Hello all,

I'm looking for some advice on renting a Uhaul cargo trailer. I'll be hauling some furniture from Minneapolis to Denver next month. It's roughly a 920 mile trip. I likely don't need a 6 x 12 trailer to fit everything, but I'm drawn to the safety of a tandem axle trailer that less prone to sway, has extra tires to support the trailer in case of a blowout, etc. The next option would be a typical 5x8 single axle trailer.

I've towed before, but still not an expert. Just want to make sure I'm staying as safe as possible with my equipment, and then obviously relying on slow speeds and careful driving.

Would appreciate any advice as I make my decision. Thank you.

 

Ok. What is the question?

Hitch, load, go.

They won’t rent you a trailer they feel the truck can’t handle.

 

Go for the 6 x 12 enclosed trailer. You'll find trailers often are smaller than they look--and the room gets used.

 

Figure out what you need and pick the right size. 6x12 is 1,000 pounds heavier. You don't want that weight if you don't need the space. 208cu inches vs 396. But you can only tow 680 more pounds in it.

 

All U-Haul trailers are fine for an F-150...

 

What % of space used will the 5x8 be? If your over 85% full i would go with the 6x12. When your loading there is always stuff that comes up that needs to go.

As far as weight sounds like your moving a small amount of furniture so shouldn't be too heavy for a single axel.

 

I rented a 6x12 to move a kid 500 miles a couple months ago. You will have zero problems, just have assistance when backing up. I kept it under 70 mph, and one last thing, check the tire pressure cold. Low tires are #1 reason for blow outs, and I had one extra low tire. When in doubt, air them up to the max on the sidewall. Uhaul recommends a ball height of 18", I'd encourage you to be pretty close to that for a good towing experience. Good luck, tie the contents a little in the trailer so that weight does not shift around, and put the heavier items in front.

 

I rented a 6x12 about a month ago. No issues at all.

Only thing I did was leave it hooked up once it was hooked up. I tow boats all the time so it wasn't the hooking/unhooking process....it's the fact that uhaul trailers do not have a tongue jack, and they are heavy, even when empty.

 

Yeah, I found this out in August when moving my son to grad school. Not easy to get the trailer up onto the ball of the hitch!

The 6x12s pull very nice and unless you're grossly overloading the trailer, you should be fine. The only thing I don't like about UHaul trailers are the surge brakes, but that's about all you'll find on rental trailers.

 

Literally walk around the uhaul trailer and inspect it yourself, don't just assume they do. Check the air pressure in the trailer tires, check the tread wear for worn or uneven wearing, check all the lights and most importantly it has surged brakes on the 6x12. Check the level of brake fluid on the trailer and soon as you leave with the empty trailer on dirt , gravel or even pavement hit your brakes and make sure the trailer brakes lockup .
Also with a surge brake, backing up on level ground or especially on a slight hill that pushes the trailer by gravity towards your truck sometimes engages the surge brakes and makes it impossible to back up ( 0nly on a hill with the trailer higher than the truck facing down hill).
Both the 6x12 and 5x8s are well maintained. Skip on the 5x10s. They tend to be really old and tend to be used only for local use.