Transporting two cars?

[Boomyal]

Has anyone ever transported a small car inside your typical Uhual style rental cube van?

My recently married daughter and her hubby are likely going to move from Vancouover WA to Kutztown PA for her first after Masters job.

It is a long haul and would be nice if they didn't have to drive it in two seperate cars. My thoughts were to stow one and trail one but UHaul said they have no options for that.

I am sure that my daughter's little Mitsubishi lancer would fit handily inside one of those vans while it towed his little Hundai econobox on a dolly.

They have no furniture to move, just all their meager possesions and wedding gifts, so a box van with car inside would be sufficient to get them there.

Other options are quite expensive. It would cost almost $1800 just to ship their two cars on a truck transport. That would not include either them or their possesions.

Just helping them look at options.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Are you saying that if you rent a truck from uhaul there is no way you can also rent a tow dolly to pull behind it? Thats crazy if so.Its not illegal for a truck to pull a dolly...so? My sister did put a small car into the back of a rental van. How she got the car out I dont know.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Transporting two cars?

You can rent a dolly and tow a car but they do not sanction a car being hauled inside the box van. If you ask about the prospect of doing so, they simply say that their box vans are not purposed for that.

Tomorrow I will take precise measurements of one of the cars and go inspect a van to see how it might fit. The little cars are certainly within the weight capabilities of the vans. Getting the car in and out might be an issue. You would also want to be able to do something to secure the vehicle as well.

 

[royal0014]

Re: Transporting two cars?

What they mean by not purposed for that, is that there are not tie-downs in the box for a car. There won't be any way to strap the car to the floor.

If you where to try and transport the car with just the parking brake to hold it still, it could possibly lurch forward in a panic stop, and go through the cab of the truck. Then you would be liable for the damages to the truck.

Just food for thought.......


<<)))(((>>

 

[woosterken]

Re: Transporting two cars?

you could nail some blocks in front and back of the tires.
what about a car trailer ? would they both fit on one trailer?

woosterken

 

[aspeck]

Re: Transporting two cars?

As long as it fits and you tie it down properly it should not be a problem. You may want to look into a car hauler ... a trailer that you can load two or more cars on to tow behind your vehicle. Used car dealers use these all the time to get cars to and from auction.

Hey, you will be heading down Interstate 80 through PA ... give me a shout when you drive through.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Have you costed out the price to ship it by rail {train} drop it yard pick up at yard....up here it was a little more than what it would've been for gas to ship a van 2000 miles..I wouldn't trust it in a clunky U-haul....think about the u-haul breaking down...unload and reload...not me boy

 

[avenger79]

Re: Transporting two cars?

there are many rules about that. in short if you get check by cops you could be in hot water. essentially you have hazardous material within the truck. fuel and oil. they (Uhaul) will not allow you to put any vehicle in their truck. if the truck were to be in a wreck you will have to pay for it entirely due to unauthorized cargo that could also mean paying for other damages. that said it gets done now and then.

that said if you have never hauled a car before, be forewarned it will move much more then you think. you would want straps at all four corners and very well tied.

hardest part would be finding a ramp to help you get the car in the truck. it's all about risk management. better option would be to trailer one car and drive the other. they really don't need to both ride in the truck together.

just noticed they are crossing the border. I would definitely call ahead to see if there are laws about it. they could very well open the truck at the crossing. if it's illegal.................

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Many years ago my new neighbors had a early 70s cutlass loaded in a semi trailer moving van. Try looking for a car transport company. I have driven several cars cross country that way.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: Transporting two cars?

just noticed they are crossing the border. I would definitely call ahead to see if there are laws about it. they could very well open the truck at the crossing. if it's illegal.................

We don't really police our borders here in Pennsylvania. Even if we did it probably only would be on the eastern side to stop people from moving in from NY and NJ

The poster is moving from Washington state, not BC.

 

[joed]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Could you not get a car trailer or dolley and tow one car with the other car? Even a tow bar could work.

 

[avenger79]

Re: Transporting two cars?

We don't really police our borders here in Pennsylvania. Even if we did it probably only would be on the eastern side to stop people from moving in from NY and NJ

The poster is moving from Washington state, not BC.

LOL long day already, I was thinking they were coming from Canada.

 

[BUDDY123]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Would think it would be strain on that little 4cy if you would get a car dolly and pull the second car. Depending on conditions of both vehicles, possibly sell one, especially if any possible breakdown issues, 2000 miles is a long way to take any chances. In any case, we Welcome her to PA. Kutztown is a very nice small college community and if your into Big City things its only 1 1/2 hrs from Philly or 2 1/2hrs from NY City.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Towing one of these little cars with the other is out of the question. The Lancer is 2600 lbs with a 2 liter engine and the Accent is a 2200 lb car with a 1.5 or 1.6 liter engine.

Even then there would be insufficient room for their goods.

I know that aside from fit, tie down and loading are issues, that is why I am going down to look at the trucks.

I also figure that if it looks like it works and the vendor says nothing specifically about carrying a vehicle, then I would likely give it a go.

I looked at other alternatives and so far they do not add up.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Go here:
http://www.gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx
and plug in the specs for each vehicle and the rental truck along with your start and stop points.

I bet their two vehicles combined will burn the same $$ as the truck.

They might be better off and $$ ahead by driving their vehicles, packing both to the hilt and shipping the rest via LTL freight.
Like Yellow, etc. depot to depot.
Look in craigslist for free crates or pallets, pile stuff in/on and stretch wrap the heck out of it and ship. Surely someone on their end has a pickup truck to get the pallets/crates to the depot.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Towing one of these little cars with the other is out of the question. The Lancer is 2600 lbs with a 2 liter engine and the Accent is a 2200 lb car with a 1.5 or 1.6 liter engine.

Even then there would be insufficient room for their goods.

I know that aside from fit, tie down and loading are issues, that is why I am going down to look at the trucks.

I also figure that if it looks like it works and the vendor says nothing specifically about carrying a vehicle, then I would likely give it a go.

I looked at other alternatives and so far they do not add up.

You might look around and see if any truckers with a set up, might be planning a trip to that area on a empty haul back, when I moved from Vancouver to Montana I found a guy with the right set up that didn't have a load to haul back to Montana, so was able to hire him real cheap to haul my cars for me, while my wife and I rented a Uhaul to move all of our stuff, going to PA from Vancouver is going to be a trip on one of the two major cross country interstates, most likely I-90, you might be surprised how many guys end up with no load when they head back after a haul out to the coast.

I don't know if it is still the same way, but many moons ago, I had a girlfriend that her Dad was a long haul trucker and he was always looking for something to haul if he didn't have a load, it had something to do with the way their over the road taxes were calculated it was different if they hauled empty as opposed to any type of load..

Dave

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Having just rented one of U-Haul's 26' vans to move from ABQ to SLC, I can hands down tell you this is a horrible idea. There are NO floor tie downs and merely blocking the wheels to avoid movement will never work. Secondly, on advice from U-Haul, they say their largest vans burn so much fuel that it's definitely more expensive to try to tow with them long distance than to have someone drive it. Thirdly, The van is an absolute beast to drive loaded heavily. I had mine filled wall to wall to the ceiling towing a 5X8 trailer @ 1500 lbs, and it was the most teeth gritting 12 hours I've ever driven. Even packed tightly, EVERYTHING wants to move back there. Unless your daughter doesn't care if the rest of the load winds up on the hood of her car (which it will) or if the car hops over onto the wheel wells (which it will) or she has a sufficient amount of Zanax to take while driving it, then go for it. It's a disaster about to happen. I had my friend drive one of our cars up and then flew him home for $250. Best money I spent on my move.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Transporting two cars?

Go here:
http://www.gasbuddy.com/Trip_Calculator.aspx
and plug in the specs for each vehicle and the rental truck along with your start and stop points.

I bet their two vehicles combined will burn the same $$ as the truck.

They might be better off and $$ ahead by driving their vehicles, packing both to the hilt and shipping the rest via LTL freight.
Like Yellow, etc. depot to depot.
Look in craigslist for free crates or pallets, pile stuff in/on and stretch wrap the heck out of it and ship. Surely someone on their end has a pickup truck to get the pallets/crates to the depot.

All good advice here jeeperman. I have been doing further analysis of all the combinations and permutations.

I do appreciate dockwrecker' account of driving U-Hauls long distances and all of the possible goings on while doing so, especially with a car inside. I had originally not considered the raised wheel wells inside the box.

As far as driving the two vehicles, the only way that would be do-able is if one of them pulled a small cargo trailer. I estimated that the combined fuel use would be about half of what a 26 ft U-Haul van would burn.( I figured 8 mpg for the van and effectively 15 mpg for the two econoboxes. They both get well over 30 mpg hwy by themselves)

So far I have boiled it down to this scenario. Ship the two cars on Auto Transport. Load them to the gills with as much stuff as they can. Then both of them fly oneway to Allentown.

Funny that you should mention about commercial freight carrier. I was just in the process of trying to identify any kind of palletised shipping container that they could put whatever didn't fit in the cars and ship it by the likes of yellow freight.

This would be quick and clean, get them there quicker with less wear and tear on themselves and their equipment. By the time you add up any rentals, fuel, hotels, meals, wear and tear and risks, this method is not really all that more expensive.

Thanks for all of your inputs.

 

[BF]

Re: Transporting two cars?

don't know the value of the cars in question... but since you call them econoboxes.... Would it not be worth considering maybe getting rid of (selling) one of them and then buy another car once moved? Add the cost of moving/shipping it/airfares into the equation, and it might make sense to change one. Especially if there is any maintenance issue looming (e.g. tires/brakes) or irritating things that don't work in one of the vehicles...

Also factor in that if they're moving that far away, perhaps they'll be doing more long distance driving than in the past (thanksgiving / Christmas visits etc)... maybe they'll want a better/bigger/nicer car for that anyway (?).

Just a thought.

PS: when I moved away from my home city, we had an econobox that was not worth much... I wasn't going to move it, I didn't have time to sell it, so I gave the keys to my Dad and said do what you want with it... He used it as a cheapo commuter for a year or two then when it started falling apart sold it for $200... Despite my protests, when we came for a visit he gave me the $200 that he got for the sale... I think we bought dinner with that and laughed.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Transporting two cars?

All worthy of consideration BF. We have distilled the practical options down to two. Each option included leaving one car behind.

Option One A was to transport one car (fully loaded), fly to destination and ship balance of goods, palletized, via common carrier. Total $1800.00

Option One B adds the second car on the transport. Add $800 for a total of $2600.

Option Two A was to drive one, sell one and ship the balance of goods via common carrier. Total including fuel, hotels, meals and estimated cost of goods shipped common carrier is $1150.

Option Two B was to drive both cars, and add an additional $300 for fuel. Total of $1450.

Options Two would take a lot of time, expend a lot of effort and contain possible unforseen risks.

Options One would eliminate the time factor, virtually eliminate the risks of driving and would eliminate a whole lot of effort.

My initial hope of the Van for stowing one and towing one, plus carrying all their goods, plus allowing them to do it together (as opposed to driving seperately) was a pipe dream that was impractical, expensive, time consuming and fraught with stress and extreme effort.

If one of the cars had been bigger we could have added a third option of towing a cargo trailer and either taking both cars or leaving one behind.