a more progressive bumpstop in these trucks, but the Sumo's fixed that right up.

Thanks. I’m gonna be towing a 1999 E430 instead of the van. Weight of the car is 3,640, plus what 2,200 for the auto transport? Think I’d be good? I have 5100 Bilstiens in the back

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