ok, so I’m in the final stages of getting ready to leave WNY for SLC.
I’ve towed cars before with a flat bed trailer, but never with a dolly. I’d do the same, but my Jeep can’t tow that much weight, plus I want to minimize the weight for going through the mountains.
I’ve got a '04 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (4.7 V8), and am going to be towing a '11 Chevy Cruze on a dolly.
Suggestions for places to rent a dolly for 1-way use? U-Haul? somewhere else?
Anything special I may/will need? (Know I need the magnet tow lights for the back of the Cruze).
Issues I may run into?
Things to look out for?
Anything else you can think of?
Also, during this 2000 mile trip, my Fiance is going to be doing some driving with this rig as well (as I’m going to need some sleep during the 30+ hr trek); so any advise there as well.
I’ve towed with a dolly several times. The biggest problem with them is you can’t back them up because the way the car is on there you have no pivot point. In a real bind you can very carefully back straight up using a spotter, but if you start to turn in the slightest the car will jackknife on the dolly. So keep in mind you’ll need room to make uturns anywhere you pull in.
Other than that basic towing rules apply.
Go slower
Leave the overdrive off
Stop more frequently to check the hubs and tie downs
Remember that the dolly wheels will stick out considerably wider than your SUV
I’d suggest keeping the fiance driven sections to highway only between service exits to minimize the amount she’ll have to really think about the trailer if she doesn’t have any towing experience.
As for rental places, just call around. I think one way dollies your only option will be uhaul though.
pretty much covers everything. I would not leave the OD off though it will cost you considerably in fuel. When you feel your torque converter unlock going up a hill then take it out of OD because it will lock back up in 3rd gear and will help keep your transmission temps down. powering up a hill in 4th with a unlocked converter brings the temps up pretty quick.
If you wife does not have trailer experience sometimes it will help if she picks a reference point on the hood or wipers that represents where the tire on the trailer is at on the road. Just a thought.
Extra gas is a heck of a lot cheaper than rebuilding a transmission. Uhaul dolly = 750lbs empty. 2011 Cruze = 3102 lbs. 3852lbs + what ever they have crammed into the SUV for the move + 2000 miles is a serious strain on a mid sized SUV. If you put the OD on the trans is going to be shifting between 3rd and 4th a lot, unlocking the torque converter each time and heating up the transmission fluid. If it was me I’d leave the OD off and just back it down to 65mph.
I’ve got an aftermarket Trans cooler and temp gauge I’m going to be installing before the trip to supplement the one in the radiator; my Jeep didn’t have the complete tow package with the extra cooler so I got the extra one (and the gauge just to keep an eye on it).
As for the cooling system, that’s a good one though that I didn’t think of, I’ll do a quick flush and refill when I do the truck prep.
I’ll keep an eye on the transmission and see how it’s feeling/acting while towing. I’m thinking the long flat stretches where the Fiance is going to be driving the OD will be fine as long as the temp doesn’t rise too much; the cities and mountain areas I’m def keeping the OD off.
That’s a long way to be towing that much weight. My brother in law tried to do this with a v6 blazer and an integra when they moved to cali. He didn’t make it 1 hour before giving up on trailering the car out there. I know the v8 jeep has a lot more power, but you are in for a rough trip.
Maybe the Uhaul dolly is a hell of a lot heavier than ones I am use to pulling. The one I use is probably 250-300lbs I can lift it so I know it is not anywhere close to 750. I don’t think with him have a V8 it will be down shifting all the time. For hills sure lock it out of OD but most of the trip would be fine in 4th I would imagine. Unless the 4.7 is a complete dog I don’t know. The OP will just have to see how it feels once he gets rolling.
The 5.4 V8 in my Expedition is rated 345 ft/lbs of torque and it will hunt gears on even slight inclines towing my 3000 lb boat @ 70mph.
And yeah, all uhaul trailers are built like brick shithouses. They overbuild their trailers because they know people are going to abuse them. That 6x12 open trailer I rented last week to go snowmobiling was 2550lbs empty. My new 2 place snowmobile trailer that actually has more deck space is 375lbs empty.
I’m not married, they won’t ship her car… but they’re paying me mileage to drive. I could ship mine and drive hers, but I wouldn’t get paid for mileage, and driving with 2 people, 2 dogs, and a cat is going to be fun enough in my truck, I don’t even want to THINK about doing it in her car.
The 4.7 in the JGC is supposed to tow pretty well, the only issue is the heat in the tranny, which I’m thinking the extra trans cooler will help with. It’s rated to tow 6500# I believe and I should be half that or close to half that. I know the mountains are going to be fun, but most if it is going to be flat-landing for hours and hours and hours on end.
And something is wrong if it’s hunting gears with a 5.4… Hell, I’ve towed cross country with my dad’s old '93 c1500 with the 5.0L in it pulling an almost 5000# loaded flat-bed car hauler and it pulled just fine. Or it’s just a ford
The 5.4’s are geared pretty low and like to rev. Most people that haul with them run 3rd gear. That are happy to sit at 3K all day. Ford transmission programing has always been pretty poor IMO. They downshift way before they need too from the factory. GM’s programing is well thought out on their programing and they make their power lower in the rev range than most ford engines do. I just don’t know how the jeeps are at keeping the converter locked and holding gears.
From what I’ve read on Jeep-Forums any hills (not grade, but hills or more) they’re known to search into/out of OD so to keep it out of OD. Flat land they’re decently powered and should haul this load ok. If I had the 4.0L I6 I wouldn’t stand a chance.
The transmissions are the issue with heat; thus the cooler and gauge to keep an eye on things. I’m figuring tow from here to Cleveland and watch it like a hawk with me driving. Then let the girl drive between Cleveland and Chicago, and continue to keep a close eye the whole way. If the trans starts getting warm in OD I’ll just kick it out and see what happens.
The only REAL fun part I’m semi-concerned from a towing capacity standpoint is once we get into Wyoming and head up the mountain pass into UT. I’m gonna keep it locked out of OD and stop at every gas station I see because the jeep is going to “Just Empty Every Penny” worth of gas pulling up those “hills”.
you’ll be fine, I overloaded the shit out of a Subaru forester going up into the Rockies, Grand Lake, Colorado to be exact. You’ll just have to take it easy on inclines worst case. Brakes might hate life too. It was first gear up the switch backs, but that was a 4 banger.
I know you said you’re towing a car… but.
If you’re driving the dolly around without a car on it, they bounce like a FUCKER.
I’ve used my grandfathers on quite a few occasions to tow my car/future cars and broken down ones…
The lights on the trailer would typically break from all the bouncing (leading to me having to replace them), granted this dolly was maybe 200-300lbs… not a half ton uhaul thing.
But if you have a car on it all the time, doesn’t matter.
