Need Help

[GunnyRec]

I have just purchased a 1937 4dr Buick sedan. This is a running, driving car but does need restoration. I am in California, car is in Pensacola FL. Part of the deal was a trade so I'm leaving here with my 1/2 of the trade and am going to tow the Buick home. My problem is no trailer. So a question for you guys... can I safely tow this car on the ground without removing that danged torque-tube drive shaft mess? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Gunny

[R W Burgess]

Check on a u-haul in the area you're picking the car up by web site or whatever. Ask for a dolley carrier. Tow the car in question backward with the steering tires on the ground. Might be a good idea to check the front wheel bearing first at a local shop before the trip. This should be a cheap way to get your new "prize" home. Good luck! Wayne

[Twitch]

A dolly may be ok but for my 2¢ I'd say I'd rather rent a trailer for that kind of marathon distance run. You're hooking up something to the hitch ball anyway so it may as well be as safe as can be. But that's just me.

[HarryJ]

Gunny.... An important question is, What is the tow vehicle? Older vehichles such as the Buick are quite heavy and would be dangerous to tow unless you have a very substantial vehicle. The additional weight would put more demand on the brakes and require more attention to steering and maneuvering.

[Snappydwp1]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A dolly may be ok but for my 2¢ I'd say I'd rather rent a trailer for that kind of marathon distance run. You're hooking up something to the hitch ball anyway so it may as well be as safe as can be. But that's just me.

</div></div>

Yeah I used one of those U-Haul dollies to tow my old S15 pickup behind my 2001 Dodge 1500 up to Washington state a couple of summers ago. But no way would I tow one of my old hobby cars on those things. Rent a trailer.

[GunnyRec]

HarryJ,

Tow vehucle is not a problem I will be using my 1 ton Ram Dually with a Cummins Diesel and 6 speed trans. I have pretty much decided to do one of two things. 1 Is stop in Blossom Texas and purchase a tandam axle carhualer new at $1,475 or rent the u-hual for $549 one way. If I purchase I could sell this car hualer to another car guy at a big discount and stll save a little over the U Haul. It looks like from what you guys are saying pulling this Buick on the ground 3,000 miles is not to wise.

Thanks everyone for there advice.

Gunny

[Jim Bollman]

I have had trouble with U-Haul following through with a trailer I had reserved. I end up using a tow dolly instead because the local U-Haul dealer couldn't be bothered to go and pick one up for me. An Willys FC-170 is to big for a dolly and it was a very slow trip for about 400 miles. Other I know have had trouble with the condition of U-Haul trailers (and trucks) and had a lot of trouble on much shorter trips.

As the others have said I would only consider doing it by trailer. I would go with the purchased trailer, then you know what you have and will even have a few miles towing it before you need to load. You will probable come out cheaper the rental after you sell it.

Jim...

[Shop Rat]

Check out Millennium Trailers in Elkhart, Indiana. Their trailers are made by Vintage. We got a 32' combo enclosed car trailer/camper from them. They are on the web. They can custom build a trailer for you or sell you a standard one. And if you can pick it up they knock down the price because they do not have to pay someone like my step-son to pick it up and deliver it to you or a local dealer. We drove from W. Va. and they knocked $2,000 off of the price.

They are wonderful to deal with.

[Twitch]

Darnit Gunny you should be leading the squad on this one. At our age I'd consider a dolly for about 500 miles on California- Arizona roads in good weather but not the hassle of cross country. Too dangerous due to unknown roads, conditions, grades and elevations plus weather factors.

For what all this is going to cost you- rent/buy trailer, gas, lodging, food you might look at 18 wheeeled transport. If you come out at $1000-1200 each way-your car going, his car coming- you'll probably spend less $$ in the long run. Be safe and scan the web for several transport outfits, and Semper Fi!

[61-63]

This is just one more vote for the trailer. I've towed with a dolly and now have a trailer and the trailer is far less risky and far more convenient if you are doing any distance at all. I sure wouldn't want to put that much stress on either end of a 60 year old car for that many miles using a dolly. Another factor with the dolly not yet mentioned is that you can't back up. You can back the trailer into slots at each motel along the return trip.

[Ron Green]

Why not call around and get some quotes from a transportation company that does this for a living (Passport, Sunday, etc). Many companies travel this route every week. Shop around and negotiate. Going this distance will probably cost you and extra $300 plus in gas with the rig your talking about, plus the wear and tear on the tow truck, plus the additional insurance and you won't have to take a huge loss on the trailer you are buying.

A few years ago I bought a car from Minnesota and it was much cheaper to have it picked up and delivered then to take my own truck and trailer out to pick it up.

[Mike Dube]

I would definitely go for a trailer. Tho the U-Haul variety is a bit skimpy for a car the size of a 37 Buick. I'll bet the rear end of the car hangs off a bit, and you may be pushing the weight limits too.

Speaking as a tow dolly owner (we dolly a modern car behind a motorhome), dollies are not meant to pick up the rear of a car. Doing other than this is asking for trouble. Thus it will do you no good on a rear wheel drive car. Have you at least contacted a few professional haulers for an estimate? Your peace of mind has to be worth something. Another option is to buy a decent used full size car hauler trailer and sell it on your return. You may well find this is cheaper than renting.

[GunnyRec]

My scream for help is gotton a little bit is response. I posted this over on the Buick guys thread as well and they all seem very able and willing to help as well. So I will make this post overthere as well.

I have purshased aver nice 1937 4 door sedan in FL part of this trade was a late model Harley Davidson FXWG that I no longer am amble to ride. I am a retired Matine after 30 years of service and really didn't take into all of those damn bullet holes interferring with that riding time, they did though and boy I mean they did. I need to get the Harley to FL and return my Buick. Getting the bike there was no problem as it fits right into the bed of my 2001 3500 Iton dually Cummins Ram pickup. Getting that Buick home in the pickup bed did not seem like to good of an idea, I looked at the U-Haul thing and cost wise that was $549 one way. Not too bad. I then looked into buying a cafhauler enroute to FL. Found a Co. in Blossom Texas that was willing to build me a trailer around my time fram and at a good prcice. So the deal is I will leave here this thurs with the bike on the truck, stop in Blosson TX and pick up my trailer, then head on opver to FL to get the buick. Thanks to all who responded and help me make up my mind about this.

Gunny

[HarryJ]

GunnyRec........I like your thinking on the purchase and resale of the car hauling trailer. Let me know what you want for it when you're through with it.

[Mike Dube]

Glad to see you are going the trailer route, and good luck with the trip. As an aside, I edited my earlier post. In reading it again, it didn't make sense. Tow dollies should not be used to pick up the rear end of a car.