ausgeflippt951

Hey All,

Just a (hopefully) quick question:

I will be moving from Bahhhsten to the DC area and need advice on a trailer. Both Penske and U-Haul's website say a stock 951 won't fit on their trailers, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is due to an insufficient ramp length (i.e., too steep entry angle). This is easily mitigated.


I do seem to recall some of these rent-a-trailers have detents (sp?) for the front wheels, over which goes some sort of a net to hold the wheels in place. Given that my car is lowered (not much, maybe 1"), I'm toying with the idea of placing a 2x4 in these detents if the car would otherwise bottom out. Additionally, I think I'll have to use my tie straps, rather than the nets that come with the trailer.


Any experiences from y'all? Lessons learned or idiosyncrasies with these rent-a-trailers? Or am I just wasting my time because it's flat-out impossible?


Thanks!
Collin

ramius665

Collin,
Couple of notes:
I used a uhaul trailer to tow my 951 (lowered approximately 1.5" all around) from San Antonio, TX to DC. IIRC I got it on the trailer without issue. I helped JohnKoaWood move his 951 last month using a "Budget" rental trailer and it also got onto the trailer without any assistance. His car is lowered at least as much as mine.

When you get into DC-ish, look me up! We've got a fairly robust group of 944/951/968 owners in the area.

black944 turbo

Agreed, I towed mine with a uhaul. I backed mine up and it worked out ok. I would say a 2X6 under the front of the ramp would help, as mine did bottom getting on.

gtuma

My own exp,

I put my lowered (1.25") 951 on a Penske trailer with no trouble when I moved from Cali to Co. I had to tell them I was towing a different car before they would rent it to me.

Success-- The car's center cleared the trailer using the included pull out ramps both getting on and off the trailer. This was done on level ground with the trailer attached to the truck. They say to leave the trailer on the truck, but I assume one could use a floor jack to hold the trailer nose (I wouldn't trust the included jack with my car) up a little higher if you had clearance issues. One could also back it up to a driveway/parking lot entry that is a slight incline etc so the ramps are not as steep.

Issues -- Once on the trailer you must pull it all the way forward until the front wheels 'rest' against the small lip in the front of the trailer. When I pulled it forward I rubbed the front spoiler on the lip. The lip is angled so it slid on over the lip with out me noticing. No damage, but the wing stuck out competently in front of the lip, and was about 1/4 inch lower. If I tried to back the car off it would catch and rip the spoiler off. I went under the trailer and removed the spoiler, backed it up about 6 inches, put the spoiler back on, and then backed off the trailer. I suppose this could be resolved by backing the car onto the trailer to begin with.

Good Luck!

fortysixandtwo

I've had clearance issues with my 951 on U-haul's flat bed trailers. I extended the ramps somewhere around 4 feet, and still scraped the side skirts / center jacking points. The front of the trailer is also an odd fit for the 951. With the wheels sitting in the pockets, the bottom of the nose barely clears the front wall of the trailer. This is without a bat wing or splitter installed.
There may be different model trailers in U-hauls fleet, because I don't think my car is lowered that much. Tongue height of the tow vehicle will also effect whether you high center the car or not. In my case, this was with both a U-haul pickup and one of their 10' box vans.

Darwantae951

I had zero clearance issues with u-haul when I brought my 951 from Dallas, TX to SLC, UT.

Matt O.

Penske all the way. I am not a fan of UHaul trailers, at all.

Penske will work, you just need to use some wood blocks to raise up for going up the ramp. Downside is you have to rent a Penske truck to tow the trailer, which is fine if you need a truck.

Zeff

I've had my stock height 951 on the Uhaul several times. The best way is to back the car onto the trailer, no issues. I didn't have an issue pulling in front ways with the stock batwing but with a splitter I needed to remove it or it would snag like what someone else posted.

dillon410021

I have used uhaul as well

lart951

I have used uhaul trailer a few times (rolf) here in CA the car has to go nose first and whether stock or not it does get stuck, I usually cut four pieces of 2x4 about 10 inches long and placed under the front tires so the batwing or front bumper wont get stuck thus breaking the fog lights, batwing and bumper.

JohnKoaWood

It was a Uhaul trailer, and yes they work just fine regardless of ride height, I have been as low as 4.5 inches and fit on a uhaul trailer just fine!

fortysixandtwo

It looks like the consensus is clear: It depends.

There are probably multiple models of trailer being used by U-haul and other rental companies as well. You may fit without issue, but be prepared to make adjustments.

ausgeflippt951

Thanks guys! Interesting comments, but I'm nevertheless very relieved. So, I'm liking the idea of loading it backwards. It seems it's been done both ways, but Lart, I noticed you mentioned specifically to do it forwards. Any reasons why?

Thanks!

Darwantae951

I had to remove my V1 splitter to mount my car forwards.

ausgeflippt951

Agreed. Fortunately, the adjustments required are certainly not deal breakers, resolvable with mere planks of wood.