Tow U-haul Auto Transport help

[dsf925]

Hi,

I'm going on a 250 mile round trip adventure towing a U-Haul Auto Transport Trailer at ~4000lbs, mostly flat straight highways with my 2020 Model X Long Range Plus.

Was going to purchase CURT 45056 2in Ball, 4in Drop (2in Rise).

I'm slightly confused by some of the previous threads, so I thought I would start a new one.

I've looked at All Electric Family, The Fast Lane Car, and Bj0rn Nyland, but cannot figure out if they use the factory Bosal, or did an aftermarket installation.

Would appreciate any thoughts or advice?
Points of confusion
1. can factory hitch handle this?
2. is 2in rise ok?
3. Should I use standard or high for suspension? (I believe the trailer is expecting 18in height.

Things I am clear about
1. 100m range
2. drive slow, 55 or so

Thanks for all feedback and comments

 

[Les236]

I towed a much smaller u-haul trailer with my 2018 MX 450 miles with the factory hitch, so I can't give you too much advice. Besides a loss in range, my biggest issue was finding chargers I could pull into instead of backing in. I did have to drop the trailer at least once when one wasn't available. So as long as the trailer has a way to drop it easily you shouldn't have too much problem going the distance. Just will take longer at the charger to disconnect and reconnect. It's the tongue weight that is important. You should measure the height of the ball receiver on the trailer while level to figure out the height. On a recent tow I ended up buying a new ball setup from u-haul to get a higher lift so the u-haul was level.

 

[ngng]

Hi,

I'm going on a 250 mile round trip adventure towing a U-Haul Auto Transport Trailer at ~4000lbs, mostly flat straight highways with my 2020 Model X Long Range Plus.

Was going to purchase CURT 45056 2in Ball, 4in Drop (2in Rise).

I'm slightly confused by some of the previous threads, so I thought I would start a new one.

I've looked at All Electric Family, The Fast Lane Car, and Bj0rn Nyland, but cannot figure out if they use the factory Bosal, or did an aftermarket installation.

Would appreciate any thoughts or advice?
Points of confusion
1. can factory hitch handle this?
2. is 2in rise ok?
3. Should I use standard or high for suspension? (I believe the trailer is expecting 18in height.

Things I am clear about
1. 100m range
2. drive slow, 55 or so

Thanks for all feedback and comments

You should be fine. Biggest issue is the tongue weight. Just verify it is loaded correctly. You cannot drive in high. Normal is fine.

 

[dsf925]

Thanks for the input.

A little anxious for my first track day at Thunderhill in years, using the MX to tow an M Coupe. Just wanted to make sure I thought of everything before I went to pick up the trailer in 2 weeks.

Hopefully the supercharger in Williams won't make me unhitch to charge.

 

[posity]

Bring some wheel chocks with you just in case you have to disconnect the trailer (and it is on any kind of a hill/incline). Don't want to be 'that guy' whose trailer got away and smashed into someone else's vehicle. Disconnecting a trailer only takes a couple minutes so has never bothered me. But finding a spot to park the trailer (that won't be blocked when it's time to hook back up) can be a challenge.

 

[ngng]

Thanks for the input.

A little anxious for my first track day at Thunderhill in years, using the MX to tow an M Coupe. Just wanted to make sure I thought of everything before I went to pick up the trailer in 2 weeks.

Hopefully the supercharger in Williams won't make me unhitch to charge.

Nice! Who are you running with? Please post a trip report afterwards. I'm on the fence about selling my 32' enclosed gooseneck and F350 and swapping in a nice open trailer.

You'll be fine. I've towed a ton with the X. Lots of charging stops, but the torque is great. Just double check the ball height and tongue weight. You're on 20" wheels, right?

 

[dmurphy]

“Technically” a 2” ball rise is out of spec for the Bosal.

That said …. I wouldn’t anticipate any issues with it.

Take your time, watch the speed, control your sway and enjoy all that instant torque!

 

[ThomasD]

The uhaul car trailer weighs just over 2000 pounds. You should support the tongue with a floor jack if you have to disconnect with a car on the trailer

 

[gglockner]

Curt 45030 in rise position should meet all the requirements of the Basal hitch.

 

[dmurphy]

Curt 45030 in rise position should meet all the requirements of the Basal hitch.

The Bosal hitch specifies a maximum 0.75” rise, putting the Curt 45030 technically out of spec.

It’s frustrating and I’m sure many folks ignore that.

 

[gglockner]

The Bosal hitch specifies a maximum 0.75” rise, putting the Curt 45030 technically out of spec.

3rd bullet point on the Curt 45030 web page (emphasis mine):

3/4" rise or 2" drop for precise trailer leveling

Curt 45030 is also 7 1/2" long. Am I misunderstanding something here? That looks to me to be within specifications for the Bosal hitch.

 

[dmurphy]

3rd bullet point on the Curt 45030 web page (emphasis mine):

Curt 45030 is also 7 1/2" long. Am I misunderstanding something here? That looks to me to be within specifications for the Bosal hitch.

No sir, you nailed it! For some reason I thought it said 2 3/4” rise. Mea culpa — this is the perfect ball mount for the Bosal!

 

[dsf925]

Wrap-up Update:
Overall it was a great trip and experience.

Pros:

• So much more comfortable driving to and from the track (150 mi each way), my son and I are both 6'3" and the 2000 M coupe would have been miserable.
• Saved $100 in gas money
• Good experience for the next time

Cons:

• Had to drive slower, 60-65 instead of 75-80
• towing 5000 lbs can be intimidating
• just at the end of the range, so had to stop once to get there because closest Supercharger is 30 mi away from the track

Overall:

• Would totally do it again for the next track event.
• 65 mph = 605 watts/mi, 60 mph = 575 watts/mi

the TL;DR
Items Purchased:

• Hopkins 47345 4 Wire Flat Adapter
• CURT 45056 Trailer Hitch Mount with 2-Inch Ball & Pin, Fits 2-In Receiver, 7,500 lbs, 4-Inch Drop
• U-Haul Auto Transport / Vehicle Trailer Rental
• 2x8x8 wood cut into 1 foot sections, for low clearance cars

The Prep:
Install Tesla Tow Hitch
Reverse the ball on the Trailer Hitch Mount, so that it is a 2-Inch rise (I know, it exceeds Tesla's specs). This might have been the hardest part, as it was really hard to undo the 1-1/2 inch nut.
Install trailer hitch mount and 4 wire flat adapter

U-Haul is awesome:
The U-Haul guy did all the work, all I had to do was back the car up using the rear camera. The only challenge here was looking thru the camera, I couldn't see the guy's hands, so remember to look thru your mirrors as well as the camera.

Check out his work!

Getting Gas for the car and juice for the MX

Newbie Towing Experience:
Towing 5000 lbs is no joke. Everyone who gets their License should have to pass a towing driving test. Even with a car as large as the MX, you could tell that the loaded trailer has a mind of its own. There were some weird forward backward rocking times at 45-55 mph, unsure if this was the road or my sucky inability to hold the accelerator at a constant combined with the U-Haul auto braking system. The car was easily able to pass at 70 mph which then I immediately backed down to 60-65 cruising. Rough roads suck greatly! Rear Camera is awesome.

While towing makes some things easier, it was definitely nice to lose the ball and chain:

Finally, if you have read this far, the track day:
www.hookedondriving.com at Thunderhill was awesome. My son ran A novice, and I ran B. He had instruction for all but one session, which was great. By the end of the day, he was running almost as fast as me, giving me great reminders.

www.gotbluemilk.com took photos

Finally the aftermath of a good track day:

Thanks for staying this long!