I read an article in COH yesterday where someone had a trailer but no truck and rented a uhaul to pull their trailer as needed. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a truck and a trailer but I really love my everyday car and I don’t necessarily want to commute to work in a truck. It’s very urban and parking is tight in my compact car.
What do you guys think about buying a trailer and renting a uhaul pickup to tow as needed?
might check Enterprise’s Truck division as they have pickups that can be used for towing… just ask but I believe this may be for businesses only?
Absolutely, why not? UHaul also has Pick-UIp trucks available at many locations, but even if not, use a cargo truck, who cares? If it can safely haul your trailer and you don’t need/want a truck for daily life, go for it.
The issue you need to be concerned with is if the rental truck has a brake controller…which you need for most horse trailers to both be safe and within the law. Most UHaul and similar towables have inertial/surge brakes and don’t require an electric brake controller, so their trucks may or may not be equipped with one.
This.
G.
I’d look into Enterprise before U-Haul. U-Haul charges by the mile, Enterprise by the day.
I thought about this but worried it won’t be available (with the correct hitch) when I need it for an important show or clinic. Also personally (being new to this) I wouldn’t be as comfortable hauling with a truck I’m not familiar with. The last time I rented a U-haul truck I did not like driving it, even without a trailer it just didn’t handle well.
You can get a truck that has the towing capacity for a trailer + 1 horse pretty cheap. It won’t be fancy but it will do the job. Just park it at home or even at the boarding barn.
raises hand
I’ve done this so many times. I was without a reliable truck for nearly 2 years, so unless hauling a SUPER short distance, Uhaul Pickups it was. I had a horse who needed to go to the vet clinic on a semi-regular basis and my options were limited.
Pro tips:
All in all, Uhaul is really easy to deal with; so much easier than Enterprise or other rental companies in my opinion. Their trucks are in good condition and their rates are not bad compared to paying for commercial shipping.
There was a thread here that had someone using a Uhaul truck to tow their 2 horse trailer and they mentioned that it didn’t have a controller for the breaks which I think is in incredibly stupid thing to do. You need to make sure the Uhaul truck has the right set up, horse trailers have different plugs than many regular haulers.
I’m really confused, they now make a brake controller that goes in the trailer, not the truck?
Looks like there’s a thing in the truck that connects wirelessly to controller thing in the trailer. Pretty genius, really!
Yes, it mounts permanently to the tongue of the trailer. You plug the Prodigy RF controller into the truck’s 7 blade receiver, then plug the trailer’s electric line directly into the controller. You regulate the +/- gain and hand brake feature with a remote control that plugs into the cigarette lighter.
It works exactly the same way as an under-the dash brake controller would work, with proportional control of the trailer’s brakes through the electric line. But nothing is hard-wired or installed in the tow vehicle. It was designed for situations where a trailer might be towed by multiple vehicles, or you couldn’t install a controller in the vehicle for whatever reason. And it was a life saver when I was constantly borrowing and renting trucks while mine was on the fritz.
My new truck has a factory in-dash controller, so I don’t use the Prodigy RF anymore. But I still have it on my trailer just in case.
We have trailer mounted brake controllers in Australia. The +/- bit is actually on the controller box, not in the car.
I think this depends which Uhaul market you’re renting in. Texarkana’s had good Uhaul experiences - I’m in New England and have oh so many bad Uhaul experiences. They rarely have the truck I’ve requested and instead try to convince me to take whatever’s on the lot. And, their equipment is in rough shape. The last truck I rented had a screwdriver jammed into the steering column as the turn signal.
I like the idea of renting for occasional hauling use – best of luck figuring this out.
I’m sorry to hear that. I wonder if my positive experiences were because I always went to a huge Uhaul Moving & Storage center, not an independent business who also rents Uhauls, which is all that exists in many areas. The Uhaul center ran like a well oiled machine, and also had better hours than typical stand alone rental places.
I have a LONG list of Enterprise nightmares (will never use them anymore if I can avoid it), as well as nightmares with several other rental car companies. So I agree it must really depend on your market.
This thing is so cool! Forgive my ignorance, I haven’t hauled a trailer since I was a teenager (I plan to get a hauling refresher course from a friend who is very trailer savvy before I buy a trailer let alone pull one). Anyways, with this wireless brake controller would you be able to haul from any vehicle with a hitch set up and the appropriate towing capacity? I always hear people saying not to buy a towing vehicle that can pull enough, but that would be able to stop the trailer.
I’m not looking to pull anything in my sedan - I’m just curious :lol:
The Prodigy RF will allow your trailer’s electric brakes to work with any vehicle that has a properly connected 7 way RV blade power outlet. That’s all. It’s up to you to make sure everything else checks out for towing. For example, a big thing that I did not know about until embarrassingly late in my adult years is that hitches, draw bars, and balls all have weight ratings.
Also, when people talk about not being about to “stop” the trailer with too small a vehicle, they are not talking about just brakes. It is law to have electric brakes on trailers of a certain weight in most (all?) states, so that part is assumed. But even when your brakes are functioning flawlessly, too small of a tow vehicle can put you at a significantly greater risk of jack knifing or rolling over in an emergency stopping situation.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
