Boat transport

[Jaypro]

Do any of you have any experience renting a tow rig to get your new boat home? I need to get a boat from Louisiana to New England. Can you rent a Tahoe or a truck and just throw a receiver hitch on? I assume most of these vehicles have the tow package.

[RAWSki]

Have you looked into U-ship? While some rental vehicles will have tow receivers they may or may not have lighting hook-ups. It's a crap shoot these days . You might have better luck with u-haul or Ryder. Some will have pickups or vans set-up for towing .

[Lieutenant Dan]

@Jaypro FWIW I’ve seen Suburbans and such at my local Enterprise rental with tow hitches on them

[skiinxs]

Check your rental contracts, most explicitly forbid towing. This could lead you uninsured in the event of an accident and on the hook for lots of money. U-Haul is the only one that I am aware of that lets you tow with their pickup trucks. There is no unlimited mileage retals with them. My gut feeling is that the per mile rental fee would be more than a u-ship price. I have used them several times and had great experiences, just make sure you accept a bid from someone with lots of good reviews and that furnishes insurance.

[skibug]

U-ship

[swc5150]

Agreed, U-Ship will be much cheaper. Granted it was 3 years ago now, but I had a boat shipped from Buxton Marine in TX, to WI for $660.

[gt2003]

U-Ship! Just had my boat transported from Pennsylvani to Oklahoma, about 1250 miles for just under $1000. Good luck with your shipment

[powbmps]

I went through this last spring. Towed a Response from Orlando back to NH. From my research, none of the rental car companies would okay towing a trailer, but my insurance company would cover me when towing. Pretty much every large SUV comes from the factory with a receiver. Bought a one way ticket on Southwest. Checked bag is included, so I put my hitch, and an assortment of tools in the suitcase. Flew in, took a taxi to the rental company, picked up a couple extra trailer rims/tires (I knew the trailer was in rough shape), picked up the boat, and drove 1,300 miles in 23 hours. Fun adventure for sure. PM me if you need more info.

 

And I tried U-Ship. I've heard stories about people getting boats towed similar distances for less than $2K. Took three weeks to get my first quote for close to $5,000. Second one was even more. I spent under $1,000 and had a fun time doing it.

[Horton]

interesting topic. The mountians between my house and Newberry are steep enough that I do not like pulling my ProStar with my base model Silverado. I know I could get a trans cooler and all that but I have been thinking about just renting a truck next time I need to take a boat out there.

 

Next truck will be bigger.

[Jaypro]

U-ship quote of $1700

[OSUwaterskier]

We would rent 3/4 tons from the Enterprise Commercial division to pull our ski team trailer. Had to go to the commercial lot to get something they would let us tow with.

[oldjeep]

Enterprise commercial is local only though - no one way unless that has changed

[gt2003]

When I first used u-ship I went the route of entering the shipment details and letting the transport company give their own bids. They were all higher than I wanted to pay. But, there is also an option that shows the typical price for a shipment similar to yours and allows you to set the price you are willing/wanting to pay. I got much better bids that way. Good luck.

[Jaypro]

@gt2003 just tried that option, hopefully thats better!

[Horton]

what is the cost of a truck to tow with for a Friday - Monday?

[mikegile]

@Horton, Just got a new Silverado with the 6.2 and don't even notice the boat while towing. just in case you are thinking of upgrading..........

[Horton]

@Mike Gile my old Chevy is paid for. Renting a truck for the weekend is a hell of a lot cheaper than a new one.

[vtjc]

Most rental companies prohibit towing, but some of the vehicles have hitches. I don't know how it would work insurance/liability wise if you refuse rental coverage and use your own coverage.

 

U-Haul used to limit the types of things you could tow. Box trucks could only tow U-Haul trailers...

 

I currently have a Toyota rental from my local dealer while they replace the frame on my 09 Tacoma. The contact allows for towing(but smoking and pets are prohibited). However, the rental 2017 Tacoma they provided lacked a hitch(All 2018 V6 Tacomas now come with tow package). I put a bolted-on hitch on it for a failed 1,500 mile round trip to buy a boat. VT to VA and back.

 

[skihard]

Keep shopping U-Ship. I had a boat delivered to me in Texas from Utah and it was less than $1000.

[kstateskier]

Uship is the ticket. I've shipped a boat and a car with them. Always very pro.

[bigskieridaho]

Renting a truck from U-haul charges you by mile and you can tow anything you want. Rental companies like National or whatever don’t usually do one way, some may but I rent a lot for business. U ship or U haul.

[Chef23]

@vtjc we had the frame replaced on an 09 Taco as well. We had to take it back for them to clean up a steering issue but has been great since then. Got it back in October.

[DaveinPa]

Jaypro: You might contact Caj Flynn @ 303-570-4325 (W.Palm Beach) or caj@shipfm.com for a price. He is a professional boat transporter and gets rave reviews on The Hull Truth Boating Forum. I would use him before U-Ship FWIW. Good luck, Dave

[DaveinPa]

Found one more that gets good reviews, info@smittyshaulin.com

443-295-3771

240-298-0588

[BrennanKMN]

I drove from MN to TX to get my boat.

I enjoy the trips and I don't like letting other people deal with my stuff. I drove down to inspect the boat and if I was ready to buy it I could it drive it back right then. Drove 2250 miles in 3 days including testing and buying the boat. By the time I paid to fly down and back to look at it I figured I'd just drive and be ready to bring it home. The chances of me not buying it were pretty slim after seeing pictures and talking to the owner. That made the cost of driving myself much easier to justify.

 

Now if you don't have a vehicle that you trust to do those kind of journeys that makes things harder. I have more trust in my personal truck than I would in a new rental truck. Plus I can bring lots of gear and tools to deal with anything along the journey if I am not flying.

[skimtb]

You may be able to get the guy that delivers for Mastercraft to get it back to TN real cheap if he is empty on a backhaul. Then you could just go get it from there.

[Jaypro]

@skimtb, great idea, worth asking!

 

[BraceMaker]

That'd be a very cool program for MC to offer, particularly if they offered things like a MC tour, boat certificate of information etc.

[skimtb]

http://belchertrucking.tripod.com

[swc5150]

Agreed on the name-your-price option on U-Ship. That's how I got mine so cheap. It was part of a back haul for the driver.

[bigskieridaho]

I made a comment earlier about options, but I agree with @BrennanKMN . I drove from Idaho to Arizona to pickup my boat as well. Was looking at one in Texas and would have done the same. Don’t trust people and road trips are fun!

[Jaypro]

@skimtb , you were right! Having it towed to the mastercraft factory for 250$! That makes it a 1 day drive to the factory for me and saves me $1000. Thanks for the great idea.

[skimtb]

Sweet. That’s a lot of 1/4 tanks of gas....

Obviously sign up for a tour while you are there.

My commission is payable is ski pulls.

Enjoy the new tug.

[Jaypro]

@skimtb any time you come to Vermont you got it! Unfortunately still recovering from ACL surgery. No skiing until May, and even then I don't think I will be full gas for a while.

 

[Jmoski]

@jaypro - no good friends with a tow rug that would help you out? I day tripped with my friend to NH from MA to bring home his new to him MC with my Tundra, granted it was shorter trip...

 

Maybe you need a BOS member based cross country tow relay, I will happily pull the MA —> Vermont leg :-)

[Jaypro]

@Jmoski great idea!

[TimothyHarrell]

Instead of renting a tow rig to get your new boat you can go with the boat delivery company for more safety of your boat. As there are many boat delivery company that helps in transporting a boat from one place to another. Hiring a boat delivery company is also advantageous as they take care of all safety needs and you can also get a various service option for transporting a boat on time safely to destination. There are many boat delivery company like We Will Transport It, Auto transportation service, etc. who provides boat transport services. Transporting company assures you on time delivery with pick up and drop up facility.

[jcamp]

Dumb question: Do the U-ship drivers put boats on a flatbed or just tow behind their trucks?

[Kelvin]

@jcamp depends on what you want. I sold a boat 10 years ago and the buyer used u-ship. The guy just towed it from Texas to Cali.

[jjackkrash]

I have seen both. My cousin just shipped a wake barge from NY to PNW (this summer) and it came on a big gooseneck flatbed wrapped in plastic. $1.50 a mile. I have seen hotshotters just hook up and go as well.

[lpskier]

@jcamp Whacha got, Justin?

[RAWSki]

In the U ship app you can request different towing methods anything form hitch and go to carrying in a covered trailer.

[MDB1056]

Simply said you cannot rent anything to tow your boat. Cars or trucks. 100% of the car rental agencies forbid towing with anything you rent from them, even their pickups and SUV’s . The truck rentals (Uhaul Penske, hertz) only allow towing of their trailers or car towing rigs. That’s it . I know it’s ridiculous- and I was shocked myself when went through the exact scenario. Your better off borrowing a truck from a friend . Most people assume if you own a boat with a trailer that you also own a vehicle capable of towing it. Kind of makes sense.

[dbutcher]

My guess is that the reason car rental companies forbid or limit trailer towing with any of their rental units is liability insurance (or self insurance). If a renter hooks a trailer that may or may not be in good shape or may or may not be attached correctly to the company's unit, and the trailer is involved in an accident, the rental company's liability insurance or self insurance is involved - fairly or unfairly. The rental company's dollars are at risk. It's unfortunate for a renter who wants to tow a trailer, but it makes sense from the rental company's point of view.

[buechsr]

dbutcher, the Graves Amendment bars vicarious liability claims against owner-lessors of vehicles (including rental car companies).

[dbutcher]

I'm not familiar with the Graves Amendment. Is it state specific or federal? The rental company would probably get sued for more than vicarious liability, i.e. for its own alleged independent negligence/potential liability. There could be insurance coverage issues too. The renter who towed a trailer would be in violation of the rental contract - possibly not a permissive user for insurance purposes. I claim no expertise - I just see many problems if a renter violates the rental contract and has an accident.

[jcamp]

Nothing official yet @lpskier but hope to have a deal finalized soon.

[oldjeep]

Discount rents 3/4 ton trucks you can tow with, as do a lot of local equipment rental places. Finding any sort of 1 way rental would be tough.