Ever put your car in a moving truck?

I will be moving soon and I am thinking of putting my 4Runner in the back of a 26' Penske moving truck. Before I go to this extreme, I want to make sure everything will be safe and problem free. Inside the truck will also be my furniture. The reason I am doing this is I want to move my stuff, my SUV and my boat in one trip. Has anyone ever done this or does anyone think that this will not work? Is the floor strong enough to hold the weight of my SUV? Should I plan on tieing the truck down, or will the E-brake be good enough to keep it from moving? Thanks for any insight!

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

tie it down the best you can. keep the title and registration, in the cab with you. the inspections stops will want to see it. to prove you are not transporting a stolen vehicle. voice of experience, had to climb over every thing in the truck to get to the drawer in the chest.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

Absolutely tie it down, it is just unsafe and unwise to not secure it.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

I would not do it.

If it geos into the truck you need to ratchet strap the 4runner down and what will you attach it to?

Not a good idea. I would ask a friend to drive it and fly them back.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

Don't know the size of boat, but why not put the boat in the truck if it will fit. It's lighter and and you can fit more items under it and in it. Put the 4 runner on a tow dolly. I did this w/my trailered fishing boat on a move.
Mike

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

actually its illegal, if anyones looking.
we did it.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

They would frown on this big time.
No way to properly secure it inside.
I take it your going this alone.
might just half to bite the bullet and have a friend drive the 4Runner.
give him a plane ticket back home.
MUCH SAFER.

Get a couple of 2 ways and you can still talk all the way.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

Not worth the risk in my opinion. Tow it behind the truck.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

This would be very illegal. Due to the gas inside the tank and you sticking the truck in an enclosed area. I would highly advise against this.

Just as a thought how would you get the SUV in and out anyway?

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

JDP said:

Just as a thought how would you get the SUV in and out anyway?

Click to expand...

Ramps?

For those of you saying it's illegal, what about motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles that are towed (with gas in their tanks) inside enclosed cargo trailers, ALL the time?

It still wouldn't be my choice to put it in the truck. That is a lot of weight in the back of the truck, then you are going to tow the boat behind it? Does the truck have the GVWR and the GCWR to handle all this? If not, call the pros at Mayflower, Allied, and whoever else moves people for a living.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

Thanks for all the help. Unfortunately, the boat is too wide for the truck. I have a friend who put a boat in trailer once and that is how I got the idea. If I do this, I would probably put the 4Runner closest to the cab. I am good with the GVWR. Looks like I may pay the extra cash and get a commercial mover to move my stuff. I would use a loading dock to get the 4Runner in the truck. I know that Mayflower, Allied, etc. will transport cars in their trucks too.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

I did it 30 years ago. I put a BMW that I was restoring in a 24' U-Haul, because I had to tow a trailer behind the truck. I loaded the car into the truck at a railroad siding and unloaded it with home made ramps.

If you make your own ramps, you must build supports to prevent flexing of the boards in the middle. If you don't, they will skip out from under the vehicle and you will put a few big, ugly dents in it! BTW, no I didn't make this mistake but I once saw the after-effects of someone else doing it.

I agree with the thought that paperwork should be kept easily accessible, but I wouldn't worry too much about weigh stations. If you are moving "non-commercial" goods, you don't have to stop at them. Agricultural stations are another issue entirely and you do have to stop at them. These are the folks who are likely to want you to open the truck for inspection.

I would have to do a little research to offer an opinion on the gasoline issue. My Beemer didn't have any gas in the tank (no fumes either), so that wasn't an issue for me.

Even though I successfully did this, its not something that I recommend. Frankly, getting the vehicle in and out is a pain and its not the safest idea in the world. The biggest problem that I have with it, is the lack of suitable attachment points for straps or chains. Box trucks do have a rail system in them for cargo restraint, but they are not made for dealing with so much weight in a concentrated form.

Obviously, the largest danger is having the vehicle slam forward in the box, should an accident with sudden stoppage occur. The most natural inclination is to load the SUV in the forward part of the box, up against the front wall, but that is a bad idea in terms of weight distribution. Once again, you have a great deal of concentrated weight and it will not be balanced by much lighter furniture in the back. The end result is that you will have too much weight on the front axle. If you do go through a weigh station for some reason, they will notice the imbalance immediately, because their scales measure weight on each axle or set of axles.

Placing the SUV in the front of the box is also not a true safeguard against a violent shift forward. I have actually seen frieght go through the front wall of a box truck as a result of an accident. The specific accident that I am refering to, involved a tractor trailer driver who fell asleep at the wheel and ran off of the highway, into some trees. The truck was slammed to a stop by several trees and the freight blew out the front of the trailer. It went through the "headache rack" on the tractor too, killing both the driver and a relief driver, who was in the sleeper.

Do yourself a favor, take the "plane ticket suggestions" and move the SUV separately. Its expensive and more complicated, but its a much safer arrangement. You might also look into having the vehicle shipped. That is not an inexpensive option, but it might not be as bad as you might think. Depending on when you do this, another idea is to find a college kid who needs to get back to school in whatever area you are moving to. This option should include a bit of background and driving record checking, but its workable. A call to your insurance agent to make sure that he/she would be covered, would also be prudent.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

If you do move your vehicle in the van, make sure the has the spot for logistics straps the hooks on the side of the van and strap it in. Pro movers move vehicles in their trailers all the time. We've hauled cars in our semi all the time 54' dry van. If you have a wood flooring nail some boards down behind the tires, even have some O bolts so you can strap the back end to it.

About the only thing you have to worry about is weight. Make sure you get the weight below the weight rating you can use a scale at a truckstop, i think those things are rated for 16k.

Or you can ship it too, dont go with DAS (dependable auto shippers) there owned by ebay and really expensive. But look to pay around .50/mile that would probably be your best bet. I had a non running vehicle shipped from Colorado to WA for $600 bucks

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

you can do u pack container, cheaper than i pod for your belonging and drive the suv and boat out your self. the tie down straps will cost you 120 bucks alone, plus the ramps, buy a plan ticket and make two trips. buy a rt cheaper than a one way.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

yes, moving companies do put boats and cars in there moving vans along with your furniture.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

No, I allways stopped the truck first.
I did want to try it to be cool like Knight Rider though.


Sorry, just couldn't resist!

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

I've moved at least 1 once per year for the past 14 years. (College, internships, job transfers....) Some of them were quite long moves, others were in town moves, and a couple by paid movers. If at all possible, professional movers are the best, but most expensive. But using moving vans yourself is no big deal. As long as you use common sense.

First off, for the car, spend the extra money and get the car trailer. These trailers are easy to pull & have plenty of safety features to them. It is about the easiest way to move your stuff and car at the same time. Some of the other things I've learned:

-Before you drive off, get familiar with every aspect of the truck. Get your mirrors adjusted properly and always remember the height of the truck.

-Get plenty of moving pads, it will save your furniture. There is more rubbing then you could ever imagine going on in the back of those trucks.

-Tie off every large item in the back of the truck. You will be amazed how much things shift in transit. Especially when you go to open the back of the truck.

-Get a regular hand truck, and also the appliance hand truck. I can't tell you enough how much this will save your back and cut down on your loading/unloading time. I've used the appliance truck to move a whole house of furniture by myself.

-Pay for the insurance. You never know what will happen on these trips, and you definately don't want to lose all your belongings, or wind up paying for a moving truck because of an accident.

Trust me when I say I'm not an expert at this. I have just learned a lot of lessons from each move I've made. Good luck with your move and BE SAFE.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

For real, do this, only do not use uhaul.

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

Guys, he can't put the SUV on a trailer behind the moving van, cause the boat is already going to be hitched up back there.

Mitchell and Sons movers in Ohio have moved all the employees for an insurance company that you have never heard of, and they do a great job. Not cheap, but they are fast at loading and good at delivery! Tell them the "piano lady"'s brother told you to call. They might remember her, they moved that piano 3 times for her!

Re: Ever put your car in a moving truck?

I have done this years ago when I was in the Navy. Didn't use ramps, used a loading dock to load and unload. Drive in and drive out. I made sure the truck had padeyes in the floor to secure the car. Unless you mechanically fasten your load to the truck, its going to move.

I found when putting as much in the truck and pulling as much as I could, my tow vehicle ate enough fuel for 3 vehicles to make the trip. At 4 miles to the gallon from Maine to Florida, my travel voucher was not enough to cover the cost. I should have kept my load lighter and balanced out between 2 vehicles.