Help! Car protection for long trailer ride behind a uhaul
 

In just under a month i'm moving from St. Louis MO to Boulder CO. I'll be putting my frs up on a trailer which will be attached to and pulled by the uhaul and all I can see in my head is my car being pummeled with random rocks and gravel for the 13 hour drive. So I considered getting a car cover. However I'm reading now that car covers can cause paint swirls. Considering the car will be in the wind for so long I'm guessing it would not go over well for my paint. Any suggestions would be fantastic!

Pay a transport? I imagine hauling a car with a uhaul is going to cost quite a bit in fuel and renting equipment. Put that money towards a car transport and have peace of mind and it will be insured in case of accident or damage.

Maybe purchase an inexpensive, generic bra for the front.

It wouldn't have to fit all that well nor be all that durable.


humfrz

I just did the Utah to southern California move with the FRS on a trailer behind a uhaul. About 12 hour drive. It honestly did really well. The uhaul was wide enough to protect it from anything hitting it. That was my experience anyways.

First, just relax. Second, you don't need anything. I've towed my car 1200 miles from Maryland to Florida before on a UHaul trailer behind the UHaul truck. The car will not touch anything. The thing is basically going to be 'tailgating' the truck all the way. Wind will barely even hit it. As far as rocks go, the car has an extra 2-3 feet of ground clearance thanks to the trailer, and not far enough back to really get hit w anything. Pay for it to be transported if you want, it's your money.


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Vinyl wrap! Just like car manufacturers do.

Buy a few rolls of masking tape and cover the front bumper, as well as the leading edges of the front fenders, hood, windshield pillars, and roof. You'll be fine.

Don't forget to put masking (painter's) tape over the mirrors as well.

The gas extra gas you'll burn may want to consider a cheap one way flight back and drive it. I hate trailering long distance. The FRs is a wonderful car to drive on long trips, its a real bonding experience.

Just do the cover, I assure you your car has plenty of swirls already.

If you do end up putting it on a trailer, don't forget to fold your side mirrors in as well.

Two options:
Flatbed trailer - use painter's tape on front, hood, and side mirrors. Fold your side mirrors in.

Transport - I used Google, found a reputable site that basically puts your car up for auction, transporters bid on it, then they connect you with the transporter and you set up the logistics that way. It was a lot cheaper than I expected - cheaper than a flight for me. You may want to research this option if you have more time.

It'll be fine.

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...5ontrailer.jpg

I did it, some >800 miles over 16 hours or so, ten years ago. No damage to the vehicle at all.

You can get rolls of carpet protector that would go on and off pretty easily.
Plastic sheeting with tacky glue on the back. Mostly used during remodels to keep dirt and paint off.
A lot like the OEM shipping panel protectant. You can cut to fit.

Preach, that's what i do on long trips. Once home peel it right off and don't forget to get the side view mirrors.

Blue Painters tape!
http://www.studionewmedia.com/galler...serialNumber=1

Dude you can make the drive from St. Louis to Boulder in your car without a trailer.

I know! That would have been nice to drive my car. It would be a lot better than driving a uhaul for that long. But I've got all my house stuff to bring to. I was originally going to hire a moving company to move my stuff and then drive my car there myself. However I wouldn't have my stuff for about a week and a half and it would cost more. So I decided to rent uhaul and get a trailer for my car.
Same reasons go behind why I decided not to get my car shipped there either.

But you guys have some great suggestions! I can't believe I didn't think of painters tape! I've seen that in auto cross pictures so many times! :bonk:

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And I feel better about the idea of the trailer now. Glad some of you have already gone on long trips with them and arrived unscathed. That's really good to hear


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Just did a 19 hour one way trip from St. Louis to Ft, Lauderdale last weekend.
All none stop, just gas up and go.
Have to say it was the ride of my life, coming down from the mountains was
the most fun I ever had, people where standing on their brakes and the BRZ just buzzed true. (Almost drifted down)
Turnpike was great too, pay toll for great roads and very nice "speed" limits...
Shame you don't have the chance to drive it to your destination, it is worth it:)
Enjoy Colorado, My BRZ loves Florida, no more snow, sleet and ice...

This is a good idea. I actually have this planned with my girlfriends car since we both want to bring our cars. looks like ill be bonding with a Fiat 500 Cabrio in a few months when we come back for it. :burnrubber:

it will be a pretty good combo for living in bolder. Her car for the scenic roads and mine for twisty fun ones.

What's the website for bidding?

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Painters tape and done. I trailered my GTO from Dallas to Memphis and back with no damage at all behind a uhaul. One suggestion I will make is to get the next bigger uhaul than you need. Yeah, it may not be "full" when you leave but it tows sooooooo much better.

And good riddance to St. Louis and I hope all goes well for you in Boulder. I can't think of a better place to be if I was in your shoes.

I can't remember since it was a couple of years ago, but I found it through Google.

fantastic to hear. I plan on doing just that. Tape up and go. I just ordered the u-haul and the trailer. I got the 20' 3 bedroom uhaul so Im glad to hear the bigger ones pull better.

haha, I will miss St. louis but I could not be more excited about moving to bolder. Thank you for the good wishes. I will be taking some pics and videos to document how it all does to share with the community here during the trek.

T minus 3weeks!!

Get a car cover, go to a home decor place and get the holders that tie down the bed sheets I forgot what they're called now you have a full on protected car!

sounds like u-ship. From the tv show shipping wars lol

Why not get a king size fitted sheet and just put it over the top of the car? Just make sure its a high thread count! :lol:

Not sure if it was said already, but a properly secured car cover (some come with a "gust guard," which I think is just specialized bungee cords) on a cleaned and waxed car will not cause any swirl marks or paint damage. However, since its behind the truck in the first place, I'm guessing the chance of damage is fairly minimal.

Doing the same myself this coming Monday. To make it worse, U-Haul screwed up my reservation for a 20' and I ended up getting a 26' (for the same cost, but it's freaking huge). I'm a little freaked out about going from daily driving a BRZ to hauling a 26' U-Haul truck and towing my car behind it.

Like you, I decided on that because of the time frames moving companies gave me. On top of that, I accepted a job offer on a tight schedule, which makes it all the more complicated. Leaving Monday from Iowa, hoping to arrive in Maryland on Tuesday (sleeping over as close to destination as possible, hopefully Pittsburg).

I won't have time to get a protection for the car. Reassuring to hear of good experiences. Hoping that the extra girth of the truck and height of the trailer keeps the BRZ pretty safe back there… :X Would love to hear the outcome of your journey! ;)

:party0030:

Help! Car protection for long trailer ride behind a uhaul
 

I can assure you that my trip was a success! I was worried about the U-Haul kicking up rocks and dirt that would scratch my car. But neither of those things happened at least from what I can tell.

also, I had thought a U-Haul person had to drive my car up onto the trailer. Definitely not true. The guy had my clutch smoking trying to get the damn thing on the trailer before I told him to get the hell out of my car. Definitely do it yourself, which is what I ended up doing before any real damage was done(thank god). Be careful driving it up onto the U-Haul trailer as well. I scrape the bottom of my car in the middle getting it up onto the U-Haul. Getting it off I had several uhaul employees putting wood planks under my front tires to help me clear the gap when I was backing off the U-Haul trailer .

Other than that you should be good! Safe travels 👍