Uhaul has a drop down menu to select the make.model of the car you're transporting if you rent a car transporter/trailer from them.
I'm planning to rent in person, so I'm not tied to their online menu, but I'm wondering if I need to fib and just tell them I'm hauling an equivalent size/weight car that's on their list or if I can tell them the truth. My concern is that I can easily see them saying "we don't have any data on that, sorry, can't rent to you for liability reasons."
What have your experiences been? I'd prefer to play it straight (especially in the case that something goes wrong - trailer breaks down, accident, etc) but I'm prepared to do what it takes to get it done if need be.
I've rented the car trailer twice. In person I was never asked anything.
You know if it will fit on the two rails?
Do it.
I'd do it in person so they don't ask.
My concern with listing a different vehicle for the online rental is if something goes wrong during the trip are they going to try and avert responsibility and put something caused by a failure of their equipment on you because you aren't using it as described in the agreement/online rental info.
Anytime I've rented one - even in person - they always ask what I'm carrying as well as what I'm towing it with. Since they don't have a listing for classic Minis I always say it's a Sprite - which weighs about the same and has the same track. I've also wondered what would happen if I had a problem......
Going to the auction, probably a Honda Civic. Never had an issue.
Thanks to all. I'll report back how it went!
Reservation made in person. They did ask what I'd be towing and I told them a vehicle just a skosh larger/heavier than what I'll actually be towing. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm hoping that if things go really sideways, they'd have to prove that the misinformation made a material difference. In a world where commonsense ruled*, it would be hard to argue that a car that's slightly smaller/lighter strained the equipment or made the rig unstable.
*hopeless idealism here, I know, I know.
buzzboy
UltraDork
11/14/23 7:52 a.m.
If you don't get the uhaul insurance I'd be okay lying. If you do get the insurance, tell the truth.
Well, I managed not to wreck anything, but it was pretty fraught.
The rear track of the car was VERY close to the minimum of the transporter. When I was pulling the car onto the transporter, I got a little wheelspin from the slick 16 year old "new" rear tires (front wheels need to go over this bar that secures the straps, there's an uneven transition between the ramps and the tracks on trailer so I had to gun it a bit.) The car drifted slightly sideways and we wound up with the left rear tire 3/4s off the track on the trailer. The right tire was pretty much dead center on the trailer's track. MERDE.
We wound up using the factory Rover jack (it's sort of like an E36 BMW, fits in jack holes in the rockers of the car) to take weight off the tire in question while prying between the other tire and the trailer to scooch the car over. Victory! No damage to either car or trailer.
The drive home went OK, but when it came to unload, we were really struggling to get the car over those same bars and scratching our heads. The culprit this time was sheer stupidity...I had an extra safety chain strapped between a front suspension member and the trailer that we forgot about and it was all but invisible from our vantage point.
I think next time I would try to find a different trailer. IIRC, the one I rented to move this car from the East Coast to the Midwest 16 years ago had either a solid deck or very wide tracks...think I just drove the car up the ramps and it was NBD, I don't remember any problems at all (OK, well, the trailer brakes were either mostly or completely inoperative and I was pulling it with world's E36 M3tiest C20 box Chevy, there were problems but not THESE problems.)
Safely in its temporary spot
I tried to rent one for a MG midget and they freaked out and wouldn't give me anything. I even tried to get one of those boxes box trucks a few days later and they wouldn't give it to me lol. My wife called her the u haul nazi like the soup nazi from Seinfeld. NO UHAUL FOR YOU
Here's me towing a 1990 Mazda Miata...
My experience is they ask even when it's in person, I lie. Most of the crap I drag home isn't in their drop down, just waiting for the counter man to ask "How many Miatas do you have now?"
Hopefully before I buy another car I have to tow home, I'm just going to buy a car trailer myself. The last time I needed one I had such a pain renting one from U-Haul. First because their reservation system constantly would only show 3 places in my whole state having any kind of car equipment (dolly or full) that was like a week of trying. Then finally had a short day at work and could grab one from a local place. Trailer lights didn't work on it. Blamed my vehicle. I went a mile down the road and got a tester and they worked, but U-Haul wouldn't let me take it. Luckily remembered an acquaintance that had a car trailer and I was able to borrow that. I'm tired of dealing with that.
This sparked a memory of the time I towed the world's largest E30 when it refused to run and needed to be located two hours south.
It was a deeply unpleasant tow with a max speed of 55 mph, thanks to that bed cap. The rear wheels of the E30 were... on the trailer but barely.
Yeah, I've towed a lot of Honda Civics with these over the years. 
An NA miata will fit inside a 17+ foot box truck, for future reference.
In reply to RevRico :
Getting that in and out of said box sounds... terrifying.
I've never had them ask when the trailer was connected to a box truck (E-350 chassis). I wonder if it's considered safer because dually and heavier than a standard 1/2 pickup.
If anyone is curious about their formula, it is kind of arbitrary. I believe they factor whether you can tow X trailer based on the published curb weight of your tow vehicle. They don't go off of actual manufacturer's tow ratings. For example if you have a 2wd 1 ton truck that is lighter than say a 4wd 3/4ton truck, they will rate the 4WD 3/4ton to tow more because of its higher published curb weight. Obviously the 2wd 1 ton will be the superior tow vehicle all other factors being equal. Whenever I describe what I am towing, I am intentionally vague. I would say that my old 1/2 ton Dodge Van with a Slant 6 was a 1 ton Maxivan, because they don't know or care to differentiate. I believe the tow vehicle has to have a published curb weight that is atleast 80% of the prospective load.
Same goes for towed vehicle. As the Meme goes, everyone claims to be towing a 98 Honda Civic or something like that. I usually just say my 96 Nissan Maxima because it is in their system because I used to haul cargo trailers with it, and the published curb weight of those was like 2900lbs.
Their system does also refer to their internal registry of available receiver hitches for the tow vehicle. So If you plug into the form that your tow vehicle is a 96 Dodge Caravan with a Class V hitch, a little red flag will pop up and typically they can ignore it, enforce it strictly, or look at your car to make the judgment call. I always had to sweet talk them a bit into letting me rent the big 6x12 trailer with a 96 Nissan Maxima. Initially they would say no it will hurt your transmission and I would reply, " Oh no, Its a stick, I'm a mechanic, the car is up for it, it will be fine, and it has a Class II hitch rated for 3500lbs(a lie)." They would check it out, see that I kind of know what I am talking about and let me slide. It pulled those trailers pretty good too, it was geared nice and low. I did eventually break that hitch though. I towed another parts car on a dolly with it once too. I actually just rented it with a uhaul pickup truck for $20 drove around the corner. Hitched the dolly to the Maxima and left the rental truck there. Never again, I do own better tow vehicles now. I towed that same trailer with a 1st gen crew cab 4x4 5spd Frontier and the Maxima was way better on fuel and power. The Frontier obviously handled and stopped better and had a way better hitch. But it was slow and thirsty especially on those 31" MTs.
They won't give you any grief about renting the car hauler with a Caprice/Roadmaster Wagon either. My caprice was all set up to tow, Class 3 hitch, brake controller, 5 spd, etc. The guy who installed the hitch receivers there actually had a Roadmaster wagon. I worked there a long time ago and he had a 1st gen S10.
When the trash Firestones were failing because Ford felt 28psi cold was a good pressure they would not rent me anything if I was dragging it with an Explorer. Even though I replaced those separating POS with Michelins .
