Gotta move #2 son from soutern MN to near Sacramento. Planning to rent a trailer to haul behind my 2001 Honda Odyssey van. Don’t know the curb weight of the van offhand, but it’s big, wide, has got a class III hitch, and is mechanially rated for 3500lb, though it doesn’t have the tranny cooler so is supposedly limited to 2000lb. However, will be sticking to interstates and traveling in Feb, so keeping the tranny cool shouldn’t be a major issue.
Will likely choose between these two trailers:
http://www.uhaul.com/guide/?equipment=trailer5x8
http://www.uhaul.com/guide/?equipment=trailer5x10
Either one should be sufficient for the amount of furniture & junk (roughly 1 bedroom’s worth).
The 5×10 is lower and has the dual axles, so it should be more stable, but it weighs about 350 lb more. I anticipate that the trailer load will be under 1000lb. The 5×10 is worse at head-bumping, but we only load/unload once, so that’s not a biggie. (Rented a 5×10 a couple of months back and had no real trouble loading in spite of the height.)
So can some of you guys who have towed trailers a lot tell me which would be the best choice here? (The money difference is fairly minor and not an issue.) I’ve towed trailers a few hundred miles at a time, but never 2000, and they were usually lighter/smaller ones. Also, what would you consider the top safe speed for this combo to be?
Replies
Get the 5X10...... brakes alone are enough of an argument to choose this one. Combine the brakes with the fact that it is tandem axle and I'm certainly sold. The brakes will save the brakes in your van (and maybe your life) and the tandem axle will give you much less "sway" and less bumpity bumpin' down the road, all of which makes for a more comfortable and safer trip. I'd keep it around 45mph.
Dan your last question first!
without a tranny cooler it is critical that you accerate slowly. Gentle, no sudden bursts of speed! DO NOT EVER CONSIDER DRIVING TRU RUSH HOUR ANYPLACE!
Top speed is whatever you feel comfortable, you'll naturally go faster downhill than up hill . Try not to fight it (I'm talking here about interstate travel) too much.
I would take the single axle unit! tandem axles naturally want to travel in a straight line and in windy or curving roads can really add to your driving challenge. There is less drag with a single axle so the effective load is less.. but balance gets more critical. Try for about 60 percent of the weight ahead of the trailer axle and 40 percent behind.. Too front heavy and the tow vehicle steer tires will be lifted into the air, too back heavy and you'll get a lot of trailer induced whip.. a few points to remember, if your the kind of person that has everything organized up front you'll naturally tend to have more weight in the front, whereas if you leave everything to the last minute then the back of the trailer will carry the most weight.. I would load the trailer un hitched, that way when you are finished a big fat guy should be able to stand on the rear bumper of the trailer and just about lift the tongue of the ground. that is good balance!
Hmmm ... Can we go for a little bit more of a consensus? Anyone else want to chime in?
I'm with dp. Working brakes make pulling a trailer a much more pleasant experience. Frenchy is probably right about the tandem axle tracking straighter, but on the interstate, that's a plus, not a minus.
Dan,
I've probably got more miles towing trailers than most of you have miles.. I've built my own trailers and even for a while had a business selling trailers I designed and built myself..
I will say that if you count on the brakes on a rental trailer to be worth squat then you are bound for disapointment.. If as I've seen often one side stops while the other coasts, you'll wish you hadn't any brakes..
I regularly used to tow heavy across country trailers without any brakes and if you aren't a empty head moroon you won't have problems.. Single axle trailers tow eaiser and if properly loaded tow just as straight as tandem axle trailers..
But,....
If you want something else then please use that, why in Gods name would you take the advice of a stranger if you doubt the soundness of the advice..
This really isn't something that should be decided on a consenses.. Go with your gut..
If you are recommending pulling a trailer that size, with no brakes, on a front wheel drive van, down mountian passes, in February, I will personally nominate uyou for empty headed moron of the month. At the very least, you'll put him in the hospital with ulcers and quaasi-heart attacks, panic attacks. This should eb a pleasant family drive,not an epic survival adventure
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffan,
Please don't take that tone with me, as I said, "if he wants to tow something else fine, then he should."
I don't know what your experiance has been but I've towed that section of freeway without drama for decades.. I'm trying to remember just how many times I've towed my single axle trailer with my little S10 to and from California. Back when I was actively racing it was several times a year.. I raced from 1969 thru 1990 so I'd guess at least 60 times, although to be fair since 1985 I did it with a tandem axle trailer.. I did that because the race car would get too dirty going across country on the open single axle trailer.. The only incident that I can recall was back in 1969 travelling at 105 MPH an old recap blew out and slightly bent the rim of my trailer tire (oh and knocked off the fender but since I carried a welder in the trailer it was just a few minutes work to put the fender back on and rewire the tailites. )
Panic attacks? ulcers? just going down the road? Man you're stressed out!
Sorry 'bout the tone, but I have pulled at least as much freight as you in trailers and probably more on mountain passes. I lived in Grand County, Colorado and hauled tend thousand pound loads over both passes regularly. I saw dozens of "mishaps" from poorly equiped setups and lack of proper brakes. I have damn good reason for the opinion I hold.As for your opinion, it is simiilar to some of your opinions on building. It is based on your own personal experience and the fact that you are a superior kind of individual, very adept, intelligent, and physically capable. Your experience, alertness and finely tuned athletic capabilities combined with the fact that you live in an are where fine woods are widely available allow you to build as you do. But that leads you to assume everyone can do the same when it is less than true for the great majority of the population. Likewise, I have no doubt that you are capable of towing the package you mention, but that does not make it wise or safe to recommend the same to a less experienced individual. I consider someone feeling the need to ask advice here to be less than fully confident in his own abilities and looking for the best rig to go.I could do the same here with my roofing advice that you do. I am the same kind of a "superior being" when it comes to installing many kinds of roof products, based on my 20-30 years on those pitches keeping people dry. But I always think of the reciopient, their conditions, and experience and climate beore dispensing advice, trying to render the best advice I can for them, in their situation rather than exactly what I would do if I were performing the task.There was one good point in your advice i found. That one should not assume that a rented trailer would have WORKING BRAKES Good idea to test them before leaving on thee trip. Not a good idea to throw them away though.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Frenchy,
Myself I would take the tandem. Simply cos it can absorb more 'idiot factor' with loading balance and weight.
My single axle trailer can take almost 1 1/2 tons. But towing it with that weight on gives me the geebies at anything above a crawl. It will swing side to side and scare the crap outa me. A tandem will at least track straight and do so at higher speeds.
I had a long and very heavy load on one day. Was driving slower than a lil ol lady. The yoyoing of the load/trailer combo bent my towball downwards. Hafta get it straightened and made tougher now. A tandem wont yoyo nearly so much.
So, not arguing with you one bit, in fact I mostly agree, just tandems seem to cope better with the extremes.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
A single axle trailer can and will tow fine if it is properly built and balanced..
Here's how to check quickly if it's properly built.
take a tight chaulk line (Note the use of carpenters tools here instead of just a piece of string) and pulling it tight so that the front of the string just kisses the front of the trailer tire and the rear of the string just kisses the rear of the trailer tire.
Now carefully measure the exact distance to center of the trailer hitch ball..
then go to the other side of the trailer and do the same thing.. I do one additional thing in that I compare the distance from the front of the string to the back of the string across the width of the trailer.. perfect trailers should have the same dimension.. some toe in (an 1/8 of an inch or less is acceptable) but any toe out will cause the trailer to whip and sway.
check for load by the fat guy method, a fat guy should be able to pick the hitch up if he stands on the back of the trailer, check for side to side balance by measuring from the frame to the ground, 1/4 of an inch or less differance is what to shoot for. 1/2 inch and you should be very carefull, extremely carefull!!! Anymore reload.
I would regularly tow single axle trailers weighing well over 5000 pounds to race tracks around the country at freeway (and a little ) speeds. I did have a blow out on a single axle trailer when my old Buick got my race car trailer up to 105 mph. towing across the salt flats.. I should have expected that those cheap old $11.00 recaps couldn't handle all that weight and speed but other than a slightly bent rim on the trailer wheel no damage was done.. I was able to press the rim back straight with the aid of the press at the station where I bought the replacement tire..
take a tight chaulk line (Note the use of carpenters tools here instead of just a piece of string) and pulling it tight so that the front of the string just kisses the front of the trailer tire and the rear of the string just kisses the rear of the trailer tire.
Now carefully measure the exact distance to center of the trailer hitch ball..
then go to the other side of the trailer and do the same thing.. I do one additional thing in that I compare the distance from the front of the string to the back of the string across the width of the trailer.. perfect trailers should have the same dimension.. some toe in (an 1/8 of an inch or less is acceptable) but any toe out will cause the trailer to whip and sway.
Dude, I might be a bit dim today, but I dont quite understand what the section above means.
With the front of the string ( or chalk line ;) ) touching the front of the tire and the rear of the string touching the rear of the tire.........doya mean front of tire on one side and rear on the opposite side of the trailer?
The fella who built mine made it so it was 'back heavy' so it didnt ride the towball. A fat bloke standing on mine would get dumped on his arse. LOL
I agree with this in theory however it makes for a very very light front end when carting a long load. I am going to get the axle taken off and relocated further back. I would prefer it the other way to this. Plus a long load makes the sucker whip. Scares the hell outa me I can tell ya.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
Edited 1/10/2005 7:25 pm ET by AJinNZ
I concur with DP. I'm guessing you'll be driving I-80. There are long, steep grades in Utah, Nevada and California. The kind that have spots set aside for trucks to cool their brakes and runaway truck ramps. Go for a trailer with brakes! Curves are mostly gentle (semi's and buses have to get around them, after all!).
Keep an ear out for weather reports. Major storms hit in February, too. The interstates are sometimes closed. For example, my sister-in-law just spent 17 hours going from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe for New Years (that's about 14 hours longer than normal). You don't want to be trapped on the road waiting for the Highway Patrol to open it. Even worse is being trapped going up an incline and trying to get going on a road covered with sheet ice.
Watch out for Utah drivers!
I see you're from MN so your vehicle probably has winter tires, and you're probably a great winter driver. Nonetheless, going over and down some of the mountain passes during bad weather is generally not a good idea, esp. with a trailer. With your MN plates, be prepared to endure the contempt of experienced mountain drivers. Some of the climbs and downclimbs are 20 to 30 miles of steepish grades. I-80 at Donner Pass-Truckee is sometimes closed to all vehicles except those with snow-rated tires (M&S on sidewall) or that have tire chains.
I don't know what the California DOT requirements are for trailer tires.... Check their website, it is excellent. I'd even check the WY-UT-NV sites prior to heading out through the mountains. If you have good snow traction on your van and poor traction on the trailer, and you have to decelerate quickly, chances are the trailer will overtake your van...
If you need to, you can buy excellent V-bar chains at the Union76 in Truckee, at the bottom of the big hill on I-80. They do a great fitting job too. My van is rock solid in all conditions with those on.
It would be cool if you could post some pics of your and your son's 'go West young man' trek while you're on the road. Outside stuff, truck-stop shots, breakfast in America scenes, whatever. Have fun.
It's too bad you don't have a slightly more appropriate tow vehicle.
>>It's too bad you don't have a slightly more appropriate tow vehicle.
I was waiting for someone to say that..............
Dan H., I can't imagine why anyone would subject a vehicle like the one you have to that kind of abuse.
Get a moving van, tow or drive the Honda.
Eric
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
Ive trailered livestock (horses and cattle) in the mountains of California and I wouldn't dream of trying to haul a load without trailer brakes, a tranny cooler, and a brake controller. Even with all that, it still takes some practice to stay in control on a downhill run. (The controller needs to engage the trailer brakes first or you may find yourself swapping ends.)
Do yourself (and your van) a favor and rent a truck instead of a trailer. Your van will probably do ok until you hit western Wyoming and start getting into some mountains. The climb out of Reno to Donner pass is a bear and that trip down the western slope of the Sierras ranks with any thrill ride you've ever been on. - lol It's spooky in the summer and positively frightening if it's raining or snowing on I-80.
I would rent a truck or van, one way. Rent a car for the return trip. They will hold more and you won't be beating your own vehicle. You won't have to worry about backing up with a trailer or trying to fit in small areas.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Finished the trip.
To rehash, towed a U-Haul 5x10 trailer from southern Minnesota to the Sacramento CA area. The basic route was US14 to I35 to I80, though on the way back (sans trailer) we stopped through Denver (I25 & I76) to see my SIL.
The tow vehicle was a 2001 Honda Odyssey van, 3.5L V6 engine, 4-speed auto tranny, class 3 hitch.
Basically had no problems. Held speed to 70MPH for the most part when towing the trailer, which the van had no trouble maintaining on the flat or slight upgrade. A couple of times going through Donner pass got down to about 40MPH. Generally let the tranny shift for itself, though a couple of times on an uphill I shifted down to D3 to keep it from "seeking", and several times used D3 and briefly 2 on the downhills.
The van did noticeably (when towing) lose power above about 7300 feet, but never faltered. Didn't notice any power loss going back the other way.
I have to really complement the Honda electronic tranny. It seemed to adjust to the extra load, hills, high-altitude power loss, etc without any trouble.
Spend about 45 minutes on a spreadsheet (always have to retrain, since I use one so rarely -- was 15 minutes worth of work) and came up with these numbers:
Total distance: 4360 (About 2050 out, 2250 back, and some driving around in-between)
Total gallons: 209.4
Average MPG: 20.92
MPG with trailer: 17.85
MPG without trailer: 24.74
Worst MPG (with trailer): 15.48 in eastern WY (headed west)
Best MPG (without trailer): 27.71 in western NE (headed east)
Highest price for gas: 2.199 in Elko NV
Lowest price for gas: 1.779 in Rancho Cordova CA (though I did see 1.66 at one spot in WY, when my tank was already full)
The trailer never gave me any problems. It didn't let you forget it was back there, but the vehicle was never unstable. (We didn't have to contend with much wind, however.) It did make the ride a lot rougher, though, and going up Donner pass, where we had to ride in the rutted truck lane, it darn near shook my fillings loose. However, it was infinitely more comfortable than any rental truck I've ever ridden in.
We lucked out on the weather. The storm that blew across the country this past week didn't hit CA until Monday (we arrived the previous Thursday), and we delayed our return a day (until Tuesday) to avoid it. Had we left Monday we would have been slogging through snow for the first day and a half. As it was we just had to contend with a little more snow in the parking lots.
Dan,
Thanks for updating us. Glad it went so well!
Formerly just 'Don' but not the 'Glassmaster Don' or the lower-case 'don'.
Glad to see you had an easy time of it - trips like these in winter can feel like rounding the cape in Patagonia.
Also nice that Honda puts together such a versatile product - I've driven a few Hondas and love the engineering. Thanks for the report.
Send boy # 2 a check and let him rent a little box truck and let him move . Be a good experience for him. Let him drive it back as they are cheaper round trip than one way. Leaves you in the recliner. Youre gonna spend more than that on eats and motel bills. You dont really have the rig to do anyway.
Tim Mooney
Edited 2/12/2005 11:50 pm ET by TIMMOONEY52