Towing Explorer back from vacation?

[Mr_Evil]

Hey guys I'm goin to Missourri in May to see my sister's High School graduation and visit some kinfolk up there for about a week. My Mom, Aunt, and Uncle are gonna do some truck shopping with me too and help me get ahold of a used late model F250 Diesel. I hate flying so I'll be driving my X up there but I was wondering what would be the best way to haul my X back from Missourri behind the new Diesel if I find one I like? I know U-Haul has tandem car hauling trailers but can they haul an X?

 

[Robb]

I am not sure if UHaul has different size "auto transports" or what because when I tried to get one online, they had no problem with me pulling an X. But, when I tried to reserve one locally, the guy told me that their transporters were only rated for 3200lbs and he wouldn't let me rent it.

Also, getting a UHaul trailer one-way can get expensive. They rent them based on availability at the two locations, not the number of days you will be using it. For me to get one in KY and return it in Richmond, they wanted $270 and I got it for up to 4 days, even tho I only wanted it for one.

Robb

 

[lo_jack]

I rented a towbar from Uhaul once for a day to pull my Ramcharger with an F250, they dont charge much per day, but all wheels remain on the ground. I think it cost me 50, but im not sure. Never asked me what i was pulling or how much it weighed. so who knows, maybe he was just neglegent. But a Ramcharger sure weighs more than an X, and I had no problems. Did you want to get a tow bar or one of those mini trailers that lifts the front (or rear, depending on how you do it) 2 wheels?

 

[jimbo74]

i went to uhual and got a auto transport trailer after i rolled my truck...... my truck met the requirements to be towed... had a hardtop, was in the weight specs.... stuff like that..... at first, the people i talked to on the phone said it was fine..... then when i got there, the guy said the explorer according to the computer was too heavy... so he looked it up in the book and said the book said it was ok.... and my friends truck was easily up to towing it as well.... 99 dodge ram dually 4x4 turbodiesel with 4.11s and a six speed....

 

[gard_mc]

One time that I moved I rented a moving truck and pulled my X behind it. I got the trailer that all four wheels were off of the ground, it was only like $50-$100 bucks, but I also got the truck so that might have made it cheaper.

 

[Mr_Evil]

Yeah, U Haul wants $300 for that tandem car hauler if I pick it up there in Missourri and bring it back to Amarillo, then again it's more than 600 miles. Gas for the X if I get my friend to follow me back to Texas in it would only run me $75 and the X has already got 145k on it, so what's another 600 gonna do? I'm gonna do enough repair work to it before heading on up there that I KNOW it won't have any trouble, I made it there last August and all I did was change motor oil, clean it out and put new tires on.

 

[ExplorerEB96]

wow

I rented a Uhaul auto transport and hauled my X with my Bronco..... the autotransport I rented was for 4,800 lbs.... I rented it to go up to Paragon for the weekend...I got it at about 9am on friday and brought it back 8pm on a sunday... it only cost me $168.00 for the whole weekend... that was only last year!! what the heck...does Uhaul have franchises or something that make up their own pricing?

Karol

 

[lo_jack]

145k? no problem! I put 600 a week on my X and I already have 211k. Keep a couple spare quarts of oil, a thing of coolant and you are golden.

I think Uhaul just may have a pricing scheme that is not the same from one place to the next. MY question is how wide will a tandem hauler hold? I wanted to put my ramcharger on it but i think it wont fit...too wide. Then again i dont think its a good idea to pull it with my X either.

 

[Mr_Evil]

Re: wow

Originally posted by ExplorerEB96
I rented a Uhaul auto transport and hauled my X with my Bronco..... the autotransport I rented was for 4,800 lbs.... I rented it to go up to Paragon for the weekend...I got it at about 9am on friday and brought it back 8pm on a sunday... it only cost me $168.00 for the whole weekend... that was only last year!! what the heck...does Uhaul have franchises or something that make up their own pricing?

Karol

No, they determine your rate based on the demand for the given piece of equipment at each end of your trip. If where you're leaving from has higher demand for an auto transport than where you're going they charge more. I might see about towing the empty Auto transport up to Missourri from Amarillo and see if that's any cheaper.

Edit: BAH, it's either one way or no way. My dad's got connections for getting a trailer that can haul cars, but for a 600 mile trip I really could only trust U-haul's auto transports. I guess I'll stick to having my buddy follow me back in the X.