1st time long distance towing

nightdrv · **Posted:** Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:13 pm

So, I got a 97 Kia for the gf. It's a surprise "Sorry your tranny blew up" kind of gift. Anyways, I've never towed a car more than about a mile... so I was wondering what do you guys suggest?

The two-wheeled trailer is coming from Uhaul, and my Class 3 hitch was also from them. I just got the wiring kit installed, so I am good to go as far as that. I've just never towed a car 750 miles. I did buy some strap/clip on mirrors for the Jeep though. They fit very well I must say.

Thanks for any advice.

PS: I leave Friday morning.

Jeepin_it_real · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:31 am

pics of the mirrors :wink:

...

my advice for any towing.. take your time... and try to be courteous to other drivers ( you're gunna want them to be courteous back )

make sure the car is hooked to the trailer with the e-brake engaged...

as far as the towing goes... make sure everything is hooked up good and have someone test out your trailer lights...

enjoy!

Scar0 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:04 am

Jeepin_it_real wrote:

pics of the mirrors :wink:

...

my advice for any towing.. take your time... and try to be courteous to other drivers ( you're gunna want them to be courteous back )

make sure the car is hooked to the trailer with the e-brake engaged...

as far as the towing goes... make sure everything is hooked up good and have someone test out your trailer lights...

enjoy!

HUH? He is using a tow dolly. Front end on a trailer back end on the ground.

Don't try to back up with the car on the dolly! Big mess real fast!
If it is AWD then you will have to drop the rear drive shaft.

Keep it slow and steady and allow for a lot more braking distance.

Before you leave the U-haul lot, check the tires on the dolly. They sit out in the weather all the time and become weather worn real fast. Also check out the straps and chains.
Buy the insurance on the dolly, or be sure they note on your invoice any, I mean any, damage to the dolly before you leave the lot. And don't trust them to check your trailer lights, do it yourself.

I was a GM for U-haul for several years and I can't tell you how many road hours I spent transferring trucks & trailers.

TAHOE · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:20 am

I agree, as long as the Kia is FWD, you can just pull it up on and strap it down and go since the rear wheels just free wheel all the time. You CIII will work just fine, there is little tonque weight on the dollies. Take your time, again, give your self plenty of braking room. I pulled a chevy astro for 260 miles on a dolly with the rear driveshaft removed, I ran 70 mph on interstate no problems. Just never load with the bulk of hte wieght on the ground, i.e. backwards... you will develop immediate sway issues, like having a trailer loaded with the weight on the back.
Sounds like you will be fine though.

Jeepin_it_real · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:12 am

nevermind i didnt realize he was using a dolly... last time me n my dad towed a car we used a full size trailer so we made sure that it was locked down and going nowhere as the trip was very long

JEden8 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:09 pm

Yea, I wouldn't use a dolly. I've towed cars with full trailers as well and never had any problems. Just a lot easier IMO.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:09 pm

If the car weighs 2528, and add on whatever the weight of a tow dolly is... anyone wanna guess what my mileage will be? (just a guess will do)

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:41 am

Surprised no one has said it yet. Take the Jeep out of overdrive while towing the car.

TAHOE · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:36 am

ihatemybike wrote:

Surprised no one has said it yet. Take the Jeep out of overdrive while towing the car.

most of the time I would say yeah to that one, but if road is flat, it should be alright. I pulled that 4200# astro in OD most of my trip behind my other astro.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:00 am

lol... Uhaul just called me and asked me if I still needed the tow dolly. I was like, "well, YEA." lol He goes "Oh, well we don't have any." :evil:

I asked him, "What was the point of me reserving one a week ago then?" Then he goes, "Oh, well I can give you a 4 wheel trailer if you like." I replied "Yea, but that's another $200! Where the hell did my reserve go?!" Then a long pause and some non-english (sounded like Ghanese) bickering to someone in the backround..sounded like someone was being chewed out.. "Ok, I can give you the 4 wheel trailer for the same price."

Ha!! F-ing Uhaul.

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:17 am

Ups your towing weight too.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:49 am

Yea, precisely what I am trying to avoid. I've been driving the car all week to get it as low on fuel as possible. Hey, anything helps, right? The one thing though, a trailer like this... I don't have a brake controller... I hope it's not going to be too much for the crap OEM brakes. Anyone wanna guess?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:52 am

TAHOE wrote:

ihatemybike wrote:

Surprised no one has said it yet. Take the Jeep out of overdrive while towing the car.

most of the time I would say yeah to that one, but if road is flat, it should be alright. I pulled that 4200# astro in OD most of my trip behind my other astro.

There is a big difference in the trans used in a Astro then in a KK.The 42RLE will self destruct with that much weight in OD.Plus the Astro has a in-radiator trans cooler which does a far better job at keeping the trans temp in check then the KK's stand alone trans cooler that can not deal with temp spikes as effectively as a in-radiator cooler can.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:53 am

nightdrv wrote:

Yea, precisely what I am trying to avoid. I've been driving the car all week to get it as low on fuel as possible. Hey, anything helps, right? The one thing though, a trailer like this... I don't have a brake controller... I hope it's not going to be too much for the crap OEM brakes. Anyone wanna guess?

The trailer will have surge brakes,no brake controller needed.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:58 pm

Well, I picked up the trailer on the way to work today. It's bigger than I'd like, but oh well. When I went to unhook it (at home), I thought I could smell slightly burning brake pads... I sure hope it was nothing.. Empty trailer and all. :juggle:

Anyways, loading up tomorrow morning real early. Not very fun doing it by yourself but more of a chance to learn, right?

I hope I can get back to you guys tomorrow night with good news. It'll probably take about 14-15 hours of driving. Could be less. Depends on which way the GPS takes me. I'm setting the CC at 60. Try to keep some gas money in my pocket.

-adios

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 1:01 am

tjkj2002 wrote:

TAHOE wrote:

ihatemybike wrote:

Surprised no one has said it yet. Take the Jeep out of overdrive while towing the car.

most of the time I would say yeah to that one, but if road is flat, it should be alright. I pulled that 4200# astro in OD most of my trip behind my other astro.

There is a big difference in the trans used in a Astro then in a KK.The 42RLE will self destruct with that much weight in OD.Plus the Astro has a in-radiator trans cooler which does a far better job at keeping the trans temp in check then the KK's stand alone trans cooler that can not deal with temp spikes as effectively as a in-radiator cooler can.

That and the 4.3 has better low end torque.

nightdrv · **Posted:** Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:17 pm

Well, I made it there with no problems! The Jeep really didn't sag very much. 3-4 inches max. I would still like stronger springs all around though. It handled the bumps and holes very well, even at 65. I normally stayed around 60, but sometimes had to spike to 70 to get into traffic. My tow mirrors worked fantastically. BTW, if anyone wants to buy them, feel free!

As for fuel efficiency, averaging 58mph I got about 13-14mpg. Better than I expected! Not too bad for a thousand pound trailer, a 2500lb car, and all the roof gear I carry.

hrogi · **Posted:** Wed Mar 17, 2010 3:48 pm

Good to se it went well...

Jeepin_it_real · **Posted:** Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:09 pm

nightdrv... pics of the mirrors installed on your jeep please :wink:

nightdrv · **Posted:** Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:39 pm

Jeepin_it_real wrote:

nightdrv... pics of the mirrors installed on your jeep please :wink:

As requested:

1st time long distance towing

Who is online