The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Towing a 58 fleet long bed

I'm looking to tow a 58 fleet l/b.I Do not own a trailer so I'm looking to rent from a one way equipment rental place. I.E UHAUL OR PENSKE. I need help deciding which trailer the truck will fit on. Any help will be appreciated. here are my options...... 1st option UHAUL The vehicle being towed:

* Must not weigh in excess of 4,000 lbs.
* Must have a maximum outside-to-outside tire width of 79.25"
* Must have a maximum wheelbase of 133 inches. My second option is PENSKE::: Towed vehicle at widest point: 79 inches
Minimum width: 42" between inside of tires
Maximum weight: 4,055 pounds
Maximum wheel base: 125 inches

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyresto/59tld09.htm

I couldn't get the '58 page to open up but the '59 specs are the same. The long wheel base is the 3203 model.

THANKS CLETIS. SO BY THE LOOKS OF IT I COULD BASICALLY GO WITH EITHER COMPANY , BUT THE SAFE BET WOULD BE GOING WITH UHAUL BECAUSE OF THE WHEELBASE. I WILL BE CUTTING IT CLOSE WITH WEIGHT, BUT HEY THE BED OF THE TRUCK IS ROTTED OUT THAT MIGHT HELP.. J/K

my red58 came home on a U-Haul trailer when I got it, only problem is the dam trailers weigh twice what they need to, make sure yer tow vehicle has good power or be ready for a slow trip

Bill

I used a U-hail trailer to haul my 3200 home, too. A few words of advise, do not assume the trailer is "ready to use". Check the tire pressures and lug nuts before you load. There will be an information sticker on it somewhere, usually either on the tonque or left hand fender with the specs. While a 4 way will be of for checking the ligs, if you have one, a torque wrench would be better.

Usually when you show up to pickup a trailer or dolly they will want to make sure that the tow rig will handle both the trailer and the vehicle being loaded on it. At least that has been the case when I have rented a trailer.

You didn't say how far you have to go to get the truck but usually it is less expensive to rent the trailer where you live and tow it to where the truck is. Unless you figure that the gas savings of running without the trailer will be more than the one way rental.

Also note any dings or damage to the trailer when you pick it up. I'd go so far as to take photos of any damage when I picked the trailer up and let the rental agent know that you want the damage noted in the paper work. That will save you any hassles later.

Also make sure that you take along tiedowns or rope to tie any loose pieces that may be in the bed such as fenders, hood or what not. You don't want anything flying out of or off of the truck when you tow it down the highway.

And lastly, unless the truck runs and you can drive it on the trailer take along a good come along or something else to winch the truck up on the trailer. I have used my small chain hoist to pull several rigs on trailers and tow dollys and it works well.

I THINK I'VE DECIDED TO HAVE THE TRUCK TOWED BY A PROFESSIONAL CAR TRANSPORTATION COMPANY. I LIVE NEAR L.A AND THE TRUCK IS ALL THE WAY UP IN RENO. SOME 400+ MILES. I'VE GOTTEN 3 DIFFERENT QUOTES AND THERE ALL IN THE $575 RANGE. I WOULD BE PAYING THAT WITH RENTING A TRAILER, GAS ,AND WHAT EVER POPS UP ALONG THE WAY. THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO EVERYBODY. I APPRECIATE THE HELP. WHEN I GET THE TRUCK HOME I'LL BOMBARD YOU GUYS WITH ALL KIND OF QUESTIONS. THANKS EVERYBODY...JOSH

All of the above is why I bought my own trailer. It cost the equivalent of about two U-Haul rentals, and it's all mine to use as I please! I've already put over 5,000 loaded miles on it!
Jerry

I only attempted to rent a trailer once and U-Haul said I had to rent the truck from them too. Two places told me that while broke down in MO. I had my wife coming with my new 3/4 GMC but that didn't phase those monkeys. So she brought my trailer too.
Screw U-Haul. Stupid as a manner of doing business will turn peopke away faster than anything.

I agree U-Haul is a worthless place. I've tried renting tow dolly's from them before to haul little 4 cylinder cars home and I swear if you have anything less than a 2-ton truck to pull it they don't want to rent it to you.

I was going to pull a late 90's Oldsmobile cutlass home and they said that my 3/4 ton Chevy wasn't big enough!

I ended up renting a dolly from another local rental place and they didn't ask any questions. To hell with U-haul.

Interesting. I didn't have any problem with U-Haul, from neither the actual place I set up the rental from nor the location in GA that i picked the trailer up at. The only issue I had has that the GA location couldn't find the record that I had one on reservasion right away. Once they found it, everything went fine.
Almost sounds like maybe the ones that you dealt with were trying to drum up extra business. Not a very good way to do business.

I agree that it must be the location. I use a full size 96 Bronco for my towing, and have never had an issue. I've pulled their auto trailers a fair number of times, always problem free.
Samantha