What trailer will U-Haul rent me given my type of trailer hitch?

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

My East Coast '93 has a hitch bolted to the tiedown hooks as in the attached photo.

U-Haul's website

http://www.uhaul.com/reservations/RatesTrailers.aspx

says that, for a Festiva, they'll rent me a 4x8 or 5x8 trailer, but load limits depend on hitch dataplate specified rating.

My hitch was a one-off by a Seattle welding shop and has no "official" specs.

Am I likely to have a problem with U-Haul? I can't imagine any stronger hitch setup than what I have. I can't swing by the likely East Coast U-Haul shop to show them my rig, since I'm on the West Coast and will be flying east soon.

[rmoltis]

The towing rating for these cars I think is 800lbs.

And yes yes members tow more weight than this regularly you will hear.
People overload vehicles all the time.

And I've also seen many overloaded vehicles lose traction in the rear before and crash from their tires coming off the ground in bumps and such.

I personally got a 5x8 for the corolla which was rated for 2000lbs towing capacity.
But it also weighed close to 1000lbs. Which would in itself be over towing capacity For these little cars. Especially once loaded.

And you could make the argument that if the trailer was perfectly balanced by loading it correctly it would reduce your chances of problems.
But I personally wouldn't take the risk.

I would settle on 800-900lbs total towing weight just because you have a hitch that spreads the load between both sides of the suspension.
They typically can handle more load than say.
a fixed tongue hitch that places all the load directly in the center all on one point, Because its mounts are more centrally located.

Or maybe just call up your shop and ask their opinion on the matter.

Whatever you do, just be safe.
There's nothing worse than looking back after somethings gone wrong and saying "maybe I shouldn't have..."

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

rmoltis,

FYI, my travel will be about 400 miles down I-95 on a Sunday, and I'd keep it to 50mph or so in the slow lane.

What do you suppose the empty weight of a 4x8/5x8 Uhaul trailer is?

[TominMO]

What do you suppose the empty weight of a 4x8/5x8 Uhaul trailer is?

Too much. The empty U-Haul trailer is pretty heavy-duty, and would be almost all the weight you would want to tow, leaving little room for actual cargo.

[zoom zoom]

They typically can handle more load than say.
a fixed tongue hitch that places all the load directly in the center all on one point, Because its mounts are more centrally located.

What are you talking about? You realize the bumper bolts on to the car too right? So if you weld a hitch INTO the bumper, then reinforce the bumper so that it is more than just 3 12mm studs on either side holding it on, how would that NOT be the same as what you are talking about, and several times stronger than a piece of 2" square tubing stretching 4' wide with all the weight in the middle. "Spreading the load" lol. Don't overthink it.

Also, rear tires don't bounce off the ground, but if you have enough weight and speed and a sharp incline or speed bump, and no trailer brakes to help, the FRONT tires can lift off which you can imagine will be bad. It takes a LOT of tongue weight to counter balance the weight of the front end and make the rear axle the fulcrum point. Rear tires i suppose could slide out, if you hit ice or something? Or your front brakes are way oversized and overpowered and outbrake the rear and lol overthinking ~.~


The only thing I'm scared of is a big hill and not enough power to make the climb.


/e I am not trying to dog the hitch in this thread, i have met guys with the same hitch that haul weight with them, so it's blantantly obvious they do get the job done, but if you really want to say it's a stronger design than mine I am willing to put some money down that I can haul more (with my aspire) and I have the scrap weight to do it. So let me know, otherwise please refrain from talking about my hitch.


To contribute to the thread, the trailers you get from u-haul will almost all be heavier than you ideally would want to pull with a festy. For the money you give them, you could almost buy a HF trailer and have it for next time too! If you don't have fab skills or equipment needed to put some real tires and wheels on, make sure you get the 12" tires.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

zoom zoom,

U-Haul only wants about $80 for the one-way trip; that won't buy much of a trailer.

An an alternative, a 10' U-Haul truck with tow dolly is $452 and probably gets about 12mpg vs. 48 [not factoring in the trailer wind load] or so, so I'd be lookng an EXTRA 30 gallons or so, say $120-$135, so the tab becomes closer to $600 as opposed to may $130 or so ($80 for the trailer and $50 for gas).

Roads will likely be dry, few hills along the coastal I-95 route, and daytime only on a Sunday. What can really go wrong?

What I'm moving is mostly business records in plastic file crates and boxes of small household goods and clothing -- the kind of stuff I need to work at a customer site for a few weeks/months on the cheap. The only dense item is my tool box, which fits on the floor where the front seat passenger's feet would go.

[scitzz]

What are you talking about? You realize the bumper bolts on to the car too right? So if you weld a hitch INTO the bumper, then reinforce the bumper so that it is more than just 3 12mm studs on either side holding it on, how would that NOT be the same as what you are talking about, and several times stronger than a piece of 2" square tubing stretching 4' wide with all the weight in the middle. "Spreading the load" lol. Don't overthink it.

Also, rear tires don't bounce off the ground, but if you have enough weight and speed and a sharp incline or speed bump, and no trailer brakes to help, the FRONT tires can lift off which you can imagine will be bad. It takes a LOT of tongue weight to counter balance the weight of the front end and make the rear axle the fulcrum point. Rear tires i suppose could slide out, if you hit ice or something? Or your front brakes are way oversized and overpowered and outbrake the rear and lol overthinking ~.~


The only thing I'm scared of is a big hill and not enough power to make the climb.

You beat me to it!

In my B3 setup, I overloaded my HF trailer with 1200 pounds of scrap metal, and towed it at 45-50 in some spots, mostly city. My only concern was braking, stock brakes had me a little scared. Handling was a non-issue. I towed a few Festivas then as well. On highways, for hours. Once again, my only concern was braking distance. With the Aspire swap and B6, and my trailer beefed up, I wouldn't think twice about a ton if the tongue weight was right.

[rmoltis]

nobody was talking about you zoom?????? what is this all about??? where do people come up with this stuff lol.
i was referring to the only hitch available for festivas and aspires that bolt to the spare tire well and rear bumper reinforcement and comparing it to the different style that he actuallty has installed. lololololol.
a little vane?

this style that curt offers is called a fixed tongue hitch because it doesnt spread the weight out over both sides of the suspension as well as a wider design.
its a real thing look it up.

heres a quick link to show you what im reffering to.
fixed tongue is on here.

http://www.eyershitch.com/trailer-hitches.html

and here is one describing the weight distribution style hitch.

http://www.eyershitch.com/weight-distributing.html

but the receiver style hitch like he has installed spreads the load between both sides of the vehicle helping control the load more.
now this would be similar to the one you have zoom that would have a slightly increased weight capacity.
along with the same style my corolla has on it.
but instead you took it upon yourself to get upset and try to freak out at me lol.

your bumper reinforcement would be slightly similar to a hitch connected at both sides of the suspension because the whole reinforcement would be similar to one giant hitch connector.


next time you guys decide im talking about someone elses "design" rethink again this was only about people who decide to tow more than their cars towing capacity is.
plain and simple and to the point.

the capacity has to do with how the car comes from the factory.
brakes,suspension, and the weight balance from the front and rear and how well that can keep a certain weight being towed under control.
and also the tire type and sizes available for the footprint of the car as well.


and on a side note the 5x8 was about 1000-1100 pounds by itself
so with the ONLY STYLE HITCH AVAILABLE ONLINE FROM CURT!
the towing capacity for our vehicle is 800lbs and tongue weight of 200lbs.
but this curt hitch is rated for 100lbs tongue weight and 1000lbs towing capacity.

you guys are so kind yet again to people just trying to help out other people come to a logical and engineered solution.
please educate yourselfs next time before attacking someone who has already looked into these things.


i have a feeling some would say this is acceptable too.
also theres one in there with the rear wheels off the ground lol.
the article said he lost traction and careened off the road.
accident.jpg
who says overloading is a bad thing?
overloading-300x224.jpg

[zoom zoom]

Not reading a wall of text, but your welcome to join this discussion, try to keep it under 1,000 words or I'm probably gonna get bored and quit reading.

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?53516-Hitches

I did skim through and see this..

you guys are so kind yet again to people just trying to help out other people come to a logical and engineered solution.
please educate yourselfs next time before attacking someone who has already looked into these things.

Answer in the other thread.

[rmoltis]

the only thing overloading your vehicle while towing does.
is increase your risk of having an accident.

can it be done,, yes.
is it recommended,, no

ive also seen people run their vehicles 100k miles with no oil changes.
can it be done,, yes
is it recommended,, no.

just be carefull whatever you do and take everything into consideration before making your decision.
there is no right or wrong answer, just increased or reduced risk of getting into an accident.

there is no reason to argue.
i have noone to offend, nor anyones custom hitches to make fun of or criticize.
there are only 2 links there that describe the different hitch types.

and things to consider while towing.
whoever gets offended or thinks i am talking about them is just vane.

[scitzz]

rmoltis, I only addressed what you said, which was not specified as the Curt hitch, which is a terrible hitch IMO. It is also NOT the hitch pictured by the OP. So, your warnings were not specific to his setup, and, taken in context as you typed, were not suitable, once again IMO.

Further, you said
"And yes yes members tow more weight than this regularly you will hear.
People overload vehicles all the time."

I have yet to overload mine for the purposes I used it for. Overloaded factory spec? Yes. Overloaded it IRL? No.

Those pics you posted were to extreme to prove your point. The first is obviously staged, the second...well, that guy was nutz.

You made some bold statements in your first post that are unsupported by fact, about spreading the weight, whether you meant to or not. That is all I addressed.

[rmoltis]

" I would settle on 800-900lbs total towing weight just because you have a hitch that spreads the load between both sides of the suspension. They typically can handle more load than say. a fixed tongue hitch that places all the load directly in the center all on one point, Because its mounts are more centrally located."

This exact statement compares his custom hitch to the only hitch in production for his festiva.

The points his hitch are mounted to the body make it a better at utilizing a weight distribution system. Rather than a bumper mounted.

And the curt hitch mounting points are bumper mounted with attaching points to the body at the spare tire well which seems flimsy to me.
Which cannot be used with a weight distribution setup.
Because weight distribution setups require frame mounted hitch receivers. Not bumper mounted.

So I will concede only in the fact that saying the curt hitch being mounted in the center is what makes it less capable.
When in fact it is that it is mounted to the bumper and a flimsy spare tire well.

But his hitch being classified for weight distribution systems I still stand by because it is "frame" mounted which is as we all know a "unibody"

Just like the hitch on the corolla is frame mounted and weight distribution compatable.

Bumper hitch: This hitch comes as a standard unit on most pickup trucks. It's usually nothing more than a flat reinforced section in the middle of the rear bumper with a hole drilled in the center to accept a ball to mate with the trailer's coupler. These are low-weight hitches capable of hauling small loads. The usual maximum load capacity is only 2,000 pounds and includes the weight of the trailer and all payload items. Bigger trucks may have a higher capacity, but essentially, bumper hitches are made for the occasional light load for small trucks, such as log splitters or utility wagons.


Weight-carrying hitch: These hitches put the trailer's weight and start/stop/turn forces onto the tow vehicle's frame rather than on just the truck's bumper. While this is fine for big trucks, keep in mind that the weight is still on the back of the vehicle and weight shifts in the trailer will still cause strong turn forces on smaller trucks.


Weight-distribution hitch: Weight-distribution hitches use the same frame-mounted receivers as weight-carrying hitches, but they add a weight-distribution system that includes spring bars connected between the tow vehicle's receiver and trailer to apply leverage. This distributes the trailer's weight to all of the tow vehicle axles and the trailer, which allows the tow vehicle to pull a heavier trailer. It also can provide a more level ride. You'll also find you have more effective steering and braking for better and safer control. Depending on your tow vehicle and the hitch's weight class, some can support up to 12,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 1,200 pounds maximum tongue weight. At this level, you're dealing with a general towing hitch that can carry significantly larger loads.

hitchtypes.jpg

I can agree that my rough explanation wasn't the most exact of a weight distribution compatible hitch and why it is so.
And also I didn't fully explain everything.
Because I left out the has to mount to the vehicles frame/body part.

But when trying to haul large loads a weight carrying hitch mounted to the body/frame compatible with a weight distribution setup.
Is most ideal.


And predicting that members would say exactly what was said after my post.
Was just that, predictive. I knew it would happen so I said it out loud.
because let's be honest.
Who else would be able to say somethin in these posts if they were not a member of this site.
That doesn't necessarily single anybody out.

And people overload vehicles all the time was just a statement about how people everywhere do this frequently.

There is plenty of literature out there for all to access all over when information is needed.
There is no reason for any of us to get mad or upset.
If you ever think someone may be misinformed.
Present links to real information explaining why it is so.
And try to educate them rather than just condemning them.
It is usually a lot more effective at changing people's minds.

We are all adults here.
There is no reason we can't have civilized conversations.
That are also constructive and educational.

[Pu241]

Those pics you posted were to extreme to prove your point. The first is obviously staged, the second...well, that guy was nutz.

The first wasn't only staged, it was on display at the Chicago Art Museum.

http://www.moillusions.com/chicago-art-museums-car-and-trailer/

[scitzz]

Nobody mad here on my end.

Running around outside the asylum again with my tappy talky appy

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

Well, I rented the U-Haul 4x8 (by 4' high) cargo trailer for $83 and did the haul uneventfully. I had to back off to 3rd gear for some 42mph hill-climbing, and went up to 65 on some downhills where the road was smooth with minimal traffic and I could see the next uphill just ahead .... and got 27.42 mpg over about 400 miles in about 8 hours with a/c on the whole time. I was careful to place the load in the trailer so the car bumper went down a little over 1" as I loaded per U-Haul's instructions.

My only concern was the reduced brake effectiveness, so always kept lots of space ahead, particularly on long downgrades.

I wouldn't hesitate to repeat the exercise going coast-to-coast in this Festy, which just turned 130,000 on the odometer.