'53 buick super 56r

[WillBilly53]

i need some advice on towing a 1953 buick super riviera 56r 2 dr from orlando, fl to charleston, sc. Ozark quoted $695, i'd rather use that money on doing stuff to the car itsefl. i have a friend who has an SUV and we were talking about doing a road trip anyways. could anybody give me some advice on how to get this american beauty back up the coast safely. i went to uhaul to see about tow dollys and they said that the buick wouldn't fit on a tow dolly. (they also said that there's no such thing as a 1953 buick, i had to type in "1956 super") Please help!<BR>i'm very new to all of this so i'm sorry if this sounds stupid, this is my first purchase (classic) and it's all new to me.<P>thanks,<P>will eskridge

[Bill Stoneberg]

Dont use a tow dolly, go to Uhaul and get a car Hauler. The 53 super will fit on that.<BR>Make sure your SUV is a large on and that it can haul 6500 lbs because the car is about 4500 and the trailer is another 1600 lbs.<BR>Leave overdrive off on the auto transmission and you should have no problems.<BR>I use the same setup for my 50 super wagon or 47 super 4 door with no problems.<BR>Good luck and enjoy your new car.

[WillBilly53]

thank you bill!

[Gene Brink]

Will,<P>Shop around to see if you can't come up with a better price. I had a quote of $925 for trucking a Volvo from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles three years ago so I would think Orlando to SC should be much less than $695. (Airfares were low so my wife and I left the kids with the grandparents and did a quick roadtrip back for about the same price and had a few days vacation to boot!) My quote was for an open car carrier. If the car is driveable you can also consider railroad.<P>Regardless of what you decide to do find someone who knows that there WAS an '53 Buick (geez, only the 50th anniversary of the marque) model year.<P>Good luck, Gene

[Guest]

thanks gene,<BR>i know '53 was ONLY the anniversary year! i couldn't believe it when i saw that. do you have any names of some companies besides ozark?<BR>or, i have a friend and her brother who own<BR>a 1998 nissan pathfinder, 1995 pathfinder, or a 1996 ford forerunner. does anyone know which of these would be the most appropriate for the tow?<P>thanks!

[Guest my3buicks]

I don't believe any of those vehicles would be good bets to tow the weight you will be hauling. Look for someone with a Suburban or Yukon type vehicle or large series pickup. Another option is to check with Ryder Truck rentals. You can rent one of their trucks and one of there auto-transports together as a unit. A one way rental is usually cheaper also I have found. So check on renting it in or around Charleston with a dropoff in Orlando. Another plus is you don't have to worry about possible mechanical effects and costs to you by using someone elses truck.

[rmartens]

I hauled my '56 Century Riveria HT from the Canadian border to Sacramento on a Ryder car trailer behind a 24' or 26' Ryder truck.<P>If I recall correctly, Ryder's trailers have a higher weight capacity than U-Haul's. I would have been overweight on the U-Haul but was at capacity (to the EXACT pound--I checked on a scale!) on the Ryder.<P>You'll definitely want a hefty rig to pull that load.

[Guest]

If you really want to stick it to the man you could try this approach. <P>If you have AAA plus you get 100 miles of free towing. If you know a couple of people with AAA plus you could probably get it to SC. Just call them and tell them that your steering went out and they'll send out a flatbed. Tell them the name of a shop 100 miles away and then after they drop it off have a friend call and use his card to do the same thing. <P>Its dishonest and immoral, but its an option.

[Guest]

this is gonna sound strange, but i bought a car (a 54 CENTURY)and had it towed 500 miles using 4 different towing companys each going approx. 125 miles each at about 65.00 per tow. each company dropped off the car at the next companys address. mostly at night when buesiness was slow. you have to do the research and find out the drop points but its a safe way to get her home. this car you are buying is a lot heaver than she looks. and you will find that most towing companys have a soft spot for older cars and if time is not an issue they can usally help you out with this kind of move. but that AAA gig sounds really cool for that last tow to your driveway. tools to use: mapquest, AAA , ask jeves (for towing company drop point phone numbers). sounds like alot to do but i did it for 265.00 and never left my computer and it took 3 days and she arrived home in perfect condition. and did i mention all these towing companys carry insurence for this kind of thing. well sorry about the spelling and good luck. cliff chelseaspainting bca # 4425 aka 62lesabre2drht/54 century/74corvette.

[WillBilly53]

thank you all!