Hey everyone,

I know this has probably been covered, but when I used the search for towing, all the results I found were for towing WITH the F-150. I'm moving from Tucson to Dallas and am trying to determine the best way to get my truck and my stuff over there. Either get a smaller u-haul trailer, load it up with my stuff and my motorcycle, and tow it behind the truck, or get one of the uhaul trucks and then tow my truck behind it. My truck is an 06 SCrew 4x4 with the electronic 4WD engage, so I can't really put it in neutral. Any suggestions?

I'm guessing I could put the front of the truck on an auto dolly, and disconnect the rear drive shaft, but figured with all the knowledge here, someone would have some good ideas for me.

Thanks!

 

Theoretically you could do the last thing, dolly front wheels with driveshaft disconnect, but I don't know if any dollies from rental places that can carry the weight of a 1/2 ton pickup or that the trucks are rated to pull them. You're probably talking about 4000 pounds.

If everything fits in a trailer, go that route. It will be cheaper and safer. If you need the 26' Uhaul truck, then I would consider making two trips or two people driving each truck.

 

you can't do long distance "neutral" anyways, nothing to turn the oil pump in the trans, and you dry the transfer case out, and eventually will lock up.

I would get a drive on car hauler trailer, and then put stuff in the big towing truck, and in your pickup. nothing heavy in the pickup tho, dont want to overload the trailer, just stuff that is bulky and light, bedding, towels etc.

 

If you disconenct the driveshaft, the trans doesn't turn. That's fine for almost infinate towing miles.

Drive on trailer for the truck means towing 8k pounds which I doubt moving trucks are capable of doing.

 

No, you can't disconnect the driveshaft. We have one peice driveshafts, with the slip yoke on the output of the T-case (if 4x4) Trans (if4x2) fluid will be leaking out. Not a good idea.

IMO, your best, most economical way to do this, would be to rent a small U-Haul cargo trailer. Load ALL your junk into the trailer, load the motorcycle into the BED of the truck, and go on your way. Make sure your truck is rated to handle that type of weight (not sure how much stuff ya got). That would be the simplest way in my eyes.

Another route, would be renting one of their large trucks. Loading the Bike, and all your stuff securely inside the large truck, then rent a LARGE car hauler, rated to carry our trucks, and tow it behind the large U-Haul truck. Might be hard to find a trailer rated for our trucks though... (and these LARGE moving truck are EASILY capable of towing your truck BTW)

I think the first suggestion I gave ya is your best bet. What kind of bike ?

Otherwise if you dolly the truck, I beleive you have to stop a certain distance/time to unload the truck and allow it to run, that will pump the oil through and re-lube any vital parts that were turning during transport without lube/oil.

 

M-tech, can't you disconenct the driveshaft @ the u-joint in the rear and tie it up? And "and these LARGE moving truck are EASILY capable of towing your truck BTW" - I've never seen a GCWR for one of these trucks. I have only seen GVWR. While I have no doubt about the power of these moving trucks, that does not necessarily make it safe or legal.

Truck + trailer is best option, but the largest Uhaul trailer has less volume than the smallest uhaul truck.

 

Hmm... I guess you "could" tie it up. You would have to do so, in a way to NOT allow it to back out AT ALL. Might be difficult... if you hit the wrong bump, or something happens, the repair bill might add up quickly. These shafts aint cheap, plus if it does any additional damage...

Touche ! I know it "could" tow it.... not sure how legal it would be though... I do know every state has slightly different rules and regulations on towing, so you would need to look into that before heading out. Fines for breaking these can get hefty ! Around here, I have seen the larger moving trucks hauling a trailer behind with a vehicle. Not sure about other states though... at all...

I still like the trailer, bike in bed idea. But again, don't know exactly how much your hauling. You would have some extra room in the bed and cab though...

 

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'm gonna try to rent their largest trailer and just put stuff in it. About the bike...I'm not sure that it'll fit in the bed of my truck considering I have the 5.5ft bed, and my bike is a 06 Suzuki DL650 (aka the V-strom). It's a pretty big bike.

But I'm gonna try to load up the trailer, and potentially put my bike in there, and then I could load boxes, etc into the bed of the truck if the bike won't fit. Hoping the limited space will force me to get rid of a bunch of stuff that I never use...

Thanks for the advice though guys! If anyone else has any suggestions, feel free to keep posting.

 

You could probably get away with leaving the tailgate down, with the Bike in. Just another idea, I have seen done.

 

Your truck will be saggin like a **** with all of that weight. Do you have a AAL or airbags in the rear? That would help a lot.

If you do decide to get the uhaul truck, get one with a powerstroke. It'll tow your F150 with ease.

 

think a few hundred pounds will make the rear sag? The bike is only about 425 lbs, and I don't have a lot of heavy furniture to carry...

 

It will squat, no doubt. Really not sure how bad.

 

Are there any other issues with Towing for long distances? The total tow will be about 1000 miles with a potential overnight stop in the middle of the drive.

I plan on doing an oil change before I leave, but didn't know if you guys had any other tips for the haul. Once I get out of the Tucson area, it should be mostly flat across New Mexico and West Texas so I'm not too worried about elevation changes.

 

Take it slow and easy, no need to race. Always give your self plenty of space between next car, long on-ramps whenever posible, etc. Turn O/D off for the tow. How's the trans fluid ? What mileage you at ? and has it been completely changed out ever (should at 30k).

Do you have the tow package ? If not, may want to look into a trans temp guage just to keep an eye on everything, but far from necessary. I just like seeing my essential fluid temp when towing.

Stopping halfway or so would also give your truck a chance to sit around and relax ! Wouldn't be a bad idea, but again, not necessary.

When loading the trailer, load heaviest stuff farther back, or directly over the trailer's axles. Will help reduce tounge weight. May have to play with the stuff to get it just right. Worth the time for this long haul IMO.

thats all I could think of off the top of my head

 

Truck is in the shop right now getting some body work (swiped in a parking lot...with no note!) so I'm getting all the fluids changed as I'm coming up right at 30k.

I do have the tow package so I should be good there.

I was thinking that stopping would be good for the truck (and me!) to relax halfway between. And about packing the trailer...yeah, I know to load over the axles to reduce tongue weight and reduce trailer sway. But thanks for reiterating the fact for myself and others.

Thanks for the great advice!