What the box truck!?

In reply to fanfoy :

Ill snap some pics when i get a chance 

One thing to keep in mind with these, most states have a 26,001 pound GCW limit on a standard drivers liscense, so keep on mind what the box truck GVW and trailer GVW is. Also recommended to put some sort of "not for hire" on the side of the truck, unless you like being pulled over by DOT every time you pass a weigh station. Other than that they are great, although they can be very expensive to maintain.

This is from the NC DMV site. If I am reading it right you only need CDL if you are driving something with over 26,001 GVWR, and whether you need an A or a B is based on if the thing you are towing is 10,000 pounds or more. (Which I believe a 28ft enclosed would be like 4k lbs, 2500lbs per miata, leaves 1k for other stuff max in the trailer?)

After talking with the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and state highway patrol, we’ve assembled these general guidelines.

• In North Carolina, a vehicle that is towing anything other than a recreational vehicle (such as a pull-along camper) is required to have a weighted plate when towing. If you are pulling a camper, you don’t need a weighted plate. But you’ll probably need one if you are pulling a utility trailer or boat trailer, depending on the weight.
• The rules generally apply to trucks. If you can pull your trailer with a large car or SUV, you won’t need a weighted tag.
• All trailers in North Carolina must have some form of plate on the trailer itself. The weighted tag needs to be on the truck.
• Private, noncommercial pickup trucks, registered with regular “First in Flight”-type license tags, may trailer a combined total load of up to 9,000 pounds. If the total is heavier, a weighted license tag is required with enough capacity to cover the entire combined load of the truck, anything carried in the bed of the truck, the passengers of the truck, the trailer and whatever is being carried on/in the trailer. So if you have a 6,000-pound truck pulling a 1,500-pound trailer carrying a 4,000-pound boat, then you need a weighted tag because the combined weight (11,500 pounds) is more than 9,000 pounds.
• If the towed load is heavier than 10,000 pounds a class A drivers license is required. For towing less, a class C license is fine.

The DMV offers three types of commercial driver licenses:

Commercial Class A

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating, GVWR, of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the GVWR of the vehicle or vehicles being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Commercial Class B

• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, and any such vehicle towing a vehicle with a GVWR not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Commercial Class C

• Any vehicle not described in Class A or B above but is: Designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or used in the transportation of hazardous materials that require the vehicle to be placarded under C.F.R., Part 172, Subpart F.

https://www.ncdot.gov/download/dmv/VR_MVR34.pdf

And then your weighted plate registration scales based on the truck itself it seems

One of the clubs I time trial with shares the track with open formula cars. There are a bunch of people that use old uhaul/ rental box trucks. They have ramps inside the box so it uses the space better.  Also has storage up front under the ramps. They winch them in and out. The ramps are the same angle as the ramps used to get from the ground into the truck. Around here you can get almost anything registered as a private vehicle. 

It looks like a 24' Uhaul truck has a GVW of 18k, and an empty weight of 12,500 for reference

In reply to gearheadmb :

Yes, Uhaul generally has the wheel wells intruding into the body to give a low load height.  Whenever we needed an enclosed transporter we’d rent a 26’ truck from Ryder.  They are going to be tougher to load with ramps though so we’d carry some lumber and pay a rollback to get the car in and out.  A few times we got lucky and got AAA to do it for us but that’s not a given.

We turned a school bus into a hauler for a dirt oval car.  We had to widen the bus by about 8" and it was a pain, but a "normal" car would fit much easier.

Any way you slice it, the low deck will have to be built up so it goes over the wheel wells, so ramp length and resultant overall height will be similar regardless of which one you choose.  The nice thing about the low deck is that the actual loading ramps can be shorter.  The ramps themselves will be a potentially significant portion of your investment.  Ever price out ramps?  Pretty crazy.

All of the above are pretty tight.  I had a 32' enclosed trailer with an 8' wide box and my Impala was tight.  I had to shimmy my 235-lb ass out an open window.

Otherwise I see no reason not to do it.  Be aware of weights.  Many U-hauls are designed for light things like boxes of clothes and couches, not a 2500-lb Miata with all of its weight on four small contact patches.

Wally said:

In reply to gearheadmb :

Yes, Uhaul generally has the wheel wells intruding into the body to give a low load height.  Whenever we needed an enclosed transporter we’d rent a 26’ truck from Ryder.  They are going to be tougher to load with ramps though so we’d carry some lumber and pay a rollback to get the car in and out.  A few times we got lucky and got AAA to do it for us but that’s not a given.

I have also done the "hey look at that loading dock beside that warehouse."  That only works though if you are close enough to the track (or have a street legal race car).  I transported a 74 Maverick that way.  Loaded it in the back of a 26' box truck, drove it 500 miles to another town and just drove around at night until I found an exposed loading dock.  Not exactly what I would call legal, but you could also just ask a business if they would be willing in exchange for a smoky burnout or something.

The ramps i mentioned earlier are designed for cars, 36" wide and come in lengths up to 16ft, they cost about 1300 bucks for a set and each ramp in the pair can hold 5,000 lbs. A couple hundred dollars more gets you aluminum ramps that are 6,000 lbs per they say the 14-16ft ramps are usable for up to 45" load height

You can pick up used Hino and Isuzu box trucks with "small" wheels for city use. While they generally look "jacked up" because the load level is the same as the big wheeled trucks, I am sure you could find a way to lower them down some with shorter springs

I towed a 4x4, 4.0 powered SCSB 93 ranger behind a loaded Ryder  26 on one of their rental trailers. 

Pulled it with ease. 

Towing?  I moved half way across the US in an E350 box.  I had a Jeep CJ on the trailer, a heavy liter bike in the box too along with all the books, furniture, cloths, and crap of a mid 20’s single guy.  Aside from the 5.4 which couldn’t quite keep pace with the loaded big rigs in the mountains, it drove like a Cadillac.  This was in 2000.

Last year I helped my step daughter move a few hundred miles using a new E350 box.  She had her Impreza on the trailer and even more stuff in the box - because girl.  I don’t know what engine this thing had but it could not only keep up with the trucks, it could pass cars too on the steep stuff.  It liked to rev but the power was not lacking.  Drove just as well as the 2000.  Both got around 7.5 mpg loaded up like that.

I think if I did a box truck I would want the car IN the box truck, because then I could tow a family friendly travel trailer for accommodations

Jaynen said:

I think if I did a box truck I would want the car IN the box truck, because then I could tow a family friendly travel trailer for accommodations

Why not build the box truck (or bus) into the family-friendly accommodations and tow the car?  Then you also gain the ability to go camping in it without the car and don't have to carry around a bunch of empty space / dead weight.  

I'm just not handy enough to do something like that that would be wife approved. If I was to go that route I would probably look for a used Jayco Seneca but they seem to hold a premium. Duramax/Allison, kodiak chassis, tows 10k plus the RV itself