Towing a toad with a bit of overload for several hundred miles?

[mountaintraveler]

I need to transport a sedan car and just realized that the weight of the rented autotransport trailer I booked + the weight of my car are going to be 250-300 lbs over 5,000 hitch rating on the RV. I only need to tow it for less than 400 miles like that.
Is it going to be ok with this small one time overload?

 

[SpencerPJ]

Personally, I'd do it. If possible, the least gas in car the better.

Double check the air pressures on trailer you rent, personally I air them to the max on the sidewalls.Few years ago I rented a uHaul, one of the tires was 30 psi, I thought nope, not getting a blowout on my pull.

 

[mountaintraveler]

Thanks, I will check the tires. Starting to wonder if it's going to be easier to just rent a two-wheel tow dolly instead. The car is a front wheel drive, so can be easily towed with 2 wheels on the ground. 2-wheel dolly is 3x lighter.
I never towed anything before neither I have motorhome driving experience (I'm picking up the motorhome from the dealer and need to tow my car back), wonder if it's going to be harder to manever the bigger trailer for a novice. Road conditions might end up not being perfect after the weather, plus much of the driving will be in the dark, and then on windy narrow rural roads at the end.
But autotransport trailer isn't longer than the car itself, I thought it's a lot safer for the car to tow on autotransport than on two wheels.

 

[Kirk]

Is it going to be ok with this small one time overload?

It probably will be fine but I would keep my speed down and be extra cautious to avoid any need for a panic stop. Try to avoid potholes and rough roads that could cause additional strains on the hitch.

 

[Ray-IN]

The single most important thing to remember is, with a tow dolly or trailer it is possible to back up a short distance- if you have a ground guide to prevent damage. Towing with all 4 car tires on the ground, backing up is not an option.
That said; I would load the car on the trailer and go for it as Kirk said.

 

[TheBar]

Note that brakes didn't used to be required on a tow dolly but this place says they are required in most states.

 

[Skookum]

If you don't have experience driving a motorhome or trailering a load, I'd probably say it's a good idea to take someone with you if you can, if that wasn't already in your plans. Two sets of eyes are sometimes better than one. If nothing else, remember to GOAL... Get Out And Look. If you're ever in doubt about backing up, or if something will clear your rig or not... Step outside and see for yourself. Take a mental snapshot. It's worth your insurance deductible at least.

A couple hundred pounds over wouldn't worry me, and if you're a generally good driver, that helps. Leave tons of extra space. Descend grades no faster than you'd climb it. Slow and maintain speed by using your gears, not riding your brakes... you know, all the usual "Good driver" stuff. Personally I'd rather trailer a car on an auto transport. I don't like tow dollies.

We just towed a car on a u-haul "auto transport" over 1300 miles and we've done it (longer) a handful of other times. You probably already know, but for the people in the back, thing is to look at the tires and connections every time you stop. How tight are the wheel straps--check them if the air temperature drops, the tire shrinks and the strap gets looser. Does the hitch connection still look good and is it still fully secured. Are the lights still working and plugged in. Are the tires and/or hubs unusually hot? Any new damage? ...We've had to fill tires on the road, once had to have u-haul replace a tire that was beginning to separate. We've had cruddy electrical connectors. But never an incident!!

I never towed anything before neither I have motorhome driving experience (I'm picking up the motorhome from the dealer and need to tow my car back), wonder if it's going to be harder to manever the bigger trailer for a novice.

Heck yeah!! Everyone's got to learn though. Congrats on the new RV and have a great trip!

 

[tlmgcamp]

Lacking a scale, you are not going to be able to determine the actual tongue weight. It depends on the front/rear weight distribution of the car being carried and where the car sits on the trailer.

 

[mountaintraveler]

I see, thank you for all the advice, very useful, I'll make a list.
I've been so worried about RV purchase and towing that I got physically ill, lot of pain in my side and back, can't even see a doctor as I'm out of state/insurance only works in my home state except emergency room, the whole thing is definitely stressful.

No, I don't have anyone to take with me to the drive.
First leg of the drive is to get my car towed 370 miles to where I'm staying temporarily.
Then, after a week, I'll be transporting it back to the West for storage.
Can't find autotransprort trailer to rent here in the very rural part of Midwest, so back to the West it'll defintely have to be a two-wheel dolly, and two car wheels on the ground. Thinking may be should buy a used Uhaul 2-wheel dolly and be done with it.

2-wheel dolly is more expensive to rent that full autotransport trailer, for some reason, so I decided to stick with autotransport for 370 miles.

Uhaul car transport trailers got all the necessary stuff on them already, lights and breaks if required by law.
Thir car trailers provide straps, but I wonder if I should buy additional straps to secure the car some more.

 

[SpencerPJ]

If you are doing this all on your own, personally I think a car dolly would be easiest in all scenarios. I'm sure uHaul has built in brakes as well, and I would bet uHaul would help you get everything in order. Another thought, can you rent a car one way? Some places have pick up and delivery service? Uber is an option for short commutes. Lastly, being new to all this, I would advise you to spend the night in RV (even at Dealers lot) and start this adventure in daylight hours only.

 

[mountaintraveler]

If you are doing this all on your own, personally I think a car dolly would be easiest in all scenarios. I'm sure uHaul has built in brakes as well, and I would bet uHaul would help you get everything in order. Another thought, can you rent a car one way? Some places have pick up and delivery service? Uber is an option for short commutes. Lastly, being new to all this, I would advise you to spend the night in RV (even at Dealers lot) and start this adventure in daylight hours only.

Don't think I can wait for daylight hours, snow is expected the next day after pickup day, may start at night. I'm coming out of a very rural area and don't think one can rent a car with delivery here. Uber probably comes here but don't think they do 370 miles trips. Plus what if something turns out of be wrong with RV, suddenly, I want to have a car option, I did a test drive in the RV, that's it, it's being bought from a dealer.
Got to see snow forecast closer to the date, I might be able to sleep in the Travel Plaza where the trucks park if snow starts later.

As to dolly being easier... I wonder if 1500 lb less of tow weight affects the ease a lot?

 

[mountaintraveler]

Personally I'd rather trailer a car on an auto transport. I don't like tow dollies.

Why don't you like dollies? More risk of damage to the car?

 

[Skookum]

Why don't you like dollies? More risk of damage to the car?

It's just personal preference - not that it won't work. I think it's easier to back up and maneuver with a trailer, and having all 4 wheels of the car off the ground does minimize risk to the car. Dollies are generally safe though.

Where is your destination if you don't mind me asking? You mentioned West.

 

[Kirk]

I have towed cars on a trailer, on a dolly, and 4 down, most of that behind a class A. While 4 down is my preference, I would agree that on a trailer does have some definite advantages, other than weight. I would recommend that you stick with the major highways since they tend to be wider and easier to drive on when you are short on experience. Do not get in any rush and stop if the weather should get bad or if road conditions deteriorate. It is better to get home late than to risk an accident.

 

[chuckbear]

Rent a car and drive to the RV seller. Turn the rental in and drive the RV home. Less fuss and stress. You can work out the logistics if you think about it hard enough. We do it all the time. It's probably a lot less than renting a trailer or dolly. Chuck

 

[mountaintraveler]

It's just personal preference - not that it won't work. I think it's easier to back up and maneuver with a trailer, and having all 4 wheels of the car off the ground does minimize risk to the car. Dollies are generally safe though.

Where is your destination if you don't mind me asking? You mentioned West.

I'm not sure about the storage for the car location in the West, I still have time to decide, somwhere South. This first leg of the trip is only 370 miles though.

 

[mountaintraveler]

I have towed cars on a trailer, on a dolly, and 4 down, most of that behind a class A. While 4 down is my preference, I would agree that on a trailer does have some definite advantages, other than weight. I would recommend that you stick with the major highways since they tend to be wider and easier to drive on when you are short on experience. Do not get in any rush and stop if the weather should get bad or if road conditions deteriorate. It is better to get home late than to risk an accident.

The major highways here in this part of the East are the scariest things to drive, because of how many trucks are there and everyone is speeding. These parts here aren't mountainous so rural areas are fine, few cars on the county roads or smaller state highways, but yeah I will have to hit the interstates too and driving in later hours/at night is actually good because there'd be less trucks and no jams.

 

[mountaintraveler]

The question got resolved on it's own - today I got rescheduling message and when I called Uhaul scheduling department they told me they're not advising the autotransport trailer after asking me about my hitch rating (5,000 lbs), said it might be too heavy and also weren't sure if my car had safe clearance to get up on their autotransport, so I changed the plans to the 2-wheel dolly. There're cars that got their mufflers destroyed getting up on that trailer.

I don't think this car can be towed with all 4-wheels on the ground, it's a front wheel drive sedan. I think only 4wd can be towed like that.

 

[Isaac-1]

Flat towing depends on the model of car, some front wheel drive models can be towed flat, most can't. Either way you need typically $4,000+ flat tow setup, base plate, braking system, etc. to flat tow.

On a side note does the U-Hual you plant to rent from know you are going to be pulling the dolly /trailer with a motorhome, I have read they generally have a policy of not renting to people with motorhomes, and only renting on approved models of tow vehicles lately.

 

[mountaintraveler]

Flat towing depends on the model of car, some front wheel drive models can be towed flat, most can't. Either way you need typically $4,000+ flat tow setup, base plate, braking system, etc. to flat tow.

On a side note does the U-Hual you plant to rent from know you are going to be pulling the dolly /trailer with a motorhome, I have read they generally have a policy of not renting to people with motorhomes, and only renting on approved models of tow vehicles lately.

No, they rent dollies/trailers to people with motorhomes, it's on the website one can select RV as a tow vehicle. For autotransport trailer, 48 hours before pickup they seem to try to double check what's the hitch rating, for cargo trailers they just show on the website how many pounds you can load on them, based on each rating.

4K flat tow setup is a lot more expensive than 1K used 2-wheel dolly I guess.