U-Haul car trailer experience?

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gzig5

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In a couple weeks I'll be driving to Waco, TX from Milwaukee to move my daughter back for the summer, since she has graduated from Baylor. Would love to fly down and drive her packed 2002 Honda CRV back but apparently that would be ten pounds of potatoes in a five pound bag, considering all the crap she has accumulated in four years. I'm strongly considering renting a trailer and loading her packed car on and towing the whole kit the 1150 miles and 17 hours back. Anything that doesn't fit in the car can go on the trailer or in my Ram. The other option is driving back in two cars with her stuff spread between. Looking for experiences with U-Haul from folks that have used car trailers in recent years. Will be about $375 one way which isn't terrible but I'm more concerned with how the trailers worked, do they provide decent load straps, etc.. I am a bit nervous about what kind of stuff I'll end up with and if it will be there when I arrive. My 2020 Ram 1500 should have no trouble with the weight and for the most part it is a pretty flat drive. In either case we'd stop at friends/family between NE Oklahoma and St. Louis to break the trip into two reasonable pulls.
 
I've used their car hauler trailers twice to tow my Duster to the track 2.5 hours away from home when I lived in CO. My '72 D200 had no trouble pulling it up the long grades on I-25 and the built-in surge brakes on the trailer were nice to have on the downhill parts. Tie-down straps go around the front tires and ratchet down, felt nice and secure. I'd have no reservations hauling a car that way long distance. I'd just recommend having mud/rock flaps on your truck to keep the front of the car-in-tow safe from rocks and gravel, I busted a headlight on my Duster one trip due to a rock flung from a tire.
 
Rented one if their trailers once... Lost a tire less than twenty miles into the drive... Took them three hours to get someone out to change it....

Otherwise the trailer towed well & did fine....
 
I have used them multiple times on long trips.

First time was, Houston to Jacksonville, FL to Atlanta, GA and back to Houston. Did this in two long days.

Second time was Lubbock, TX to Houston

Third time was Denver to Houston. This one was a bit sketchy because the car was so low I couldn’t pull it completely forward to use their standard tire straps. I used 3” ratchet straps on the front and rear
 
Rented one to tow my car back home when I bought it, about 4hrs. I did not have a problem. A friend of mine just towed his Demon from Ohio to SC and it went ok but the we had to fix the trailers lights 1st (harness issue).
 
The trailers are actually decent, I've used them a several times. I have had it happen more than once where the ratcheting tire straps are totally trashed and/or locked up so just be aware of that before you take it. Rent it when you get down there so you're only pulling it one way.

Like everything else in life, just use common sense and you'll be fine.
 
I actually drove my Barracuda to the UHaul place to pick up the van and trailer. They helped me load the car on. So we could vet the straps and tricks to get the car on. Drove that combo from Jacksonville Fl to Lufkin Tx. No problem. My family has used them for at least a dozen moves since the 70’s without issue.
Now I don’t think they will recommend loading the car full while on a trailer. Weight distribution is key right? Maybe a small trailer behind her car??? They’ll rent/sell you a hitch for that CRV. Best of luck
 
I use them all the time but for short hauls to the track. Nice trailers, really well built and thought out. Like others have mentioned just inspect everything. Especially the front tire straps. Last one I rented was brand new and really nice.
 
The trailers tow just fine. I will second that you don't tell them that you're going to load the vehicle full when its on the trailer.
 
The worst stories ive heard about u-haul trailers are tire related. Give them a GOOD look.
Ive never used u-haul trailers myself, tho i did rent a box truck a couple times for my business.
I have a nice car trailer that I bought 25 years ago, and a box truck we bought recently (for dirt cheap. Illegal in Cali, wonderful in Az) to move three households from Cali to Az.
 
I use them all the time, mainly they're the only game in town. We have Penske, but their price of a transporter is crazy, so it's U-Haul ($55 here). I have towed many vehicles in the last 15 years without a problem. The front straps wrap around the front tires and just cinch down. The rear has a chain you can use around the axle for more safety, but to be honest I don't, as the front straps, emergency brake (if it's working), and putting it in 1st gear has been fine. Just make sure the car is all the way forward, and check your straps occasionally on a long trip as you plan to make. I always check my lights, tires, and mileage myself before leaving. I've had good luck with them.
 
If it were me, id reserve one at u-haul and look for one to buy in Texas.


Pick one up for $600 and bring some axle grease.

This way you can drag home all sorts of stuff!!
 
I have used one a few times over the years. The last time I was towing 200 miles one day and then 200 miles back a few days later. They did not like the intown over night, but I talked to the location manager and while talking to them, I asked for a spare tire for the trailer. Did not have any issues, but better safe than sorry…
 
This is what I drove from Ames, Iowa to Los Angeles when I graduated in 1997

That U-Haul equipment is built like a brick$&#*house

The stuff pictured on the ground is just the contents of the Car Top Carrier.

last-cuda-trip-sm-pic-6-jpg.jpg


Barracuda Last Trip Pic Sm 2.jpg
 
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gzig5 said:
In a couple weeks I'll be driving to Waco, TX from Milwaukee to move my daughter back for the summer, since she has graduated from Baylor. Would love to fly down and drive her packed 2002 Honda CRV back but apparently that would be ten pounds of potatoes in a five pound bag, considering all the crap she has accumulated in four years. I'm strongly considering renting a trailer and loading her packed car on and towing the whole kit the 1150 miles and 17 hours back. Anything that doesn't fit in the car can go on the trailer or in my Ram. The other option is driving back in two cars with her stuff spread between. Looking for experiences with U-Haul from folks that have used car trailers in recent years. Will be about $375 one way which isn't terrible but I'm more concerned with how the trailers worked, do they provide decent load straps, etc.. I am a bit nervous about what kind of stuff I'll end up with and if it will be there when I arrive. My 2020 Ram 1500 should have no trouble with the weight and for the most part it is a pretty flat drive. In either case we'd stop at friends/family between NE Oklahoma and St. Louis to break the trip into two reasonable pulls.
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If it's front wheel drive not all wheel drive get a car dolly, for that matter U-Haul is selling off a bunch of theirs you may find a dealer to sell you one for less than $1200 dollars.
 
Their trailers are great well built and fairly light. In the last two months I've used them twice, both times pulled behind their box truck. This was two weeks ago. I also loaded up the Barracuda before pulling it on the trailer. That 26' truck pulling a trailer got horrendous gas mileage though :eek:

20240519_203820.jpg


20240519_203756.jpg
 
4spd340Swinger said:
Rented one to tow my car back home when I bought it, about 4hrs. I did not have a problem. A friend of mine just towed his Demon from Ohio to SC and it went ok but the we had to fix the trailers lights 1st (harness issue).
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Yep, that was my Demon. No problem other than the trailer lights on the car trailer. I've rented about 3 U-Haul (in closed) trailers in the last 4-5 months with few problems. I would recommend renting the trailer from an actual U-Haul center and not Joe Blow down the street. If you get an in closed trailer, get the 6'x12' duel axle. That one trails much better and has inside tie downs.
 
Look the tie downs over carefully. If its a good sized dealer, they have parts in stock and can change it out. I did need to help the guy out, he wasn't the most mechanically inclined.
 
650 miles, loadup, and four border crossings in 14 hours. No issues. Just be sure your tow vehicle can handle it.

Pickup 1 July 2011.jpg
 
We've used them quite a bit. The only problem was putting a Quad Cab Dakota on one...trailer was a bit short.
One thing to consider, their $8 @ day insurance. When I was younger, I never got it, the last five years or so, I always get it.
Have fun and make memories with your daughter.
 
Nothing says you can't put more straps on the car once it's loaded. I don't always like the front straps only.

And absolutely go to Uhaul's website and use their decoder to see if what you want to tow will work. You'll be in a jam if you get there and they say sorry you can't rent because that combination won't work. So if it says your car won't work and you know it will, don't tell them that's what you're towing. Twice the decoder was wrong. The first time it said you can't tow a Corvair, but it worked just fine(the engine goes forward). The second time it said I could tow a Dodge Maxi Van just fine. It didn't end in disaster, but the whole trip was a disaster.

And my opinion is a tow dolly is not appropriate for a long tow. In town, sure, very convenient. A long trip, if one of the tires on the ground lets go, at the very least it will tear up a bunch of stuff. You don't need a failure with two pivot points behind you at speed.
 
I've used U-haul car trailers for local and long distance and been very happy with them. As mentioned above you should inspect the straps and tires carefully before you take the trailer, and make sure the lights are all working.
What I liked about them was the left fender could be swung out to allow easy access to the driver's door. I've rented other trailers that didn't have that feature and it can be a problem getting in and out once the vehicle is on the deck. However that should not be a problem with a CRV.
Just my .02.
 
I used their full car trailer behind their biggest box truck in 2001 to bring my Dart from Virginia to Washington state. One suggestion. There were two attempts to steal the car out of 3 nights on the road. One night they tried to steal the whole trailer with the car on it, 2 nights later somebody tried to get the car off the trailer. Use chain and cables and locks to secure in several ways! Redundancy is your friend.

By the way the truck and trailer was as long as a tractor trailer, which I discovered the first time I pulled up to the diesel pumps to fill up!
 
Rented them several times for long distances (CA to MN a couple times, for example), and have never had an issue.

And I agree with MOST of what’s already been posted, with one exception…..

You REALLY need to be honest with U-haul, and yourself, regarding loading up the tow vehicle with extra weight! Yes, I know your truck is “this big”, and the tow vehicle is “only that big”, but take it from someone who was stupid enough to do the same thing, but lucky enough to survive the severe “death wobble” that resulted. That’s one memory I’ll never forget, and never want to relive.

Be smart about this, and don’t hide ANYTHING from them.
 
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