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Towing

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  #1  
Old 10-23-2010, 07:26 AM
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I know some here towed other cars with their Disco or towed their Disco with another similar truck.

I just bought a parts truck and it has to be towed because the front axle is missing , so towing it with a dolly is not an option. I know the towing capacity of the Disco is 7500 pounds according to the owner's manual but the combined weight of the rental trailer and the Disco will be around 6500 pounds. U-haul advised against it, but I would like to know if anyone attempted this and how did it go?
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 08:22 AM
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It would depend on how far and terrain if I were to contemplate it. And posted speed limits of roads travelling. I tow a small-ish utility trailer w/a lawn tractor or 4-wheeler, and it does fine(1,000lb range). As soon as I hook up my boat(aprox 3500lbs), it sucks all life out of her.

Any uphill and I loose speed, semi-steep grades only see about 45mph, and I avoid steep grades all together.

But if conditions were good, I would def try it.
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 11:56 AM
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I towed a 2001 Discovery on a dolly with our 1999 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L almost 400 miles from the furthest eastern tip of West Virginia to Central Ohio. There were sections going uphill where I had my foot all the way to the floor with my hazard lights on in the right lane, but it did it just fine. I think you'd be alright.

U-Haul would have balked at me if I told them what I was doing, so I told them I was towing a Taurus. Just go to a different U-Haul, and tell them you're towing a Stratus or something.
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 03:49 PM
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You have to lie to U-Haul and tell them its for a Geo Metro.
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 06:24 PM
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If I say it's for a Geo they will ask me why I rent a platform instead of a dolly. But I'd say I'll be fine, my father towed a 1962 Mercedes 200D with his Grand Cherokee on the most steep roads of the province and it was fine.

Since the truck has no front diff it may be 300 pounds less anyways....
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 06:59 PM
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They wont care why you want to flatbed it instead of dolly it, a flatbed costs more than a dolly which means more $$$ for them.
When I towed the race for for my friend from Austin to Grand Rapids with my Montero I told them it was for a Geo.
When I dollied my sons 1985 3/4 ton Dodge pickup to the scrap yard I told them it was for a Geo.
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Jull
If I say it's for a Geo they will ask me why I rent a platform instead of a dolly.
Wouldn't it be a Firefly up there in Canada anyway? LOL

They won't know why you're using a flatbed, maybe there is something wrong with whatever you're towing that necessitates using a flat bed. In this case, it's a missing front axle, but they won't know that.

Which leads me to this: How on earth do you plan on getting the truck up onto the trailer with no front axle?
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Spike555
You have to lie to U-Haul...
U-Haul shouldn't give two bits how close you are to your vehicle's towing capacity, as long as you're within the listed limits. If you have to drive 40 the whole way, so be it. Any big corporation will make error on the side which may limit their liabilities, though. They also won't rent any trailer to you if you tell them you're towing it with a soft-topped vehicle.

Have fun towing that Geo!
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 10:01 PM
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But the problem is that U-Haul lists the towing capacity of the Disco as 3,000 lbs.
When I tried to rent the dolly and I told then what I was towing with and what I was towing they said no because it exceeded the limit of my truck.
 
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Old 10-23-2010, 10:47 PM
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Crazy U-Haul.
 


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