Towing a car

This Friday I am going to vegas to tow my gfs car from there to socal. Uhaul has the trailer for the front wheels of her maxima and the back wheels will be on the pavement. Anyone have hints/tips for something like this? I've never towed anything before. I do have the factory tow package.
Thanks.

p.s. Are there any good shops in socal, la/orange counties which provide tow setup advice and products?

 

Is the car broken down? If not just take a Southwest flight and drive it back. If you have to tow it, make sure you have a receiver with wither a 1 7/8 or 2" ball. a 7 pin connector and other than that you will be fine. Take your time and you won't have any problems. Plus you are a Marine. All we do is break SH$T.....

 

The maxima is front-wheel drive, so it doesn't matter if the tranny is an auto or a stick, and there will be no need to disconnect anything.

Most U-haul trailers have surge brakes on them. (I say most because I am not sure if the car dolly does or not, having never used one personally)

Phantom is right. If the Maxima is able to move under it's own power, drive both it and your truck and dolly to a big open parking lot, and get used to how it handles and stops before heading out onto the roads where you may encounter other motorists.

Make sure you ratchet strap the front wheels to the dolly really well and check the straps a few times once you are on the road particularly after the first 20 miles or so since that is when the most of the stretching will take place.

Leave the car in neutral once it is strapped down so that you are not putting the strain on the transmission once it is rocking back and forth after you are underway. (This is another reason to make sure that the straps are secure and done correctly)

Even if the dolly has surge brakes, you are going to have noticably increased stopping distance, so be aware of that, as well as being aware that you have another 20 feet or so behind your tailgate when you are turning or changing lanes.

Last piece of advice be extra aware of other drivers as they do not know or care that it will take you longer to stop and they will likely do plenty of stupid shit in front of and around you on this trip.

Enjoy the trip and keep the rubber side down.

 

I towed an Altima from Colorado to Maine once, and it was pretty easy. Acceleration and braking were the only times I even noticed the car back there. Since it was all highway it was pretty easy. The main thing is to make sure your tire pressure is right where you want it, and give yourself plenty of time to stop. We did about 75 mph for 36 hours straight and the Tacoma had absolutely no lingering effects from it. The UHAul dolly I uses required a 2" ball. Good Luck!

 

Listen to Maverick! Anyone who has a pic of a trailer 3 times the size of his truck on here gives sound advise. Also do a thread search for the "towing bible" on here. A lot of good info.

 

+1 on Mavericks post...Just take your time and you will be fine. Towing changes the way the truck will operate..but you'll get a good feel for it pretty quick.
(First thing I ever towed was my own Dakota on a trailer with a Ram 1500 I had never driven)

Take it slow and watch out for others- You'll be fine.

 

Make sure the rear tires are at spec psi or the car will sway.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have perused the bible. Lots of info there but just couldn't find what I needed suited to my situation. If I could drive the car to socal I would.

Jay, Semper Fi! The Stumps...ugh, been there done that. It is nice this time of year though. MCCES way back in 94.