Towing a Jeep LJ w/ a Tacoma. U haul won't rent me a trailer?

Planning to tow a 2004 Jeep TJ from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, CA with my 2009 DCSB w/ tow package and ride rite bags and brake controller.

Called u Haul and they won't rent me either the two wheel car dolly or even the flat deck car hauler trailer. Even though the jeep weights in around 3500 lbs, they say it exceeds the GVW of my vehicles towing capacity.

I understand there is liability on their part but a 70% tow margin is ridiculous.

What if I figuratively say I rent a tow dolly from them saying I'm towing a "honda civic" and tow said "honda civic" that happens to be jeep shaped back to SoCal, would u Haul know any difference even if I pick up the dolly empty and return it empty?

Is there another option I can explore? Get a quote from u Ship for delivery to my buddy's house? We would prefer to drive/tow since we're making it a mini vacation on the way back

 

They'll never know. It's all for liability as you've stated. So if you get into a crash and kill someone else, they can't sue uhaul, but they can sue you. Which I assume you're smart enough to understand. That's truly the only reason they won't rent one to you.

I've towed my dads 87 Toyota 4x4 pickup on a dolly behind my Tacoma w/o any issues but damn it was pretty scary having all that weight behind my truck. But it handled it just fine.

 

DON'T tow that heavy with a tow dolly, there are no brakes on those, get in a quick slow down situation and it'll get ugly very quickly.

the car haulers will have hydraulic 'surge' brakes, your brake controller will not work with the trailer. Surge brakes take some getting used too if you've never towed with them.
One, backing up can be a bitch, if there is a lot of resistance backing up the brakes will set. going forward there will be a "lurch" and slight push before the brakes start working, some trailers are worse than others.

Uhaul auto transport weighs about 2300lbs so between the Jeep and the transport your sitting @ 5800, which weighs more than your Tacoma thats close if not right at 80% of what you want to tow, but it's their rules and their toys. https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Auto-Transport-Rental/AT/

 

There not much on rubber that uhaul will let you tow without a larger tow rig.

 

1. Copy/paste so i dont have to type again.

You have to skip over the base requirements on the uhaul site to find the real nitty gritty.


The truck weighs roughly 4680, uhaul requires that the tow/trailer combo can't exceed 80% of the tow vehicles weight, so 3744 pounds. The trailer weighs 2210 so the car needs to weigh no more than 1534 pounds to use that truck as a tow vehicle. The saturn weighs over 3500, so it's a no.

A miata weighs over 2500, so it's going to be a no as well. Pretty much any vehicle you tell them you are towing is going to weigh too much and you're going to get the same response.

You need a different tow rig to get a yes.

So option 2. A dolly. Your tow rig there is fine, but they require that the towed vehicle be no more than 3450, so no again although you're right on the cusp of a yes. And even if you get a yes you're now towing over 3500 pounds with 0 tongue weight, so it can suck on many levels before you hit the level that leaves you upside down in a ditch.