Can I tow my gf's car?

I have an '06 Tacoma with 110,000 miles. My gf's car is quite unreliable, and I was thinking of pulling it to her school over 300 miles away, so she doesn't break down. It's a 2012 Kia Soul and will be filled with stuff. I was looking at the U-Haul that holds on to the front tires of the car being pulled. I think I have the towing package? I'm not completely sure, I have a towing hitch and the V6. Can my Taco do it?

 

You think you have the tow package??? You need to “know” for sure if you have the tow package. Once you know that then you need to determine the weight of the vehicle loaded and the weight of the tow dolly.
If the gf’s car is that unreliable that it won’t make it 300 miles, then it’s just going to break down and give her problems when it gets to its destination. Seems like there are much better solutions than towing the pos to another location only to have it break down there.

 

You're thinking with your boyfriend brain. It seems like a good idea now, but it's silly. How EXACTLY is a 2012 Kia so bad that it won't make it less than the distance of a fuel tank? Like @Sprig said, if it can't go 300 miles, it won't make it back and will likely break down while it's there. Your best bet would be to get it tuned up before the trip, or do the trip in your Tacoma and drop her off (assuming she lives/works on campus) and deal with the car situation while it's home.

Your towing capacity is 3500 pounds and a Kia Soul weighs 2800. The rest depends on the weight of the tow dolly (probably a couple hundred pounds) and how much stuff you load up into the car. You're pushing it. Drive slow and maybe put it in 4 instead of D to keep the transmission temps down. Good luck!

 

Look at the oil filter. Does it have a metal piece with two hoses coming off it directly below the filter? If so, that's the oil cooler and you most likely have the tow package.

Next, you need to ask if the Kia is worth taking. If it can't reliably make the 300 mile drive, how fast will it break down in an unsafe area that your gf may not have the ability to get someone to help fix it? I have been in a similar situation twice. Once with a gf and once with a female cousin. Both times, I opted to have them take my reliable vehicle while I used their unreliable vehicles and fixed them to be reliable. Sure, it cost me time and money, but I didn't feel like a shitbag who sent someone they cared about hundreds of miles away in a piece of shit.

As for the dolly, many uhauls won't rent a trailer/dolly to tacoma drivers. So, you'd have to check if they would even do it.

 

If under your oil filter you see these lines, you have the tow package and are good to ~6k pounds.

 

Now THAT'S an idea. It would have to be one hell of a girlfriend, we're talking wifey material for me to hand over my Tacoma keys, but I'd be fine being the one to keep the shitbox local and fix it up for next semester.

 

I've never heard of uhauls not renting to a tacoma driver. Never heard it on this forum either.

I've rented both a 4x8 and 6x12 when I had a tacoma. Two different rental places and no one batted an eye.

 

They put in the info and if their system says not recommended, they won't rent it to you. I have been told no before when trying to rent a dolly. It isn't that the vehicle is not rated for it, it is that they think it is too close and don't want the liability.
They wouldn't rent a dolly to me to town my '40 from Surprise AZ to Avondale AZ. Said my '07 couldn't tow it. So I went and bought a 18' car hauler trailer and towed the car around and then up to OR with no problems even loaded down with a 2 bay tool box and all my other possessions.

 

Every time I've rented a U-Haul, I've pre-reserved it online. You enter your Tacoma's info and go from there. That way there's no surprise based on the person behind the counter that day.

 

While I cannot speak for your specific situation. But I've ran into this personally and I think I know this answer. If I let them make the reservation and they select the normal tacoma. It gives them alot of engine/cab/bed options. If they select the wrong on itll shoot you down. When this happens to me, I have them select tacoma prerunner and it sails right through as long as they select 6cyl