How to Tow Your Car

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Are you tired of going through countless websites and businesses trying desperately to get a reasonable quote to ship your vehicle? Why not tow it instead! Just in 2024 alone, more than a quarter of a million people used U-Haul vehicle towing equipment. Over the years, U-Haul has staked its claim as the premier name for vehicle towing, and transporting your vehicle is easier than you think.

Here at U-Haul, when it comes to towing, you want the best towing products for your vehicle. With over 80 years of experience in towing, we know what works best. In this article, we’ll go over what you need to tow, the types of vehicle trailers, what they can tow, what can tow those trailers, and what towing accessories you’ll need for your journey.

Let’s go over what you need to tow a vehicle.

What you’ll need:

  • A capable towing vehicle with trailer wiring
  • Hitch, pin lock, ball mount, hitch ball
  • Safety chains/safety cables
    • All U-Haul trailers are equipped with safety chains/safety cables that connect to your hitch and your vehicle.

Whenever you make a towing equipment reservation, you get a free towing inspection! This inspection is to make sure that your vehicle can tow the equipment you have reserved.

Next, let’s go over what to expect when choosing your hitch and hitch equipment.

What to know:

When making a U-Haul hitch appointment, input the year, make, and model of your vehicle. Once you have done that, a dropdown will appear with what hitches, ball mounts, hitch balls, and wiring will work with your vehicle.

After you have chosen all your options, it’s important to know what you can tow depending on your hitch rating.

IMPORTANT: When finding your hitch rating, the lowest weight number on your hitch, ball mount, or hitch ball is the maximum amount of weight you can tow.

You’ll need to know the height of your hitch receiver tube on your hitch receiver once it is installed, as it will impact what ball mount you need to tow your vehicle.

IMPORTANT: All U-Haul trailers have a coupler height of 18-19 in., making it easier for you to choose the right ball mount for your vehicle.

Now that you have the right tow wiring, hitch, ball mount, and hitch ball, or one of the trucks in the U-Haul lineup, you’re ready to tow! Next, we’ll go over what U-Haul vehicle towing equipment is right for you.

Three different types of U-Haul towing equipment can tow vehicles in the U-Haul trailer and towing family, with their requirements and specifications for what they can tow.

In these tables, you’ll see every piece of U-Haul vehicle towing equipment and every U-Haul vehicle that can tow.

U-Haul Towing Equipment

Empty Weight

Max Load

Gross Trailer Weight

Tow Dolly

740 lbs.

4,080 lbs.

4,820 lbs.

Auto Transport

2,210 lbs.

5,290 lbs.

7,500 lbs.

Toy Hauler

3,155 lbs.

6,845 lbs.

10,000 lbs.

U-Haul Truck

U-Haul Vehicles

Max Tow

8-ft Pickup Truck

10-ft U-Haul Box Truck

6,000 lbs.

20ft U-Haul Supermover

7,500 lbs.

15ft U-Haul Supermover

26ft U-Haul Supermover

10,000 lbs.

You can also validate your towing combination before making your reservation through uhaul.com or by calling 1-800-GO-UHAUL to confirm that your hook-up combination is recommended.

Now, we’ll go over each piece of U-Haul vehicle towing equipment:

The Tow Dolly:

Looking to save money, make tighter turns, and have a more flexible tow? The Tow Dolly is what you need. Being the baby of the bunch, the Tow Dolly handles vehicle towing with ease and is great for local or one-way moves. With a max load of 4,080 pounds, the Tow Dolly is designed for front-wheel drive cars, including compacts, sedans, small SUVs, and crossovers.

Another pro of the Tow Dolly? It can be towed using a Class Two, Three, and Four frame hitch, meaning more vehicles can tow your car safely. Due to only the front wheels being on the Tow Dolly, the overall wheelbase of whatever you are towing will be shorter and easier to maneuver than a car carrier. More weight is also taken off the towing vehicle, making it easier to tow.

IMPORTANT: If you plan on towing a car that is rear-wheel, all-wheel, or four-wheel drive with the Tow Dolly, the driveshaft must be disconnected from the transmission and secured to another part of the vehicle.

Loading Your Car onto the Tow Dolly:

Loading a car onto the Tow Dolly is simple and only takes around five minutes to complete.

This video goes over everything you need to make sure that you are loading your vehicle correctly: How to load your car on a U-Haul Tow Dolly.

Loading a car with low clearance onto the Tow Dolly? This is the right video for you: Tow Dolly: Low Clearance Loading.

Need more information? This article and the complete user instructions include more information on loading, driving, unloading, and safety tips for the Tow Dolly.

For unloading the Tow Dolly, use the same steps when loading but backwards.

Being a part of the U-Haul lineup since 1982, for more than 40 years, the Tow Dolly has been reliably towing vehicles all over the country!

Do you need a reliable Tow Dolly for convenience, car shows, project cars, and all your towing needs? The Tow Dolly is available for purchase from U-Haul. Another bonus? Due to the small size of the Tow Dolly, storage is easy and takes up less space than a car carrier.

The Auto Transport:

Need something that tows larger vehicles, elevates the car completely off the ground, and can tow all types of driving? The Auto Transport is what you want! Since 1983, Auto Transport has been the premier, lightweight, durable, and reliable car carrier. The Auto Transport has a max load of 5,290 lbs. and was designed to carry vehicles larger than the Tow Dolly and for RWD and AWD vehicles where disabling the driveshaft is difficult or not an option.

The Auto Transport also allows for backing up because the vehicle’s wheels are off the ground.

Before you reserve the Auto Transport, the online U-Haul hitch system will make sure that your vehicle and hitch system are able to tow the Auto Transport. Your vehicle must be able to tow a bare minimum of 6,000 lbs. Be sure to check the vehicle’s weight before loading it onto the Auto Transport to ensure a safe trip.

Loading Your Car onto the Auto Transport:

Just like the Tow Dolly, the Auto Transport is easy to load and takes less than 15 minutes to complete.

  • Start with the Auto Transport and tow vehicle on level ground with the tow vehicle in park and the parking brake on.
  • Connect the Auto Transport to the tow vehicle. Making sure all components are connected
  • Once connected, lay down the ratchet straps towards the back of the Auto Transport.
  • Pull down the driver’s side fender on the Auto Transport.
  • Pull out the loading ramps.
  • Drive your car completely onto the Auto Transport, ensuring your wheels are up against the front of the trailer.
  • Loading any U-Haul towing equipment should always be done by two people. One acts as a guide, and one drives the vehicle onto the equipment.
    • As the guide, never stand between a tow vehicle and U-Haul vehicle towing equipment; always stand to the side with a clear view and make sure the vehicle being towed has enough clearance.
  • Wrap the steering wheel with the seatbelt, buckle the seatbelt, and pull the seat back.
  • Exit the vehicle and use the provided ratchet straps to secure your car.
  • Loop the safety chain around a frame component and put the rubber retainer to secure the “S” hook, leaving about six inches of slack.
  • Push the loading ramps back into the Auto Transport.

This article here and the complete user instructions also have great, detailed information on the Auto Transport.

For both the Auto Transport and Tow Dolly, you will need to secure both front tires using the provided ratchet straps. If your tires are too large for the ratchet straps on the vehicle equipment, then you will need oversized tire straps.

When loading your vehicle onto the Auto Transport, always make sure that your vehicle has enough clearance on the front, center, and rear of the vehicle so that no damage occurs. If you want to tow your low-clearance car onto the Auto Transport, U-Haul has you covered.

For unloading, follow the same steps as loading, but in reverse.

The Toy Hauler:

Meet the new Toy Hauler, the newest trailer in the U-Haul lineup. The Toy Hauler comes with some added features such as drive-over fenders, a track width up to eight feet (96 inches), three eight-foot loading ramps, meaning three-wheel vehicles can be loaded, and is nearly four feet longer than the Auto Transport! The Toy Hauler is designed for large SUVs, Trucks, side-by-sides, ATVs, and four-wheelers.

This 16ft flatbed utility trailer has multiple “D” ring tiedowns and two security chains to secure your vehicle, giving you more flexibility when it comes to towing your car. The Toy Hauler is also the largest utility trailer U-Haul offers.

Loading Your Car onto the Toy Hauler:

Unlike the Auto Transport and Tow Dolly, the Toy Hauler is a trailer designed to tailor to your individual needs. This is why, rather than providing ratchet straps already attached to the trailer, the Toy Hauler uses “D” ring tie-down points for your own straps, so that you are not hindered as to where you load your cargo.

U-Haul wants you to have the smoothest experience when towing your vehicle; that’s why there is a complete video collection of connecting, loading, unloading, and disconnecting the Toy Hauler.

If you need any more information regarding the Toy Hauler, you can find it in the complete user instructions.

Safety:

Whenever you tow a vehicle, safety is the name of the game, and here at U-Haul, your safety is our number one priority. This is why U-Haul has put together a complete playlist on how to tow a trailer safely. All U-Haul towing equipment also has a complete set of user instructions, and you can request a U-Haul representative to assist you in unloading and loading the vehicle towing equipment/vehicle.

For long road trips with overnight parking lots, combating theft, or leaving your trailer unattended for long periods of time, it is important to secure your trailer with locking pins. Locking pins provide security for two different points of vulnerability on your hitch receiver and coupler when towing. They are a great way to secure your ball mount and towing coupler because only you have the key.

Here are some safety tips that can be applied to all U-Haul vehicle towing equipment.

ALWAYS, when loading a vehicle, make sure the tow vehicle and towing equipment are on flat, level ground.

Anytime you are loading a vehicle onto U-Haul vehicle equipment, it is REQUIRED to be a two-person job. One person drives the vehicle onto the trailer, and another guides the driver where to go. Always, when guiding a vehicle onto U-Haul vehicle equipment, DO NOT stand between the tow vehicle and the vehicle being towed.

After loading a vehicle onto the Tow Dolly, Auto Transport, or the Toy Hauler, wrap the seat belt around the steering wheel and secure the seatbelt into the buckle and pull the seat back so the seat belt is tight, ensuring the steering wheel DOES NOT move the wheels.

When loading a vehicle onto the Tow Dolly, Auto Transport, or the Toy Hauler, ALWAYS make sure the towing vehicle is in park and the parking brake is on.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE that the coupler is secured to the towing vehicle with safety chains, emergency brake chain, and trailer wiring is connected securely.

After loading the Auto Transport or Toy Hauler, MAKE SURE the vehicle being towed is in park and the parking brake is on.

DO NOT load additional cargo into the vehicle that is being towed; this changes the vehicle’s weight and impacts safety and tow ratings.

ALWAYS make sure the vehicle is secure using straps around the wheels for the Tow Dolly and Auto Transport. For the Toy Hauler, make sure the vehicle is tied down with ratchet straps on at least four strong points on the vehicle (through wheels or any part of the vehicle frame). For all towing equipment, secure the safety chain provided to any part of the vehicle frame.

After loading your car onto the U-Haul vehicle equipment, MAKE SURE the loading ramps are properly loaded back into the vehicle equipment and are secure.

DO NOT EXCEED the posted speed limit on U-Haul vehicles and U-Haul vehicle towing equipment.

Before you start towing your vehicle, ALWAYS MAKE SURE your vehicle is secured. After one mile of driving, check it again, then check after 50 miles. After that, check every time you stop.

If you have any issues during your journey, U-Haul is here to help. Feel free to walk into any U-Haul location and get assistance with your tow, go to uhaul.com/help, or call U-Haul Roadside Assistance at 1-800-528-0335, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Ready to start towing? With U-Haul's vehicle towing equipment, you can save money and transport your vehicle safely and affordably. Say goodbye to high shipping costs and hello to peace of mind!

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