so i have seen/read about the airstream forums and some of the tow vehicles they use. curiosity killed me so i ventured off and read some of their posts. holy crap. some of those folks are flat out crazy.

 

My father in law owns a prius, and says they aren't rated to tow anything.

 

Went to Prius forum and the right description is "not recommended".
One owner reported towing 1750 lb trailer with Prius and averaging 26-29 mpg at very low speeds.
ISN'T THAT LESS THAN FORD RANGER????????????

 

According to the Nissan commercial I just saw, the frontier has a payload capable of holding a large airliner. The front landing gear was broke so a J.O. with his nissan frontier drove in front of the plane and the busted front landing gear rested in the bed and the trusty ole frontier brought it safely to a stop.

 

Weird, I didn't even think of that, and yeah, this was a fairly new one.


I was trying to plan my move back to az at one point, and had a cherokee I was thinking about keeping... turns out they won't let the 6x12 trailer be pulled by that either, they go by gvw; they would however let me pull that with the marauder though

 

I just went to U-Haul's site and put in a 2011 Explorer and this is what it said:

Then I put in a Prius and they will rent any trailer, even the 6x12 tandem.

 

Maybe U-haul has it in for prius owners. "sure fella come on down here and we can hook that trailer right up for ya." Arent you supposed to have a trailer brake and controller for that sized trailer?

 

You don't need a brake controller, U-Haul's trailers have surge brakes.

 

Just looked up a Mini Cooper, they will even let you pull the 6x12 with one of those.

 

Yeah, they must've changed it. They used to only allow me up to the 5x10 with the cherokee and the marauder up to 6x12... If they really allow people to pick up a 6x12 trailer with a prius or mini in person, they're really opening themselves up to a lot of liability/lawsuits unfortunately from people that are just too stupid...

They even allow the 6x12 on a smart car... with a 3500 lb hitch, and limit you to a payload of 424lbs... bummer!

On second thought... a 6x12 would be like an enclosed car hauler for a smart car...

 

Oh yeah!

They got that idea from me. I always use my '72 Datsun 620 as a tug for airliners.

 

U haul has a form you sign saying that you understand the risks if they do not recommend you towing something. My dad was towing my Marquis to our new house a couple of years ago and they did not even blink. This car wieghs nearly 2 tons and he used his 96 Chevy 1500 with HD suspesion and Trans. However the next week when he went to tow his 81 mustang, they told him that his truck was unlikely to tow it properly. He then had the option to sign a relase form that said that he would not hold U-haul liable if something happened. BTW he did tow the mustang, cause it does wiegh less than the Marquis.

 

Traveling down I81S yesterday here is what we came accross.

 

And of course nothing would be right without the blow out from the cheap tires. Didn't get a pic of the damage as this guy was not too bright or anything else for that matter.

 

This is stupid corporate nonsense on U-Haul's part for two reasons:
1) Even though they would not allow a Ford Explorer to tow anything, they had no limits for the Mercury Mountaineer, which is the exact same vehicle.
2) The current Ford Explorer is a far cry from the past Explorer. They are now uni-body and based on the Taurus. Basically they are a Taurus with a larger body.

The issues with the Explorers of the past were the fault of the tires, not the vehicles themselves. Furthermore, I guarantee that a Ford Explorer of any year would pull a trailer more safely than a Prius or other small car that U-Haul apparently has no problems renting to.