Towing Experts Needed

Planning a move from the Bay Area to Southern Oregon. Approximately 350 miles.

I have a 1964 Fairlane I am thinking of pulling with a U-Haul car trailer.

Trailer weight is 2,210lbs

Vehicle weight is approximately 3,000lbs

Tacoma towing capacity is 6,500lbs

Truck is non hybrid TRD OR

There is a 6% grade going up the Siskiyou Summit. It could also be 100 degrees.

Any advice would be great. Would you do it? Or should I rent an Enterprise truck. Downside is I’d have to make two rental reservations from different companies, which would be a big inconvenience.

(U-Haul doesn’t have pickups available for out of town)

 

How much would a car carrier service be? Can’t be more than $300 which may be the best option.

 

In the Bay Area nothing is cheap. It’ll cost around a grand

Trailer rental will cost around $250

 

I always tell people not to tow a car as a first tow, especially with a light truck. A service would make more sense, or a road trip with a buddy that has a larger truck.

 

I recently towed our 4k lbs camper with the '25 TRD OR and was very impressed. However, I only towed in 49 miles. There is a lot more wind resistance with the camper than there will be pulling the car. But 350 miles is a lot further. I towed the same camper 760 miles round trip last year with the 3rd gen just fine but the 4th get would be substantially better in probably every way.

You need to determine your tongue weight on the trailer. That is a crucial piece of info with a lighter truck.... especially with stock suspension. I added SumoSprings to my 4th gen and they are needed to keep the rear from sagging when hauling. If you cannot determine the tongue weight and you don't have SumoSprings or Timbrens installed then there NO WAY I would make that trip. Having said that, the tandem axle trailer will help and it seems you might be able adjust the position of the car on the trailer to give you an acceptable tongue weight(only car hauler I used with 25 years ago).

How may feet would be climbed on the 6% grade? The 100 deg temp is a little concerning with the climb.

Does your truck have the integrated brake controller? If not, another hard no.

 

I’d rent a truck and car trailer from u-haul.
Pay the extra $20 dollars for insurance and let them take care of any problems that may occur.
Best few hundred bucks you’ll ever spend on your Tacoma.

 

Do you have a brake controller ?

 

U-haul uses a surge brake. No brake controller needed on their car transporters.

 

I've used those drive on uhaul trailers to move vehicles several times my local uhauls won't let you rent the trailer without a 3/4 ton.

 

Surge trailers are always interesting. Unloaded is comical, it doesnt know which way is up or down. I always feel on edge until we get the weight in the damn thing.

 

One way? Round trip? 350 mile trip is at least a 7 hour drive. How many miles are on straight highway at 60mph+ vs back roads?

from the bay… going anywhere there are no convenient routes that avoid traffic. If this is your first tow, I would advise you pay to have the car shipped or hire a driver or pay for someone’s bus fare back or even a shipping company.

I’ve towed lots and even when I was leaving California towing a car on trailer I left after the evening rush had settled. The roads were more clear just to reduce the stress of driving.

 

I should’ve mentioned that I do have upgraded suspension and Timbrens.

All good info, thanks for that.

Sounds like I’ll rent a 3/4 ton for a couple hundred more and keep the stress off the truck.

 

Pic of the ride

 

How much to you value your truck and that beautiful Ford Fairlane?

 

Cool car, too bad it’s probably a bad idea to road trip it.

 

Great looking Ford.

 

General rule of thumb when towing, esp. when towing in the mountains with long grades is to never tow more than 80% of the capacity of the tow vehicle. That'd be 4200 based on the information the OP posted. Time to explore and choose other options.

EDIT: Don't forget to factor in the weight of stuff in the cab (including passengers) and in the bed of the truck/accessories added, etc.

 

Pay for a transport.

 

I pull a 17 foot travel trailer that weighs in at 4773lbs it pulled fine on the grapevine and Tehachapi out of Bakersfield.only problems I had was it’s a drinker I never went longer than 1 1/2 hours before needed gas. I got 8.9 by the dash but doing the math my self it’s like 7.8 mpg. The down hill section of the Tehachapi grade was very scary and I feel like the truck was at its limit for sure.

I tried to rent a tow dolly and car trailer but u haul will not do it unless your truck is 3/4 ton or bigger for their insurance co policy. But after are trip in the travel trailer with a break controller I would not try a uhale trailer with a surge break on the Tacoma! It’s just to small and light of a truck. I would have to say if the was my ford it’s not going behind my taco I would probably just rent a U-Haul truck or the 1 ton van

 

Are you using a weight distribution hitch (WDH) set up on your camper? If not, I can't recommend enough that you add one. The Anderson WDH is the one I've used on both my campers and both my Tacomas (Gen2 and 4) and it is the cat's behind. Last one you'd ever buy, build in anti-sway control, American made and the Anderson company's customer service and support is top notch.

https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution-Hitch/Andersen/AN88VR.html