U-Haul car carrier

fitter1 · Feb 13, 2015

I need to get my tractor down here from Vt. to move snow banks back. Can anyone tell me if a u-haul car transport trailer can safely haul my J/D990 with fel. I'll be towing with my 09 f-150 4x4. Truck has factory tow package but no electric brake setup. My main concern is securing it properly with the tire straps that come with the trailer. Trailer does have hydraulic brakes. Local transport co's are backed up 2 weeks. Dealers don't think this will work for me.

George2615 · Feb 13, 2015

1) Depends on the weight of your tractor and loader. Most U haul car trailers are 7K rated and have about a 5K load capacity.
2) You should definetely have a brake controller. The trailer may have hydraulic surge brakes but do they work properly.
3) Use chains or straps to tie down tractor and loader. Over the tire straps are OK but I'd use chains too.
4) Is the trailer long enough to properly balance the load for proper tongue weight.
My opinion is to borrow or rent a proper sized trailer and get a brake controller in your truck. Chain the load properly.

Diamondpilot · Feb 13, 2015

Big issue is wheel spacing. The Uhaul units have channels the wheels fit in, not a flat deck. My guess is its not going to work.

Chris

dodge man · Feb 13, 2015

He can put a brake controller on his truck but what good is it going to do if the trailer only has surge brakes and no electric brakes.

It looks like the weight of your tractor would be OK. Maybe it weighs 5000 lbs at the most. I'd think you could figure out a way to tie it down as long as the wheels line up with the channels on the trailer.

Sprinklerman · Feb 13, 2015

U haul will ask you what type of car are you hauling ? When you tell them its a tractor they wont rent it to you . If you go that route tell them you are hauling a chevs s10 pick up .

hoho · Feb 13, 2015

also find out what your insurance carrier says both truck and home owner may want tractor ins.for trip and work if off property.

George2615 · Feb 13, 2015

dodge man said:
He can put a brake controller on his truck but what good is it going to do if the trailer only has surge brakes and no electric brakes.

It looks like the weight of your tractor would be OK. Maybe it weighs 5000 lbs at the most. I'd think you could figure out a way to tie it down as long as the wheels line up with the channels on the trailer.

I'm not implying that adding a brake controller to his truck would help anything since the Uhaul trailer has hydraulic brakes. But adding one would help if he is able to borrow a friends trailer with electric brakes. Poor wording on my part.

schmism · Feb 13, 2015

buy a 7K "landscape" trailer to haul it on? they can be found on craigslist all day long for like $1500.

you could buy it, have brake controller installed in your truck, move your tractor, and sell the trailer for what you paid for it and still come out ahead if you had rented something.

clayhardock · Feb 13, 2015

You could probably get the u-haul unit to work but as said its not a flat deck so you may have to fiddle around with some boards if the wheels don't line up with the channels. A better option would be to call an equipment rental place and rent a flat deck trailer. You will probably need to install a brake controller then. You could also rent a u-haul truck and put it in the back, just have to figure out some ramps to get it up there.

MossRoad · Feb 13, 2015

As someone else mentioned, when you go to the U-haul place, they're going to ask about the tow vehicle and then what you're going to tow on it. They'll look up the weight of the "S-10" in their database and see if your tow vehicle is capable of pulling their trailer with your "S-10". Now if you misrepresent the "S-10" and you get in a wreck, even if its not your fault, my guess is some lawyer will go after U-Haul, who will produce documents showing you were hauling an S-10, signed by you.... don't go that route.

As others have mentioned, get a proper trailer, brake controller for you truck, use it through the winter, and sell it for what you paid for it in the spring. You'll end up with a brake controller for future use, which will cost less than the trailer rental for a couple days.