I'm on uhaul trying to rent a dolly. The truck I plan on moving is a 55 f250. The uhaul website doesn't like it for either the dolly, OR car carrier. However, if I enter it as an F100, the dolly option is available. If the fronts of the f100 and f250 are the same, will I be ok?

I played around with various options to see if it was a vehicle weight/towing capacity issue but does not seem to be. I maxed the tow vehicle's tow capacity at 10000 but it still didn't give me the option.

So, what I only have the dolly option available to me. All I'd need to do is disconnect the driveshaft if the dolly option will work. Thanks!

 

U-Haul is an interesting bunch. They're governed by their rules that are pre-programed into their system, without any regard for common sense or experience of the user. It doesn't matter what the real weight of your vehicle is, or that of the towed vehicle, in the case it may be a cab and chassis or less drivetrain. It only matters what their system says they think your rigs weigh. If you have a F350 4x4 and want to tow a Honda, you can get a trailer. If you want to tow a pickup with a typical pickup, they likely won't rent to you because you're not heavy enough.

You might consider calling a favor from a buddy, or a buddy of a buddy, with a trailer to help.

 

I agree with everything he said. I had an F-250 Super Duty Diesel, and my friend's little tiny Suzuki 4-cylinder car broke down. The car could have literally fit in the back of my truck and probably not even squatted the springs down much at all. My friend was trying to save money and wanted a two-wheel dolly. Uhaul refused and said that my truck and that particular car were not appropriate for a dolly. So we went with the car hauler.


The next thing that always comes to a person's mind about this is "I'll just tell Uhaul I'm hauling a little Volkswagen, etc. Well, I'm sure you can do that, but if you get into an accident, and it's not a Volkswagen on the trailer, you'll probably be in a world of hurt.

 

Have you tried talking to a human with uhaul. I rented a unit from Penske and went through the same thing, I spoke to one of their agents who finally advised me to contact the local agent and they could approve an over ride of the system. I would assume that uhaul could do the same.

 

You may get different levels of cooperation from different stores, but my experience dealing with U-Haul was pretty much like dealing with know-nothing robots. I tried this avenue when I was bringing home my Merc M1 cab and chassis behind my 85 F-250. They claimed I was overloaded and unsafe, wouldn't listen to any kind of reason or explanation, and insisted this is what their system says and refused to do any business with me.

 

What are you towing it with?

 

This will work IF you pick your dealer wisely. Find the most run-down looking hole-in-the-wall type place with the Uhauls parked in the weeds out back beside the guy's grease monkey garage, and he'll probably say no problem. But if you go to the nice franchise-looking store with the big nice parking lot, employees all wearing uniforms, etc,, you'll probably strike out.

 

I just did the uhaul calculation with my F250 and it had no problem with the trailer, but no go on the dolly. personally, I would not trust a dolly with an f250.

 

What an experience! I didn't want to risk lying to get the trailer, only to find out it didn't physically accept the width of the Ford.

Loading up was easy enough with a come along. Tire straps just did fit over the tires. But all the tires were slack. With no way to put air in them there, we drove a few miles very slowly to the first station with air. When we got out and looked, the straps had loosened, and the tires had shifted a little. After airing up the tires and readjusting them, I noticed they were turning if the truck turned sharp enough(still in the parking lot). Realized there is no steering wheel lock. Had to tie up the steering wheel to simulate a lock. Must have worked. Once we got it all straightened out, I hit the highway. A few very cautious miles later, we pulled off to take a look. They looked great. Another couple of times along the way showed the same thing. Once we got back on NC roads, it was smooth sailing. BUT, if I have to do this again, I'm going to use a flatbed. 210 miles at 40-55 miles an hour SUCKS. On that note, I'm going to hit the hay. Thanks all for your help.

 

And you bought a '55 F-250?

Just busting your chops. Glad you made it home safe.

 

I'm glad you made it back safe, as I stated earlier, I would have opted for the trailer, there was no way it would not have fit, the problem with the dolly was the F250, the dolly is not designed for a vehicle like that. For $10 more, the trailer for me would have been a no brainier.
Sounds like you got him off that 'firm' price to a pretty fair one, good luck with your new project.

 

Good to hear you are safely back home with your "new" toy.

Now we want to see a build thread... with lots of pics...

 

Uhaul is actually dumb in both directions. The stories already in this thread cover the 'we say it won't work' insistence. On the other side, Uhaul was certain our son's Honda would safety tow 1800 pounds. Honda (you know the folks who built the thing) were quite firm the limit is 900 pounds. Go figure.

 

Trailer always to be safe for you, the truck, and others IMHO being an RN. Glad you made it home and let's see some pics and keep us posted on your build! Good luck!

 

If I have to go with U Haul, I reserve it online and then one can pick a small one horse outfit who only rents them on the side. This year I said to heck with them and bought a dolly off Craigslist for $650 and put bigger ply tires on it so I should be OK if i buy an F250 in the future.