Renting a powerful pick-up truck for towing

[burkee]

I have to tow my 23-foot, 4,500-lb. sailboat (full keel) about 150 miles and I'm looking to rent a pick-up truck to do the job. Can't seem to find any places that will rent out a sufficiently powerful pick-up with a hitch (many don't want you to use your own trailor, I guess because of liability). There seem to be plenty of box trucks that can haul it, but I wonder whether the high aspect of an empty box truck is inherently less stable -- at least on a windy day -- than a pick-up truck. Hopefully, I'm being overcautious. Any thoughts, suggestions appreciated. Many thanks.

[George Roberts]

Find a friend or neighbor. Perhaps a fellow with a local business. Pay them well.

[Thorne]

Update your location in the USER CP link, upper left of this page.

Pick a non-windy day and go for the box truck if that is the only option...is the distance level or over a mountain?

[Wayne Jeffers]

4500 pounds is not much of a load to tow for a full-sized pickup. Pretty much all full-sized pickup trucks will tow more than that. (Honda Ridgeline is an exception, but I don't consider it a real truck.) You don't need a special "powerful" truck, just a real full-sized pickup.

I strongly recommend a weight-distributing hitch.

Box truck would work. Pick the smallest box that has a 2" receiver for your hitch. Pick a day without high wind. Drive carefully and you will be fine.

Wayne

[burkee]

Update your location in the USER CP link, upper left of this page.

Pick a non-windy day and go for the box truck if that is the only option...is the distance level or over a mountain?

Level. Thakns. burkee

[burkee]

Find a friend or neighbor. Perhaps a fellow with a local business. Pay them well.

thanks. burkee

[burkee]

4500 pounds is not much of a load to tow for a full-sized pickup. Pretty much all full-sized pickup trucks will tow more than that. (Honda Ridgeline is an exception, but I don't consider it a real truck.) You don't need a special "powerful" truck, just a real full-sized pickup.

I strongly recommend a weight-distributing hitch.

Box truck would work. Pick the smallest box that has a 2" receiver for your hitch. Pick a day without high wind. Drive carefully and you will be fine.

Wayne

I'm a little unclear on what a full-sized pick-up is. I was told my load was too much for a 1/2 ton pick-up but OK for a 3/4-ton, but am unclear what these terms refer to (certaiy not cargo or hauling capacity). I suppose every pick-up is rated in online promo literature for what it can haul.

[Wayne Jeffers]

burkee,

I do a good bit of camping. Many people who use travel trailers tow with a half-ton truck. 4500 pounds would be a really light travel trailer. I recommend a half-ton or heavier truck with a V-8 engine. (V-8 is not available on the Ridgeline; that's why I said to avoid it.) The Toyota Tundra is rated to tow at least 9500 pounds, as is the Nissan Titan. Ford F-150, Chevy C/K1500, Dodge half-tons will be okay.

If you find a truck with a 2" hitch receiver, you can rest assured that it can handle a 4500-pound tow okay. You need a truck with a hitch receiver. I would not tow 4500 pounds with a hitch ball bolted to the bumper, as the tongue weight will be too high for the bumper to handle.

A weight-distributing hitch would be a very good thing, though not absolutely necessary unless the tongue weight exceeds the rating of the truck for towing without WD hitch.

The truck's owners manual should tell you what is allowable for towing capacity, as well as the allowable hitch weight both with and without WD hitch.

Wayne

[Yeadon]

I've been under the impression that towing isn't necessarily about power, but braking ability.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Another thing . . .

The 1/2-ton -- 3/4-ton distinction means much, much more for how much weight they can carry aboard. I drive a GMC 3/4-ton. It is rated to carry 3700 pounds. My sister has a Chevy half-ton short bed. It is rated to carry only 1100 pounds. The difference in towing capacity is not nearly so great.

Any truck with a 2" receiver, drive slowly and carefully, and you will be fine.

Wayne

[willmarsh3]

Looks like U-Haul might work: http://www.uhaul.com/hitches/

[Wayne Jeffers]

I've been under the impression that towing isn't necessarily about power, but braking ability.

I would say safe towing is more about control, including braking.

A trailer with a 4500-pound total load is required to have brakes. I assume they are working.

Control also is impacted by the wheel base of the truck. Long is good, short is bad. That's why short SUV's are rather unsafe for towing full-size travel trailers.

The weight on the back of the truck (from the tongue weight of the trailer) will shift weight off the front wheels. Too much weight removed from the wheels that do the steering is a really bad thing. Therefore the need for the WD hitch if the tongue weight is too high. WD hitch moves weight from the back wheels to the front, and to the trailer wheels.

Cross-winds and passing semi's can affect control as well, especially with a travel trailer with big square vertical sides to catch the wind. Less a concern with a curved boat hull. If he were towing a 4500-pound travel trailer, I would tell him he needs a sway-control device, too, to prevent sway.

Power matters only to the extent that it must be adequate to move the load at a reasonable speed.

Wayne

[Wayne Jeffers]

Looks like U-Haul might work: http://www.uhaul.com/hitches/

A Class 3/4 hitch receiver installed on a truck, plus buying a drawbar, pin, and ball, will be upwards of $200.

It would be cheaper to rent a Uhaul truck with a hitch.

Wayne

[rbgarr]

My experience is that truck rental companies will not rent out trucks that you intend to tow with unless it's their trailer. Their insurance won't cover it and if you do it your contract is void. Plus, the average Joe doesn't know what he's doing regarding tongue weight, braking, passing, shifting, parking, etc. Especially launching at launch ramps!!

[Wayne Jeffers]

My experience is that truck rental companies will not rent out trucks that you intend to tow with unless it's their trailer. . .

Good point!

I've rented trucks for moving big furniture. I've always used my own for towing.

Wayne

[goodbasil]

Go at a quite time of day. Early morning. Lot less braking if your on busy roads. Make sure you have a spare for the trailer, if you don't you'll get a flat. If you do, you won't. (Learn from me.)

Make sure you get insurance, fire, rearended, everything. Just cause your truck is insured doesn't mean the trailer and contents are.

[ripley699]

have an F250 4 door.
It came from the factory able to tow 13,000 lbs...I only need a heavy duty hitch.....
I can pull anything now that i have a "detroit locker "rear end.
Too bad you haven't posted where you . i could help...
I'm in New Hampshire

[JimD]

Many Uhauls are death traps. Avoid them.

[switters]

http://www.homedepotrents.com/truckrental.asp

think inside the box.

[rbgarr]

Home Depots around here don't rent trucks for towing. Maybe elsewhere they do.

[willmarsh3]

Vancouver Island is a death trap... avoid it...

I spent a nice vacation on Vancouver Island in 2008 and would go back there again in a heart beat.

Burkee where are you located? You can edit your profile to show it in the upper right hand corner. I have a truck that could pull your boat but I'm in Alabama.

[Layzboy2011]

I towed a 8000 lbs boat from arizona to connecticut with my half ton dodge. new electronic brakes on all 4 wheels of the trailer and very very carefull driving and I was fine. I didnt have a weight dist. hitch, but i put the boat on the trailer with a crane, and adjusted the position of the cradle to give me tounge weight. DO NOT USE A BUMPER HITCH!!! 55 all the way home, but i left myself plenty of time. moral of the story if the trailer is loaded right and you are carefull you will not have any problem with a half ton pickup. just give yourself lots of stopping room.

[D Happ]

I don't want to get into a giant debate here, but a 1/2 ton anything isn't rated to pull 8000 lbs of trailer. If you would have gotten into a wreck and hurt someone, you'd be typing this from prison. Luck should never be the right way to do anything. Go slow and be carefull is not sound advice. Buy the right stuff and do it right.
My boat, 7000 lbs. My truck, rated for 10,100 lbs trailer.
burkee, where do you live? I can pull your boat for you if your local.

[rbgarr]

I don't want to get into a giant debate here, but a 1/2 ton anything isn't rated to pull 8000 lbs of trailer. If you would have gotten into a wreck and hurt someone, you'd be typing this from prison. Luck should never be the right way to do anything. Go slow and be carefull is not sound advice. Buy the right stuff and do it right.
My boat, 7000 lbs. My truck, rated for 10,100 lbs trailer.

I've got a '95 2WD Suburban 1500 that's rated for 10,000 lbs. I bought it with towing my 7000 lb. boat/trailer in mind so I got the towing package. Drove from Georgia to Maine no problems. The oil cooler and heavy duty transmission is great, and it just turned 210,000 miles yesterday when I pulled a neighbor's 19' Grady White out on his trailer.

(Now I've got to go find some wood to knock on!! )

[Canoeyawl]

Ford F-150
With a maximum tow rating of 9,900 pounds and maximum payload capacity of 3,000 pounds, ...

[boylesboats]

Many Uhauls are death traps. Avoid them.

You got that right.... I rented a few trucks from them before... several time I didn't leave the lot with their truck due to faulty equipment, one is brake bleeding off, another one with excessive slop in steering..

They don't maintain their trucks well...

People, check out their equipment before you pull off the lot.. It'll save ya grief later on..

If I could afford it, I'll go Penske... yeah the big yella truck

[andrewe]

The reason 4X4s and similar types are rated for much higher loads is that their transmissions have the low gears and strength to cope with the weight esp on inclines. Brakes on the trailer should be good enough to deal with what's carried.
A

[Wayne Jeffers]

. . . If I could afford it, I'll go Penske... yeah the big yella truck

In my experience, Penske is cheaper than Uhaul, at least around here.

Wayne

[willmarsh3]

There's also Ryder. I found them to be in somewhat better shape but that's just from renting two box trucks from them vs two from U-Haul.

[damnyankee]

Many mid size trucks can handle 4500 lbs. Both my V6 S10 and I6 Jeep Cherokee were rated for 5000lbs towing. Now, both of those are probably too small for other reasons, but you shouldn't have a hard time finding something. May be the best route is find some one with a truck and offer gas and beer.

Christopher

[Wayne Jeffers]

The reason 4X4s and similar types are rated for much higher loads is that their transmissions have the low gears and strength to cope with the weight esp on inclines. . .

Have to disagree.

If you take a 2WD truck and the same model of 4wd truck, with the same transmission and rear end, the 2WD truck will be rated to carry a little more net load. This is because they both have the same frame, suspension, etc., and can carry the same gross load, but the 4WD starts off several hundred pounds heavier empty due to the extra equipment.

The same principal applies to towing.

I’ve never seen different gear ratios in the transmission of 4WD vs. 2WD. Folks/dealers may order 4WD trucks from the factory with lower rear end ratios, but the same ratios are available in each.

4WD can be helpful on slick launch ramps.

Wayne

[Wayne Jeffers]

. . . Now, both of those are probably too small for other reasons, . . .

Yes. You need to be concerned about the wheel base of the tow vehicle in relation to the length of the trailer being towed.

With a short 4500-pound trailer, you would probably be fine with a Cherokee or similar.

With a long 4500-pound trailer and a short tow vehicle, you would be asking for trouble. With this combination, you would likely experience severe stability issues. Especially in windy conditions or in any kind of emergency situation where quick reaction is necessary. Somebody will probably show up to tell about how they towed a long 5000 pound trailer with their Cherokee with no problems. Let me tell them right now, you were lucky.

I expect this boat is long enough that he needs a long-wheel base tow vehicle.

Wayne

[Todd D]

My '96 F150 4x4 300CID V8 is rated to tow 7,800 lbs. I did get it with the heavy duty suspension and the low range rear end though specifically for towing. 4,500 lbs is an easy tow for a standard 1/2 ton.

[ripley699]

As mentioned, my 2004 F250 4x4 , 4 door came out of the factory wieghing 8300 lbs. I added the detroit locker fac. specs say tow is 13,000 lbs . this I agree.
I wonder what kind of test chrysler used to determine that a wee little cherokee can tow what chrysler says it can...
How can a vehicle tow 3 times its own weight and keep it under control ?

Todd, still got the white f 150?

[andrewe]

Wayne, when I said 4X4 and similar types, I meant vehicles designed with towing in mind. 2X or 4X makes not a lot of difference except,as you say, on slippery ramps. Vans may be rated for towing and of a length that helps stability, but usually have higher ratios than P-ups and Off-roaders. Over here they are mostly manual, where I imagine US has a lot of autos. I have never tried towing with an auto, but read transmission oil temp can be a problem.
A

[Tylerdurden]

It may be cheaper in the long run to hire a towing company to do it for you. I Have rented both Ryder and Penske but also local dealerships that rent trucks. They will usually have a stake body equipped to tow for construction rentals.

[Mrleft8]

I towed a Ranger (32' I think) with my F-150 half ton. No problems with power.....I do wish the trailer had brakes though....

[Wayne Jeffers]

andrewe – I had not noticed that you were posting from France. I’ve never been to France, so I know not what you may have experienced there. My experience in the USA is that the difference in 2WD and 4WD, as I said above, is not a difference in duty rating.

As to manual vs. automatic transmissions, it appears that we have a different experience on that account as well. In the past, it was true that towing figured to shorten the life of an automatic transmission, mostly for the reason you say -- overheating. However, in recent years automatic transmissions have improved considerably. Coolers for transmission fluid are pretty much standard in heavy-duty vehicles. It is very difficult to find a new pickup truck with a manual transmission, and has been for some years. GM no longer offers manual transmission on their full-sized pickups. Last I checked, you could still get a manual on Ford. Not sure about Dodge. I would be shocked if you could find a new pickup truck with a manual transmission on a dealer lot.

When I bought my current GMC pickup truck in 1998, I special-ordered it from the factory in order to get a manual transmission (and to avoid a lot of unwanted and expensive “options” that dealers order on vehicles for their lot.) My manual transmission has an oil cooler.

Doug – If the trailer and load were over, I think, 2000 pounds you were legally required to have brakes on the trailer. Perhaps it had electric brakes and you did not have a brake controller in your truck?

Wayne

[burkee]

Wow. Thanks, everyone. I should use all this wisdom and start a boat transport operation.

[Todd D]

Ripley,

Yup, I still have the white F150. It has almost 55,000 miles on it though.

[Pokey]

well guys all information aside. I would not loan my truck to any one to tow with. It's not what the truck can do as much as what the driver knows.
Lee

[andrewdarius]

We rented a Ford Expedition from Champion a few years ago, even mentioned using it to tow a boat, and they didn't seem phased. I think I got away with it as it sounded like the teenage son of the owner who took my reservation. We towed a 3500 lb boat from North Haven, ME to Stockton, NJ with it.



I still can't believe we got away with it, but most of these large vehicles come with hitches on them already, and if you creatively describe the "truth of use" to your benefit...then give it a try.

Anyway, it was Champion that we dealt with.

Andy

[brad9798]

Heck, any full-size and most less-than full size trucks will pull 4500 with relative ease.

Two ratings are often conservative (to protect the manufacturer).

Hell ... little JEEP Wrangler is rated at over 5,000lbs.

[Layzboy2011]

I don't want to get into a giant debate here, but a 1/2 ton anything isn't rated to pull 8000 lbs of trailer. If you would have gotten into a wreck and hurt someone, you'd be typing this from prison. Luck should never be the right way to do anything. Go slow and be carefull is not sound advice. Buy the right stuff and do it right.
My boat, 7000 lbs. My truck, rated for 10,100 lbs trailer.
burkee, where do you live? I can pull your boat for you if your local.

I am not trying to debat this either, BUT, 96 dodge ram has a towing capicity of 7600 lbs, add this to 4 wheel trailer brakes and proper tires on truck and trailer, and I am perfecly safe towing that weight. Also, going slow and carefull is ALWAYS sound advice weather you are driving a civic or a semi...

[brad9798]

D Happ- then don't make a debate out of it.

ANY late-model 1/2 ton out there today is capable of towing 8,000 (Dodge, Ford, GM, even Toyota).

Stability programs and trailer sway control are standard/available on most models to boot!

Again, no debate ... any halft ton, properly equipped could haul that boat all day long!
--------------------------------------------

To address andrewe- any truck with a factory tow-package will include heavy duty cooling, and an auxiliary tranny cooler ...

[Canoeyawl]

My little Volvo V-70 is rated to tow 3500lbs...

[Michael s/v Sannyasin]

For what it's worth, I pondered the same thing a while back, when I needed to tow an 18' Marshall Sanderling from CT to NJ (about the same distance). My first plan was to rent an SUV with a hitch, but they said that they would not officially rent with that intent (Avis). Plus, I couldn't specifically ask for a car with a hitch or receiver... I'd just have to try my luck, and then, I'd still have to probably buy the ball.

Checked out the U-Haul idea. I've rented trucks from U-Haul and Ryder (I like Ryder better), and have towed a car on a Dolly trailer for hundreds of miles with no problems. But I didn't choose this option, because the 250 mile round trip was going to cost a fortune when you pay by the mile for the truck. Couldn't get a one-way rental.

I tried posting a job bid on a towing/trucking website. You can say the most you are willing to pay, and various carriers will try to bid the job down, you just have to be flexible about when... I didn't get any responses, but, it was an approach that had possibilities.

I had other complications... the trailer didn't have a current plate/registration, no towing insurance... in the end, I walked into a trailer shop about a half mile from the marina and asked if the owner would be willing to tow my boat to the new location for me.

I paid about what I expected, based on the trucking/carrier website where I saw what other people had paid to have a similar thing towed a similar distance. The guy was a dealer and could put a dealer plate on the thing. He took off at about 4:00 AM just so there wouldn't be any traffic.

Cost slightly more than me renting an SUV and buying a hitch, and probably getting ticketed, and it meant I didn't have to sweat out a 2-3 hour drive either... so, it was worth it.

[okawbow]

Check with your local car dealers. Some rent trucks at a reasonable price. I rented a Ford 250 diesel for 3 days, to pull a 7500# boat and trailer from Maryland to Illinois, for under $400.00 total.