U-Haul to tow car home. How hard to hook up the car w/ the Nylon straps? Easy?

[B72011]

OK so we've got a dead A4 sitting 100 miles away. I am probably going to rent a Uhaul and trailer and tow it home. The tow co.'s are wanting like $300+ --crazy!!
Question is--how hard is it to hook up the nylon straps you see on the Uhaul trailers? Also, do they give you extra straps to hook up the car to the rear? Chains?

Where should I hook up the rear straps/chains on the rear of an Audi A4 Avant? Is there an easy spot to wrap straps/chains around for no damage?

Gracias amigos!

[POPO]

Its Easy Mthe Straps Loop Over The Front Wheels And Thread Through The Ratchet handle. The Car Wont move Once They Are On Plus There Is A Chain In The Front of The Trailer And One In The Back That You Secure To The Car Just Like Tow Trucks Do Your Hardest Part Will Be Getting The Car On The Trailer If Its Dead. I Just Picked Up A B6 Yesterday With A Uhaul trailer

[B72011]

No, the issue is an overheating. It will drive up the ramps no prob.
We have sport suspension on the Avant. Will I grind/crunch on the back down off the ramps?
If so what should be the kind of wood pieces I should bring along to avoid this

[POPO]

Here is the correct picture now



If you decide to go with a U-Haul trailer, the driver side fender folds down so that you can open the driver door. There are 2 rubber locks, check the front of the fender and the rear of the fender.

[B72011]

??

[The_Hamster]

A few pieces of various length 2X6 or 2x8 if you want. I normally find a driveway ramp or something and and back the trailer up to it. Then drive the car down the driveway ramp up onto the trailer. The front of those u-hauls have a fair size lip that is supossed to catch your wheels. Sometimes the front bumper has to come off to clear that thing, or back the car on as the rear bumper has more clearance. The last time I used one was with a lowered B5 S4, had to back the car on. Even with the front bumper off the inter coolers didn't clear the lip. Then the muffler didn't clear the lip, had to hold it up by hand as the car backed on. Then it hooked on the lip and was fine during transport, but had to be held up again getting the car off the trailer.

[POPO]

i tried to link a pic of mine on the trailer but its not working. my other b6 (rip) had the sport suspension and i had no issues loading that either without additional wood. the ramps come out long enough where the angle isn't steep.

[Smash McLovin]

The straps are pretty strait forward and sturdy. Make sure that they are TIGHT!! My car broke down on the way to Vegas last year...I valeted (is that a word?) the Uhaul. The expression on the guys face and peoples's reactions were priceless. Shout out to the valet people at the mirage for acomidating. Anyway I did a Vegas to LA haul with no issues. Just keep it at or under the speed limit. A lesson I almost learned the hard way on downhills. good luck! Shouldn't be too bad you're runs I had to push mine up the ramp! Good times and memories though!!

[Smash McLovin]

Also if you know someone with a truck, Uhaul will put the hitch on for you, and just have them give you a quick run through on how to put/tie Your car on the flat bed. The guys/gals were pretty helpful with me. annnd since its not out of state you might be ale to even rent one of their trucks. I had to rent the 'small apartment' unit truck. (insomnia in full swing). PM/email (email is best as I'll be at work. [email protected]) me if you have any questions it's scarier than it really was. Once on it was a cinch. Again good luck!

[bermudakid]

It's really simple to strap down just drive the car all the way forward until the wheels are against the front of the trailer. The straps are attached to the trailer and their should also be diagram sticker on the trailer itself showing you how. If you have common sense their is no way to really mess it up. Their is no need to bother with the chain either once it's strapped down - I towed my car from Daytona FL, to Bridgeport CT (over 1000 miles).

[B72011]

Yeah I'm thinking it wont be too much of an issue. My other worry was crunching the bottom of the bumper and/or ripping it off. BUT--I'm getting the insurance so no worries.

[walky_talky20]

In my state of PA, vehicles have to have 4 tie downs on a trailer. They are all supposed to be diagonal (officially), but on our race car trailer we use the wheel straps like the above photo for the front, then diagonal straps to each lower control arm in the rear.

The mistake I see most often is people attaching straps right the frame of the car. This is incorrect. The car should be strapped by the wheels, or suspension points as near the wheels as possible. Spots which do not move much or at all as the suspension deflects. The suspension should be allowed to move freely in transit. For example, if you hook a ratchet strap the rear tow hook or bumper of your B6 and ratchet it tight to the trailer, every bump will be putting massive load on that strap and tow hook as the suspension bounds and rebounds. Enough load to bend the frame.