Any experience with U-Haul trailers

[bigjae46]

Looks aluminum...either way that looks like a good trailer.

[elbert]

U-Haul will be offering a new trailer.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63073711/u-haul-auto-car-transport-toy-hauler-trailer-2025-new/

No mention about the trailer's weight, but I would be surprised if it's made of aluminum instead of steel (ease of repair).

A side note: In the comments section of that article, someone posted that Penske has a few trailers up for auction on Ritchey Bros. Theirs appear to be similar to U-Haul's current trailer. They are listed as "Demco AT7000P" and there are about 60 of them scattered across the country.

https://www.rbauction.com/cp/car-carrier-trailers?manufacturers=Demco

[Mpassioned]

Another thing you can to do to help before you load the car is to get the back of the truck higher when trailer is attached. Just place a floor jack under the truck hitch ball bolt and trailer tongue, then jack it up some.
Make sure to jack is in a spot that the jack will stay put where its lifting, or drive the rear truck wheels up on some ramps works too. This will raise the front of the trailer and minimize the steepness of the ramps and put them more on plane and level with the trailer floor.

A lot of times I have seen guys get high centered when transitioning from ramp to trailer. This can also help minimize how much front lip/ramp clearance you need to deal with when driving onto the trailer.

I am in NOVA if you need help or want to talk further about towing or loading. Feel free to PM me.
I have a 28' enclosed I pull with a 3.5 Ecoboost and there are some important things to understand about towing if you haven't before.
As mentioned, having the proper tongue wgt is very important to have right.

[dpaul]

I've towed cars often, so I know what you're dealing with. Using a U-Haul trailer works fine if you don't always need to drag. The straps they give you should work, but checking them to ensure they're not worn out is a good idea. Putting wood under the ramps helps, especially with cars that are low to the ground.

I had the same problem with finding a place to keep a trailer. So, I bought a used trailer instead. I looked around for used trailers near me and saw a good, intense trailer for about $5,000. It was better because I tow a lot, saving me from renting repeatedly. Plus, I found a cheaper place to keep my trailer than what RV spots cost.

[OldRanger]

I throw in another vote of 'YES' for using these trailers. I towed with a 5.7 Tundra, 500 mile round trip to VIR. Recommendations:
1) inspect the trailer at pickup for tire pressure and functional tie-down strap ratchets.
2) cut some 2x10 wood blocks to lift the front tires over the front lip. I needed about 2.5" of lift up, which required a plywood layer on top of the 2x10
3) if your car is lowered or has aero, you may need a solution like Race Ramps. I bought the BTI-RR-TR-6 because I plan to purchase a trailer eventually and will likely need them. If you need race ramps - you will also need wheel chocks for the trailer to keep it from shifting forward/backward when loading the car.

These trailers handle typical highway speeds and have supplemental brakes.

[K-Dawg]

I used a U-Haul Auto Transport twice last year. I had to put some wood blocks under the front tires to clear the front lip, but didn't have any issues otherwise.

[WOLFN8TR]

Anything near me was $350-400 per month for uncovered RV parking.

Wow that's crazy for uncovered RV parking!! I'm paying $295 a month for a 13'X35' enclosed storage unit in NV.
My lifted 2500HD fits inside with plenty of room left.

[specializedbndt]

this is great info. Those inner spines did some damage to the underside of my old M3. It was a new trailer, so the leading edges were sharp as hell.

[Gt4]

Putting the car rearward would definitely help with tongue weight. I just assumed the car had to be all the way forward because of their tire nets.
You should post some close up photos of how you attached the straps (if you have them). Too late for me but It would help others.
My concern would be the liability risk. I would expect a huge lawsuit if there's an accident -- even if it weren't your fault -- since it isn't the recommended practice from U-haul. Maybe it would be different in Canada.




DC area. Anything near me was $350-400 per month for uncovered RV parking.
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if people left if they could telework.

Things are differents in Canada, no huge lawsuit!

I was using my own 10000lbs tow straps, you can’t use the one on the trailer if wheels aren’t against the wheels stoppers.

[elbert]

U-haul trailers are super heavy and if you strap the car with front wheels against the stopper, it shift a lot of weight on the tongue.

Last time I rent one, the car was so low that I wasn’t able to get the wheels to the stoppers even with 2x10 under the wheels. So I strap it a bit readward. Honestly, it distributed the weight way better and towing with my X3 M40i was a like a walk in the park! The X3 M40i towed way better than my wife 2019 Toyota Highlander that has a higher toying capacity.

Putting the car rearward would definitely help with tongue weight. I just assumed the car had to be all the way forward because of their tire nets.
You should post some close up photos of how you attached the straps (if you have them). Too late for me but It would help others.
My concern would be the liability risk. I would expect a huge lawsuit if there's an accident -- even if it weren't your fault -- since it isn't the recommended practice from U-haul. Maybe it would be different in Canada.

Storage an hour away? Where do you live?

Im sure it would be hard to find a decent uhaul anything if you’re in an area where people were fleeing during COVID .

DC area. Anything near me was $350-400 per month for uncovered RV parking.
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if people left if they could telework.

[Gt4]

U-haul trailers are super heavy and if you strap the car with front wheels against the stopper, it shift a lot of weight on the tongue.

Last time I rent one, the car was so low that I wasn’t able to get the wheels to the stoppers even with 2x10 under the wheels. So I strap it a bit readward. Honestly, it distributed the weight way better and towing with my X3 M40i was a like a walk in the park! The X3 M40i towed way better than my wife 2019 Toyota Highlander that has a higher toying capacity.

[bigjae46]

I thought I'd update this thread. I used these U-haul trailers three times last year, with mixed results.

You will definitely need some pieces of wood.
- For the front wheels, you will likely need 6 pieces. Most trailers will have front tire stops, which my front bumper would not clear without being lifted up.
For each side, two will go under the front wheel, and one to clear the wheel net mount.
The two pieces under the front tire should be 2x12's, 18" long. One of those should have a bevel on edge to make it easier to drive up.
The third piece is also 2x12, length can vary. Also should have a bevel.

- For the rear, you can use Race Ramps. Another option is two 2x10 or 2x12 per side, which will go under the ramps.
As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a raised spine on both sides of the open area. It is high enough to catch the bottom of the car. Sometimes this spine will be squished down by someone else, but not always.


My experiences:
1. First trailer was by far in the best condition. No complaints with this one.

2. Second trailer had a front tire strap ratchet that kept skipping. Glad I didn't bash my hand or head when it happened.
It also had a crappy tongue jack that took a lot of effort to drop down once it was carrying any weight. Of course we had 98 deg blazing hot weather that weekend.

3. Third trailer was the worst. The ball coupler was a total POS.
The ball coupler is threaded (not a latch like most trailers), so to tighten it on the ball, you need to spin a knob down. Well, on this last trailer, the threads were damaged, so the coupler seemed it was fully tightened, but it really wasn't.
When I was loading the car, the coupler popped off and it banged into my tailgate. Fortunately Ram puts an obnoxiously large logo on the tailgate, so it got a small mark, rather than a large dent in sheetmetal.
I think the newest Uhaul trailers now have Demco couplers, but I haven't seen one in person yet.
Also one of the tires had a slow leak, which might not be their fault, but I'm going to blame them anyway because I'm still pissed about this trailer.
And to top it all off, I had to wait 45 minutes in line to pick up the trailer (even with a reservation), as it was the end of the month and a lot of people were moving.


Comments:
I bought a spare 4 way trailer harness. If it was missing, I had been able to grab one from another trailer at the yard, but I didn't want to depend on this. The U-Hauls around here are always short staffed, and I hate waiting around.

One fairly big downside with these trailers is tongue weight. Because of how the car is strapped down, you cannot reposition of the car to adjust the tongue weight, and it ends up putting too much weight on the tongue.
Ram trucks can't tolerate much payload (coil springs rather than leaf), but the rear would sag because the tongue weight is way too high, especially considering how light this load is.
I had to put as much weight (tools, jack, popup, etc) as possible in the trunk of the car to help reduce the sagging.

I said I didn't want to, but I ended up buying my own trailer. That last experience was a deal breaker.
I found a storage place about a hour away with a tolerable but still (IMO) unreasonable rental rate where I'll leave it.

These trailers may have been better in the past, but with recent staffing shortages, quality and maintenance has definitely slipped.
I would say U-Haul trailers are ok no more than twice in your lifetime, but otherwise you are better off bringing your own trailer.

Storage an hour away? Where do you live?

Im sure it would be hard to find a decent uhaul anything if you’re in an area where people were fleeing during COVID .

The best strategy to make loading easier is to put the trailer tires in a low spot.

[elbert]

I thought I'd update this thread. I used these U-haul trailers three times last year, with mixed results.

You will definitely need some pieces of wood.
- For the front wheels, you will likely need 6 pieces. Most trailers will have front tire stops, which my front bumper would not clear without being lifted up.
For each side, two will go under the front wheel, and one to clear the wheel net mount.
The two pieces under the front tire should be 2x12's, 18" long. One of those should have a bevel on edge to make it easier to drive up.
The third piece is also 2x12, length can vary. Also should have a bevel.

- For the rear, you can use Race Ramps. Another option is two 2x10 or 2x12 per side, which will go under the ramps.
As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a raised spine on both sides of the open area. It is high enough to catch the bottom of the car. Sometimes this spine will be squished down by someone else, but not always.


My experiences:
1. First trailer was by far in the best condition. No complaints with this one.

2. Second trailer had a front tire strap ratchet that kept skipping. Glad I didn't bash my hand or head when it happened.
It also had a crappy tongue jack that took a lot of effort to drop down once it was carrying any weight. Of course we had 98 deg blazing hot weather that weekend.

3. Third trailer was the worst. The ball coupler was a total POS.
The ball coupler is threaded (not a latch like most trailers), so to tighten it on the ball, you need to spin a knob down. Well, on this last trailer, the threads were damaged, so the coupler seemed it was fully tightened, but it really wasn't.
When I was loading the car, the coupler popped off and it banged into my tailgate. Fortunately Ram puts an obnoxiously large logo on the tailgate, so it got a small mark, rather than a large dent in sheetmetal.
I think the newest Uhaul trailers now have Demco couplers, but I haven't seen one in person yet.
Also one of the tires had a slow leak, which might not be their fault, but I'm going to blame them anyway because I'm still pissed about this trailer.
And to top it all off, I had to wait 45 minutes in line to pick up the trailer (even with a reservation), as it was the end of the month and a lot of people were moving.


Comments:
I bought a spare 4 way trailer harness. If it was missing, I had been able to grab one from another trailer at the yard, but I didn't want to depend on this. The U-Hauls around here are always short staffed, and I hate waiting around.

One fairly big downside with these trailers is tongue weight. Because of how the car is strapped down, you cannot reposition of the car to adjust the tongue weight, and it ends up putting too much weight on the tongue.
Ram trucks can't tolerate much payload (coil springs rather than leaf), but the rear would sag because the tongue weight is way too high, especially considering how light this load is.
I had to put as much weight (tools, jack, popup, etc) as possible in the trunk of the car to help reduce the sagging.

I said I didn't want to, but I ended up buying my own trailer. That last experience was a deal breaker.
I found a storage place about a hour away with a tolerable but still (IMO) unreasonable rental rate where I'll leave it.

These trailers may have been better in the past, but with recent staffing shortages, quality and maintenance has definitely slipped.
I would say U-Haul trailers are ok no more than twice in your lifetime, but otherwise you are better off bringing your own trailer.

[Cronenberged]

I had to do the same as Sid. Measure some wood out to for the front tires to sit in nicely.

[Silverblt]

I have used uhaul several times to haul my M and my lowered e46 race car. They work fine of you follow their instructions for hauling low cars:

Stack a 5 foot and a 3 foot board under the ramps driving onto the trailer so you don't rip off the bottom of your car and place an 18 inch board under the front tires on the trailer to avoid destroying your front bumper.

Easy breezy. Their inexpensive well maintained, and you don't need a place to park them.