Anyone used their LC to tow a vehicle with a U Haul trailer?

[Dan Higgins]

I may need to get a Honda CR-V to Seattle from Denver and the cost to rent a U Haul flat bed car carrier trailer is at least a thousand dollars less than having someone deliver it for me. (Plus, I am looking for an excuse to spend some time in the PNW. . I haven’t used one of these trailers. Has anyone done so with their LC and if so, how did it go and are their any tips, gotchas or words of wisdom?

 

[UCrazyKid]

I had a car carrier deliver my car from California to Illinois and the whole thing cost just under $1000. You might want to look into other options.

 

[Angelo1]

When i had my first 200 MY08, i used a u-haul car trailer to tow my wife’s BMW 3-Series a few years from the Bay Area to Denver over I-70 “big mountain passes and had zero issue. I kept speed the whole way and the LC never seemed tired. It was lifted with 33”, Slee sliders, Sahara bar if that makes a difference if you’re worried about additional weight. The only issue was the breaking. A bit soft and you need more time in front of you to slow down. The big weakness the LC has.

 

[txtortoise]

I moved a 1999 Honda Accord on one from San Antonio to Lubbock. No issues, other than ice.

I would check the trailer tires. Maintenance seems to be marginal on these.

They use hydraulic braking so you just need 4-wire trailer wiring. No brake controller needed. Just have your 7-pin to 4-pin adapter.

 

[luke27617]

I have towed it once with flat bed from uhaul roughly 500 miles. No problems, but things to watch out for. The trailer is much wider than LC, so often you will be crossing lines, so you need to pay attention so you don't side swap someone with it. If you are on intercity 3+ line highway stay on outside lines. As well may be due weight distribution or absorber in the front of the trailer felt much more push from rear when slowing down vs. when towing my boat. So takes ramps slowly.

 

[krice118]

Had my 100 shipped from south FL to st. Louis for $700.

 

[Cliffordbf]

I used my 08 LX to pull my ‘93 BMW 318 racecar to and from the track. It pulled well aside from braking. Give yourself some room.

 

[TeCKis300]

The LC200 will do great. I've used those uhaul car carriers many times with my 100-series. They are built very sturdy and stable. The 200-series will tow it even more effortlessly. Aero drag and weight aren't much of any concern.

 

[Ming89FJ62]

Sunnyvale, CA to Palatine, IL was less than $900 for the FJ40. Start working the web

 

[UCrazyKid]

Sunnyvale, CA to Palatine, IL was less than $900 for the FJ40. Start working the web

Ha! That is almost exactly my route! Sunnyvale, CA to Barrington, IL it was like $985 when I more 1 1/2 years ago.

 

[ethernectar]

Have towed my 40 series on a UHaul tandem trailer from SoCal to Pismo several times. You just have to get used to driving with the surge break on the trailer. The UHaul trailers are heavy.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Thanks, Folks. This is very helpful. The U-Haul quote from Denver to Vancouver is $511. We may drop the trailer at Boise and do the rest separately to Vancouver. That would make it about $430. And we could do some exploring along the Columbia River Gorge. Getting to Boise means my wife would not need to drive by herself on the boring, sleep-inducing stretch from Denver to Boise.

As for shipping it, I need to get out to the PNW anyway so I’ll be “going that way”.

I have towed our 6,000# travel trailer a fair bit. It is likely narrower and it has electronic brakes. But it is also longer and behaves like a big box in the wind. I’ll have the U-Haul folks load the car on the trailer and I’ll make sure they put at least 10% of the total weight on the hitch. But that would be about 550-600 lbs whereas the hitch weight for my trailer is more like 800-850 though I use a WD hitch for that. The surge brakes will take some getting used to. I always anticipate when towing but I do have my electronic trailer brakes dialed in. I’ll have to get a feel for the surge brakes.

I’ll probably do the “flat” route. I25, Hwy287, I80, Hwy30 through Pocatello then I84.

 

[Dan Higgins]

One more question. U-Haul says to drive nor more than 55MPH. Is that what you all do? I usually get going at 60-65 with my travel trailer on appropriate roads.

 

[TeCKis300]

With your Lance TT experience, the car carrier will be a walk in the park. Superior sight lines and aero with the car carrier. I've done several long trips with them and they are great. Even beyond 55mph. It'll easily cruise at 70mph, without much concern for aero drag compared to a camper.

There are older steel and newer aluminum variants out there. Both are overbuilt, solid, and forgiving. I would be okay with either. IIRC, 2000-2400 lbs trailer alone. Recommended always load engine forward (for tongue weight stability), but with a CR-V being short wheelbase and relatively light, likely doesn't matter. I've always had to do tail forward on account of my cars being too low.

The surge brakes work just fine on these car carriers. There's an initial surge, but then they bite just fine. I've been on long 6% grades with engine braking, and all works fine. Unrelated, I've also done steep hills with 8k++ lbs on a hydraulic dump loader with surge brakes and that's very much an issue!!! The surge brake would engage continuously on account of the engine braking and cook the trailer brakes well before the bottom of the hill$!@

As another option, with a CR-V, you could tow with a dolly with just the front wheels up. It's a bit more of a PITA as backing up is problematic. But you could also buy a dolly on craigslist. Then turn around and sell it once you've reached your destination, at practically no cost.

 

[weaselox]

I helped out a friend of mine with picking up this Nissan Patrol that he’s restoring. Pulled the trailer up and back with no driving issues. The only thing that I was worried with were the lights on the trailer. They would not work with the 7 pin to 4 pin converter. We tried everything.

 

[Dan Higgins]

Again, thanks, Everyone! Awesome stuff. I showed my wife the pictures and the comments about how much easier it will be than towing our Lance and she now feels much better about out doing this. As for using a dolly, our CR-V is AWD so no dolly.

 

[Dan Higgins]

I used my 08 LX to pull my ‘93 BMW 318 racecar to and from the track. It pulled well aside from braking. Give yourself some room.

View attachment 1659969

This is a great pic!

 

[Dan Higgins]

Have towed my 40 series on a UHaul tandem trailer from SoCal to Pismo several times. You just have to get used to driving with the surge break on the trailer. The UHaul trailers are heavy. View attachment 1660109

Also a great pic. Though, @ethernectar, you look like your dragging your tail a bit. Maybe your load is a bit forward?

 

[TeCKis300]

Ah, AWD. Carrier it is. BTW, they are super easy to load the car on and you can definitely manage. Oh, and you'll see a nice mirrored "55 mpg" sticker on the forward part of the fender that will remind you with the side rear view.

Also a great pic. Though, @ethernectar, you look like your dragging your tail a bit. Maybe your load is a bit forward?

These carriers are designed for the load to be all the way forward with wheels touching the front stops. There's no balancing for tongue weight. Though you could back the CR-V on, but it's not recommended by U-Hauls guidelines (engine forward). The trailer driver side fender (only) folds over for door clearance on low cars, but you won't have that issue.

Loading: Easy peasy for the relatively higher clearance CR-V. You can use the tongue jack to nose up the trailer to get better angles.

Securing load: Tires completely up against the front stops. Make sure car is square on trailer and tires on both sides are touching stops. Then pull the tire straps over the tires and cinch it down with the ratchet mechanism. There's an additional safety chain underneath the center rear of the trailer, to loop over a beefy chassis member.

 

[luke27617]

One more question. U-Haul says to drive nor more than 55MPH. Is that what you all do? I usually get going at 60-65 with my travel trailer on appropriate roads.

I was doing 65-70 without any problems.