William Lipovsky
Whether you’re moving or you’re on a trip, you may need to tow your own car or another vehicle behind you. This is when a tow dolly comes in handy.
There are a few vehicle and truck rental companies that will rent out tow dollies for local and one-way trips.
You may be able to rent just the dolly for use with your personal vehicle, or you may be required to include it with a vehicle rental.
The cost of a tow dolly will vary depending on the size and kind of vehicle you’re towing, the locations you’ll be traveling to and from, and how long you’ll need to use the dolly.
Below, we list the available car tow dolly rentals.
What to Know Before Renting
You can secure your car to the dolly with the use of chains or straps to ensure that your vehicle doesn’t roll away during the hauling.
Each rental company has its own type of security system and detailed instructions for keeping your car safely attached to the dolly. Be sure to ask the associates for all necessary safety information before renting.
Note that in some cases, you’ll need a car carrier rather than a tow dolly. A car carrier supports the entire vehicle, lifting it completely off of the ground (unlike a dolly).
If your car is a four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive, or if you have a vehicle that has a low front end or air dams, then you’ll likely need to rent a car carrier.
Before renting a dolly, be sure to ask the employee whether your car works well with a car dolly or if you should opt for a car carrier instead.
What We Recommend
For a convenient option that allows you to rent tow dollies separately from trucks and doesn’t typically require a deposit, U-Haul will likely be your best option. It has locations nationwide, and it offers the widest selection of dollies and trailers.
If there are no U-Haul locations near you, Penske is another good option. Its offerings are similar to U-Haul’s, and its pricing is comparable.
The List
Below, we list the companies that offer tow dollies for rent, including information about renter and deposit requirements.
All of the companies listed below also offer car carriers for rent if a tow dolly won’t suffice.
We’ve ordered the list starting with the best overall options.
U-Haul
- Car dolly features: Ratchet-operated tire straps and vehicle security straps
- Weight limits: 3,450 pounds when towing a front-wheel-drive vehicle, 3,900 pounds when towing a rear-wheel-drive vehicle; 750 pounds empty weight
- Rental requirements: You have to be at least 18 years old to rent and have a valid driver’s license, and you must provide two forms of ID; you will also need to provide a credit card
- Deposit: No deposit is required if paying by major credit card, or debit card with a major credit card logo. If paying by cash, the following is due when you pick up your equipment.
- In-town trailer or towing: $60 or estimated rental charges (whichever is greater).
- One-way trailer or towing: $60 plus rental rate.
- One-way rentals available: Yes
- Find out more or book online
Penske
- Car dolly features: Three-point tie-down system
- Weight limit: 4,300 pounds
- Rental requirements: You have to be at least 18 years old to rent and have a valid driver’s license, and you must provide two forms of ID; you will also need to provide a credit card
- Deposit: No deposit is required for one-way rentals if you reserve online and pay with a credit card. If you reserve with a credit card but decide to pay in cash or with a check, a $100 deposit will be required when you pick up the truck. For round-trip (local) rentals, a $150 deposit is required when you pay with a credit card and a $200 deposit when you pay in cash.
- One-way rentals available: Yes
- Find out more or book online
Budget Truck
- Car dolly features: Vehicle security straps
- Weight limit: 4,300 pounds
- Rental requirements: Car dollies and tow dollies must be rented with a Budget Truck reservation and cannot be rented separately. You have to be at least 18 years old to rent and have a valid driver’s license, and you must provide two forms of ID; you will also need to provide a credit card. You may also be asked to provide a recent paystub, utility bill, or bank statement.
- Deposit: Budget Truck generally requires a credit card hold of $150 for local truck rentals. For one-way truck rentals, it requires a credit card hold of $150 and the estimated cost of the rental.
- One-way rentals available: Yes
- Find out more or book online
CCM Rental in Chardon, Chesterland, Mentor, and Middlefield Ohio
- Car dolly features: Vehicle security straps
- Weight limit: 4,300 pounds
- Rental requirements: You have to be at least 18 years old to rent; other requirements vary by location
- Deposit: No deposit required
- One-way rentals available: Yes
- Find out more or book online
If you are also in need of a moving truck, check out our article about where to rent long distance moving trucks. Or, if a trailer is a bit too expensive or cumbersome for you, we also list the places that rent out car trailers.
Places That Don’t Have Car Tow Dolly Rentals
In the course of our research, we found that the following companies do not rent tow dollies:
- Alamo
- Avis
- Dollar Rent A Car
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Hertz
- National Car Rental
- Payless Car Rental
- Ryder
- Sixt Rent a Car
- Turo
Very useful article, thank you.
FYI I just talked to Penske in CT and they also no longer rent the dolly without a truck. I could not tell you if this is national but I can say their website doesn’t seem to allow it either.
The Penske guy however recommended I try Sunbelt Rentals. Sunbelt is closed right now but their website had pretty reasonable rates.
Hi Marc,
You’re right! Some locations will require you to rent one of their trucks to use with the dolly. We have included this information in the article. Thank you!
U-Haul will NOT rent a dolly to anyone who intends to tow, using a Ford Explorer, regardless of the model year. Period. No exceptions.
Hi Robert,
Thanks for this information. We will verify this with U-Haul and update the article as necessary.
Budget will not rent a dolly separately; it is necessary to rent a truck from them, too.
Hi Richie,
You’re right! We checked with Budget and found that car carriers and tow dollies must be rented with a Budget Truck reservation and cannot be rented separately. Thanks for this valuable information. We have updated the article to reflect this.
Excuse me but it doesn’t matter oif the car front wheel drive or rear wheel drive what’s important is that you put the wheels that turn on the dolly if it’s rear wheel drive then you put the vehicle in neutral
Hi Thomas,
You’re right! We’ve updated the article to include the most accurate information on hauling rear-wheel drive vehicles. We appreciate the feedback!
Sounds like you’re better off to buy oneand resell it than to half buy one renting it. These rental companies are theives who will charge you an extra day if you re one minute late.Car dolly isn’t worth halfbas much as a trailer so why does it cost twice as much to rent? because they have you bent over because you have no other options when moving a vehicle.
Looking to rent a toe-dolly on Dec. 19 to take a car from Westford, NY to Picayune Ms. What is the cost for the
dolly.
Hi Glen,
I looked up a tow dolly rental from U-Haul for December 19th and found a rate of $342 for 5 days of use. You can check the rental rates using your own vehicle specifications on the U-Haul website. If you’d like to receive additional quotes, you can visit the websites for the other companies provided in the article. I hope this helps!