Ok, So we've had multiple discussions about towing the Mini on a rental trailer.

Has anyone actually tried to put a Mini into a rental moving truck? The trucks are certainly wide enough inside, but I'm not sure how to do a ramp.

I'm aware that I could pay someone to move it, but I have to move two minis and furniture with one driver, so looking to be creative and cheap...

 

oh man! i thought of this the other week. I measured it out...it fits!

 

If your talking about a classic mini then Yes. I know Agro did it when bringing his classic back to Vegas. The new ones I'm not to sure. Finding a loading dock might be the tough part.

Nik

 

That's the key. If it shifts, you have body work to do...

Matt

 

Don't put it in a U-Haul!

My company did what was supposed to be an easy inter-office move (California to Utah) a few years ago and rented a Uhaul to take back office equipment and files---I know, I would have hired professionals were it my decision---and had a small problem with the truck.

In the winter, doing Uhaul's top speed of about 30 uphill, it caught fire. The entire truck and all of its contents were consumed in minutes. Luckily no one was hurt. Not to be libelous, but their maintenance standards probably pale in comparison to yours.

Save yourself the heartache and have a friend drive your MINI.

PM me for pix of the flaming lump-truck if you like.

 

I have pondered this too. I have heard its a bad idea because without really good tie downs the car will actually slide around on the slippery floor, and also any other items in the Uhaul have a possibility of shifting/falling and causing damage. Someone tried it and found out the hard way. If you try and succeed please share you tips, I would love to do this as well.

 

just fill the rest of the truck with packing peanuts and it should be fine

 

^^ lol!

use painter's tape on the front portion of the car (side mirrors too) and
just drive it.

 

moving companies move cars inside the trailers all the time. the trick is properly bracing the car so it can't move. my suggestion would be to get the car in (possibly the hardest part) and then screw boards to the floor both in front and on the outside of the tires. they don't need to support too much force because the weight of the car is pretty good at causing the friction. another option would be to put blocks front and back and then 2x4's cut to length on the outsides touching the wall of the truck. as long as you have it snug so it can't start to move you shouldn't have a problem.

 

I don't know if I would go the route of screwing boards into the floor of the U-Haul. Car moving companies use specially built trailers/trucks to move cars with tie-downs that are connected to the frame of the truck/trailer. If you have to hit the brakes in a panic stop, bolts that are just screwed into the floor of the U-Haul may not hold your MINI in place. If they don't (hold the MINI in place in a panic stop), you will have body work to do. Have you checked with car moving companies for quotes to move the MINI? When I took delivery of my MCSa, a number of buyers went in together and did a group transport. You might check with some of the dealers on NAM to see if they are going to be sending cars out your way when you are planning on moving and if so, contact the shipper to see if they would move your car on the return. It might work to your advantage. Rolling the dice on a DIY car transport seems to be asking for trouble. Do you really want to risk having to eat the cost of a collision (both your MINI and the truck) if you have to make a panic stop while transporting your MINI? Plus, there is the issue of your MINI having been wrecked (even if the damage is repaired, is it truly like new??? I don't know; I certainly would be bummed about it)....

 

Find a friend who would think it might be fun to drive across the country in a MINI. Buy them a cheap one-way plane ticket home as well as their meals and such on the trip.

 

I think Argo mentioned that ya'll-haul won't rent you a closed truck for the purpose of putting a car inside... So you would need to not tell them you plan to do that and then if there were to be damage there could be problems down the road.

There are plenty of auto shipping companies. I shipped a car from Miami to San Fran a few years ago. It ain't cheap but it does get it there.

My last cross country move - San Fran to Norfolk - told the trucker to save room for my Miata's hard top - he offered to load the entire car...yep, they will put the car in the truck. He was even going to have it on an 'upper level' .... said his trailer was strong enough - no problem. I did not take him up on the offer tho.

As I understand it, the issue with MINI (and Mini) is clearance vs the typical trailer with rails or a dolly with pockets. If you can find a flatbed trailer the problem is solved. A flatbed with nylon wheel straps is just the ticket. You can find movers with that equipment - usually smaller outfits.

For what I paid to ship my car, I'd look at buying a trailer and selling it at the other end....if I had a suitable tow vehicle.

You didn't mention how far you are going did you?

 

U-Haul are worthless for transporting cars because the decks are too low to use a loading dock. Rent a 3 or 5 ton from Budget/Penske etc. and you'll get a proper 3'6" deck height. If you stop by any warehouse with a loding dock they'll let you use it for loading/unloading. I've taken my car and motorcycle on long trips this way for years and have never been turned down when I ask. Your best choice is the local food distributor, they have far less rules like a huge operation like Wal-Mart or Walgreens.
Use long wheel-chocks made from stacked 2"x4" cut to various lengths to snug up to the wheels and hold the car about a foot from the front bulkhead, then use the front tow hook to attach a heavy duty ratcheted strap to the front tie-rail (most Budget truck have these.....ensure before you rent) The car is now immobile!
I wont bother you with the details for attaching the bike, it's a bit involved!

 

As previously mentioned, I put my classic in a 14' U-Haul truck to complete the trip to Vegas. There were a couple of issues.
1. U-Haul expressly forbids putting a car in one of their trucks. It's in the rental agreement. They want to rent you a car-trailer.
2. Getting the car into the truck is a biatch. As mentioned, U-hauls are not a regular truck height (to make loading your boxes easier) and have rear bumpers so you can't just back up to a loading dock and drive the car in. The U-Haul guy in Cedar City rented me a pair of ramps to get the car in (for $25) but I still had a hell of a time, since it was raining and the wet steel had about as much traction as a sheet of ice. When I got home, I rented a pair of much better ramps from Home Depot for $8 for 4 hours.
3. The car slid inside the truck. I was very smooth driving around, no sudden accelerations or braking, but when I put the car in, I stopped in the middle of the truck. When I stopped for lunch, it was right against the front of the truck. When I got home, it was right against the rear door. No damage, but if I'd had to make an emergency braking, I might have had a Mini in my kidneys.

I'd say it's certainly doable, but if there's another way, I'd look into that.

If you were to rent a bigger car trailer (say, one that would hold an Impala), you could carry both Minis on it. 2 MINIs wouldn't weigh much more than something like an old Impala, and 2 Minis would weigh less. I had a mate in Australia who got 3 classic Minis on a car trailer, which I towed with my 265 Valiant.

 

We rented a Budget truck and trailer to move Tori here. I have seen the U-Haul trailers and they are not as nice as the Budget trails. The Budget trail tilts to get the car up nice an easy, but i recommend getting your own tie downs no mater who's trailer you use. i bought two at home depot and used two chains on the front of the trailer. the ones in the back where crossed to keep side to side movement down. it worked well. here is a photo because every thread with a photo is that much better.

Chad

 

Great feedback guys

1) Auto Transport - Don't want to pay the money, nor have to mess with the scheduling pickup and drop off.

2) Driver - I can do this if I have to. Was looking for a way for my wife and I to do the trip ourselves, but still be able to drive together in the same car. (Yes I'm still in that phase of the marriage). But at least one of us has to drive the Truck, which kind of ruins a fun driving trip in the MINI.

3) Trailer - See #2, If I could find a rental trailer that I could fit both minis on that would be perfect. Wheel base on the Mini is 97.5 inches; so you would need at least 195 inches plus whatever the shortest distance between the wheels and the bumper. I'm not aware yet of a rental trailer log enough?

4) Which is what got me to just putting one of the Mini's in the back of the truck and then towing the other one on the transport trailer. I'll have to look around for a dock to see about using the Penske or Budget style trucks.

 

Have you checked out http://www.doortodoor.com/? They bring you storage/moving "sheds" that you fill up and then they load them on a semi and drive them down for you so you dont have to drive the truck and you can both rally in your MINIs. At first glance they look more expensive, but when you add up the truck rental and the trailer and gass, etc, it turns out to be about the same. I am moving in a month with 2 cars and found this to be the simplest solution, I think it came out to be a few hundred more to not have to drive the truck with a trailer which is worth it to me.

 

http://www.uhaul-sucks.com/

I had an equally scary experience and I will NEVER rent from them again. Budget- fine, Uhaul, you've gotta be kididng me.