Towing a Uhaul 6x12 with a Legacy 2.5i Sedan?

Hey all,

 

I am looking at moving about 3000 km away (1800 miles) and I want to bring my queen size bed, winter tires, dresser and sofa with me. I looked at renting a uhaul 6x12 as it would fit everything and I would have even extra room.

 

Would this be a good idea? The trailer has surge brakes which I assumes helps the trailer stop. I need a trailer of this size due to my couch being 8.5 feet long.

 

Will only be towing once with it and most of the drive is across flatlands except for 300 km when I arrive close to my destination which is the beginning of a mountain range.

 

I talked to uhaul and they said I should be good to go but want to make sure before i leave.

 

Also trailer wiring harness, is it plug and play or do I need to splice?

The actual size of the trailer doesn't really matter (within reason) as long as the weight being towed is within the limits of your car's tow rating and the rating of the hitch you are using. I believe your limit is 2700lbs but you should check your manual to confirm.

 

The harness will depend on what plug type they have on the trailer - you may need an adapter. Most UHaul places I've gone to sell adapters (though at a premium) since they don't want to be splicing their trailer wires every time someone shows up with a mismatched hitch harness.

 

If you've never towed before you need to be more attentive and plan well in advance for stops, turns, lane changes, etc.

Thanks for the reply.

 

Yes the max towing weight is 2700 lbs and the trailer is about 1920 lbs with all the stuff I am loading would be max 500 pounds so right around 2400 lbs. I am doing the drive in 4 days so I will have lots of time where I am getting gas or eating or sleeping.

 

Just want to make sure it's safe.

We just did a 2,000 mile move ourselves. I looked into towing a trailer, but decided that it was troo much wear and tear on the trani and drivetrain. We did a U-Haul U-Box instead...it arrived three days after we did and we did not have to mess with issues that trailers can bring. It was bit more expensive, but a good decision for us, especially since we had to travel through mountainous areas. You might consider something like U-Box, Pods, UPack, or whatever it is where you are. If you pack it up early enough, it might arrive before you...

Search threads. There is already one all about why you cant do this.

 

Hey all I am looking at moving about 3000 km away (1800 miles) and I want to bring my queen size bed, winter tires, dresser and sofa with me. I looked at renting a uhaul 6x12 as it would fit everything and I would have even extra room.

 

You should not pull a laden 6x12 with a car unless its filled with balloons and pulled by a Crown Vic. A good idea would be renting a truck.

 

Will only be towing once with it and most of the drive is across flatlands except for 300 km when I arrive close to my destination which is the beginning of a mountain range....I talked to uhaul and they said I should be good to go but want to make sure before i leave.

 

The wear and tear on your car will more than offset any savings over shipping, one way truck reantal or sale/purchase of goods. Try googling uhaul towing death. Uhaul expose. Uhaul dealers in general have been proven not to be trusted. There are exceptions. In fact, there is a uhaul dealer on the forum.

 

Also trailer wiring harness, is it plug and play or do I need to splice?

 

They are plug and play for vehicles designed to tow:rolleyes:

 

The actual size of the trailer doesn't really matter (within reason)

 

EDIT: ^Is misleading and potentially dangerous advice.

Trailer length vs tow vehicle wheelbase has a tremendous amount to do with trailer stability. The longer the tow vehicle's wheelbase, the more stable longer trailers will be. Among other things, Im local 399 (teamster) and pull an airstream behind my Durango thats been heavily modded to tow things bigger than its meant for, not that I know anything about towing, its just an opinion.

Think hard about how much things weigh. I bet the stuff you want to put in the trailer would be closer to 1000lbs than 500. Almost everyone underestimates weight, and it's dangerous.

Personally I wouldn't consider towing with a legacy. It's just too small a vehicle, The wheelbase is too short, and its too light. It sounds like you haven't towed anything before, towing isn't exactly easy. Towing something with too small a vehicle is very difficult.

We rented a penske truck with trailer for about $500. We moved our entire home plus car and it was simple and safe. Though it was only 10mpg.

 

I wouldn't touch uhaul after having a high rate of failure and death. Last road trip we saw someone's trailer split apart on the road and leave their family belongings on the freeway. It was a uhaul.

 

I would suggest getting a proper truck with 4 wheel off the ground trailer to move your stuff. No miles on your car, and with it's size a lot safer to tow. Post above is right. If you've never towed before wrong car + too much weight is asking for trouble.

Well I don't have many other options. PODS and Ubox are not available at the place I am going however I can rent a Uhaul truck and a trailer and tow the car but then it's $3200 plus 15% tax, about $1000 in fuel and I get the truck for 5 days only. Thats just not economical.

 

I have towed before with my truck and my skidoo's/atv so I do have some experience but haven't been doing it my whole life.

 

Just a question, if the car is rated for 2700 lbs and are towing under that, why is it a problem? I have read people don't recommend it so I wanted to ask here but I have ready about people doing going for it and had no issues.

 

I just don't have many options

Penske doesn't charge mileage on one way moves. Get a 16 foot van with a trailer and be done with it.

 

I can get 20 mpg in my 26 foot International 4300s when I draft a rig. You don't have to be on his ass to do this either.

 

Also, you'd better know for a fact that sofa will fit into your new place. It would not surprise me if it didn't.

You posted a thread to get solutions right? I was going to mention Penske and I have connections at Enterprise and could probably find you a one-way deal. I'd rather use the Pensky gear tho'.

I am located in Canada and nobody but uhaul does 1 way truck rentals sadly.

If you are going to tow - don't go over 70 to 80 km/h, but also make sure that the hitch load is decent - not too high or too low. A two axle bogie trailer is more stable than a single-axle.

 

And use a trailer with at least surge brakes too, unbraked trailer can be awkward if you need to brake hard.

I would not completely trust surge brakes with a trailer that big relative to the TV. and surge brakes are going to make it impossible to back up a slope if you need to do so. They will just lock up most of the time.

A two axle trailer is not only easier to balance re: hitch weight but its much more stable backing up too. Single axle trailers want to pivot. Double axle trailers have more rotational resistance.

I am going to contact a few work connections this morning (in a couple of hours its 420am here - I've got a stomachache) and see if I can find some one way rental info in Canada for you. I'm sure our crew's have shot in Canada before.

I am located in Canada and nobody but uhaul does 1 way truck rentals sadly.

 

A quick 15 second visit to each of Penske, Budget, and Ryder's sites all verify they do one way truck rentals in Canada. How could they not?

Do what I am planning on doing next year. Rent a box truck, and tow your car behind it on a car trailer.

Well there seems to be 10x more options in the US but where I am moving there are little options unless I leave stuff here and take the small trailer however the 6x12 would fit everything perfectly.

 

I want to stay safe so I will see what I can do.

 

Also, my sofa fits in the new place quite good as I will walk it in the patio double doors.

 

 

 

A quick 15 second visit to each of Penske, Budget, and Ryder's sites all verify they do one way truck rentals in Canada. How could they not?

 

 

Why would I lie?

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v652/mypersonalpics/penske.jpg

EDIT: ^Is misleading and potentially dangerous advice.

Trailer length vs tow vehicle wheelbase has a tremendous amount to do with trailer stability. The longer the tow vehicle's wheelbase, the more stable longer trailers will be. Among other things, Im local 399 (teamster) and pull an airstream behind my Durango thats been heavily modded to tow things bigger than its meant for, not that I know anything about towing, its just an opinion.

 

I do have to admit my comment was pretty vague and given how the OP presented with no knowledge I should have either been clearer in my advice or simply advised against it. There are patently unsafe setups but IMO, safety in towing is often a question of margins and driver experience. Reading it again, my statement was indeed potentially dangerous to a novice (and really just useless to anyone who already understands towing), so your point is well-taken. Hopefully the OP finds a better solution to his move.

Are you close to a US town that has penske?

 

Drive down, pick it up and drive it back into Canada. When you're done your cross country trip cross the boarder again with an empty truck and your car on the trailer. Drop it off and drive yourself back.

 

That would be how I would do it. I wouldn't town anything more then bikes with our GT.

Penske FTW

 

http://i52.tinypic.com/2z5uh5c.jpg

Are you close to a US town that has penske?

 

Drive down, pick it up and drive it back into Canada. When you're done your cross country trip cross the boarder again with an empty truck and your car on the trailer. Drop it off and drive yourself back.

 

That would be how I would do it. I wouldn't town anything more then bikes with our GT.

 

I just checked that out and my quote was about $2700. I am not sure how people pay $500 when I have to pay so much.

 

Blah

I just checked that out and my quote was about $2700. I am not sure how people pay $500 when I have to pay so much.

 

Blah

My wife did some research and we snagged a deal. When we picked up the truck/trailer the guy stated it was better then employee pricing.

 

If you book close to the end of the month you pay big time. We moved middle of the month. Both lots we saw were full of trucks. Might explain the price savings.

 

$2700 isn't all that bad when you figure what you're moving and the cost. Private companies will charge about $1/lbs to move stuff cross country.

I just moved last month. I owned a 6x4' trailer I towed with my last car, but sold the trailer instead of putting a hitch on either of my Subarus.

I did move my speakers and electronics in my Leggacy, and a couple graver items in/on my outback but I moved 99% in a uhaul truck. I was not impressed with the truck. The side mirrors were seized so I could barely use them and the suspension needed some serious work. The tranny shifted hard too... Clearly had seen lots of abuse and very little maintenance from uhaul.

 

If you have another option other than uhaul go with that, but definitely rent a truck and tow your car on a flatbed or follow behind.

Would this be a good idea? The trailer has surge brakes which I assumes helps the trailer stop. I need a trailer of this size due to my couch being 8.5 feet long.

 

Ditch the couch. Buying another one will be cheaper and safer than jumping through all these hoops just to keep the old one.

 

I got the Subaru hitch and wiring. Plug and play FTW.

i towed my 2.5gt with my 2.5i ! at 70mph, and still got like 25 mph !!!

Re towing 2000 lbs plus trailer with Legacy. My recommendation is a strong and simple NO. Find another way.

 

I regularly tow a very light weight (400 lbs) trailer with my 2005 legacy. Just once, I tried towing 1600# trailer and found it far too dangerous to control and, with my engineering training background, likely to overstress drive train to the point where it would cost really big dollars to repair.