Trailering my 911

[Steve87-911]

I am going to be moving from Santa Barbara area to the Seattle area in about a month. I plan to trailer my 911 behind my 2002 Pathfinder, which has 5000 lbs towing capacity. A U-haul car trailer weighs about 2000 lbs and my Carrera weighs ~2765 lbs. (I'll be sure to use up most of the gas before I trailer it.)

If you were doing the same would you think putting a bra on the car should be sufficient, or are there car covers available that will stay on during transit?

Also, does anyone know of where I can rent a lighter trailer?

(I don't want to use a car dolly for such a long haul.)

[DW SD]

I wouldn't use a cover. The flapping action combined with any dirt could ruin your finish in a hurry. I'd almost think the same thing about the bra. I've rented nice equipment from uhaul and penske. Uhaul has complete trailers and dollys, likely Penske has the same.

Doug

[David]

The weight should be OK. Your truck will block most of the road debris so a cover may not be needed. U-haul has notoriously bad maintenance. I'd look for Penske, Budget, or some other brand trailer.

[Randy Blaylock]

Check this out;

http://www.towtector.com/

[DW SD]

I did get a brand new trailer from U-Haul. If you call a local one, just ask how new their trailers are. They are more of a crap shoot than the others, aboslutely.
Twotector looks VERY cool! good find!

Good luck,

Doug

[vntgspd]

If you go with U-haul, I'd recommend a trial fit before you plan to load it up and hit the road. The U-haul trailers have deep "channels" that the tires sit in and therefore these trailers aren't very kind to the underside of low cars.

A bit of a PITA, but consider buying a used trailer and then getting rid of it when you get there. Trailers have excellent resale value, especially simple open trailers that can be used for hauling, bikes, etc.

Good Luck!

[Steve87-911]

Wow. You guys are great...as usual.

[makotosun]

Make sure when you load it on, before you open the door to get out, that it will clear the fender. Some of the trailers actually let the fender flop down to allow it to open.

I trailered my wife's 92 325 convertible on a U-haul behind one of their mid-sized trucks from San Diego to the Portland area. That's how I know about the clearance issue. I believe the Porsche sits even lower.

Another tip, for a nicer drive, skip the I-5 and go over to 395 up through Nevada and California, then over to 97 at Klamath Falls, then up 97. Towing a trailer, you won't be able to go much faster on the interstate anyway, and the trip is far more enjoyable. Done this a couple of times, and done I-5 (as well as 99 and 101) and with a trailer, I would take 395 hands down.

Just a suggestion.

Welcome to the PNW - bring a raincoat

[juanbenae]

i have recently found a kentworth mud flap in a rest area and will be cutting it in half to mount on my truck for towing of my 911. i will be mounting them temporary so they can be removed (no redneck flaps from this liberal) when not towing.

does not imagine this helps, but its my story.

[Grady Clay]

Has anyone some links about towing procedure, safety, driving a tow truck, etc?

Here are some Pelican about tying a 911 to the trailer.

tie-down experience
and
Best way to tie a 911 to a trailer

Best,
Grady

[911SCcdn]

I did a cross country trip last fall ...Ottawa to Seattle to Ottawa Canada....10000Km total trip . I picked up the Uhaul in Seattle..made sure that I got a new one. I also brought a couple of 2X6 boards about 2 feet long to drive the front wheels on, to provide enough clearance for the front end. You want the front of the car to the very front of the trailer. You will also need the boards to get the car up the ramps safely without scraping.

The trip went went. Tow vehicle was a 4.7l Cherokee with towing package. The car was a very lowered 911T.

I would agree..and not cover the car...it will probably do more damage in the long run.

Good luck...take your time ...and have fun.

Andy
70 911T
81 SC

[makotosun]

One more thing - it would be best from a stability point of view to BACK the Porsche onto the trailer. You want a bit of a tounge heavy load, and that is the safest way to do that.

I had a really scary situation many years ago with a VW bus loaded on a tandem car trailer, engine to the rear. It can cause SEVERE trailer sway.

Generally, it will be easier to back the car on, as it is often not as low in the rear as the front from the approach angle.

I would have posted this sooner, but the previous note about putting the car as far forward jolted my memories.

[Steve87-911]

After doing a cost and safety comparison, I've decided to ship the car.

A u-haul car trailer for this trip is about $526. If I use "The Car Carrier" transport service, it's about $890 including insurance and all and it will get there in 4 days, door to door.

This way I need not worry about dragging all this weight over the mountains, chugging along in the slow lane, getting lousy gas mileage, and the associated safety risks considering my wife and kids will be in the Pathfinder with me. So for about $360 more, this seems the safest way to go. Just thought I'd share this for anyone considering something similar.

[jimi_c]

Just a heads up - I had a UHAUL Tire come off on Rabbit Ears pass in CO, not go flat - come off. As it passed me in the left lane I couldn't help but think that I'd have been better off renting from someone else.

[real550A]

Definitely load rear engined cars tail forward on a car trailer, unless the load is accompanied by other ballast forward.
Tongue weight should be about 10% of load weight.

[vash]

smart steve. ship the car. i have towed with a light vehicle before, heavier than yours (full sized 80's bronco) and with a lighther load. 3 atv's. that almost cost us, we were going along when for no reason the trailer came around and we spun down the freeway. no damage, cept to our underwear. beside, Uhaul makes you jump thru a bunch of hoops to rent a trailer WITHOUT one of their trucks. i think your shortwheel base would make it sketchy.

[Britain Smith]

Originally posted by jimi_c
Just a heads up - I had a UHAUL Tire come off on Rabbit Ears pass in CO, not go flat - come off. As it passed me in the left lane I couldn't help but think that I'd have been better off renting from someone else.

I looked around for another place to rent trailers without renting a truck also and I came up empty. Any ideas?

-Britain

[vntgspd]

There is a place in SoCal called Big Tex. They are a trailer mfg but this location does distribution and service only. However, they have a small fleet of rental trailers that are quite reasonably priced.

I don't know if anything near Milpitas but maybe there is a dealer or service center in your area that has rentals even if they are not advertising???

David