Like I said, RENT one. Driving back 500miles with an EMPTY trailer can take a 5mpg hit

And his trailer weights 800lbs? what is it a single axle? my 8x9 flatbed weighed 1100lbs

 

Yes I do! Its a 16 or 18 footer, I don't remember which lol. Unless your sayin rent one for one way and drop it off after I drop the bug off

Dual axle. I think 700 lbs of the 800 lbs are the I-beam fenders lol

 

Yes, exactly. no point in hauling an empty trailer back

 

Your prolly right. How much does it cost to rent a U-Haul usually?

 

Does the trailer have brakes? I would be really surprised if it only weighs 800#
I would get a good hitch, never trust a bumper hitch.
Also made sure your spares are in good shape, at least one for the trailer and truck, I like to have 2 for long hauls personally...

 

Yea its got brakes. My gpa says its only 800lbs. I could go weigh it someday lol.

As for U-Haul... That's a big negative.
Tow Dolly: $173
Car Trailer: $347

Theres no way Ill save more than $173 in diesel. It was a good idea though!

 

Sorry Brad, I read your post, but it didn't register.
(I think I'm going through the change of life. You know, mentalpause...)

 

If it is a true ranch hand (or similar bumper), you will have no issues pulling anything. All they are is a tow bar with a bumper built around it.

 

I was still kinda iffy on it and rebuilt it lol. Now its held on with grade 8 bolts, square tubing, and a whole lotta welding lol. The original set-up didn't have an actual "square" to slide a hitch into so I removed the draw bar and welded in a receiver. The old set-up was quite high off the ground and with the receiver welded in, I can use my 6 inch drop. I feel better about this set-up but... that's not saying much

 

I have a aftermarket bumper on my truck, sticker on it says 10k pull 1k tongue weight, thing is burly, 5/8" plate. My Class III is rated to 5k? pull 600tongue. Some bumpers are beefy, but you have to be critical of their condition.

 

Point-to-point U-haul rentals are much more expensive than a round-trip, which is usually $45/day (and a day can usually be stretched to a 36-hour day if you're nice). Yes, that means you'll be hauling an empty dolly for half the trip, but you'll barely feel it back there empty (just drop the tire pressure to ~25 PSI when hauling it empty for any distance).

 

That woudnt make much sense to rent a U-Haul round trip lol. Id just use my own trailer and be ahead whatever it costs to rent it lol

 

Update:

It made it! Went all 850 miles without a problem! I didn't even grease the frontend lol. Most of the bushings looked shot anyways so I figured they wouldn't hold grease anyhow. I even learned something on the trip! A diesel pump for a semi will not work on our trucks. The nozzles too big lol.

As for fuel mileage, the worst I got was somewhere in the high 13s and the best was low 16s. I was VERY happy with those results! The ol 460 woulda never beat them numbers lol.

I did have one problem along the way though... Ill start out by saying my rear tank is full of diesel, but full of crap so it doesn't pump fuel very well if at all. I was getting close to Illinois and saw I had 1/4 tank left. So I thought to myself I need some fuel soon. Kept drivin... and drivin... and drivin... that needle started getting awful close to that E. Finally I came to a turn-off with a gas station. Pulled in and sure enough they only had the big semi sized nozzles. So I glanced at my Garmin and pulled back onto the interstate. Then I realized that mother (fill in the blank) took my the wrong direction! No worries though. The next exit had a gas station. I pulled in and it had to be the sketchiest gas station iv EVER seen! Gravel driveway, old rotary style gas pumps, bars on the windows... I thought aww heck no! Pulled out of the gas station and it dies. Flip it to the rear tank and pull back into the gas station. I couldn't get the pump to work... surprise surprise. Pull back onto the interstate, going the right direction this time and sure enough... It dies. Im beyond aggravated at this point. I pull off, turn on the flashers, and crawl under the truck, only a few feet from 70 mph traffic. I tried to find a way to drain my rear tank and put it in the front with no luck. I hop back in the truck, flip the switch to the front tank and long behold it fires up. I hit the gas, screeching tires, doin 80 to the gas station with the big semi nozzles. I get there and... theyre closed. Sooo... back onto the interstate I go, make it barely onto it and it dies. Flip to cruddy rear tank and drive a couple miles, it dies, flip to front, drive, dies, rear, dies, etc etc about 4 times. I get to the next exit and pull into the cleanest, most beautiful BP station ever! Brand spanking new pumps and they even had pick-up truck sized nozzles! My trucks had it at this point and it putts onto the lot. Soon as I push the clutch in, it dies. I wipe my forehead clean and fill all 17 gallons of it up! What a night!

 

HAHAHA That story really gave this thread the shaabang that every thread should have at the end

And glad you made it bud!