Swapping engines

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

Al, the problem is, I'm moving from Corbett, Oregon (on the Columbia River Gorge, east of Portland) to Eugene, about 140 miles south. so the mileage on the rental truck would probably add up to quite a sum. Also, I would face logistical problems picking up the truck and returning it, since U-Haul is 15 miles away, in Gresham, and it seems all my friends in the area are out of town this week. Otherwise, one of them could give me a lift..

I'm leaning toward renting U-Haul's auto transport, even though the combined weight of car and trailer approaches 5000 lbs. As I said, I once towed a 5000 lb. travel trailer for a friend with my 4WD Isuzu Rodeo without a problem, but it was only 30 miles; 140 miles could be a strain. Or not. The Isuzu is pretty beefy, and it would be a straight shot down I-5 on mostly flat pavement. As an alternative, I think I'll call some transport companies and find out how much they would charge to flatbed the car down there.

I had naively assumed the tow dolly was the perfect solution for towing the car. But nooo! That would be too simple and easy.

I didn't realize you were driving that far. The mileage will rack the rental price up quite a bit. Even more with a towing company. If you're not dealing with many hills, you should be fine with the Rodeo.

Another thought is to get an estimate from Uship. Can the car drive onto a trailer? Often times, if they can combine trips you can get a bit of a break.

[cooler]

hello.
I'm hoping that someone could measure the distance from the flywheel friction surface to the engine/bellhousing flange.
Thanks

[Gilles]

I would explore the possibility of the trailer dolly, but getting the Boxter rear axle on the dolly..
This way you will not damage the transmission and also (very important) you will have the heavier axle on the dolly.

PS: Of course, you will have to tell U-haul that you will be towing a VW Golf..

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by Gilles

I would explore the possibility of the trailer dolly, but getting the Boxter rear axle on the dolly..
This way you will not damage the transmission and also (very important) you will have the heavier axle on the dolly.

PS: Of course, you will have to tell U-haul that you will be towing a VW Golf..

She could, but there's still the issue with ground clearance. I don't know how close the nose will be to the ground with the back wheels lifted up anywhere from 4 to 8 inches. Then the center of gravity will shift forward lowering the front even more. And on top of that there's the downward g-force when you come to a dip in the road which will further lower it. (Ever notice how the road is darker there? That's from all the passing cars that leak oil, where the droplets were clinging on for dear life to the bottom of the car until the downward g-force overwhelmed them. All at the exact same spot on the road.)

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by piper6909

I didn't realize you were driving that far. The mileage will rack the rental price up quite a bit. Even more with a towing company. If you're not dealing with many hills, you should be fine with the Rodeo.

Another thought is to get an estimate from Uship. Can the car drive onto a trailer? Often times, if they can combine trips you can get a bit of a break.

UPDATE: I hired a local gyppo truckdriver to haul the car down on his tilting flatbed rig. Problem solved!

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

UPDATE: I hired a local gyppo truckdriver to haul the car down on his tilting flatbed rig. Problem solved!

Good call!