Just rent one of their 6 x 12 cargo trailers and use it.  The Mini will fit perfectly, the price will be cheaper than the tow-dolly or their car hauler, and you won't have to (and shouldn't mention) what you are putting in it.  Easy Peasy!

I told them exactly what I was towing.  They couldn't find it in their database but they still rented it to me. 

I agree with Jedduh. Using the full trailer with the mini totally off the ground is alot simpler. Only problem is that if they ask what you are going to be towing, and they don't find Austin Mini in their book, they will not rent it to you. I have just told them in the past that it was an MG Midget. It fits. Its tight...but it fits. Alot less worry than a tow dolly, unless you have one specifically made for a mini.

Great Pics!

 

Thanks!

I used a U-Haul tow dolly to bring my 1985 Mini with 12 inch wheels home using a 2000 Pontiac Montana van.  It was around a three hour drive down paved roads.  I didn't use any blocks of wood and there was only a couple of inches clearance with the sills (see picture below).  On hindsight the blocks of wood would be a good idea but I didn't think of it at the time. A higher hitch on the vehicle would have probably helped as well.   Here are some pictures.

my first mini came home from utah to oklahoma on a 5 x 10 u hault trailer.  Very tight fit and no trailer brakes through colorado  .  When i sold it i drove it up north on a 6 x 12 doubel axle uhaul with traielr brakes, much better.

I have learned if you rent a trailer "local" they dont care home many mile i put on it.  the frst on cost about 100$ for 3 days and i put over 2000 miles on it!

I had that problem on my lowered van when towing the vtec mini. My trick was to use a 6 or 8" extension ball. I just raised the ball on the hitch, and then it tips the dolly back so that the ramps wouldn't come in contact with the floors/sills. Worked great.

While on the subject of tow dollies-

Tim Bosse in Dayton OH makes the best tow dollies ever for minis- Pricey but the best by far-

BIG AL

I have am ex-uHaul dolly and I think it was the heavy duty one for towing trucks. Built like a tank. Has torsion beam suspension, a pivoting load area and fixed ramps. I have towed two Rover Minis with it and the only real way to do so without damage was to remove the ramps after the car was installed. They were held by 4 or 6 bolts. I have reinstalled just two per side now so the ramps have a pivot point to hang a little lower. The rest on the frame of the dolly so they arent going anywhere and not all the weight is left to the two reamianing bolts. Its a bit of an overkill dolly but glad I have it.

i have one of the older uhaul tow dollys, mine has the slide type ramps an it works great, i do not know if the new dollys are the same other than the stock wheels are a very tight fit, i have had very good luck towing several minis with mine

If its that close,and the toe vehicle has enough power, Just pick up full on Trailer from U Haul.

Alot less hastle strapping the car to the dolley and such. I have heard about U-haul Trailers being too wide. so do some measuring.

Anyhow

 

Goodluck

I towed a '93 1,350 miles with no problems at all, if your hitch ball is too low then I've heard of the ramps hitting while going through driveways, you can remove the ball and flip it over to get more height, or buy one, the tiedowns fit just fine, you can only back up about 10' before everything goes zig-zag so plan your moves, U-Haul changed the dimensions of their tow dollys, the older ones had a narrower inside track that fit perfect, I've measured some of the new ones and one wheel would not fit down in the wheel pocket completely, I think we need 42 inches inside track with 160 tires ?,

Dave - As usual you are spot-on.  Yes, yes, yes and yes. The ones with sliding ramps will work, with two main caveates:

Yes, the ramp extensions can beat Hell out of the sills on any rough road. If you use it, put a couple of pieces of 3/4" decking board in the wheel pans to raise the whole affair and give the sills some relief.

The ramps can be too long to get the front wheels fully on the dolly without the rears contacting the ramps. I had to run the front wheels up onto the flat section between the ramps and the wheel pans, stop and slide the ramps into the deck, then continue into the wheel pans. Getting the car off requires, as the HBOL frequently cites, "reversal of the above procedure". 

I U-haul dollied my car from Bristol, TN to Rockford, IL and back to Atlanta in this manner.

Ok guys, a friend needs to bring her mini to my house for some work and they want to use a u-haul dolly.

I recall that a stock mini fits (this is a '94 spi) but what other advice / pointers can you give? I already know about telling them it will be used to tow a 2003 mini, not a '94 - it is the physical 'mini on dolly' part that i need pointers to...

Pictures would be a great help (my email is in my profile if you don't want to post them up).

I recall the main problem with the u-haul is the back of the ramps hitting the sills?  Would using a few short pieces of 4x4 positioned at the front stop (in front of the front wheels) help to prevent this? What about a few short pieces of lumber sitting in the 'trays' where the wheels sit, to lift it up? Would having the tow-hitch mounted high help by pushing the rear of the dolly down?

Do the straps adequately go around the small wheels?

The mini in question is sitting on its front bump-stops, so it is probably at risk of 'contact' more than a standard mini.

 

Thanks all!