U-Haul has just made moving your race car a lot easier

Every racing car or off-road model reaches a critical point at some point. You have to decide: Will this thing remain street legal, or will I commit to lugging it around in the future? Thanks to U-Haul’s new trailer offering for enthusiasts, that decision could be easier in the future.

Meet the toy tractor. It’s a new, larger car trailer designed to make it easier to get your project cars and fun weekend drives where they need to go. As covered by Street & Track, the new trailer, was designed by U-Haul Technical Center specifically for enthusiasts and their individual needs. “As we reviewed our customers’ needs, we recognized that many needed to transport a race car,” Jeff Korman, director of U-Haul Technical Center, told the outlet.

If you’ve dreamed of owning a hardcore project car but have been sweating on buying a trailer, that’s good news indeed. Let’s take a look at what makes this new tug such a nice upgrade.

The key to the Toy Hauler’s appeal is its size and capacity. The company recognized that the ever-increasing weight of modern vehicles presented a challenge to its existing car trailers, which have a rated capacity of 5,290 pounds. The Toy Hauler increases the weight to a massive 6,800 pounds. It’s also much larger at 23 feet long, while the usable deck size is a whopping 16 feet. This is an improvement of more than 30% compared to the existing car transport trailer, which in comparison has a much shorter bed of just 12.25 feet.

U-Haul also paid attention to practical aspects of width. The new trailer is 8.5 feet wide, just an inch wider than the existing car transport trailer. However, the Toy Hauler has roll-over fenders over the wheels. Depending on the vehicle, a wider vehicle can make full use of the trailer’s loading area. In contrast, the older trailer design features vertical fenders that make it very difficult to load anything with tire widths greater than 6.5 feet.

Owners of more unusual vehicles will also appreciate the Toy Hauler. U-Haul specifically equipped the vehicle with three ramps instead of the usual two. This is a huge boon for owners of three-wheeled vehicles like old-school ATVs or the Polaris Slingshot. Simply pull out the three ramps and head straight up – no strange maneuvers required.

The trailer may seem too large for some applications, especially if your race car is on the small side. However, having more space to play with is often an advantage when heading out to the track. This generous space can come in handy if you want to carry a few sets of tires or other supporting equipment that won’t fit in your tow vehicle. The trailer is equipped with enough lashing points so that it can easily accommodate this.

The new trailers are scheduled to be released in 2025 and will be available in both the US and Canada. It’s worth noting that the Toy Hauler is an addition to the U-Haul fleet, not a replacement. “The U-Haul Toy Hauler (or “TH”) is intended to complement, not replace, existing offerings,” said Jasmine Spencer, U-Haul towing program manager Road and rail.

(Mercedes Note: It’s time to add TH to the list of U-Haul fleet codes.)

The brand’s existing car transport trailers remain available and are currently priced at $54.95 per day. Pricing for the new trailers has not yet been determined, but you can expect a small price premium due to the additional performance.

As an Australian, I don’t have much experience with U-Haul’s own trailers, but I have used similar trailers before. They can be a bit fiddly and difficult to use. Now our own Mercedes Streeter has leveraged U-Haul’s existing offering and fully supports the new design. In her own words:

It’s good to know that U-Haul car carriers are bad at some things right now.

1. You have no real control over load distribution since the trailer’s only tie-down point is at the very front. Depending on what vehicle you are transporting, this can result in the front load being far too high.
2. Narrow vehicles like Kei cars and Smarts require absolute precision when loading as they barely fit into the rails of current trailers.
3. Some vehicles cannot be loaded in reverse (which might help with the nose load issue) because you will either get stuck in the vehicle because the right trailer fender cannot be folded down or the rear overhang of the car will get in the way in front of the trailer.
4. Trikes cannot be loaded.
5. You can’t really transport large items like a set of wheels with your car on the trailer.

These new trailers will completely change the game. It would be great to get rid of the big hole in the middle of these trailers. I mean, yes, they won’t be as easy to load for amateurs, but the variety of vehicles that could now be transported is increasing exponentially. Luckily, U-Haul still retains the old-fashioned trailer if that’s your thing.

Transporting cars can be daunting if you don’t do it often. U-Haul’s new offering of a larger, better-equipped trailer should make the job easier, especially for those with larger or unfamiliar vehicles. If you only tow your project car a few times a year, the new Toy Hauler may be the perfect solution to get your car out and have some fun.

Photo credit: U-Haul, Mercedes Streeter