techartisan

Ive towed my 944 on a Uhaul car carrier. Their online reservation allows it. Couldnt open the doors....had to crawl in and out the hatch.

Im moving this week, penske has unlimited mileage and Ive a 1200 mile detour I have to make....so Im going with them. Their online rate quote doesnt allow a 944 to be towed. I used search function here....and have seen the advice to call it some other car.

I figure the absolute worst case...I might have to pull the front spoiler. I just wanted to see if anyone has RECENTLY towed on a penske car carrier....since the threads were quite old.

p5th

No need to remove spoiler,get 2 pcs of 2+4 to put in front of ramp. Will give just enough clearance. Towed mine a couple of times.

pettybird

uhaul will also balk at ANYTHING that sounds remotely expensive. if they ask at the counter I tell them it's a '97 cavalier.

techartisan

uhaul actually says its fine. Even their online quote allows it.
But I need to rent from penske for unlimited miles.
After I posted, I ran a few other cars...longer, longer wheelbase, narrower by an inch, wider by an inch..all okay.
So its really just a question of nose clearance...which p5th says 2x4s...which sounds faster then my "pull the spoiler" plan.

JohnKoaWood

On a side note, not sure WHY you would crawl in and out the hatch on a Uhaul trailer... the drivers side fender flips down on thier trailer... plenty of clearance to allow you to use the drivers door in the car on the trailer!

And I have NEVER had an issue with Uhaul not liking a Porsche on the trailer, as long as the towing vehicle has sufficient GVWR to allow the car and trailer, they have never had an issue, and I have rented Uhaul trailers more than once.

Now on to Penski.. their issue is likely the ground clearance of the car, not the length or width.. YES you can use boards to make up the difference..

Tedro951

I'm with JOKA, the fenders on the Uhaul I went with folded down.

I've never heard of "unlimited miles", or "limited" for that matter on a trailer, though. How does that work? Hubodometer?

dykaar

Here is my car on the uhaul, coming home from the body shop. The grey fender is held in place by two rubber straps. Unhooking the straps allow the fender to pivot down over the trailer tires, allowing the door to open.


Regards,

doug

86 951 (http://www.pcaucr.org/visuals/photos...egory&catid=61)
01 E320 (W210) 4matic Wagon (http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210...body-do-2.html)
00 540i-6 (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...hp?albumid=976)
94 855 turbo Wagon (sold in 09)
85 535i-5 (sold in 07)
76 300D (sold in 92)
83 944 (sold in 86)
I apparently only buy cars designated by numbers

techartisan

Im renting a moving van, it has unlimited miles....the trailer is just along for the ride. Uhaul gives 2300 miles for my move....a bit more than the direct trip. I have a 1200 mile sidetrip I have to make along the way. Penske doesnt limit the trip miles, they just give you X days to make your move and have the truck back.

As for the fold down fenders, If the trailer I rented from uhaul last year had the ability....I didnt know

pettybird

I haven't in years now (like 7-8) but I never got an OK for towing a Porsche...I wonder if that's up to each terminal to decide?

kinda5150

have you actually talked to uhaul on the phone, they usually price match. btw, have towed using uhaul several times w/no problems--except they wanna make sure the tow vehicle is rated high enough.

techartisan

Yeah Ive towed uhaul several times....I just wanted to post this to gauge others experiences with penske's trailers.....Its a done deal now....Ive already paid for the rental...picking it up tomorrow.

Price match wasnt my problem.....Mileage match was.
Local Uhaul said they would price match Penske if I brought an estimate of the trip as 2 rentals, the full trips mileage.

X to Y ($946 penske vs $2060 uhaul)
plus
Y to Z ($684 penske vs $989 Uhaul)

For a total of $1630 price matched to penske vs $3049...a great savings....

BUT....

Since Penske only cares about X to Z, and they dont care how many in betweens you swing as long as you get the truck back on the expected day...their X to Z truck & trailer was only $946.
Unfortunately, Im going to spend more than that on gas.

kinda5150

ahhh, you could just rent the truck from penske (which you've done) and rent the trailor from uhaul. i imagine they might look at you funny, but seems like a good alternative. good luck on the trek.

techartisan

do you have stock in uhaul or something? LOL
The whole point of this thread was to see if anyone had recently, successfully used a penske trailer. Consensus says Ill be fine though I may need a 2X4 fix at the ramps.
Splitting the trailer and truck rental is a ridiculous suggestion, Id take 10 minutes and pull the front spoiler before I bothered doing that....Besides....Uhauls trailer rental is more expensive than penske's anyway.
Deals done...I picked the trailer and truck up a few hours ago....already loaded my storage unit....and most of the apartment.

Funn944

Penske probably won't allow you to pull a UHaul trailer, I know for a fact that Budget won't let you pull a UHaul trailer with their trucks.

techartisan

Trip done.
Had to use the starter to power up the ramp because I couldnt get her started....but otherwise it was a breezed. The penske trailer loaded with no problems no 2X4s needed. Doors had ample clearance to get in and out. I entered it in as an 84 chevy celebrity in the reservation system....since they didnt allow it as a porsche.

So to anyone looking to use a penske car carrier....go for it. just lie when you reserve it....and decline any of the tow insurance they offer because they wont pay out if its a different vehicle.