Late last year, U-Haul teased the Internet with the announcement of a new rental trailer. The new U-Haul Toy Hauler rental trailer appeared to be the ultimate evolution of U-Haul’s already excellent car-hauling equipment. Now, U-Haul finally has a trailer that can haul just about any car, off-road toy, or even three-wheeled vehicle. These trailers are finally hitting the U-Haul rental fleet, and the company has finally announced full specs and pricing.
I’ve long been a fan of U-Haul equipment. I’m the kind of weirdo who can tell you the length of your U-Haul truck not by looking at the box, but by looking at the fleet code. I’ve owned one of U-Haul’s rare CT13 fiberglass camper trailers, and I desperately want to slap U-Haul decals on one of my Smarts just for the giggles.
For years, my family had darkened the doors of U-Haul rental facilities nearly as often as one might go to a grocery store. I’ve ridden in and driven more U-Haul trucks in my life than I’ve had press cars in my career thus far. That’s dozens of trucks, if you’re curious. I’ve rented nearly an equal number of trailers. I haven’t been this excited about a car hauler in perhaps ever.
U-Haul’s Previous Car Trailer Is Great, But Has Limitations
U-Haul’s Auto Transport, or AT for you fleet code nerds, is a fine piece of engineering. These trailers were purpose-built for the task of getting a car from one place to another as easily as possible. They have self-actuated surge brakes, a track for you to drive your vehicle onto, and a ridiculously simple strapping system. It’s so easy that I was able to teach my elderly mother how to use one of these trailers.
I also love how ridiculously overbuilt the ATs are. U-Haul built these things to withstand decades of torture from the elements, from people who don’t know what they’re doing, and from people who might be a bit cavalier in towing home their Chevy Cavalier.
However, the U-Haul AT is great, but it’s not perfect. Its design requires you to pull your vehicle to the front of the trailer. Depending on the vehicle, you’ll be putting way too much weight on the front of the trailer. However, reversing your vehicle may not be possible, be it because of your vehicle’s inability to clear the front lip of the trailer or the fact that the trailer’s tall wheel wells might trap you in the vehicle.
If you’re hauling a pickup truck, van, or SUV, you might not be able to reverse onto the trailer because of your vehicle’s rear overhang interfering with the front of the trailer. But hey, the trailer still gets the job done, even when it’s loaded too much up front.
Sadly, there are other ways the U-Haul AT can fail you. The AT has two rails rather than a full deck. If you try to load something really tiny, like a first-generation Smart Fortwo or a Japanese Kei car, you’ll find that the gap between the rails is so wide that you have only an inch or two for a margin of error before your car falls through the hole.
The AT is also not great for off-road vehicles, cannot be used to haul a load of motorcycles, and cannot carry three-wheel vehicles. The AT further sucks for low vehicles and racecars. Finally, U-Haul’s AT doesn’t easily permit you to carry spare parts because of its lack of a real deck and a lack of tie-down spots.
Thankfully, the engineers at the U-Haul Technical Center took note of all of these complaints and more.
Before I continue, I want to highlight the work that happens in the U-Haul Technical Center. U-Haul’s engineers aren’t just slapping wheels onto trailers here, but they engineer trailers to be as easy to use as possible, as stable as possible, and as durable as possible. For an example of how this works, look no further than my old CT13. When U-Haul wanted to get into building its own camper trailers, it bought a Scamp, a Burro, and other popular fiberglass campers. Engineers then tore those campers down, recorded their favorite features, and then blended all of them together for an overbuilt camper made for rental service.
It’s really neat stuff and, incredibly, U-Haul’s engineers get to evaluate their equipment on a test track.
U-Haul’s Hot New Toy Hauler
Here’s what Lewin reported in December about the new Toy Hauler “TH” trailer:
As covered by Road & Track, the new trailer was specifically developed by the U-Haul Technical Center to serve enthusiasts and their unique needs. “Reviewing our customers’ demands, we recognized that many need to haul a race car,” Jeff Korman, director of the U-Haul Technical Center, told the outlet.
[…]
Key to the Toy Hauler’s appeal is its size and capacity. The company had realized that the ever-increasing weight of modern vehicles was posing challenges for its existing car trailers, which have a rated load capacity of 5,290 pounds. The Toy Hauler ups that to a mighty 6,800 pounds. It’s also much larger, measuring 23 feet long, while the usable deck size is a healthy 16 feet. That’s over a 30% upgrade versus the existing Auto Transport trailer, which has a much shorter deck of just 12.25 feet by comparison.
U-Haul has also paid attention to practical concerns around width, too. The new trailer is 8.5 feet wide, which is only an inch wider than the existing Auto Transport trailer. However, the Toy Hauler has stepped “drive-over” fenders over the wheels. Depending on the vehicle in question, this can allow a wider vehicle to make full use of the trailer’s deck. In contrast, the older trailer design has vertical fenders which make it very difficult to load anything that measures wider than 6.5 feet at the tires.
All of this alone is game-changing. Now it doesn’t matter if your car is too narrow because the trailer now has a full deck. You can now haul three-wheel vehicles because there are three decently wide ramps. I also love how there are now proper tie-down points and no need to park the vehicle in a specific place, so you can properly load your vehicle as you need to and then use the wonderful array of hard points to lash it down.
The open deck also expands the trailer’s hauling abilities. If you’re careful, you can use the TH to carry multiple motorcycles, ATVs, or really anything you might want to plop down on the deck.
Now, U-Haul has published a fresh press release indicating some awesome news:
Initial production runs are occurring now in Tempe, Ariz., Pomona, Calif., Novi, Mich., and Warrington, Pa. The first 1,000 trailers will be manufactured by mid-summer. Plans call for 5,000 to be ready by the end of 2025.Toy Haulers are already available for rent at some U-Haul locations for in-town and one-way use, with one-way rentals fueling distribution across the U.S. and Canada.
With certain limitations and exceptions, here is a sampling of the vehicles that can be accommodated by the U-Haul Toy Hauler that would not fit on its Auto Transport: BMW X7, Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Avalanche, Chevy Silverado 1500-3500, Chevy Suburban, Chevy Tahoe, Dodge Durango, Ford F150-F350, GMC Sierra 1500-3500, GMC Yukon, Jeep Gladiator, Lamborghini Urus, Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Range Rover, Mercury Park Lane, Nissan Armada, Pontiac Star Chief, Porsche Cayenne, Porsche Macan, Rolls Royce Phantom, Tesla Model X, Tesla Cybertruck, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, and Vinfast VF9.
Even a Mercury Park Lane, eh? Nice!
Final specifications have also been released, and the new Toy Hauler trailers weigh 3,165 pounds empty and carry 6,834 pounds of weight. For those of you math nerds, that tallies up to a nice 9,999 pounds. For comparison’s sake, the old Auto Transport weighs 2,210 pounds, carries 5,290 pounds, and has a gross weight of 7,500 pounds.
U-Haul notes that in addition to what I wrote above, the trailers should fit the “vast majority” of trucks and SUVs on the road today, including a huge swath of modified ones. Jasmine Spencer, U-Haul Towing Program manager, admits that U-Haul expects customers to use these trailers to carry more than just road vehicles:
“With more people needing to move large items like side-by-sides, tractors, building supplies and even hot tubs, the Toy Hauler is a game-changer. Looking at the number of SUVs and trucks that families own, we saw a clear need for trailers that can handle these bigger loads.”
U-Haul says to expect the trailers to show up near racing communities in Arizona, California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania first, then Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas later. Eventually, the rest of us will get a chance to take it for a spin. U-Haul says the trailers are renting right now for $89.95 a day, which is not that bad of an upcharge over the $54.99 Auto Transport. Also, this trailer will not be replacing the Auto Transport, so you can still rent that one if you want to save $35.
U-Haul is launching the Toy Hauler in time to celebrate the company’s 80th anniversary. The trailer also marks U-Haul’s first new rental trailer since the 5×9 Ramp Trailer launched in 2002. So, U-Haul is treating this new ride as a pretty big deal, and I think it is, too. I can’t wait to try one out. I would say that I would rent one of these trailers to pick up my Honda Life this summer, but Illinois is not on the early rollout list. Drat.
I pray for every driver of a U-Haul I see.
A friend of mine helped me move from Tacoma, WA to Beaumont, TX in 2016, towing a 2001 Jetta on a dolly and we swapped turns at the wheel, going non-stop other than refueling the 15-foot E350 box van until we just couldn’t anymore. And I rented two rooms in Amarillo. On one of his stints, he spent a bit too much time off the right shoulder somewhere in SE Utah during a hailstorm and its right taillight came undone.
Then we finished the trip.
A divorce later, my brother and I did the reverse trip back, towing a ’17 Accord on the same kind of dolly.
Whatever engine they have in those things must be robust beasts, because they’re revving their hearts out going up hills. And burning a lot of gas in the process.
Although, looking back, 12-15 mpg in a decidedly un-aerodynamic van pulling a car was about what my parents’ ’65 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 got. Just pulling itself around. Pretty impressive.
So, when I see a U-Haul van, I always pray that it’s for happy things going on and not sad ones. I’ve done both.
You’d think U-Haul’s customer data would show that 75% of their customers just use their trailers for towing 1992 Honda Civics, since that’s all I’ve ever said every time I’ve rented one of those trailers, rather than towing [grossly overweight vehicle] with [grossly underrated tow vehicle].
Lord, nearly 3200 lbs empty?? I mean, it is extremely impressive and well thought out, but dayum! I am happy that I could theoretically tow this trailer + its max load, as my max tow capacity is 10,000 lbs.
I appreciate the photo of folks loading hay on one, because that’s what we’d use one for. Perfect size and shape for 600# round bales with the drive-over fenders.
(80% of horse keeping is moving manure and getting hay. The other 20% is mostly keeping them from indulging their innate love of tragedy.)
I hauled a ’69 Saab Sonett from CT to ME on the old one, which had BOTH the issues of being very narrow AND causing a huge weight distribution issue given the engine is in front of the front axle AND it was super short. Couldn’t put it on backwards either. That was not a fun ride.
It would be nice if they made the new one in long and short versions. This solves the problems of something like the Sonett or a Kei car or bikes, but at the same time it’s waaay overkill for the small stuff. Though I suppose at that point, you could just use the regular 6×12 open trailer as someone mentioned.
Great for scissor lifts as well!!
I was happy until this part. The old trailer plus my track day toy was already questionable to tow (and a PITA to load) but the extra 1k pounds is probably a no-go even if I can get a universal Class IV installed.
“I would say that I would rent one of these trailers to pick up my Honda Life this summer, but Illinois is not on the early rollout list. Drat.”
Maybe you can 1-way it from the West Coast and help with that distribution you mentioned? Probably not.
I agree with you that these are a big deal.
Yay! I’ve dealt with the problem of cars too narrow for the original and not being able to use them to move Reliant three wheelers.
The narrow car could still be an issue because of the spacing between the ramps. Anyone know what the gap between them is? Or have a solution for dealing with that?
Edit: Nevermind, found it!
https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/16ft-Flatbed-Utility-Car-Trailer-Rental/TH/
I bought an old rental trailer years ago, and I can confirm that kei cars will barely fit on mine, same as the normal U-Haul one. My Alto Works was about 1-2 inches away from the tires touching the sloped guide rails on the inside of the trailer deck.
I haven’t had an issue with door clearance yet, though. The Fiero GT was close, but still had about 1/2″ of clearance, and that was with a person in the driver seat, and that door sits low for reasons I haven’t figured out yet.
If the Fiero in question is like mine the door pins cause a solid couple inches of door sag when open.
It’s low at the front and rear, pretty much the same amount all the way across, when it’s closed. I would assume there is more than one thing going on, or it would be biased one way or the other. Just haven’t had time to look into it.
The U-Haul Auto Transport and Toy Hauler really embody the “best trailer is your neighbour’s trailer” mantra.
At any given time, there’s at least 6 Auto Transports in my area, ready and waiting for my next shitty impulse buy.
You don’t pay U-Haul to give you the trailer. You pay them to take it back.
These new trailers look awesome! Last time I needed to rent one was a few years back when my old lifted 5-speed 99 Forester blew the head-gaskets (shocker, I know). Needed to get it 100 miles to my dad’s shop, and a U-Haul trailer was my only option at the time. It was a breeze to load, and my mom’s TDI Touareg towed it like it was nothing. Looking forward to trying out the new design in the future when/if I need to tow my Bug to a far away car show.
https://i.imgur.com/lyt8kUO.jpeg
They’re such fantastic trailers. So much so, that my baseline for buying a tow rig is calculated using the weight of an Auto Transport with my ’86 Mercedes on it. Cause I know it’s gonna happen.
Crosley cars were too narrow to comfortably fit on the old auto hauler. Fortunately, they do fit in a UHaul 6×12. Or on a 4×8 Harbor Freight heavy duty folding trailer. Or in the back of a full-sized pickup.
I have that Harbor Freight trailer and I always worry about weight. I’ve used it for bulk dirt/mulch a few times but I just worry that it’s going to collapse. I’ve had it for probably 15 years now and it’s excellent for lumber and stuff though. I won’t give it up.
I have the heavy duty HF trailer rated for 1700+ lbs. It’s been rock solid. A really heavy Crosley car weighs only 1400lbs, so plenty of margin for comfort.
It looked interesting until I saw the weight. An extra 1000 lbs over the standard car trailer? Oof. The standard one is already kinda heavy, but as you noted at least on the new ones you don’t have to have the vehicle loaded all the way to the front anymore, which helps with weight distribution. I actually installed helper airbags in the rear of my Sequoia to handle the tongue heavy Uhaul trailers, one of which I will be renting next weekend.
U-Haul trailers have always been the heaviest, and with good reason. They will be rented by folks who abuse and misuse them, but they have to last for a decade or more. A U-Haul trailer will probably see more miles in its first year than the average privately-owned trailer will in its lifetime.
This is awesome. I already have a trailer that is speced the same as the original uhaul trailer, but every once in a while I need to pull a full size truck and it’s an ordeal, have to either find a friend willing to loan it or go to local rental companies.
What do these trailers have for a suspension? I love the durability and functionality of U Haul trailers, but some have essentially no suspension. Just a rubber block. Less than perfect roads van pound the crap over what you transport.
Torsion suspensions actually allow you to carry more weight safely, reducing shock through the tow vehicle.
I cannot speak for their car hauler, but i have rented single axle box and open trailers. Not torsion suspension, but literally a rubber block. Axle had no pivot to it
Solid suspensions are exactly the opposite of a torsion suspension.
I can’t be more critical of fixed axles, and leaf springs aren’t that much better.
Better suspensions allow tow vehicles and trailers to operate better and with less stress.
I’m not sure what suspension is under uhals, but I always thought it was leaf springs.
I used a flatbed once with a 20 ton suspension, pulling it with a one ton pickup.
So effectively a solid suspension.
It was yanking the truck around like it was nothing.
I went back and talked to the trailers owner and he explained what was going on.
Even with the load of steel I had to move, that suspension never budged.
Their website says leaf spings on the twine axle models. I have never looked underneath one of them. Just their simgle axle models.
that said, they all pull great. I two weeks I need to pull a 6×12 dual axle enclosed from MO to Florida. I will look under it.
Be very careful going downhill with surge brakes.
I’ve crawled under uhaul auto trailers, but I didn’t notice suspensions.
I can guarantee that everything pulls better with a torsion suspension.
I got a 14 foot Doolittle torsion sprung enclosed trailer and love it.
Still have my first Subaru based rig, and some on leaf springs.
My assumption here is that since it’s transporting a vehicle, you’re relying on the cargo’s suspension.
There are involved discussions about whether the suspension on the carried vehicle should be free to move or restricted.
This is a neat trailer, but it’s not at all what I need. Neither a 2100 pound car trailer nor a 3100 pound toy hauler tailer are of any use to a guy with a minivan rated to tow 3500 pounds. What I need is somebody who will rent a very light car hauling trailer, like a Trailex open aluminum trailer. I know a (now retired) Chrysler engineer who used to tow his racing neon on an open Trailex aluminum trailer behind his minivan. The whole thing (trailer and racecar) was less than 3500 pounds. With the Nivomat self-leveling rear shocks on the van, it worked great!
It’s crazy to think the car and trailer are 500lbs lighter than my w126.
I have a friend who for years towed his Saab 9-3 Convertible with an aluminum tow dolly behind his Saab 9-5 Aero wagon from OH to FL and back every year. That’s probably the way to go to tow a car with a car/minivan.
Though after the truck I borrowed to do the job broke down, I towed a Land Rover 88 on a U-Haul car trailer with my Volvo 745T. It towed the thing far better than that heap of poo Chebby Baby-Blazer did, even though it was at least 1500lbs over the Volvo’s tow rating. Not something I would recommend, of course, and it was done SLOWLY, for not very far, and with the Landie strapped in the middle of the trailer for weight distribution reasons. Good times!
I had a Demco Kar Kaddy tow dolly for many years. I had to sell it due to a lack of storage space, but it worked well with the minivan as a tow vehicle.
Most people aren’t towing gutted FWD track cars though, most race cars are heavier than that unless you’re talking a promod that’s still 2800 pounds.
A bunch of people in the road racing world could be towing a lightweight vehicle. A stock 1st gen Miata is 2100-2200 pounds, and that’s before deleting unnecessary stuff. A lot of cars raced in the 24 Hours of Lemons are sub-2500 pounds. I do realize that my use case is bizarro, though. Most people who tow stuff these days use a gosh-darned big ‘ol pickup truck or SUV.
I want to rent it just for fun!
Why do they keep slapping 55mph stickers on them surge brakes? They can’t be that bad. I bet there are a fair amount of people that have trailer brake controllers in their trucks and SUVs and have no idea.
Liability.
It has to be more then that. With the little wheel trailers maybe I can see it I’ve seen the hubs not so happy after a long time at 75. But that’s just an standard car hauler but with surge brakes.
Lowest common denominator for state towing speed limits? California is 55 MPH when towing.
I try to stay out of there but makes sense. Especially will all the the uhauls leaving there
The uhaul surge brakes are happy going uphill, but a new kind of terror going downhill in the mountains.
Yeah I was in an unfortunate situation to find that out. I wouldn’t recommend it
I stopped halfway back and bought a tapered spring, 15000 lb leveling hitch.
No idea, but a guy I know that likes to drink while wrenching on things says they have no issues cruising at 75mph for hours on end.
Not me of course, I follow all manufacturers instructions as laid out in the U-Haul insurance policy.
Uhaul always tells me my Cummins heavy hauler isn’t safe towing anything larger than a 90s Corolla.
They know that Dodge steering can’t be relied on.
I’ve always found dodge steering better than alternatives.
Mine came with pretty well destroyed steering from potholes in that area though.
I will be upgrading to the best option available, plus an active steering damper.
Unfortunately the toughest one out there only fits newer models.
Yeah, a lady I know who likes…uh…Fiat 500s, tells me that they pull just fine across the entire country at 75 mph.
The only thing I dislike is how some of the empty trailers like to jump on deceleration due to the surge brakes.
Stop & go traffic where every time you slow down you feel “Ca-chunk Ca-chunk ca-chunk” on the hitch as the brakes repeatedly apply and release.
Loaded up though? Smooth as buttah.
I pin the brakes out when empty. Same thing you do when reversing them. 2klbs unbraked is no problem.
Neat! Having hauled 2 cars in the past 6 months… I wish this had come sooner.
Hauling a friends nb miata was…interesting cuz we had to squeeze out the windows once the car was on the trailer cuz we couldn’t open the doors. Hauled peachy though.
Hauling Krystal the Battle Hearse (white 1994 cadillac)…. well I had to go back to the u-haul center and get a tow dolly. (I measured and it was really close but I forgot to account for the part of the tire ahead of the axle)
16 foot dhck would have ruled. Crawling under a hearse to disconnect the driveshaft was… unpleasant, even for my skinny ass.
All this to say: yay new equipment!
I’m surprized anytime I don’t have to go in and out through the windows.
Pro tip: you can tilt the humps to the side when you’re loading the car so that you can get out.
Blew my mind when I saw it done.
Finally, I can tow a Vinfast VF9, as specifically called out. Thank you, U-Haul, for thinking of the Vinfast VF9.
I do like the looks of the thing, but the nearest service center is 100 miles away…so it’s perfect!
Within AAA range so perfect I don’t think they will give a tow past that. I don’t understand why they don’t have OTA updates yet.
But will it tow an electric Hummer? Not that I would ever need to…
No amount of U-Haul engineering force can create a trailer that is capable of handling the girth and tonnage of a Hummer EV.
55 mph, hahahaha, nope.
I’ve had multiple service trucks pass me with trailers on top of their ramps while pulling trailers on trailers going 70+ easily.
I like the design!
I mean you gotta drive through Michigan to get to the east coast anyways, so you could grab a one-way rental, and then have one in IL for future use…
I usually just do the local rental for however many days it takes me to drive to the coast and back. It’s significantly cheaper than a one-way deal. I wonder if U-Haul would be willing to send one out my way for a review.
I was looking into that as at some point I need to get my Spitfire from ME to FL. There must be enough one-way traffic between those two states that they don’t worry about it, as one-way was cheaper than the five days I would need to do it “local”. Only $300!
Depending on the vehicle, that was possible before:
https://live.staticflickr.com/7347/10304261096_f3e60825bd_c.jpg
Why is yakkity sax playing in my head?
Hard to say. It’s honestly difficult to hear anything over the Freeway’s marginally muffled Tecumseh.
Look here, you…I love it! 🙂 Though, you cheated and got one of those neat ramp trailers. I’ve seen some folks fitting Kei trucks in those trailers, too.
I also cheated in that my Freeway has a trailer hitch so I could secure the ramp firmly against it without worrying so much about damage. I still put some folded moving blankets from… somewhere… in front and back, though:
https://live.staticflickr.com/7344/9531918853_c008595730_c.jpg