I believe the dolly would minimize this risk unless severe side winds were encountered.

It's not worth towing a Passat across the country... using anything.

That must be a migthy special car to want to do that.
My 1999 Passat was a P.O.S. and I had to "give" it away for $6K (wholesale price) just six years into it's life. I'll not own a VW again.

__________________
Cheers!
Scott McPhee

1987 300D

Maybe not a good idea. I've towed a lot more tongue weight half way across the country, and about 2K pounds, that's the limit I pulled with an old SD, 19 yrs. ago. I drove generally 50 mph and stayed off the Interstates and toll roads.

Nothing against VWs, but I'd own a Japanese/Korean car before I would ever own a VW. And I never plan on owning any Asian car/truck...

what they think?

(have another New Insurer ready and waiting in the wings...your current one
will drop you like a hot potato once they know you're even thinking about this)

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

Actually, it might all be a moot point. U-haul won't rent you a dolly unless they determine that the tow and towee vehicles are compatible or a good idea in their database, and that the hitch is acceptable. They won't risk a trailer with a non advisable towing setup, and will tell you to take a hike.

There are ways around this, such as reporting a different vehicle as the tow vehicle, but aside from the obvious ethical and probable legal reasons not to do that, is not a great idea safety wise either.

I only did this once, I needed to deliver a E-250 to indiana from CT, and I had a full size dodge caravan FWD cargo as a return vehicle. They would not let me rent a dolly, which was way cheaper than a trailer, and the employees really did not know the reason, the computer just told them it was a bad setup.

Because it was getting down to the wire and I had not found another FWD return vehicle in the time limit, and I knew the ford would have no problem with the empty caravan weight wise and brake wise, I told them i was towing a sentra and they rented me a dolly. Well it turned out that the Caravan was actually too wide to fit on a dolly perfectly and there was some risk of body damage, causing me to have to take extra wide turns. With some finagling, I got it to work, but U-haul generally knows its business and will not rent something they know to be a bad idea.

For instance, like said above, im pretty sure the towing vehicle has to exceed the weight of the towee and dolly combined, among other rules they have. You should call them, or better yet, run the two makes through their website.


EDIT- I just ran your 95 through the Uhaul website, and used a 95 passat as the vehicle being towed. This is what came up-

The Tow Dolly is not recommended for this towing combination.
Towing vehicle requirements:

• Must weigh at least 750 lbs. more than the vehicle being towed.
• Must have Class 2 tow hitch (3,500 lbs. minimum weight-carrying rating).

Looks like a moot point then. Cheap option 2 is to list it on Uship and let people bid on shipping it. Ive used that with great success.

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

To drop's point, I tried to rent a trailer from U-haul to bring the current 300TD home from TN, on a 14,000lb rated hitch on the back of a 53,000lb Prevost motorhome, ... they wouldn't let me. I had to pick the trailer up at U-Haul behind the Ford E-250 van, ...

The database is flawed / biased severely toward avoiding liability issues.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Has anyone thought to mention that the 124.131 doesn't take a hitch? Looking under the back end, it seems like the only option is to drill through the trunk floor. They say rust never sleeps...

__________________
RIP:
2011 E350 BlueTEC, Schwartz 81k (totaled by uninsured drunk driver)
1964 Unimog 404.1 (wrongfully towed by the city)
1994 E320, Brilliantsilber 208k (transmission shuffled off after sudden catastrophic fluid loss)
1982 300D, Silberblau under a blue repaint 256k (sold for parts)
1995 E320 Polarweiss, 131k (sold for parts)
1995 E300D Polarweiss, 287k (totaled by drunk driver)

Trunk floor mount for hitch is the only logical way to attach to this car. My SD 126 had probably 8 holes drilled in it by the hitch installer with nuts and bolts affixing it. UHaul didn't question the trailer I was renting. They are heavy feeling to pull in an SD 126.

*ON EDIT:
UHaul in Omaha, NE. didn't question or even look at the hitch I had just had installed elsewhere - by an indy hitch shop in Council Bluffs, IA. UHaul did a tailight kit install on the Benz which worked flawlessly. BTW, I forgot to add when writing the above, that the installer affixed under the bumper of the '83 SD, two bolts, as well as the numerous bolts through the trunk well. I felt it was a good, strong installation for what I was pulling with it. The car's long gone (sold 11 years ago) so I can't take pictures of the installation. I just haven't seen it for 10 years or so, and the guy that bought it (a neighbor) moved, or I'd take a couple pix. I was pleased with the install enough to leave it on the SD. I'd guesstimate I was pulling about 2K or so pounds, give or take with the old car. Would I do it again? Absolutely would.

Trunk floor hitch mount is dangerous and unwise, despite whatever stories people wish to invent. Sheet metal is not an acceptable place to attach anything that you wish to have stay attached to the car.

Search this forum for hitches, there is at least one out there with some excellent answers to attaching a hitch to a 126, safely.

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

He has a 124. Surely there's little in common between the back end of a 126 and a 124?

__________________
RIP:
2011 E350 BlueTEC, Schwartz 81k (totaled by uninsured drunk driver)
1964 Unimog 404.1 (wrongfully towed by the city)
1994 E320, Brilliantsilber 208k (transmission shuffled off after sudden catastrophic fluid loss)
1982 300D, Silberblau under a blue repaint 256k (sold for parts)
1995 E320 Polarweiss, 131k (sold for parts)
1995 E300D Polarweiss, 287k (totaled by drunk driver)

Both unibody Mercedes.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Thanks for all the replies! The Passat will be shipped and not towed. The VW is not that special but I will be better to sell it in Denver than where I am at now. Even after the expense of shipping, I be much further ahead selling it in CO. Thanks again for the responses.

__________________
95 E300 Diesel 200K