Advice on towing a 6 by 12 U-Haul trailer

I am planning on moving from California to Indiana roughly about 2300 miles I have a 2019 Tacoma Trd pro with tow package and a 6 inch lift. I have never towed anything wondering if I can tow it safety? Any advice would be helpful?

 

Depends on loaded weight, tongue weight, your hitch, if trailer has brakes, terrain travelled and weather condition along the way.

Look at weight sicker in your door jamb. Subtract tongue weight and the remainder is what's left you can carry in truck, including bodies

Most folks get scary low MPG

Don't be in a hurry.

Being a Pro doesn't factor in here that I'm aware of.

 

Don't forget to leave it in 4th. to tow with.

 

Would be best to stick to 60-65 while towing the brick.

Where are you headed to in Indiana? I settled down here in north central Indiana after years in the military. Didn’t want to, couldn’t stomach the idea of going back to Illinois.

 

Look for the flattest route, like from LA heading East. It is worth a few miles to avoid mountains.

 

OP- you have a 6” lift, are you regeared and tuned? If not, you’ll likely see avg MPG of 9-12 while towing on flat.
Do you have upgraded rear leafs(AAL/bags/whole leaf swap)? I’m only asking bc the factory tacoma leafs are super weak, and don’t handle a load well at all.
Choose your route wisely(avoid Mtn passes if possible) and keep it under 65, watch trans temps too(can rise rapidly while towing)

 

Also you may want a signifcant drop hitch. I am not lifted much but have a very HC bumper and hitch setup. This is an 8" drop. Hitch receiver height is around 28" on my bumper.

 

I run a 6" drop all the time, lifted 3" all the way around.

 

drive safe. That’s all it was to me.

question is why burn $2k on a parachute uhaul that surge brakes every shift

versus buying a brand new trailer for $1k, no time limit, sell it when done
That weighs much less

6x12 is 2000lb unloaded

mods made my regular adapter too high. Had to switch to an adjustable drop that goes lower. Uhaul website recommends 18” height in the ball area.

 

My two cents: if all your stuff won't fit in a UHaul 5x9 trailer (one size smaller, much, much easier to tow), then I'd rent a 10' box truck + car hauler and tow the Taco.

How did we land on $2000 for the trailer rental? That seems pretty high, a truck should cost about that much, but not the trailer.

If that's the real price, I'd be looking at PODS or something similar; same money, less headache.

If you've never towed, I wouldn't recommend the 6x12 for the Taco for that distance.

Maybe get a friend to help you with the trip as well, would be way more enjoyable. Not impossible, but mind-numbing driving under 65 mph for all those miles.

 

You aren’t getting an enclosed trailer that will make it across country for $1000 anymore
But it’s what I did years ago

 

Since I'm procrastinating from work, here are the UHaul rates from LA to Indianapolis:

10' truck + car hauler: $2800
6x12 trailer: $1700
5x8 trailer: $900

So yeah, forget the box truck, since you still have to drive that POS, and get a POD or something if you can't fit in the 5x8 + light things in the truck bed.

Any way, the 6" lift plus (I assume) larger tires are going to make any towing suck more than usual.

Edit: I doubt OP is keeping up with this anyway.

 

Did 14 hours through CO mountains with a 6x12.
It used to be as low as $400. Not anymore.
Around $2k+ now.

and that’s without the rickety inefficient mileage charge of a box truck.

even if a smaller Uhaul is cheaper
5x8 around $1k maybe more
Depending on states and distance

why not buy brand new for the same price then sell it when done
No time limit

 

Not sure where you're finding an enclosed trailer for $1k. https://www.mirsbergersalesandservi...ies-6x10-cargo-enclosed-trailer-hJpq|Kne.html

A buddy just moved from here to AZ. He rented a truck and pulled his truck on a trailer. Don't know what that cost him, but it kept a bunch of wear and tear off his truck.

 

don’t know what you mean by wear and tear. Towed a trailer moving 3 times. Didn’t notice anything.

no not enclosed.
Utility trailer.

rumor has it utility trailer can hold at least two layers of boxes if they’re strapped down. Which may be enough. And be lower acting less like a parachute. They also weigh less.
Higher stacking may be possible by putting plywood walls or welding higher framework. Don’t know how much that modification would cost or lead time.

 

Open trailer isn't secure at night. Open trailer doesn't like rain. It's not very likely you can make it across the plains this time of year without hitting rain.

Also depends what you intend to put in the trailer. OP's title says 6x12, so I'm guessing enclosed and probably a fair amount of household goods.

 

zero furniture
mostly mechanic tools and truck stuff

Plan is heavy duty totes. Lid closed should keep water out.
Wood decking on the trailer I think will handle just a week of weather.
It looks stronger than the mesh floor trailer variant that costs the same price.

enclosed with a lock in a hotel where you can’t hear it? Bolt cutters. Steal the trailer.

sure open deck is open. With ratchet straps. Potential motion sensing alarms hidden inside the totes.

parked in the middle of nowhere with a guy sleeping 5 feet away. Sounds like a harder target to me.

with a bunch of ratchet straps securing down and mesh netting they’ve got their work cut out for them.

add a tarp

it worked for Borat. The terrain looks the same if not harder.

 

It's all about how much weight you're pulling. If your truck were stock, I'd say 4500-5000 lbs in the trailer, but nothing in the truck other the driver and one passenger. Your truck HAD about 1000-1200 lbs of payload when it left the factory. That means you can either put about 1000 lbs in the truck (including driver and passengers) or pull about 4500 lbs. But you have to pick one, you can't do both.

BUT... your truck has been heavily modified. I'm sure your payload is reduced by the weight of everything you've added. With a 6" lift I doubt you're running stock tires. With 33" tires you should be OK but you will feel less power when towing. If you have 35" tires on the factory gear ratio your truck will really struggle with a load.

Especially crossing the Rockies. I don't know what your route will be, but if you have to climb any 10,000' passes with 35" tires and a loaded trailer you're going to REALLY struggle. Most engines lose 3% of their power for every 1000' elevation gain over sea level. At 10,000' your engine is only putting out about 70% of the power it does at sea level. At even 5000' you start to feel power loss.

 

then rev it and slow down. Flashers on right lane. Just like what semis do for the same reason all the time. That’s what I did.

if it’s big tires should probably be regeared already in which case that may not apply.

 

Old post, but Uhaul always charges more to leave CA than to return there.

I second the POD storage or box truck and trailer. POD would be so much easier. Fly out imo.