Learn me tow dollies and the long haul

I am grabbing a Ford Fiesta (around 2600 lbs) in need of a clutch and plan to rent a U-haul tow dolly locally, make the 1200 mile drive to the vehicle, and then tow it home. It will be a relatively flat tow from Indiana to the eastern side of Colorado (no mountain passes). 

The tow vehicle is a 2012 Chevrolet 4.3l V6 2WD standard cab with an 8' bed. 

Will towing an empty dolly 1200 miles on interstates at reasonable speeds (max 65 mph) be a bad idea? If so, any thoughts on trying to be creative and load it into the truck bed for the drive out? I think they are damn heavy (600-750 lbs). 

Any advice from those that have done long hauls with tow dollies? Any key "don't try this" type of things to watch out for? 

How does the price compare to just rent one way? 

Other than the ~$50 one-way fee, why would you not pick one up when you get where you're going? They aren't awful to tow by any means, but they are LOUD when they are empty, it will bounce around and generally be annoying to see and hear. 

It will tow fine with the car on it, but towing an empty dolly is a PITA.  They jump around all over the highway with every little bump.  Air the dolly tires down to ~15-20psi then fill them up before you put the car on.

They will bounce around a lot and generally suck to tow empty. Drop the tire pressure as much as possible (10-15psi) and it is better, just air up close to the destination. 

I sold a Scirocco once and someone from CA loaded a tow dolly in the back of their truck and drove to Ohio, they stopped at a shop somewhere closer to the destination to have help unloading it from the bed. 

A uhaul full trailer weighs 2,000 lbs empty (heavy) and tows very well empty. The Uhaul dollies weigh 750 lbs.

Agreed, the dollies are noisy and bouncy when empty. 

If you feel you have to bring an empty with you, I'd bring a full trailer. 

Uhaul is also known to keep the newest stuff in the one-way fleet and the oldest stuff in the local tow fleet. If your picking up and returning at the same place then you'll get the older, crappier equipment. 

Thanks for the feedback. I will have to revisit the cost for one way from my destination versus a 2 day local rental as it priced online at $312 for the one way rental and $90 for a local 2 day rental. 

Good feedback on the age/condition of the tow fleet for local versus long distance. 

My concern with the trailer is that it is pushing the rated tow capacity of the truck being a V6. If they rented lighter weight trailers, seems like a good alternative.

$312 seems steep. Uhaul prices their stuff based on supply demand.  Try playing around on the site. 

Is it cheaper to pick up a dolly in KS and then drive it only 2 hrs empty, returning it as a one way rental in Indiana? 

In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :

I dug into it a bit more. The one way rental is for 5 days and not user selectable. According to the FAQ this is to allow time for a safe move and turning the equipment in early does not result in a discount. Renting a car hauler trailer is only an extra $20 total for a 2 day local rental. The trailer has surge brakes which is a plus but the trailer  also adds about 1400 lbs to the total towed amount.  

1200 miles to get there is 20 hrs. Then, 1200 miles to get home is another 20 hours. 

Are you really planning to do it 2 days? 

Does the car drive enough to drive it on a trailer? If yes,you could probably get it shipped to your door for $700

John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:

1200 miles to get there is 20 hrs. Then, 1200 miles to get home is another 20 hours. 

Are you really planning to do it 2 days? 

Does the car drive enough to drive it on a trailer? If yes,you could probably get it shipped to your door for $700

Honestly even finding someone to haul a non-running car would probably be cheap enough to be a better deal than $100 trailer rental, $300+ in gas, and two days of basically non-stop driving.

In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :

Yes, I will have a co-driver as I would be good solo in one day for one direction but can't turn around and come back without proper sleep. 

It would drive onto a trailer according to the owner as I did get a shipping quote and it was around $725 as you mention.

With fuel and trailer rental I am not putting much value on my time but it will be a bit of an adventure which sounds good currently.

Diving deeper into the specific towing capacity for the truck it is listed at 4700 lbs. They advertise the car hauling trailer as weighing 2200 lbs and the Fiesta weighs 2540 lbs for a grand total of about 4740lbs. 

Use a dolly.....

Towing an empty dolly isn't the most fun but if it saves you money, then why not? I towed an empty UHaul dolly around the other day for 2 hours and it was actually worse at 35 than at 60.

You,ve got a truck, put the dolly in the bed,  

Those u-haul dollies are heavy.  They aren't like the ones you buy for non-commercial use that are fairly lightweight.  You'll need a hoist to get it in and out of the bed of the truck.

I have only towed my my Acme EZE-Tow Dolly short distances and it definitely is noisy and it bounces around when empty. I don't know for sure but it seems the bouncing on a long trip would be harmful to the tires. I have the plastic beads for tire balancing and when loaded with my Fiesta ST behind our motorhome you never know it's there. Anyone ever have tire damage from bouncing when empty.