Towed a car from California

az'03Silverado · February 14, 2005

I just towed a U-haul Auto Transporter with a 1976 VW Bus (stop laughing) from San Diego to Phoenix yesterday. I'll say that the 4.8 worked really well. I kept it in '3rd' with tow-haul engaged. It pulled the hills really well and cruised along at 65 just fine at 2500rpm. I was kind of worried because everyone says the 4.8 is weak but it did just fine. The temp guage stayed nailed in place and I even got fairly good milage, about 13-14. Not bad for a roughly 4000lb trailer and hilly roads.

lrymal · February 14, 2005

You did well........... Your statement about it performing well on hills is encouraging. Moving now to the "toy" mode:

Imagine getting a stripped-down, standard-transmission 4.8 step-side GM truck, putting in a supercharger, beefing up the rear end and transmission a bit. SWEEEET! There ain't no standard-transmission options for the 5.3. sniff...

Ah, ok. Didn't mean to track from the original intent of the message.

Taaaaaaahoe? · February 14, 2005

I woul;d have been MOST worried about the u-haul trailer than ANYTHING, their equipment is a mess...all of it... I hate U-HA UL!

Scyry · February 14, 2005

I woul;d have been MOST worried about the u-haul trailer than ANYTHING, their equipment is a mess...all of it... I hate U-HA UL!

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Penske is cheaper too, and better equipment.

MS3DALE · February 14, 2005

I want to hear about this '76 VW Bus,I think there kinda' neat

Bgdsub72 · February 14, 2005

I woul;d have been MOST worried about the u-haul trailer than ANYTHING, their equipment is a mess...all of it... I hate U-HA UL!

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same here. I cant tell you how many times I rent an A/T from u-haul and they have missing or broken straps or chains. On my old truck the guy at the rental place forgot to tighten the trailer down on the ball hitch and well, when we tried to load the car on there well.....I am sure you can see what happened....then I went back there and asked for thier insurance info. Long story short, never trust anyone when it comes to your truck and towing, from now on I always double check that everything is secured...

1st new GMC · February 14, 2005

I want to hear about this '76 VW Bus,I think there kinda' neat

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PICS of the 'Dub!! 'Dubs rule. I'm hooked on the A2 Jetta and Golfs.

az'03Silverado · February 15, 2005

I want to hear about this '76 VW Bus,I think there kinda' neat

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PICS of the 'Dub!! 'Dubs rule. I'm hooked on the A2 Jetta and Golfs.

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Ok, pay attention, this gets confusing. 10 years ago when I was a senior in high school, I bought a '74 VW bus because I always wanted one and found one cheap. But, when I started college, and a better job, I used it as a trade-in (never do this) for my '98 s-10 because I needed something more reliable that could do 100 mile days without breaking. Somehow, being young and un-savvy, I didn't send in the 'sold notice' to the DMV and the title never transferred. The bus was supposed to be recycled but got bought and subsequently abandoned. 3 years later I got a letter from the state of Utah telling me that my bus was impounded and requesting that I do something about it. I didn't really have to but I decided to go up there and fetch it and restore it now that I have a truck. But, it was always beat up and needed about $6000 in body work so I decided to look for a late-model bus with a straight body to paint and transfer my motor and trans to. I got to looking on the internet and found a guy in Oceanside CA with this '76 and got it for $300. Straight body and no rust-through. It also has a lot of other parts that my '74 is missing (middle seat, door handles, good dash-board) I actually got my money's worth without the body! I'll try to get pics for all who are interested.

az'03Silverado · February 15, 2005

Oh, another side-note. I did this all in the pouring rainstorm the Southwest had this last weekend.

As for the trailer, the only problem I had with U-haul is that, like always, it took like 30 minutes to get out of that place. They're so slow! Also, when I pulled in I still had my 2 5/16" ball on my ball mount and needed to change to the 2". Very easy with Reese's new hex-flange system. I have the big wrench that makes the change very slick. But, the guy hitching up the trailer came up with this huge set of Channelocks to hold the ball. I almost tackled him! Luckily I stopped him before he chewed up my brand-new 2" ball with the pliers.

az'03Silverado · February 15, 2005

Oh, and driving in the heavy rain killed the high note of my horn. My truck sounds like a f***ing Saturn. I guess I'll have to get that fixed.

1st new GMC · February 16, 2005

I had the kid behind the counter at the U-Haul tell me my 1/2 ton wasn't capable of safely pulling the Auto-transport. I laughed at him,told him my new truck has the factory tow package that's capable of towing more weight than his rental trailer can hold. (which is true)

His manager finally told him to rent me that trailer after I asked why my truck wasn't capable, but their 1/2 ton 2wd rental with a V-6 is capable...

anyway-post the pics of the bus. I love old aircooled buses...

February 20, 2005

I had the kid behind the counter at the U-Haul tell me my 1/2 ton wasn't capable of safely pulling the Auto-transport. I laughed at him,told him my new truck has the factory tow package that's capable of towing more weight than his rental trailer can hold. (which is true)

His manager finally told him to rent me that trailer after I asked why my truck wasn't capable, but their 1/2 ton 2wd rental with a V-6 is capable...

anyway-post the pics of the bus. I love old aircooled buses...

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HAHAHA! That's hysterical! Sounds like a bunch of snake oil salesmen to me. I've long abandoned U-Stall in favor of Penske. (hehe... their V-6 rental CAN, TOO, haul the transport!)

az'03Silverado · February 21, 2005

I'd like to try Penske. Everyone says that U-Haul is the only place that will allow their trailers to be pulled by the customer's vehicle. Is this true?

Oh, I'm getting the pics ready. I have the '76 Bus stripped down to the body and chassis only. The windows, wiring, seats, inside panels and headliner, dash, steering column, engine/trans etc. are out. As soon as it stops raining it's going to the sandblaster and then to paint. Then I get to put it all back together again with a bunch of new stuff.

BrockwayMT · December 21, 2006

I'm very happy with my 4.8. I pulled a 5500lb skid steer on a 2500 lb trailer home with my 5 speed 4.8 2004 with 3.73s. Worked fine I thought. You have to rev the 4.8 up a little but it did fine I thought.