Seeking advice for towing a car

[Luxus]

I intend to do some long distance towing of a car with a U-Haul auto transporter in a month. This will be my first long distance tow and I've been doing my homework by reading various manuals. The thing that got me confused is the following. Rivian says you must use a weight distribution hitch to tow anything over 5k lbs. I'm guesstimating my towed car + trailer will be 6 - 7k lbs, so I bought a WD hitch. Now I'm reading the U-Haul instructions and they say to not use a WD hitch with their auto transporter. I'm leaning to still using the WD Hitch but I guess I'm looking for thoughts from those more experienced.

Before hooking up I should set drive mode to all purpose and ride height to low, correct?

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[impulsoren]

I have not towed a U-Haul brand car trailer with a Rivian before. And I am not an avid, frequent tower. Just to get that bit of info out there.
A U-Haul car trailer I towed in the past had surge brakes, which use trailer movement to apply the brakes not electrical signals. WD hitches restrict movement of the trailer. I’d go with a regular hitch for that type of trailer, if it is what U-Haul is currently renting out.

 

[csharp]

U-hauls auto transport trailers aren't great. They have no provisions for a weight distributing hitch (the chains) and the surge brakes would interfere with that, essentially the hitch and the brakes would work against each other in a way.
Another thing to keep in mind is the tongue weight. U-hauls don't have adjustability for how far forward you can put the car. They require that the car be as far forward as possible in order to strap the tires, this means you have a ton of tongue weight. Sometimes it is possible to load the car backwards so the engine of the towed vehicle is over the axels.
TBH, I've towed across the country twice, one time i did it with a U-haul and the other time I just bought a trailer and then sold it on the other end. Buying the trailer was a much much better tow experience and much cheaper once I sold the trailer. Also, U-Haul trailers weigh like 3k lbs and a good trailer is less than half that. Just something to think about.

 

[Luxus]

I've been doing internet searches and I'm seeing what you guys are saying. The issue is the U-Haul trailers use surge brakes and WD hitches can interfere with their operation like you guys say. The chain type WD hitch in particular is the issue. Good news is there are WD hitches that will work with surge brakes. Equal-i-zer is one brand that I've seen.

 

[impulsoren]

From what I understand some of those hitches sometimes work with surge brakes, often requiring extensive setup which is fine if you own the equipment. I’d still just use a regular hitch, you might be surprised how well a Rivian tows any old trailer. Keep the speed down and it will be fine plus you will get better mileage.
and if the trailer falls apart and you are using a non-recommended hitch it will be considered your fault not u-haul’s.

 

[forestwalker]

You don't need a WDH at all for that scenario. In many cases, as long as the hitch weight isn't crazy, you don't need one period. It can help with anti-sway in any situation, but other than that, they're not typically required at all. I've pulled very large, 7k trailers without using the WDH setup just for convenience with no issues whatsoever (in R1S Gen1)

 

[Luxus]

My concern then is why Rivian says to use a WDH over 5k lbs. What are they worried about that made them make that statement.

 

[impulsoren]

My guess is would be because it is easier and safer most of the time with a wd hitch; if everyone uses one there will be fewer catastrophic towing incidents involving Rivians thus they will be considered “safer” vehicles to use for towing.
Similar to why there was a 155 mph speed limiter on my old m5, up around 200, which the vehicle could do with the limiter removed, almost every crash is a fatality and it looks bad in the safety data.

 

[cwintermeyer]

Just my $.02 and YMMV... use a WDH and a compatible trailer.

I’ve never towed with a U-Haul transporter, but I have towed an empty 20-foot MAXX-D H5X trailer with a Curt TruTrack 2P 10K WDH from Salt Lake City to San Diego, then back to Salt Lake City with a 1974 F-250 Ranger behind my Gen 1 R1S Quad.

I didn’t know anything about towing a vehicle with my Rivian before that trip so I did a shitload of research, and it didn’t take me long to decide that a WDH was the only way to go. I’ve towed in other vehicles without using a WDH, and the experience was always less than joyful, especially in bad weather and on bumpy roads.

The Rivian was in all-purpose mode and standard ride height for the entire trip. The truck, the trailer and the hitch all performed flawlessly, even through some heavy rain in California and 40+ MPH crosswinds in Nevada. Having been through the experience, I can’t imagine towing a vehicle across town - let alone across multiple states - without a WDH.

 

[cwintermeyer]

I’ve never towed with a U-Haul transporter, but I have towed an empty 20-foot MAXX-D H5X trailer with a Curt TruTrack 2P 10K WDH from Salt Lake City to San Diego, then back to Salt Lake City with a 1974 F-250 Ranger behind my Gen 1 R1S Quad.

In case you’re wondering... there’s a reason I towed an empty trailer to California to pick up the Ford. There weren’t any suitable trailers in San Diego available for a one-way rental to SLC, and I wasn’t going to shell out $8k for a new trailer and then deal with selling it after the trip. My round-trip trailer rental from SLC was just $250 including trailer insurance. Money very well spent IMHO.

 

[VSG]

I intend to do some long distance towing of a car with a U-Haul auto transporter in a month.
...
I'm guesstimating my towed car + trailer will be 6 - 7k lbs

I did a 400 mile tow with that exact configuration - U-Haul auto transporter plus sedan ~=6000 lbs
I have a Gen 1 R1T.
Normally get 2.2 miles/kWh.
When towing, 1.6 miles/kWh - about 70-75% of my normal range.
Most of those miles were on the highway, and I kept it to between 55 and 60 (in the right lane, of course) because that is what U-Haul says to do.

The towing part was a piece of cake. My R1T handled and accelerated extremely well, and I never felt unsafe towing. I did not use a WDH. One of the of the reasons to use a WDH is to even the load between the front and rear axles of your vehicle to prevent the drive wheels from lifting or the wheels doing the steering from lifting and causing loss of control. But in a static situation that is done for you by the air suspension, which will level the vehicle. And even in a dynamic situation (hit a bump etc.) my Quad has ample excess horsepower and traction control on all four wheels to compensate. I encountered no problems here - the truck drove just like nothing was attached, and the trailer wasn't swaying or pushing the truck around at all.

Just make sure you have the right drop on your hitch - you want the trailer to be level when in standard height (recommended) and you want to be sure that 10-15% of the trailer weight is on the hitch ball. Read the U-Haul instructions on loading the trailer - IMO for almost all sedans you will need to use some blocking on the pavement right before the ramp to prevent the front end from getting scraped on the trailer. I used some scrap 2x8s. The instructions show you what you need to do.

 

[RIV1]

U-hauls auto transport trailers aren't great. They have no provisions for a weight distributing hitch (the chains) and the surge brakes would interfere with that, essentially the hitch and the brakes would work against each other in a way.
Another thing to keep in mind is the tongue weight. U-hauls don't have adjustability for how far forward you can put the car. They require that the car be as far forward as possible in order to strap the tires, this means you have a ton of tongue weight. Sometimes it is possible to load the car backwards so the engine of the towed vehicle is over the axels.
TBH, I've towed across the country twice, one time i did it with a U-haul and the other time I just bought a trailer and then sold it on the other end. Buying the trailer was a much much better tow experience and much cheaper once I sold the trailer. Also, U-Haul trailers weigh like 3k lbs and a good trailer is less than half that. Just something to think about.

agree on this option…or maybe borrow a lightweight trailer. I towed a car using a lightweight trailer and I couldn’t really tell it was there.

 

[James Connolly]

I've been doing internet searches and I'm seeing what you guys are saying. The issue is the U-Haul trailers use surge brakes and WD hitches can interfere with their operation like you guys say. The chain type WD hitch in particular is the issue. Good news is there are WD hitches that will work with surge brakes. Equal-i-zer is one brand that I've seen.

I had an Equal-i-zer hitch for my boat trailer that I regularly used to haul my sailboat to and from the ocean ~50 miles twice a year with a much lighter Toyota Highlander. Then (at least) the Equal-i-zer required brackets mounted on the trailer frame to engage the anti-sway and load equalizing bars to the sides of the trailer. You'd likely need those mounted on the U-haul unless they've changed the style. If I had a 2-axle trailer, and was towing with a heavy Rivian, IMO, might not have needed sway control. IIRC, at least some rental car transport trailers are 2-axle.

 

[stormbreaker]

I did a 400 mile tow with that exact configuration - U-Haul auto transporter plus sedan ~=6000 lbs
the truck drove just like nothing was attached, and the trailer wasn't swaying or pushing the truck around at all.

My last ride was a 2002 2500HD with Duramax diesel. And this was precisely my experience towing my #3478 Camaro across the country for racing trips. This was mostly due to the weight of the truck and the length of 20 foot bri-mar car hauler I bought.

If I ever go back to racing, I would buy a new aluminum hauler in order to keep my weight down. I did not use a weight distribution hitch before, but I would certainly follow Rivian's suggestion.

If you've never hauled before, it can certainly be stressful. The bri-mar hauler was pretty wide and I remember one time where I was between jersey barriers at highway speeds, holy moly was I super focused to not brush the barriers.

One other memory was climbing over the Appalachian Mountains on my way home in the dark with driving rain. My goodness the adventures of towing.

Best of luck. Drive slow and carefully.

 

[Luxus]

Thank you all for the replies, I appreciate it. I think my plan going forward will be to rent a U-Haul trailer for a day to test things out without the WDH. Given my newness to towing and lingering questions I have, this seems like an investment worth making. Better to find out there is some issue before the big trip happens.

I did think about renting elsewhere (to get a lighter trailer) but U-Haul is the cheapest out there that I could find.

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