Texas to Colorado towing question

[DrLathrop]

I have a 2010 f150 Fx4 supercrew with the tow package, 5.4 V8, auto. I am making a trip to Colorado in January to do some mountain wheeling & wondering how well my truck will make the trip? I will rent an auto transport from uhaul since I don't have a trailer. Anything I should watch out for? Thanks for any info.

 

[Gerbow]

Just pulled mine thru the hills in TN and did fine but I took some side roads to get to hwy and they ended up very steep. The truck was definately put to the test on the steeps. Otherwise did good. With a uhaul auto transport (the full drive on trailer, right?) and EB on it.

 

[Wyflyer]

It'll work just fine, you should avg around 9.5 to 10 mpg though but it'll pull it 80mph.
I tried to rent a uhaul and they refused to rent it to me for a Bronco, they said a Bronco was too big. I debated with the guy for awhile trying to explain they make various sizes, but he was too stupid to listen or understand.
I got peeved and bought a trailer. Dont need anyone's permission on what to put on it
Watch the weather, avoid the I25 corridor during times of heavy winter weather, it turns into a horrible traffic jam.

 

[DrLathrop]

Stupid question alert: at that time of year will I need to have snow chains? If so, just the back wheels or all 4 on my truck?

 

[ScanmanSteven]

Yes, you'll need chains. Most western states require you to carry them from Nov thru the end of March. Only the back are needed.

 

[Pa PITT]

I too was going to say go check with U-haul in advance. I went to OK City to pick up a truck a friend was giving me . But I could not get anything from U-Haul.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Yes, the truck will pull it. Without looking up the specific specs for that truck, with the tow package, around 9k capacity. The super cab tends to add truck weight which reduces the total capacity, but you should still be rated to pull at least 8k.

January in Colorado, depending on where you go you may need chains. If the weather is bad and you are on the right roads, they will make you chain up if you want to go any further. Again, depends on the roads and the weather. I have had weather ranging from -40 in Gunnison to upper 60's near Denver that time of year.

 

[DrLathrop]

I too was going to say go check with U-haul in advance. I went to OK City to pick up a truck a friend was giving me . But I could not get anything from U-Haul.

I have rented a transport from uhaul twice to tow the bronco & never had an issue with them for the rental. Hopefully I don't have a problem.

 

[Wyflyer]

From my experience you should not need chains to make the trip if you stay on major paved highways. But if you are towing and get hung up in weather, they will make the difference in being stranded or being mobile. If you only have one set, use them on the rear axle if you are towing the trailer.

In Wyoming we carried chains while working or out hunting elk. In the fall or spring its easy to get into some bad country early in the morning when the ground is frozen but after it warms up and gets sloppy you can't get back out without chains.

 

[Zillacon]

Where do you plan on wheeling in Colorado in January?? You may need some snow tracks.

 

[Chief Master Sergeant]

If you are running anything bigger than 31 inch tires, you can forget using the U-Haul car hauler as designed. Their tire straps on the front are designed to go over the tire and ratchet to the front of the trailer. I could barely get it to work with the 31s I had at the time.

 

[Gotta70RR]

550 miles and no issues using a Uhaul trailer. I reserved it online, where it said my Avalanche (5.3, 4x4) would handle the tow weight of the Bronco, and didn't have any issue when I went to pick it up. As Chief Master Sergeant said the tire webbing on the trailer wont work with larger tires. My Bronco has 35's. The straps on the trailer are 3" so we wove some heavy 3" straps through the tire webs back into the trailers ratchet and anchored the other end to the trailer. I stopped periodically to check them and only had one of them come loose. Also ran one strap over each axle.

 

[Wyflyer]

I'd like to know more about the U-Haul system. I see that i'm not alone in having U-Haul refuse to rent a car hauler if towing a Bronco. Does anyone know more about their methods?
In my case, I was trying to rent a car trailer, would be towing with a 2010 F150 Supercrew, told them it was a 1977 Bronco and they refused to rent the trailer. Told me the Bronco was "too big" to haul on their trailers.
I'm curious why some are able to rent from them, others are refused?

 

[Chief Master Sergeant]

I should add...I used the U-Haul to go from Great Falls, Montana to Anchorage, Alaska. The only issue I had was a flat in the Yukon Territory. U-Haul does not give you a spare for liability reasons, so I had to sit on the side of thr road for half a day while they sent out a wrecker to change the tire. You won't have that issue with your short trip.

 

[miikee73]

You might try reserving online. The computer may know the different sizes of Broncos. I know tow dollys are different rules,because of tongue weight,but I reserved one to tow a 91 Tbird with a 05 Honda Pilot on a 1000 mile trip.Didn't have any problems.

 

[Scoop]

Lot's of Honda Civics are towed on U-Haul trailers. (IfyouknowwhatImean.) ;D

 

[Gerbow]

If you are running anything bigger than 31 inch tires, you can forget using the U-Haul car hauler as designed. Their tire straps on the front are designed to go over the tire and ratchet to the front of the trailer. I could barely get it to work with the 31s I had at the time.

I let a little air out of the tires, 33", actually alot. Then i went and got a couple of 2" ratchet straps and used them to connect to uhauls tire web and into their ratchet. Worked perfect. You dont tell them that you have oversize tires though, they are not supposed to rent for vehicles with oversize tires.

 

[Gerbow]

Ohh. Didnt read all posts. I see gotta70rr did the same as i did. Maybe i used 3" straps also.

 

[00gyrhed]

I flat towed a jeep with my chevy silvarodo 5.3 engine, half ton with towing package form Dallas TX to Lake City . Pretty similar to your set up. The Jeep was loaded as well (used it as a trailer for ice chests and anything else that would fit). I had no problems until I got to Raton pass. The truck just acted like it wouldn't do the climb. The rest of the trip was really a pain. long uphill climbs were no fun. Once I got situated I went Gunnison Even empty the truck didn't run well so I went to the chevy dealer. He offered to let me spend my money but told me to just go disconnect the battery. Well DUH!!! Used to do that all the time with my F250 that mostly got driven around empty but when I towed a load it would be a dog until I disconnected the battery and let the computer relearn.

The difference in that truck once I dosconnected and reconnected the battery was imediate and got better as I drove. When I got back into the TX panhandle I stopped and did it again.

 

[blubuckaroo]

I've towed my Bronco a lot and decided to flat tow to keep the weight down. Unless your car is broken or unregistered, I'd go that route.