If you are going the 1100miles at low speed then your fine. but I assume you are gunna be going 65mph at least. you tranny will over heat most likely and then your screwed.

Heck I have a 5 speed and I have pulled cars out of the ditch with mine but at low speeds its fine. it's hard on the clutch but not much else.

 

i've wired my O/D to use the "sports" light, nice light green color instead of an ugly "orange" colour

 

I’ve rented the 5x8 trailer from uhaul and they didn’t have any problem with my class I. If you look on the website they say that class I is all you need.

Also IDK about Reese or Drawtite, but hidden hitch does not need any drilling. It uses existing holes. Takes about an hour and basic hand tools. Cost about $100-150 depending on where you get it. I got mine from jc whitney for like $120 shipped.

 

You might try hitting craigslist or some local pawn shops and find a 4x8 utility trailer for next to nothing, then sell it after you move. These are really light so you can load them up, but I hope it doesn't rain!

 

O.k., cool. I am glad I was wrong about both items. I do recall trying to rent a car dolley from my local U-Haul and they told me no. Also, I assumed that since my Reese and the Drawtight require holes to be drilled in the spare tire well, that most or all of the Maxima hitches would too. Yeah, I paid about that for mine too from Autozone. But, just like every other mod I do, it took me a lot longer than an hour.

 

I’m sorry if my tone was short of pleasant in my post. I just wanted to make sure the message VT was getting from all of us was consistent.

I’m sure my install took more than an hour. I recall getting everything torqued down then realizing that I hadn’t hooked up the muffler bracket or something. A couple of years and many a keg ago, kinda foggy!

VT, if you look at the cost of buying a hitch, renting a trailer, and buying gas, food, and incidentals, this still looks pretty expensive. I want to give you the best advice, b/c that’s what I’d want if I were in your shoes.

Do you have any friends who would loan you a full-size pickup for a few days? If you have a pickup available, you could load it up with just about anything you could get in a 5x8 trailer, drive it up to VT, unload and bring the truck home. Then you could haul what’s left in the max. The extra gas would just about be a wash with buying a hitch and renting the trailer, and you would not have to worry about any damage to the max, (no $$ on a transmission cooler or $$ if you mess up the install and drain the tranny on the pavement BT-DT got the t-shirt).

Or maybe get the same friend to make the trip with you, just load up the truck and let him follow you in the max. You get help unloading, and send him home.

I don’t want to get into your personal business, but if you’re moving for work or something, why don’t pack light and camp out in VT for the first month or so? You can load clothes and stuff in the max easy. After you have had some time to save some money, you could go back and rent a truck and get everything else moved.

I’m sorry to sound pushy, but the only time I’ve had to retire a car was because the autobox failed. (1983 toyota camry, worth $500 and would have cost $2k to fix). So please understand that I am (justifiably or not) apprehensive about towing long distance with your car.

Do what you need to do, I won’t hate on you for it.

 

And I really appreciate that.

Honestly, the thought of towing anything with my Max has scared me from the git go. Unfortunately it became an option because renting a truck and towing my car behind it would have been 3 times as much and the prospect of driving an uncomfortable gas guzzling piece of crap truck was anything but appealing. The trailer option on the other hand, while cheaper, would be long, hairy and could crush my Max costing me even more in the end. I had contemplated renting a cargo van but those are extremely difficult to find one way and I'd still have to tow my max. Multiple trips with other vehicles would have been an option too but 54 hours of driving in a short period of time would most likely have had me bleeding through my eyes.

Unfortunately all of these options had downsides and after torturing myself with what to do, I think I may have found a solution. I'm going to have someone else tote my shyt up there for me.

I just got off the phone with ABF U-PACK and the quotes they gave me were far less than renting a truck and if I load and unload my stuff at one of their facilities it'll be about the same or maybe even less than getting a trailer. Doing it this way will eliminate a ton of hassle and I can now drive my Max up there worry free with no orange/yellow OD off light driving me completely bonkers. Hell yeah!

If I may, I'd like to thank all of you for your willingness to help. This is a big deal move for me and the information you guys have shared and provided me with has allowed me to explore any and all options. Much thanks!

 

How did the move go?

I'm going through this same dilemma right now...

It's definitely cheaper to buy the HH hitch and rent the trailer- $121 plus wiring (?) (I'll estimate $20), plus renting the trailer $92 (for the 4x8), plus increased cost of gas while towing. I'll be going roughly 1000 miles.... Right now I get 30 m/g on the highway, but I'll be lucky to get 15m/g while towing at 55MPH. Assuming $4/g, it would normally cost me $133 for gas, but while towing I'll guess $266, $133 more than normal. So total it costs $373, not including oil/transmission fluid changes. The oil change is a wash since I will need to drive up either way and should change my oil regardless.

I looked into ABF U-pack, and I can load up at their depot and pick up at their depot for $322, but then I need to rent a U-haul in-town to drop-off and pick-up my stuff. That's $20/day +tax, plus $0.99/mile plus gas. That'll be roughly $40 each time, or $80 total on top, so it will be just over $400. Otherwise they can drop off at my house and pick up at my appartment for $582.

I guess that's pretty close- except that option A I get a Hitch and I can use it again if I need to and option B I get nothing in the end... but may avoid damaging my car....

Any further thoughts?

 

I've got a Class 1 Hidden Hitch on my 5 speed Maxima. It's easy to install and works well. I use it to haul my sailboat (~500 lbs boat and trailer) and my 4x8 flatbed utility trailer around town. I've loaded the trailer up with wood from my deck to dump it. Works pretty well. Just make sure you don't accelerate quickly and leave a lot of space for braking... and don't go faster than 50-55 mph.

If you put heavy stuff in your car, you might try to whatever you can in the passenger seat and/or floor to even out the weight distribution. Reduces rear end sag.

 

Well, welcome back New, New englander... And about the overdrive thing. Keep overdrive off when driving on regular roads and lower speeds. When you hope on the highway then put on overdrive. Just make sure you are just not in overdrive as much, cause these auto trannies love to shift back and forth way too much for their own good and that gets her hot with the extra load.