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I'm potentially looking to tow 7000 lbs Range Rover from Texas to California

Ok, so do you know any tricks to help me transport the vehicle that far on the budget?
What if there's a random trucker out there who happens to go from Texas to California and happens to have one empty spot for a vehicle on the trailer? How do I find such a trucker? Would they be willing to add one extra car for a discounted price? I'm sure dealerships move the cars back and forth all the time. Carmax does!

Alternatively I could fly to Texas and there rent a pickup + uhaul trailer but that comes out at $2k+ out the door + all the time invested.

Me and seller are both flexible on the time and date so I can afford to wait some time for a good opportunity.
 
Yesterdays Tractor.com has a section for getting things moved like you are looking for.

It reads like you have your eyes wide open and found a good seller. Keep in mind though that carfax relies on insurance and state DMV info. The last I heard Texas didn’t share.

BMW owned Rover. Then Ford. Now Rover has Bosch electric.
 
This whole thing sounds like one big cluster to me, I’d walk away or find something local to you
 
Barrman said:
Yesterdays Tractor.com has a section for getting things moved like you are looking for.

It reads like you have your eyes wide open and found a good seller. Keep in mind though that carfax relies on insurance and state DMV info. The last I heard Texas didn’t share.

BMW owned Rover. Then Ford. Now Rover has Bosch electric.
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Thanks for pointing out tractor.com, will check it out.

Can you elaborate further on carfax topic? I have the VIN number of the vehicle. First owner had the car for approx 5 months and apparently couldn't keep up with the payments. Then second owner is current seller that had the vehicle since 2008 and did all maintenance till now at the dealership. The car lost coolant while on a freeway. Radiator holds water so it appears to be some hose or coupling or water pump. Motor is spinning so it's not seized. Head gaskets are most likely gone. I'm assuming whole engine rebuild will be required, although might get lucky and just do head gaskets. I rebuilt Subaru EJ255 completely not too long ago so I would be comfortable approaching this job.

I have pictures of the car and phone number to the seller - very responsive person.

Funny enough, pre 2006 L322 Rovers had BMW motor M62 which happened to be very unreliable. Then past 2009 L322 Rovers got very unreliable Ford V8 5.0L motor. In between it had more reliable Jag 4.4L and 4.2L Supercharged. 4.2L Supercharged Jag happens to be most reliable of all.
 
I have shipped a suburban, a crew 2500, a couple jeeps and about 10 M35A2. You pay extra for vehicles that do not run. It's a pain to load and they get in the way of moving vehicles on and off the trailer. The big army trucks were the only ones that worked out well because I was paying for the entire semi truck both ways with 2 M35A2 on the trailer. Basically chartered the truck
The suburban was ok but cost $2500.
The 2500 was shady, they showed up and it wouldn't fit on the trailer. They said they would drive it down to a big parking lot and reload the trailer. Pretty sure it was just driven behind the semi until the next delivery got unloaded.
One of the jeeps got damaged when the trucker lowered the car hauler 2nd level onto the roof. Insurance paid for it but only after paying the trucker, in full, in cash, or he wouldn't unload it and then a 6 month dance with insurance.
The 2nd jeep ended up being parked on the realtors lawn for a month because the trucker just flaked out and didn't show up.
The shipping industry is pretty much a nightmare with sketchy tweaker hotshots mixed in with the good guys. I don't recommend it.
 
One way to do it is if I do it myself, e.g.:
- fly to Texas, approx $400
- rent UHaul trailer, $300 but not sure if the car fits; trailer is 12' 4" long and the car is 16' long but the wheelbase is 9'
- rent some pick-up truck from AVIS/Budget/Enterprise/Hertz for approx $400
- pay for gas approx $700

That's total of $1800 + my time. Certainly not cheap
 
ChrisAwesome said:
One way to do it is if I do it myself, e.g.:
- fly to Texas, approx $400
- rent UHaul trailer, $300 but not sure if the car fits; trailer is 12' 4" long and the car is 16' long but the wheelbase is 9'
- rent some pick-up truck from AVIS/Budget/Enterprise/Hertz for approx $400
- pay for gas approx $700

That's total of $1800 + my time. Certainly not cheap
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I would be really surprised if uhaul will rent you a car trailer when you show up with someone else’s rented pick up truck, and I doubt enterprise will rent you a truck to tow a uhaul car trailer
 
Last few trucks we rented out of DIA came without receiver hitches. They do it on purpose, don't want you towing. Its in the fine print too.
 

TX - SOLD F600 Crawler hauler

1991 Ford F600 flatbed crawler hauler. bed is 11.5 feet of flat bed and 8.5 feet of dove. it has ramps that slide out the back as well as a drop down leg for the heavier loads. it has a 6 cylinder turbo diesel, 5 speed transmission and 2 speed rear end. mileage is only 45569.6 I originally...
ck5.com ck5.com
 
ChrisAwesome said:
One way to do it is if I do it myself, e.g.:
- fly to Texas, approx $400
- rent UHaul trailer, $300 but not sure if the car fits; trailer is 12' 4" long and the car is 16' long but the wheelbase is 9'
- rent some pick-up truck from AVIS/Budget/Enterprise/Hertz for approx $400
- pay for gas approx $700

That's total of $1800 + my time. Certainly not cheap
Click to expand...
If you don't own a truck you can haul it with, it's cheaper to have it shipped.
Don't waste your time thinking about how you can do it yourself.
If you have a friend who is willing to lend you a truck for a couple of hundred dollars then it's feasible, otherwise just shop for the best deal and good luck.
Shipping cars is the hardest part of owning cars
 
The Carfax thing seems to be a big can of worms. I read an article a few years ago about how only about half of the states let them have information and various percentages of participation from insurance, banks and repair shops. Searching today for the article I found Carfax claiming 100% state participation, 100% insurance and a huge percentage of repair shops. Along with others claiming Carfax is still just hit or miss with various levels of numbers to back it up.

Trailer and truck rental. I have rented U-Haul box trucks to tow my own trailer behind it. I had no troubles with them about that. I agree if you plan to rent both, do it from the same company.
 
So I’ll chime in with hauling/renting experience.

Enterprise doesn’t care that you are towing. I’ve rented 2 Dodge 2500 trucks and a Ferd. All have receivers. Bring your own hitch.

U-haul also doesn’t care what truck you pull with, just reserve the trailer with the truck you are using. They have 2 trailer available, a 7k and a 7.5k. (If I remember right) Reserve the stronger one as it’s also a bit wider. This is the trailer I always reserve for BB and my truck. Bender weighs well over 6k, especially if the tires are on. Last year I had donuts on the front (get past trailer fenders) and 40s on the rear.

Price out both 2 way and 1 way rentals for everything. You might consider a 2 way if it’s way cheaper.

Couldn’t care about the car, if you got your heart set on it, go for it. Just sharing my experience.
 
U Haul depends on corporate or franchise, store. When I was moving and the 77 need to have the exhaust repaired, I figured I could rent a u haul pick up round trip with my last trailer load plus the bed. I rented it from a corporate location. The receiver had a lock on it, no ball mount. I asked for the key and they said I could not tow my trailer with their truck, then they told me they didn't have the key be cause that truck didn't belong in their yard. I wish I hadn't asked, I would have busted it off towed my stuff and replaced the lock.
When I rented their biggest box truck, from a franchise, I towed a my buddies car trailer with it. I forget if it had a ball mount or used one of mine, either way the receiver wasn't locked.
 
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Good luck renting a pick up truck with a trailer hitch + written permission to use it to tow a trailer.

UHaul / Penske rents trucks + trailers...

Wild Card - why would anyone buy sight unseen a none running vehicle 1800 miles from home?

This isn't anything exotic or rare.... Only a thirsty gas hog .... That may not have California CARB approval.

You're a gluten for punishment
 
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