Towing Disaster

[Garbage1]

An indictment on the failure of the world's educational and cultural system. I say world because we do not know where this pair of idiots were hatched.

 

[XR250]

I just rented one of these to tow a '98 Cabrio tomorrow. Yes U-haul says to lock the steering. Seems like a great way to break the lock pin. The pivoting tray has very limited range. Not sure what happens in a tight turn where it get maxed out? I ended up disengaing the steering lock, disconnecting the battery and using tie-down straps on the steering wheel.

 

[waross]

Not sure what happens in a tight turn where it get maxed out?

Don't make tight turns.
You will damage something.
Many trailers will suffer some kind of damage if the towing vehicle turns too tight.
You don't have to back up.
Some arrangements will do damage in a tight turn going ahead.
The limited range of motion of the "pivoting tray" is to prevent the dolly fenders from damaging the side of the towed vehicle.
The action of a "maxed our" pivoting tray is not to try to turn or steer the front wheels but to pull one wheel forward and push the other wheel backwards.
The force is not directed to the steering gear, the force is directed to the wheel tie downs.
U-Haul may have done this a couple of times more than you have.

 

[Garbage1]

I use my 20 Foot 10,000 lb rated dual axle toy hauler as my first choice vs renting the dolly from U-Haul. But there are times when the Dolly is the best economical and/or practical solution.

If the towing rig has the capacity to tow the combined load of auto and trailer weight, then a full trailer with BRAKES is ALWAYS the better option in my opinion.

U-Haul rents auto trailer haulers, the New Toy hauler trailer, and the front axle lift dolly. Big benefit to full trailer options is they have surge brakes, and prevent damage and wear and tear to your auto vs flat tow.

 

[XR250]

The action of a "maxed our" pivoting tray is not to try to turn or steer the front wheels but to pull one wheel forward and push the other wheel backwards.

I can tell you when I pulled the trailer of on to the shoulder with the trailer slightly turned, the steering wheel was super tight against the lock pin. That is when I decided to use the straps instead. I think there is more going on than you may realize. Also, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of lock pins breaking while using a tow dolly.

 

[XR250]

Big benefit to full trailer options is they have surge brakes,

The dolly has surge brakes

 

[waross]

The dolly has surge brakes

That's good to know. They don't all have surge brakes.
If I ever need one I will look harder until i find one with brakes.
Thanks for the info.