[Fat Goose]

I am moving and need to drive a U-Haul type truck to my next destination since nothing will fit in my E93 and to save mileage. I will be towing the car via towed trailer (all wheels off the ground/no dolly bs).

Do you all have any tips/tricks for towing a BMW on a trailer? (I.E. Should I retract the side view mirrors or keep them fully extended?... Should I utilize the tie downs? etc) I have driven trucks with towed boats but never transported a trailer towed vehicle.

Thanks all.

[chazzz]

Why not hire someone to transport your car?

[DSB335d]

I've taken one of those across country. Yeah why not fold the mirrors in. Definitely use the tie down straps.

[avocet]

i have towed alot of stuff, but never a car. please do your research and do it properly.

[fenixxishot]

I've done it twice its no big deal just plan what gas stations you pull into very carefully as its a pain to back up. Use the tie down straps that are attached to the trailer and your good to go.

[Fat Goose]

Should I do anything to protect the hood/windshield/side mirrors from chips?

Navy won't pay to move the car and I'm not gonna pay (trust) someone 1k I can do my self.

[mrunner]

Make sure the hydraulic brakes on the uhaul trailer work properly. I have had much success with the uhaul transporters but some people have claimed the brakes are not maintained or lack fluid.

Uhaul says all you need is the 2 tire ratchet straps at the front of the trailer. I guess it works. In general practice on flat bed trailers like that, cars are tied down in an "X" pattern. The trailer does have many additional tie downs to do it. That is how i tie down my offroad rock crawler. Plus straight down too. But then again it has a big lift and flexy suspension. None the less, you would want to pay attention to your review mirrors. If the car is bouncing around you may want to ratchet down some more. But the BMW is not lifted and on a flexy suspension either.

I'm not sure there even are 4 tie downs on the BMW. I only think i have the one screw in tow loop in the trunk, that goes into a hole either in the front or rear bumper. So in this case I would use the uhaul supplied straps at the front, and the tow loop in the rear just to plant the rear firmly down so it doesn't hop if you hit bumps. Maybe get another tow loop for the front as extra. Don't tie anything to your axles or drive shafts. Even though their safty chain might say tie to an axle. That only works for solid axles. Not IFS. And even there it's debatable.

Uhaul has a stated 55mph limit on the trailers. What's odd for me is that when i surpass that speed the trailer shakes. Maybe its just my tow rig or they have some speed limit warning system in the trailer. Others have reported this too.

Load the car forward engine first. You need the weight on the rear wheels of the tow vehicle for traction and braking.

In case you don't see the latches, The wheel wells of the trailer wheels fold down so you won't smack your car doors getting in and out.

Its a uhaul. I'm always a little skeptical. Check tire pressure in trailer and tow vehicle to make sure that you don't have under inflated tires, or driver side at like 40psi and a passenger side at like 26psi. Stop periodically, or whenever you do stop take an air pressure reading to see how the heat of driving and the weight brings tire pressure close to max tire pressure.

That's what i can think of now concerning towing with the uhaul transporters.

[WreckerX5d]

Tie the straps to the A-arms or wheels, 2 front and 2 rear. You generally do not want to tie down the chassis. Always suspension components below the springs. Tighten down enough so the car can shake the trailer, drive 2 miles and retighten. Cross the safety chains on the trailer, and don't worry too much about the brakes on it. Your using a U-Haul truck that far exeeds the weight of the car. If you were using a mid-sized truck, then they would make a difference. Also fold in the mirrors. A trailer is a trailer, no real difference between a boat and a car.

[dmatre]

Make sure that you pull far enough forward on the trailer that approx. 10% of the trailer weight is on the tongue. A tongue-light trailer will sway dangerously (learned this one the hard way - almost lost the car/trailer/tow vehicle). This also means that you shouldn't pack the trunk full of junk after loading the car on the trailer. If you'll be loading the trunk, make sure that you check the tongue-weight AFTER loading. Other than that, secure the car with the tie-downs as noted above. You want to prevent the car from moving left-right and forward-backward - so connecting the straps in an 'X' or a 'V' is the way to go.

For the hood, you can get a 'quick-wrap' from Griot's Garage. It's kind of like industrial strength Saran Wrap - Looks like crap, but it'll protect the nose/hood from chips. Or, you could cover the front with blue painter's tape.

It's not that hard, just do your preparation right and it'll be a breeze.