Towing ??

[84 400]

I got a question for yall. I want to pull a 1969 Cadilac coup devile. It has no motor in it but does have a trans. I was thinking of renting a 2 wheeled dolly from u haul to tow it. Thing is they say the car is to heavy for any of there stuff. I know it is a caddy but it is at leas 500 pounds lighter. Should i just tell them i am pulling a bug or somthing? also on the two wheeler am i going to have to lock the wheels or should i since the ball will be the piviot point?

Thanks

[Slonaker]

Make sure the dolly is wide enough. A friend dented the fender on my camry pulling it on his dolly, and the Cadillac is a lot wider.

Slonaker

[edman87]

Will that caddy even fit on a dolly? There are several diff sizes of dollly, measure it first. U-haul claims a lot of crap, they said my wife's truck couldn't pull a car hauler with a camaro because it is a half-ton. If it will fit, it is not too heavy. Uhaul has rather heavy duty dollies and they are really ratd far higher than uhaul rates them. Most of the large dollies are rated for a diesel pickup, so a caddy is no problem.
About the wheels, you are supposed too lock them, but if there is plenty of room on both sides between the fenders, you can unlock the steering to give a little tighter turning.

[84 400]

well i guess i got to messure! it is rear wheel drive so should i take out the drive shaft? or just leave it in nutral? and if so can you lock a colum in nutral? Also what if the wheel does not lock then what do i do? I know this is not truck realated but you guys are my best sorce of info and seem to have done stuff like this befor. So any tips or pointers when towing? i know to go slow take side turns ect... and leave plenty of roome for braking. the cad has no motor in it so how will it hal? i was thinking of a tow bar but heard with no motor they don't work right. biggest thing is that this is a one time event so i am going to have to rent. any other places to rent from beside u haul? Also i was going to messure there stuffand then jst tell them that the beatle i am towing has leangthed a arms or somthing

[edman87]

With a dolly you need very wide turning radius, way more than normal trailer, especially with a wide car on it. Tow bars don't work well wit no motor in vehicle, the wheels don't want to track right. How far are you going? For a short distance you can load a dolly backward, but the weight bal is kinda off. I can't think of anybody else that rents dollies.
The most important part of a dolly is the straps! Make sure you set them over the wheels right and tighten as hard as you can pull that ratchet. After a mile or so, stop and re-tighten. You will usually get 1-2 clicks out of the ratchet, any more and the straps are still settling and you will have to re-tighten again. If you only get 1-2 clicks on the first re-tighten after a mile or 2, you should be set for the long haul, but it never hurts to check often. Most dollies don't have a safety chain, but I always run 1 to the vehicle anyway.
I am no authority, but do use dollies pretty regularly. Just went birmingham to baton rouge with a camaro on 1. The tilt plate pin did come out in mississippi, but it didn't hurt nothing and I relaced it on side of road. Good luck.

[N2TRUX]

I suggest looking at renting a trailer, but NOT from Uhaul. They will tell you your truck isn't large enough and won't rent it to you. Find a local trailer rental place. I rented an 18' car hauler for 50.00. I picked it up late Friday and brought it back early Monday so they only charged me for one day....

[84 400]

wow n2 that setup looks good. Times like this i lived in texas. Yeah we would be towing with my dads tahoe 4x4. I would love to use a trailer like that but how would i get that" boat" on there? Also is your truck a short bed? This caddy is long but i am hoping withsome luck it will work. If i have to rent from Uhaul i will just tell them i am towing a 1956 willys pick up and request a newer truck trailer cause the car trailers the older ones are 16 feet.

[drillingmachine]

hey n2trux, I live in houston, what was the name of the place you rented that car hauler? where is it located?