Towing with U-Haul

[GLEB_127]

Does anyone have any experience towing a trailer with U-Haul's cube vans?
I will be towing a 20-24 foot car trailer, 8000 pounds loaded, and that's maximum. Most likely 7-7.500.
I don't need a pick up on regular basis and will only tow about 10 times a year, usually no more than 200 kms round trip.
U-Haul's website claims that their 14/17 foot cube van can tow up to 10.000 pounds and looks like it has more than enough payload.
Engines are Ford V10.

Link:
http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=EL

Is there anything that I am overlooking or don't know about?
The hitch ball is attached to the bumper on every U-Haul truck that I saw, is that a problem?

Thank you!

[ghostrider421]

GLEB 127 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience towing a trailer with U-Haul's cube vans?
I will be towing a 20-24 foot car trailer, 8000 pounds loaded, and that's maximum. Most likely 7-7.500.
I don't need a pick up on regular basis and will only tow about 10 times a year, usually no more than 200 kms round trip.
U-Haul's website claims that their 14/17 foot cube van can tow up to 10.000 pounds and looks like it has more than enough payload.
Engines are Ford V10.

Link:
http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=EL

Is there anything that I am overlooking or don't know about?
The hitch ball is attached to the bumper on every U-Haul truck that I saw, is that a problem?

Thank you!

If you go on their website, they will tell you what the largest trailer you can pull with one of their trucks. This is usually the 6x12 trailer.

[Jarlaxle]

Do they have 7-pin wiring and brake controllers?

[carringb]

Maybe its a regional thing, but ALL of the newer U-hauls I've seen have a 2" receiver, just next to the welded 2" ball. Look closer guys. It's integrated into the bumper. They starting including receivers when they started advertising the 10,000# towing capacity (can't do that with a 2" ball).

[Ogeechee]

I've towed a Ford Taurus using an empty Uhaul 17' box truck (96-ish F350 with 460) and the Uhaul car hauler. Even with mileage fees, it was cheaper than having the car towed home professionally. No problems towing from Gatlinburg, Tn to Savannah, Ga. I agree that I've never seen a receiver hitch on a Uhaul vehicle, and they don't have brake controllers since all of their trailers have surge brakes.

[JRS___B]

I towed a U-Haul trailer with their standard 2 inch hitch, but my truck had the 1 7/8 inch ball for my little boat trailer on it. They said it was fine, but there was some play. I drove it around a couple of miles and then they snugged it up just to be sure. It still had some play.

It's not that I do not believe a person could use the 2 5/16 inch on a 2 inch ball, but that would be even more slop than I experienced. I am not totally sure I would like that arrangement.

[Jarlaxle]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Yea,

Check the mileage fee on the truck that you will be renting.

Some of the small "In town" vans do not have the V10, but would have a 5.4L V8 making 300 HP in the pickups, less in the vans. Van front cube vans make less power than the pickups.

All the 1997-up U-Haul Econolines I have seen have V10's. AFAIK, they have NO 5.4's except in the small cargo vans. The new ones are E-450's, which, IIRC, have the V10 standard.

Also: no brake controller, no sway control, no WD system...and every one I have seen except the small SRW GMC's DO NOT have a receiver; they have a fixed hitch on the bumper!

[carringb]

All of the newer U-hauls have a 2" hitch receiver and 7-way wiring. That means you will need you provide your own ball mount and ball. The wheelbase on the 17' and 20' models is so long I doubt weight distribution will make any difference in handling.

The V10 E450 is rated for 22,000 combined which you will be way under, so performance should be decent. I don't know if U-haul uses the factory integrated brake controllers. The older ones all have a plug under the dash for using your own.

[Jack_Diane_Free]

No mention of brake controller.

[GLEB_127]

C.B. wrote:

GLEB 127 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience towing a trailer with U-Haul's cube vans?

The hitch ball is attached to the bumper on every U-Haul truck that I saw, is that a problem?

Thank you!

For starters.

The problem is the ball on the U-Haul is NOT a 2 5/16".

From U-haul website:

Features

Fuel economy gauge
Air bags
Seats 3 for adults
Automatic transmission
Air conditioning
AM/FM radio
Gentle-Ride suspension
Disc brakes
2'10" Low Deck
Hitch with 2" ball accepts up to 2 5/16"
Tie downs
Rub rails

[C_B_]

GLEB 127 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience towing a trailer with U-Haul's cube vans?

The hitch ball is attached to the bumper on every U-Haul truck that I saw, is that a problem?

Thank you!

For starters.

The problem is the ball on the U-Haul is NOT a 2 5/16".

[I_am_still_wayn]

I think the rental contract with U-Haul disallows towing any trailers other than their own. Better check that out.

[JRS___B]

Someone will probably have the latest scoop on this, but as I remember reading the rental insurance fine print, a person's biggest financial exposure in case of an accident is that if the vehicle is out of service for repairs for more than say 2 weeks (do not know what the real number is), then they have to start paying the daily rental charge while the vehicle is in the shop to make the rental company whole for their lost revenue.

But I am sure every rental company had their own layers draw up their contracts, and so each will be just slightly different.

I always found it curious that AAA recommends I NOT buy additional insurance if I rent a car, and they partner with Hertz, and the one time I rented from Hertz via AAA, they still tried to sell the additional insurance to me. It must be a real money maker for the rental companies.

[joeprinter]

IMHO- I think it will not be a problem. I HIGHLY recommend U-haul insurance. I have a relative on the board of directors of U-haul, an amazingly how many people think their own auto insurance will cover then in the event of an accident, NOT TRUE. As mentioned, you might be better off to purchase a van of your own.

[Golden_HVAC]

Yea,

Check the mileage fee on the truck that you will be renting.

Some of the small "In town" vans do not have the V10, but would have a 5.4L V8 making 300 HP in the pickups, less in the vans. Van front cube vans make less power than the pickups.

Are you thinking about renting a gas powered F-650 heavy duty truck? They typically will get lousy mileage, as they tend to have 5.12:1 rear ends, or lower ratio, to give it the ability to tow and carry many thousands of pounds, so 4 and 5 MPG is not unheard of.

You did mention 10 trips a year, about 200 Km each, or about 2000 Km a year. Figure out what that cost will be, and consider a 1995 - 2002 gas pickup with a V10 or the old V8 460" engine. You might even find a 8.1L V8 GMC for sale at a reasonable cost. Consider if you only pay about $5,000 - 8,000, the cost will not reduce to much after the next 4 years, if you are only adding 10,000 miles. By this time, most have already lost all their drive off value, what is left will pretty much stay there, and you should be able to resell for about the same amount.

Yet if you also consider the insurance, what U-haul sells is pretty expensive, but so is insurance on a vehicle you are not driving. With my motorhome, I can call my agent and tell him to leave it dormant while I am not driving it, so the most expensive liability is in-activated, while the fire, theft, and damage is still in effect.

Fred.