The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Q: Towing a TF with U Haul tow dolly

Hey, all -

I need to drag my 56 about 150 miles. However, there are some pretty serious hill climbs between there and here.

I don't own a trailer, so U Haul trailer is my only real choice.

The two axle trailer looks like a nice option, but the sum of it's 2210 weight and the 56 will top the 5000 technical weight limit of my tow vehicle. The 750 pound dolly is more realistic option, weightwise.

According to online specs of both 56 and dolly, it might be a tight fit.

Anyone have any advice or experience?

Thanks!!

Surly U-haul has a unit that will handle your TF. As long as you can get your truck wheels into the cradle and the dolly fenders clear when turning, you should be good to go.

Trailer will be much safer despite the extra weight. It is not a good idea to try to dolly more weight than your tow vehicle especially over hill and dale. If you tell Uhaul exactly what you intend to haul they can advise you if it can be done but you run the risk that they will not rent you the equipment if they feel it is unsafe.

Ah - my "it might be a tight fit" was unclear - that was in regards to dimensions, as in the width of the truck and the dolly. Dolly and 56 will be well within weight limit of the tow vehicle.

I agree that towing more than the GCWR of the tow vehicle isn't a great idea, especially on the terrain I'll be covering.

I do like trailers over dollies, but the math is not in my favor this time it seems.

I don't have a lot of faith in any of the Uhaul facilities / employees in my area. (As an aside, I don't have a lot of faith in their trucks, either). I'll be checking out the dolly pretty well before I leave their lot.

Thanks for your reply, Green!

I used a uhaul trailer to bring my truck home and had no problems.my truck is a long bed 55 tf and fit fine.I would recommend 2 extra tie down straps for the back of the truck.the uhaul trailer ties the front wheels down fine but i like extra piece of mind.

Which way are you going to have the best braking?

Being 1,000 or 1,500 pounds lighter using the dolly is attractive except you have no brakes on the load.

If you have a trailer brake controller and rent a trailer with brakes I'd feel more comfortable seeing you exceed the tow capacity of the tow vehicle over using the no brakes dolly approach.

No brake controller? They don't cost much maybe you should buy and install one.

What is your tow vehicle? I've heard of people towing with stuff that should never have a hitch installed. Hopefully yours is something that actually can tow safely.

I've towed a much lighter vehicle on a dolly behind a 1/2-ton pickup. It was such a pleasant experience I soon after bought a tandem axle flatbed trailer and a 1-ton pickup. For your dually truck I'd sure advice pulling it with both adequate brakes and a big enough truck to manage the load.

When I lost the 1-ton in an accident I replaced it with a 3/4-ton. I now regret that decision based primarily on towing performance.

I can't advise you on your tow, but I can caution you on those trailers.

I rented from Ryder. I had a full box truck and needed to tow my vintage jeep. We rolled the jeep onto the trailer and ratcheted down the nylon webbing that went over the front wheels. Everything seemed tight. About an hour down I-5, a car pulled along side and pointed back at the trailer. I pulled over and discovered that the nylon webbing had come loose and was lying beside the rf tire. I had to get out some tools and fix the ratchet mechanism so that the pawl fit fully into the ratchet. Moral of story: Check the equipment in detail before you rent it.

I would expect a 56 1 ton to be really close to that 5000 lb limit by it's lonesome. You might want to borrow a bigger truck with a long wheelbas to tow that truck over the mountains. If it were me, I would get the tandem axle dow dolly that the vehicle rides on top. I seldomly tell Uhaul the actual vehicle I am towing, usually change it to a 2wd 87 s10. However ALL THE RISK WILL BE ON YOU!

What is your tow vehicle? 5000 lbs seems inadequate.

I also rented a U-haul trailer to bring my truck home about 1 1/2 hour ride down an interstate. I was pulling it with my 05 Chevy 3500 with a 6.0 I had no problem pulling it but the surge breaks on the the trailer didn't work. I have an electric break set up on my truck but U-haul didn't offer a trailer with electric breaks. I also had an issue with the straps that come on the trailer but luckly I had chains and binders with me. It is convenient having a company that offers these trailers but they are far from kept up, really inspect the trailer that you rent.

I agree about U Haul equipment. I learned long ago to rent from one of the others if I need a big truck, but if you want a trailer ONLY (ie not a truck trailer combo) then unfortunately UHaul is the only game.

I thought, "how bad can they screw up a trailer?" I can check out most things on a trailer before I leave the lot.

Went there this AM - only one trailer available. I didn't even do the paperwork. The frame / hitch was bent 20 degrees. I don't know how it was even returned like that. Crazy.

Thought I'd post again, and share my towing experiences today.

Called U-Hall on Friday; they said they had a dolly at a tired old gas station in town, and on my way home from work. I went by the lot where they keep their UHauls and saw that the dolly was almost brand new. Everything was in great shape. I've never seen a piece of UHaul equipment in half as good of condition. I really thought that UHaul just buys Ryder's old trucks and paint them orange.

Picked up the dolly Saturday AM. When I went in the office, there was a customer in there and I could hear that UHaul central had screwed them on their reservation (they were great at taking the reservation, but not so good at keeping the reservation...).

I had zero issues with the dolly, straps, ramps, etc. I liked the LED lights. Tires were like new.

I haul with my SUV. According to curb weights, it weighs just more than the 56 and dolly. I've hauled as much before (not vehicles), but not in a while. The SUV is getting older, so I was concerned about its muscle. That's why I went a dolly - this trip is primarily uphill on interstates, and I thought the extra 1500 pounds of UHaul's two axle trailer over the dolly would push the SUV over the edge. Sure, a new Silverado and a trailer with real brakes would have been better, but I don't happen to own those at the moment.

Driving the 56 onto the dolly made me think I made the wrong decision. I could see the SUV jump as I drove (not so smoothly) up the ramps and then stab the brakes at my spotter's signal. I was quite surprised, though, at the level stance of the SUV when I got out and looked around. I had a few different sized drop hitches for my receiver, but kept with what I had on.

I did read and dismissed the story here somewhere of the guy with the Barracuda that jumped into gear while being towed. Then the guy helping me told a similar story, so I figued I might as well pull the driveshaft. I also concluded that it would also reduce drag. I was surprised at how easily the rig rolled (rear end was recently serviced). I tied up the steering wheel and was on my way.

The dolly was pretty well balanced. No tail wagging the dog. Braking was better than I expected, too.

The 150 mile ride had a lot of uphill. For some reason, the interstate was much busier than normal. Bummer. I figured out that if I kept speeds up more than I planned, like close to 70, I could pull the grades pretty well. But if I just drove 55 or 60, I was downshifting into fourth pretty soon. As I said, the whole rig drove much better than I expected, so I was OK with traveling at those speeds. Busy interstate, but no metropolises to go through.

Biggest slowdown for me was going up Fancy Gap. I just tucked in behind a couple of big trucks and putt putted up in third gear at about 40. Temperature gauge never budged from normal, but just as a precaution I turned the heat on. Glad I brought a cooler full of drinking water for me!

Anyhow, there was another thread here close to mine also about towing. I thought I would pass along my experience. If a braked trailer option would have been feasible, I would have considered it. If I was going to travel through a city, or on a two lane road, I would have been less comfortable with the dolly. However, for my situation, the roads I was traveling, the terrain, my vehicle, and the rare, amazing condition of the UHall dolly, the choices that I carefully considered and decided worked out well.

I too can tell stories of towing success with a dolly. It only took one 'o crap' experience to make me a firm believer in trailers.

70 mph with a dolly? Are you nuts? 55 mph is the posted speed limit for vehicles with a trailer. It sounds like you got away lucky with this one.

No luck here, except perhaps the luck of finding a near new dolly.

As I said, I had only planned on cruising along at 55 or so. I was really impressed with how well the whole rig handled. I, too, had prior towing setups that were, shall we say, less than ideal. Not this time. 55 ended up being too low in my tow vehicle's power band. I was shifting into fourth too often, and still really losing speed.

55 might be the posted limit for vehicles with a trailer in Cali, but not over here.

I'd pick a trailer any day. I have both and have towed quite a bit with my dolly. Longest trip I made with a dolly was 60 miles. It works great for loading when by myself, but I wouldn't go too far again and I certainly would maintain lower speeds, especially when my tow vehicle is not MUCH heavier than the towed vehicle. Just for giggles, hook up a vehicle on your tow dolly and tow it down gravel roads and make a few turns. You will quickly find out how stable or unstable it is.

55 is posted on the fenders of the tow dolly, printed in a mirror image so you can read it in your rear view mirror. I don't want to get snippy here, but regardless of the shape of the dolly, this whole tow setup sounded questionable. Yes you got it done. But I wouldn't pass this sort of info on as something everyone should attempt... towing a heavy vehicle on a questionable dolly with a questionable tow rig at questionable speeds for significant distances. The Error should always be on the side of safety. Remember we all share the road, and you may not only be endangering yourself, but everybody around you.

Again, you got away with it, so I will end my lecture here.

I once used a uhaul dolly to drag a 55 2nd from Va. Beach to the greater Boston area. I used a 72 longbed 3/4 ton to haul with. The only real problem was that they wouldn't allow the dolly on the NJTP. 4 wheels up or 4 wheels down they said. Had to go rt 1 all the way up; took forever with all the traffic lights. This was a while back, I don't know if they have since changed the rules or not.
I last year bought a dolly to be able to use whenever I wanted. However, in Ma. the vehicle being towed AND the dolly needs to be registered, so I sold the dolly.
A Trailer is the way to go.

I towed my ’53 3100 home from a shop a few years ago, about 100 miles, with a U-Haul tow-dolly. Tow vehicle was Olds front wheel drive. No problems, towing the dolly unloaded the 100 miles – maybe bounced around a little, or towing home with my truck on. Only difficulty was getting the truck up onto the dolly with just me and the wife. Paid a kid walking by five bucks to help.

IMO the tow-dolly was a whole lot easier than using a big trailer capable of carrying the truck. Probably cheaper too.

It may have been both easier and cheaper. You will never convince me it was safer.

You don't say what front drive Olds, but many of those cars are going to be no heavier than the truck and dolly. In the state I live in that would be an illegal load unless you had brakes on the dolly and truck.

Its like Russian Roulette. It really doesn't matter how many times you survive because the next time could always be your last. Only with an unsafe towed load it may be some innocent person in another car that dies.

I may seem harsh on this issue, but 25 years ago it was someone I knew that was that innocent passerby. Dead at 40 because some idiot made poor decisions and lost control of a towed load.

I have towed all kinds of trailers and loads for over 50 years. Lots and lots of miles. I could have borrowed a flat bed or even used my own enclosed trailer, but tried the U-Haul tow dolly. It was safe and it was easy. Sorry that you think something is unsafe that you have never or will never try. If tow dollies were unsafe, they wouldn’t be allowed on the road. Take a look at what’s rolling across our country on US-80 or US-70 – lots of tow dollies. Trailers are unsafe is not used properly.

I think the general consensus is that dollys are safe IF used correctly and at reasonable speeds. Good judgment, good sense along with a combination of experience (learned or realized) is still paramount to reasonable safety. There is a reason that U-Haul puts the 45 mph sticker on the fenders and that is because they become extremely unstable if for example, a tow strap comes loose, tire on the dolly are low, tires on the towed vehicle are low, tow vehicle is too light, etc. I expect people who have common sense to make senseless decisions. I own a tow dolly and have towed various weight vehicles. A mismatch when the towed vehicle is too heavy for the tow vehicle is a bad combination. It's that simple. That is from my own personal experience. Without all the applied facts of the matter, pretty soon people will be towing AD pickups with their Camry. Just because there is a hitch on the vehicle doesn't mean you should be towing a pickup with it.

You need to reread my posts. I've towed with a dolly and my assessment is based on my experience with both dollies and trailers.

It is possible to tow safely with a dolly but generally when it comes up here it is being done to save money and involves too much load and too little tow rig AND often is NOT safe.

Assuming the trailer has brakes and the tow rig is adequate the trailer will nearly always be safer.

Agreed. My argument is that safety must come first and that a trailer is almost always safer than a dolly.

Hauling trucks that weigh as much or more than the tow rig on a dolly means your load is heavier than your tow rig. In many states that is actually illegal. The law spells out based on relative weights when brakes are required on the load.

In Washington where I live if the towed load weighs more than 40% of the tow rig you are required to have brakes on the load.

If you exceed that you may receive a ticket and your insurance company can thumb its nose at you if you're in an accident. I've never seen brakes on a dolly.

In many cases they are not allowed on the road by law precisely because they are not safe.

That you've never had an accident only means you're lucky, not that your approach is safe.

My tow dolly has a warning sticker that reads;

CAUTION! This equipment has no brain. Use your own.

I second what OldSub is saying- especially regarding relative tow/towed weights. I recently towed my 3/4 ton GMC from Maine to Mass. on a u-haul trailer- the trailer iirc was 1750 pounds with brakes, my towed truck 4500, and the towing vehicle was my 21 foot long one-ton GMC crew cab with an 8 foot bed and a curb weight of 6500 lbs. plus 500 lbs of tools. The u-haul people to their credit really checked the math, and that feeling like someone is gently pulling backward with a strong hand when those trailer brakes came on was very reassuring.

Article in USA today about towing safety.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-05-trailer-laws_N.htm

By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
States are beginning to address a highway safety issue that previously had little visibility: motorists killed in accidents involving passenger vehicles towing trailers.

An average of more than one person a day dies in such crashes, according to federal data. The collisions often occur when poorly secured trailers break loose and careen into traffic — a problem resonating as the Fourth of July holiday signals arrival of peak moving and recreational boating seasons.

A Virginia law that took effect last week requires that any vehicle towing another vehicle or trailer have a trailer hitch or similar device strong enough for the weight of the vehicle or trailer being towed.

At least four other states — Alabama, Hawaii, Louisiana and Tennessee — considered similar measures this year, and legislators expect to revisit the issue next year. Also, a Wisconsin state senator says he will introduce legislation next year.

"We've heard some really, really awful stories from here and from other states," says Wisconsin state Sen. Dave Hansen, a Democrat from Green Bay.

Hansen says he was spurred to action by the April 20 death of Whitney Radder, a 19-year-old University of Wisconsin-Green Bay student who was killed when a trailer came loose from a pickup and crashed into her car on U.S. 41 in Howard.

Her death was one of hundreds tracked each year across the USA by Virginia traffic safety activist Ron Melancon, the driving force behind Virginia's new law. Melancon, 46, founder of dangeroustrailers.org, has campaigned for stricter laws and inspections of towed trailers since 2003.

"Our best course to prevent these needless injuries or deaths is through education, enforcement and vehicle design engineering to minimize the human error factor," Melancon says.

Regulations on passenger vehicles towing trailers vary widely from state to state. From 1975 through 2008, 15,211 people were killed in crashes involving passenger vehicles towing trailers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"We are committed to safety," says Pam O'Toole, executive director of the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers, whose 750 member companies make about 75% of trailers sold in the USA.

Unless we learn to self-police our towing efforts we're going to find enforcement of draconian legislative actions forced upon us.

Meanwhile many are arguing that because they got away with it last time it will be safe next time. Enough people are being killed on the national level that it may be too late to head off new legislation.

I will not be surprised if we see proposals denying the use of personal dollys in the next year or so.