I rented a U-Haul car trailer for $75 Canadian for a parts car I was towing home. Definately worth the money, and the trailer was very nice. Had no problems getting the car on it. My choice of tow vehicle was in flaw, as I ended up wrecking a tranny in the process, but I was able to tow it at 110KM/H if i wanted. I stayed around 90 though. For those wondering, it was a 91 chevy Lumina APV with the 3.1L TBI V6 and a class 2 hitch with 1" reciever. All 120hp managed to haul a 3400 lb van plus about another 4000lb of towed stuff. It towed it and I was surprised at how well it did it actually. But like I said, the tranny went out about 3 months later due to "past overheating".

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I arranged for a uhaul trailer. Not gonna take any chances.

Don't need insurance and registration for the 7 if towing on a trailer right?

 

hell no.....
you should be fine

 

Trust me on the following,Ive been working in the rental industry for over 10 years now,and I had the unfortunate honor of being a Uhaul dealer for 8 of those years......

Tow dolly requires current regs or a ferry pass, since the car is touching the road.On a trailer,there are no special requirements.You shouldnt need any insurance on the RX either way.....the car is in direct control of the towing vehicle,and as such the tow vehicle's insurance should be adequate.....each state varies however.....

Your bumper will be fine,most full size truck bumpers are rated for 5000lbs of load and 500lbs of tongue.Reciever hitches are better since they attach vertically to the frame and dont "shear" load the bumper mounting bolts.They also allow for height adjustments of the ball since you can slide in a different hitch,or flip your existing hitch.But for a dolly and a 1G,a bumper will work,just be carful not to jackknife since its easier to FUBAR the bumper than when you run a receiver with an extended ball mount.And be carful when backing up a dolly loaded....you really shouldnt be attempting it at all,unless the dolly has a pivot lock or is an old style,non-pivoting type.

Tow dolly approach clearance is directly influenced by hitch height.The higher the ball,the lower the back of the dolly will sit and the better your approach angle will be.With a ball on the bumper your limited to one ball height,but it will be higher up than with a straight out type receiver hitch,so you should be OK.

While I dont recommned putting a full trailer on a bumper,it can be done if you run a light trailer...(we rent VERY nice Detmer/Demco aluminum tandem car trailers that are only 1500lbs) .
A car trailer is typically only a few more bucks than a tow dolly and itll eliminate any wear and tear on your car,and it will eliminate the need/advisement of pulling the driveline.If your going round trip,I recommend you look at what local rental yards have to offer.If your going one-way, then you have no choice but to go Uhaul........but GOD HELP YOU if you must rent from Uhaul.Their dollies and trailers are very well designed and work well when new,but good luck getting one when and where you reserved it.

 

Las Vegas to Naples, FL. Yes we were nuts.


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Do the dollies have the brakes like the trailer?

I've had an incident where my travel trailer was pushing me into traffic that had stopped at a red light in front of me. The road was wet and the light was on a highway in western Canada.

Lucky for everyone it did stop before hitting anyone, but it was not cool to have the truck coming in with all four locked and the trailer's brakes not locking up and just pushing me.

 

if you get the tow dolly, back the car onto the dolly so the front wheels are on the ground. that way you avoid any driveline motion, I locked the steering in the center, and tied a rope to each door from the steering wheel.

 

Very few dollies have surge brakes......we carry one that does, and its a minimal improvement.In any case,you should always have an adequate sized tow vehicle and you should NEVER rely on the trailer brakes,they are merely supplemental in most situations.

Towing a car backwards on a tow dolly is possible,but never recommended due to the potential hazards.
Yes,it can be safe and yes lots of renters and towing companies do it to save themselves from the driveline hassels.But if your rope doesnt hold,or your steering column lock breaks.......

 

Putting a car on a dolly backwards is not legal in some states. Here in Ok, doing so will get you stopped, and you cannot move again until you have offloaded the car, and reloaded it facing forward. It also gets you pricey driving award.
Meanwhile, it is legal to use a tow truck to lift a car from the rear. Double standard, if you ask me.

 

I was thinking more along the line that ideal braking has little to do with an adequate sized tow vehicle and more to do with driving conditions. As for towing around the city, use the dolly, but once you get to the highway consider nothing else than a trailer.

All the big RVs that tow these little itty bitty cars around have the car's braking hooked up so that the car does brake with the RV. And the RV greatly outweighs these cars yet they still use the additional braking from the car.

Yes, 99% of the time it's unecessary, just like your signals and seatbelts, I guess.