towing a 2door civic on a uhaul flatbed

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JustinJ94FSB

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I am transferring job locations back to oregon, and i need to travel from kansas city missouri. I am curious if my 1994 k1500 blazer 4wd can tow my 2door 1998 honda civic hx. the car is roughly 2,350lbs, and the uhaul flatbed trailer is around 2,200lbs. when i look up my blazers towing capacity all i can find is it supposedly can tow 7,000lbs. I will be driving over the rocky mountains, steens mountains, blue mountains, all sorts of hills and mountains through wyoming etc. I was thinking of towing it on a dolly, to reduce the weight, but my dad recommends i use something with trailer brakes. I dont have a brake controller, and i dont really have time to go get that sort of thing installed. I think the uhaul flatbed has surge brakes, but it weighs substantially more than the dolly. Does anyone have any insight here. My blazer is basically completely stock, has 135k miles on it, it is the 5.7l TBI motor. Not sure what gears i have in the rear, i know i have a G80 but i dont know the gear ratio. Anyone here recommend a dolly over a flatbed, or a flatbed with surge brakes over a dolly? or think that my truck might not be up to the task? any help would be appreciated for this situation. sorry if i am posting something that is already posted somewhere, this stuff all just kind of came up, and now im in a scramble.
 

618 Syndicate

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I think that you can do it, but I don't think it would be ideal. I think a trailer with brakes is the best of the options you've presented, especially since you're going to have to cross the Rockies. I wouldn't use a dolly. Make sure your brakes and cooling system are up to par, and don't get in a hurry.
You don't mention if you have experience loading or pulling a trailer, do you have any?
 

Frank Enstein

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The surge brakes will be fine for this trip. Downshifting can help going uphill as well as down. Down hill the surge brakes will help when you downshift but be careful that you don't cook them.

Change the differential fluid in both axles and perhaps the transmission fluid and filter.

Change the fuel filter and the engine oil and filter. Synthetic oil can handle more heat and still be o.k.

Have the coolant flushed.

Make sure all the tires inflated properly including the spare. I over inflate mine and drop the pressure if I need to use it.

Bleed and inspect the brakes. Replace as needed.

A 2 full gallon gas can strapped to the trailer can be a life saver. As can some extra ratchet straps.

Towing is a strain on the tow vehicle. Don't be in a rush.

Be careful that the trailer isn't overloaded in the back. The center of gravity of the trailer MUST be between the axles and the hitch ball or you may crash.

Check fluids every fuel stop. Look at the tires as well.

Keep the speed down and do not tow in overdrive. Adding a transmission temp gauge is cheap insurance.
An accepted rule of thumb is every 20 degrees above 200 cuts the transmission life in half.

Keep in mind all the cargo and people in the truck go against the GCVW as much as the trailer does.

Take breaks. The extra strain on you takes a toll. Allow an extra day or two to make it if possible.

A spare phone charger and a phone with an offline GPS app can save your bacon.

This is an adventure and an experience you will remember for years to come. Take some time to enjoy the trip.

I apologize if I told you things you already know and even more so if I left something important out.

And most of all, have fun and stay safe.
 

Erik the Awful

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Ideally:

1) Add a brake controller to your truck and get a trailer with brakes. Avoid the "wireless" brake controllers because they can lose communication at the wrong time.

2) Rent a trailer with surge brakes.

3) Rent a tow dolly.

4) Tow on a trailer with no brakes and pull over every mile to cool the truck's brakes. Get right with God.

No matter which you choose, I'd take the drive over the mountains very carefully, but you're from Portland, so you know that already.
 

stutaeng

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I think all of the U-haul trailers around here have the surge brakes. The engine will tow it without any problems. This guy towed a 6x12 trailer across the country without any problems. He said it was "heavy," but never weighed it. I think those trailers have a GVWR of like 4,500 to 5,000 lbs, and do have the surge brakes. Your truck is lighter and has a shorter wheelbase than the suburban. That's probably good for acceleration but slightly worse for towing due to stability. But I think it can do it.
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Check your tires, brakes, fluid, etc. I would go really slow in the mountain areas and use engine braking. If you have time, get a tranmission oil cooler installed! Use common sense. Be safe!
 

L31MaxExpress

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About 15 years ago, I towed an enclosed tandem axle trailer at about 5,500 lbs to Denver from Texas and back with a 200K mile carbureted 1983 G20 van that had a 305/700r4 and 3.08 gears. No problem doing it albeit was slow uphill. Just manually shifted it down and stayed out of the secondaries on the Q-Jet. Keep a watchful eye on the oil level. You will burn more oil.
 

618 Syndicate

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Loading the trailer correctly is the key to overcoming the shorter wheelbase issue. Ideally you want them level when loaded, a slight nose up tilt to the trailer is okay as well. If the truck and trailer are both pointing up or down you will have limited control of steering, and this will be amplified under acceleration or braking. With a Civic you should be okay, but we had problems towing my dually with a NBS Tahoe. Plenty of motor, but around 55 the trailer started steering the truck. Really needed a longer trailer, but 6 hours from home it is what it is... Ended up renting a Uhaul truck and pulling it home with that.
 

618 Syndicate

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Check with U-haul, Not all of them will let the car trailer loose without one of their trucks. I have run into that twice with them.
We ran into the reverse of that trying to get my dually home, they wanted me to rent one of their trailers to pull behind their truck. Bribed the guy lunch to get him to turn a blind eye.
 
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