I'm moving to California from Kansas soon and I need some advice on getting my RX-7 there. On the Penske site it prevents me from adding the RX-7 on the car carrier (all four wheels off the ground), a call to the district office in Kansas City reveals they've measured out the cars listed and the RX-7 is too low to the ground to be towed properly on the carrier they have for rental.

Has anyone attempted something like this? From the sounds of it, the car shouldn't have too many problems getting up on the carrier but I was told it would damage the underside of the car. Penske said I could tow it if I really wanted to but they would be released from any liability on the car. I know our cars are probably towed more often than most cars for various reasons so I'm hoping some people have some insight to this.

I checked out Budget's site and they don't stop me from adding the RX-7 but I'm guessing their car carrier isn't too different and they just don't care to measure out ground clearance and whatnot.

Any help or guidance is appreciated.

 

I don't see why it would be a problem to tow with the Penske car carrier.
I looked on the Penske site and the car carrier appears to be the same as UHell's, I mean U-Haul.
I have used the UHell auto transport(their car carrier) to tow my 93 R1 and had no problems.
You may need to use a couple of 2x4's to load the car onto the carrier since it has a low ground clearance.

Your other option is to use a quality car transporting company such as Intercity. But they are not cheap.

Whatever you do, do NOT use UHell. They do not guarantee reservations and their trucks are the oldest among the truck rental companies.

 

I just watched the Pensk car carrier video which is on their website.
I think the reason why they are saying that the car is too low is because of a lack of clearance between the RX7 car door and the car carrier fender - once the car is loaded the door can not be opened. The UHell auto transport had fenders which can be removed to open the car door. This problem can be solved by getting out of the car through the hatch or possibly an open window.

One tip: Do not put the car in gear, if it's a manual transmission, but rather put it in neutral while it is being towed. The possible lurching of the car can damage the engine.

 

oops!
double post. Sorry.

 

First If Your Towing With Half Trailer Tow The Fd From The Rear(dealer Manuel!!) But If You Tow It Standard From The Front Take Out Your Drive Shaft Do To Risk Of Poping In Gear During Travel!!!!!!!!!

 

I seen my neighbors lowered Mustang Cobra awhle back get his car on a truck bed. When they pull the car from the back...simply place blocks of wood (2x4 or more) BEHIND each the front wheels RIGHT BEFORE the front of car starts to dip down (because car is being pulled up backwards). The wood blocks will push the front of the car up a few inches...just enough to help aid the car from the horizontal to diagonal position. Once the car is fully in diagonal position, it's good from there in terms of getting on the truck. However, it's trickier bring it back down...this time you have to place more wood blocks in front of the front wheels and layout more wood. There is a greater chance to have your lip scraped up this time...at least it's better than actual bumper/scraping.

But in regards to the FD, this may be trickier too if you have an ultra-low FD and if you have the '99 lip versus the R1 lip which doesn't stick out as much. Good luck whichever route you do!

P.S. ...I will not be held liable if something goes wrong. I'm just sharing what I've seen done before.

 

I used the Budget car carrier that keeps all 4 wheels off the ground to move my 93 rx-7 from Denver to Baltimore. The bed tilts and the fender flips down. I also had multiple 2x6x10, 2 on each side when loading and unloading. No problems, just need someone guiding you to not drive off. I think I needed such long planks because I have Tein S-Tech springs which are low, especially in the front.

 

I've towed my 93 from Tennessee to Georgia. I used a Budget trailer lifting all 4 wheels of the ground. Like cymrex said, it tilts from a crank in the front. I have stock suspension and did not need any 2x4's to load or unload it.

 

Towed my 93FD from illinois to california on the u-haul car carrier w/o any problems. Just get the one that has all 4 wheels up on the carrier. i wouldn't even bother with the car dolly for the rx7. My wifes ford focus, yes. My FD? never.

 

Yep, I have.

Short answer:
I towed my RX7 from NY to San Diego in August 2006 using Penske truck and trailer. It fits on their trailer w/o any issues. The front lip slightly rubs the front of the trailer b/c of ground clearance issues but its no big deal.

Longer details:
However, I didn't find that their equiptment was all that great. The first truck they gave me had 40k miles on the clock already and the suspension felt really soft. Once I had all my belongings stowed in the truck and attached the trailer, I knew I had a problem....

I had to switch trucks in Ohio after barely a day's worth of travel. Unpack the whole f'in truck and repack all our stuff into another newer truck w/ 7,000 miles. The 2nd truck was better but the oil started to overheat going through Colorado on I70 going south to I40. It was still pretty slow and the handling was scary. It felt OK going flat at ~65 or so but you were pushing it. At ~70 it was a white knuckle ride as the truck felt really soft. I think perhaps the suspension on Penske's trucks are soft by nature and as a result it starts to feel light when loaded with good and a trailer

The truck wasn't overloaded with regards to furniture and such but it was definitely packed. The only furniture I had was a dresser, 2 night stands and a kitchen table with 4 chairs. Everything else was boxes of clothes, kitchen stuff etc.

The trailer was utter crap also. Look carefully through the trailer's wheels to determine if the trailer brakes even work. Mine were rusted to crap and didn't work.

I had previously towed my FD from Indiana to NY on a rented Uhaul and trailer. Same size truck. Nothing in the truck though. It was a great tow w/o any of the issues I experienced with driving the Penske truck. I could drive the truck with the trailer loaded with the car at 80 MPH all day long w/o issue.

In both cases it was a 16' truck.

I was pissed watching all the Uhaul and Budget trucks towing their cars on a trailer and passing me all the way from NY to CA...

Good luck and keep it safe. Its a marathon, not a race so don't fret too much about how fast your going. Just get there safely. I have driven cross country twice now as well as toured the south and north east. My first time was in my Turbo II 'vert which I drove from LA to NY at well above the speed limit the entire way.

If anyone ever told me that at some point in my life I would have driven 3,000 miles w/o ever breaking the speed limit, I would have told them they were nuts. I was happy to only do 50 MPH most of the way as anything more than that was scary.

Hope that helps. PM me and we can talk via phone if you want any other tips or info.

 

I've used both U-haul and Penske trailers. The Penske worked better, because it had more clearance to open the door. Both loaded about the same IIRC.

Funny story... When I rented from Penske, I got a 24' truck and the trailer for my FD. Stopping for breakfast the next morning, I parked this long rig along the edge of the lot to be out of the way. We ate a leisurely breakfast, and as I got up to put on my jacket, I looked out the window to see my 24' Penske truck and trailer with no FD on it! I experienced a moment of pure, WTF-level panic before moving closer to the window to find my car still sitting on its trailer. Another guy with an identical truck and trailer had parked immediately behind me. Dick!

 

Haha, that happens to me all the time in the Miata, just a bit different since I think it has been stolen when it just turns out the cars parked around it are at least 10-15" taller.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Mine has the stock suspension and even though it's 14 years old, it still has very little give so hopefully this goes over without incident. Huge thanks to gracer-rx-7, I might be PM'ing you in the next day or two with some questions.

 

When I bought my rx7 I pulled it home with a Budget truck and trailer. The problem I had was the front of the car needs hangs off the front of the trailer and the car sat just a little to low to get over it. I needed the car all the way to the front so I could use the tire tie downs. What I ended up doing was using some boards about 1 inch thick stacked to make a total of 2 inches. This got the car high enough to get the FD’s front lip over the front of the trailer. Got the tire straps on the tires and it was good to go from Maryland to North Carolina

 

Good tips from "dmhRX7" post. I just recently towed my FD with Budget truck and trailer. I checked out all car trailers beforehand, and budgets are the best, with U-hauls being the worst.

I have about a 1.5 inch clearance on my R1 lip at its lowest point and 18" rims. Also don't forget to pick up some heavyduty masterlocks to lock the truck and trailer up at night if you're gonna be on the road a few days. Otherwise nothing stopping someone from popping your trailer off and bye-bye FD. And we all know a sweet looking FD attracts a lot of attention on roadtrips.

 

Hey if you havent move yet. I just use a u-haul auto transportar. My FD fit good but, I had to climb out of the window.

 

I would defiantly advise against anyone using U haul. Every single vehicle and piece of equipment that Myself of my family has used, was in disrepair in one form or another when we picked it up.

I remember seeing a sting operation Canada did against u haul. They randomly stopped the rental trucks on the road and examined them for vehicle safety/mechanical compliance. The majority of the trucks failed the inspections.

 

The U-haul car carrier should have a moveable fender on the trailer that will allow you to open and close the door without turning it into the General Lee.

 

Thanks for the replies to this ! I really wanted to rent Penske because their 22 foot truck is a diesel. And of course they said no to the FC on the trailer. Glad to see you guys got FDs on the Penske trailers.

I will take some pictures when I get loaded up.

James

 

I had to call AAA a couple of times to get my (lowered) FD to the shop. Everytime I requested and got a car carrier. Every car carrier had the planks needed to get the car onto the carrier without scraping the back end.

Some of the planks were rather wide - 2X6 or 2X8s (?).

Good luck

Super77

 

Where in Kansas are you moving to?

 

Well, I took the 7 to the Penske place and turns out she fits just fine. Allthough not by much! Their trucks look really good and they have some great discounts. 10 percent for booking online and 15 percent for AAA. So about 650 for a 22' diesel / trailer dallas to denver. Not bad! And I have six days with the truck!

Anyways its a 91 FC RB springs that lowers it 3/4 of an inch. But no front lip.

 

Not to hijack, but does anyone have any auto transport recommendations other than Intercity? I want to get several quotes. I'll be moving from Washington state to Austin, TX.