L400 towing

[Airgonzo]

Hey folks,

I've already posted a thread regarding our move to Yellowknife and the latest inquiry that I have regarding it and our L400 is in regards to towing. Rather than renting a Uhaul truck, I would like to rent a trailer and I'm wondering how big of a trailer I could expect to reasonably pull with our van. We'll be driving through the Kootenays on the way so we'll be climbing lots of hills. The trailer we would need to haul all our stuff is 12' by 6'. It's for vehicles with a curb weight up to 3,750 lbs and can carry up to 2400 lbs cargo.

Too big for the mighty Delica perhaps?

[Airgonzo]

Looks like the L400 curb weight is 1,690–2,170 kg (3,700–4,800 lb) so we should be ok there. Now I just wonder how it would do on those hills.

[jessef]

It will do okay providing your cooling system and transmission have been serviced well.

I can't stress enough the requirement for a pyro/egt gauge if you are towing that much weight.

As a reference we towed a trailer of lumber weighing about 2,900lbs from Vancouver to Clinton without issues with a LWB. EGT's got up high on the passes so just drove accordingly. O/D off, RPM up, light foot on the pedal kept the EGT's within reason.

[Airgonzo]

Thanks Jesse,

I installed a pyro so we're ok there and CVI did a delica tune on our van about a year ago. It hasn't given me any reason for concern about the cooling or transmission since then.

Cheers.

[jessef]

Then you're golden. Be safe and enjoy the drive up.

[Feds]

Do double-check with your u-haul store before you show up to get the trailer. On Friday I booked a car trailer online, and even through the truck/trailer/car combo passed u-haul's online check, I had to do some fancy talkin' to get the trailer out the door.

If you show up with something not in their system, they may not rent the trailer at all.

[Paule]

To add to what Feds mentioned, be sure to do a thorough check of the trailer. I rented one about a year ago and its tires were in really rough shape - to the point where I felt it was unsafe to take it on the highway (up the Coq). Uhaul put up a serious struggle saying that all was good and refused to swap it for a different one until I said that I would take my business somewhere else. I guessed that it went along with their business plan that includes licensing all their vehicles out of Arizona where the rules are more lax.

Edit: It seems that Arizona does not require vehicle safety inspections, so advantage -> them, if you're not careful.

Drive safe!

p

[Dingus]

Reading this made me cringe everytime I had to rent one. Explains most of the horror stories I've experienced.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/2005102 ... ul_051021/

[Rural]

Make sure your brakes are in good shape.

[BV1]

I tow a 7x14 trailer (next size up), tows fine. However, I have an EGT guage and boost upped to 12psi to help with EGT's. Coming back the other day I was into a headwind of 25km/hr. This limited speed to 80km/hr safely (EGT's 750F pre turbo). So I took OD off and cruised at 2500 RPM with the converter locked, as opposed to 2000 RPM with OD on.

No issue if you take it slow. With large loads I wouldn't co over 90km/hr indicated anyways.

Steve

[Mitsuballistic]

Good information above. Especially about safety. Keep your speeds slow, especially if you are encountering high winds, slippery roads or other challenging weather. Check your trailer out thoroughly before departing to make sure tires, brake light hook-ups etc are in tip-top shape.

We rented a UHaul 6X12 utility trailer to haul a recreational vehicle. Delica is not a listed vehicle in UHaul's computer, so you're best to explain that closest to Delica L400 is the Montero (which is listed).

We travelled at freeway speeds (or slightly under, ala 90km/hr) -- but this was on mostly flat highway. If you're planning to travel more mountainous terrain, I would suggest taking it even slower, and stopping for breaks.