Tow Dolly

[chevyboy55]

Has anyone ever towed a 1/2 ton LWB with a U-Haul tow dolly?
We should hopefully be bringing my sons truck from the painters to home to put it back together this weekend! WOO HOO FINALLY! It has no lights,bumpers,glass or anything to make it legal to drive.
I dont really want to call U-Haul because when I called them about a trailer to take to the painter, they told me they could not rent me a trailer to tow a 1/2 pickup even though it was just a cab & box on the chassis,no motor,doors,front sheet metal,NOTHING!

[oldschooler]

I ran into the same problem. Tell them you are towing a ford escort or something small of that sort. The only problem is, that if there dolly falls apart they wont be liable for damages even though it is there junk dollies fault. I am not saying there dollies are junk. But there could always be some hidden crack or defect somewhere.

[BigTruckDriver]

You can get one of those tow hitches that attach to your trailer ball and to your sons front bumper ,or frame. You should be able to get one for around 75 dollars that about what you would pay for the rental.

[RicksTrucks]

I rented a U-Haul tow dolley once and had to take it back, it was too narrow. I luckily found a guy near where I was picking up the short stepside that had an older tow dolley for sale. Otherwise I would have had to rent the U-Haul car hauler. And like he said you need to tell them you are hauling something else. When I first tried to make the reservation online and said I was pulling a 68 Short Stepside with a Dodge Caravan, they wouldn't rent the tow dolley until I said it was an Escort.

[OJOE]

hart rod out of pensacola fl came to my place this past weekend with what looked like a u haul dolly and picked up a 1/2 ton chev p/u with no problem

[Hart_Rod]

I pulled a 1/2 T SWB from Joes this weekend, no problems what so ever. A couple of months ago, I pulled the My 67 LWB Crewcab from Junction, TX to Pensacola, FL (867 miles) with a u-haul tow dolley. I told them I was pulling a 1/2 T truck, . It pulled great.

PS My buddy pulled the Crewcab from Phoenix, AZ to Junction, TX with his V8 F@#$ Explorer. He had to drive a little bit slower than I did pulling it with my 03 Suburban, .

[bcminimart]

As a U -haul dealer myself, i had to respond, the reason u haul does not allow use of the tow dolly is because of safety issues, if you are pulling a 4000 lb truck with a vehicle that weighs 3000 the lead vehicle is in danger if he has to make a sudden stop,remember forward enertia is gonna try and put your truck in your backseat! As far as F@&d Explorers are concerned it seems after the rollover problem,uhaul doesnt allow any trailers or tow equipment to be pulled by one! you are right if you have a wreck pulling an unauthorized vehicle insurance is cancelled! So for about 10 bucks more go ahead and get the transport,its much safer and really easier to pull!

[BowTieOgre]

I havent used the dolly but ive used the auto transport twice with good results, once on a SWB '70 and once on a '73 Blazer. The only thing you want to be careful about is the tires. A 4x4 will not fit due to the wheel/tire width and the same is true for anything wider than a stock steelie so get yourself a set of those if you plan on using the transport.

[Zoomad75]

I've towed a lot of small cars with an old uhaul dolly. One point you have to watch is to make sure the straps over the front tires are secure. If they are loose the truck could fall off or jump forward and get wedged onto the dolly with the wheels in front of where they are supposed to be and the rocker panels laying on the ramps.

I never had it happen while towing myself, one of my nieghbors was bringing a 67 mustang home and hit the railroad tracks less than a mile from the house. The mustang jumped forward and was stuck on the dolly. It took 3 floor jacks and a ton of grunt to get the car off the dolly without causing more damage.

Just take it easy and make sure the straps are tight and check them on the way.

[passthebuck]

I'm all about the towbars that bolt to the front end of the truck to-be-towed. When I (saddly) had to store my two 67's to go off into training, I towed one with the other 175 miles at 50mph. You can feel that extra truck wanting to push the towing truck around but if you are safe & not in a rush, its a good option. It was slow stopping & starting but the towbar with the safety chains is imo the safest & easiest way to tow. The bars are cheap & you can hook the wiring into the towed vehicle. With these rental hassles & the fact that they often dont fit our trucks, I cant see why everybody isnt using towbars on our trucks.

[Longhorn Man]

tow bars all the way here.
I have thousands of miles logged with tow bars, and other than towing a truck that should have been loaded up on a trailer (front wheels locked straight forward) I have never had a single issue with the tow bars... even whenthe towed vehicle outweighed the tow vehicle.

[quickpm]

I towed my 72 LWB 2WD home 300 miles on a Uhaul transport. It was a tight fit getting it on there, the wheels rubbed, so make sure you can drive it on and off (or find skinny tires as suggested above). Here's a link to my photo gallery when I got it home..

http://thequicks.smugmug.com/gallery/2679207#141832160

[jc]

1100miles, one way.
make sure the tow dolly is wide enough , mine is homemade and heavy duty.
make sure those adjustable straps arnt adjusting while your driven.

my straps have started slipping on me
im looking into better straps soon

take it slow and check the straps often especialy if your inexperanced.

[boundstaffpress]

I'm getting ready to do this same thing. Here is what I'm looking at
Checker Auto's tow bar
What do you all think? for $125

[Paul72]

I got something similar at TSC. I also recommend the mag-base trailer lights. You hook them into the trailer harness and you're guaranteed to have lights on the other end of the towed vehicle.

My 0.02

Paul

[Longhorn Man]

that tow bar looks fine. remove the front bumper, and bolt it directly to the frame. No bumper damage that way.
I don't like the magnetic lights, I made a harness that goes from the trailer plug on the tow vehicle, to the tail light harness on the towed vehicle. you don't need power or anything on the towed, just a good harness and good bulbs/grounds in back.