Trailer towing a 355

PENDING basically means that the ECU sensed a fault but it did not reoccur within a prescribed period of time.

 

Thanks for your post. I'm picking up my 348 tomorrow and had planned on driving it home (about two hours away). But, when I went to look at the car last weekend my Jeep took a hit from a rock on the interstate and now I'm waiting for a new windshield. So now I'm considering a uhaul a/t.

 

Exactly Paul. The front end of the car should be covered up if it is being towed in an open trailer.

 

I have towed my 308 on a uhaul ( not recommended) and for inexperienced trailer users it should be avoided. It nothing to do with weight on a uhaul and everything to do with clearance. Uhaul a are made heavy duty to tow almost anything including trucks so your light 355 isn't going to phase it but the trailer may damage your 355. The ramps are steal the center of the rails have lips that protrude upwards that like to rub on the underside. All kinds of no fun but it is doable just have someone help you at least load and unload it.


And I have had uhauls where the wheel well folds down so you can open the door.

 

Question regarding rock chips or other: Is the risk any different than driving the car instead?

Yes, as you said, clearance is the key. My Mondial sits sky high compared to most 2-seat Ferraris, so no problem there. However, my SRT6 just barely cleared the trailer's front wheel stop and, even with the side fender folded down, the car's door barely cleared the "rail".

Uhaul has some get tips for transporting low cars with long front overhangs.


U-Haul: Tips: Transporting vehicles with low ground clearance

 

The car being towed will always be at a relatively close to the towing vehicle. When you are driving your car you can maintain any distance you want, allowing you to be farther away from the vehicle in front of you, preventing debris from striking the front of your car, although it can still happen. When I have towed my cars they have always been in my friends enclosed car trailer.

 

To be fair, I knew I was gonna do a full repaint on my car so I didn't worry about that aspect at all. However, considering my 7+ hours of towing "uhaul style" + the fact that I had to unload/reload at the border, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Perhaps I would get a cover for the front end but not a big concern.

 

Fab, when did you purchase the 355? I bought my 348 from the guy that rented the shop in the back a few years ago (Pino), and he (or the dealer in the front, not sure) had your 355 Spider at the time of my purchase! I remember the car well

 

I tought Pino worked for the dealer, had no idea he was renting. Pino fixed a few issues on my car before I picked it up and we're actually almost neighbors in Italy (I have a condo in the village next to where he's from).

Put my deposit august 2011 and picked it up early september 2011. The dealer was somewhat disorganized and insanely slow to process everything, it was crazy!!! But I'm still glad I did it, quite an adventure....

 

That was my first thought. At a tow rating of 5K lbs, you are pretty close to max capacity given the combined weight of the car and trailer.

As for future reference, many have used Uhaul trailers, one just needs to be careful when loading.

FWIW, budget has full flatbed car haulers (no tire rails/lips).

 

What is the weight of trailer + car? I would love a MB Sprinter to tow my enclosed aluminum Featherlite trailer with the 360C race car, but I read the Sprinter just isn't up to serious towing. Weak transmission, underpowered, etc. Which Sprinter model are you using? What is your experience towing with it? I have towed thousands of miles with my QX56 going 65-70 MPH all day long, up over mountain passes, etc.
Jes

 

Regarding chips: why not just wrap the car with that cellophane wrap they use for shipping? for a day or two, I can't imagine it would hurt. If your that concerned, buy a cheap car cover, put that on first, then cellophane wrap it. Toss it all upon arrival.

And the car is about a 50-50 weight split, so parking the engine over the trailer axels would have no benefit

I have heard the trailer fenders are a pita for door opening.

 

Trailer from uHaul I had was very easy to open the fenders, 2 little rubber pressure hooks took all of 5 seconds to do.

Cheap car cover is a good idea but the constant wind movement may rub on certain spots and do more harm than good. I would get that cellophane wrap if you're really concerned and just do the front, hood and windshield. the rear or sides don't need protection IMO..

 

x2

Ive had experiences in the past with wind plus dust plus car cover. It took me a very long time to clay bar the dirt out of my white paint, and my car was entirely stationary. It was just a windy day.

 

Car cover on a car that is being trailered in never a good idea. Don't know why people even propose this.

Wind buffeting paint issues will certainly happen.

I've been towing all my cars on an open trailer for 20 years and never had one rock chip issue or anything similar.