The Big Rentals Guide to Towing a Car Hauler Trailer in and around Detroit, MI

Nowhere in the country knows cars like this place. That's exactly why the trailer is the part people wing. The car is the thing you understand — the 20 ft of steel under it is an afterthought until the moment it isn't.

Michigan's rules don't work the way you'd assume, either. The state's brake threshold sits so high that at your weight the law probably isn't doing what you think it's doing. The vehicle code sets a tolerance for how far your trailer is allowed to wander, and it's measured in inches. And the roads here will test both, along with your tie-downs. This guide covers the car haulers that match real cars, the Michigan rules that apply the second you couple up and the salt, potholes and calendar that make a car hauler trailer rental in Detroit its own particular job.

Why Detroit Renters Choose Car Haulers

Southeast Michigan holds the densest concentration of project cars, parts cars, shop cars and show cars anywhere in the country, and something is always moving. A non-runner to a shop in Madison Heights. An auction buy coming home. A restoration passing between specialists because one does bodywork and the other does interiors. A track car headed to Waterford Hills or M1 Concourse. A barn find coming out of a garage in Warren that hasn't turned over since the Clinton administration.

That last category is bigger here than people expect. When the car doesn't drive, a car hauler with a winch is the only honest answer, and estate sales, insurance buys and long-dormant projects keep that work steady all year. Read more about how to tow a non-running vehicle with a rented car hauler.

The region also runs a car calendar the way other cities run a music calendar. The Woodward Dream Cruise makes August a regional event, and Autorama fills a hall downtown in the spring. Cars move to both and away from both, and the trailers that move them get spoken for early.

Then there's the part that catches newcomers: storage season. Anything nice comes off the road here from roughly November through April. That produces two hard booking crunches a year — one in the fall when everything goes into storage, one in the spring when it comes back out. If your haul falls on either side of that window, book well ahead of it. You'll find trailer rentals across the Detroit area from local owners who understand exactly which weekend you're calling about.

Michigan Towing Laws Every Car Hauler Renter Should Know

Michigan's brake threshold is high, and that's the trap

Under MCL 257.705, a trailer must have brakes on all wheels, operable by the driver from the tow vehicle's cab, once its gross weight reaches 15,001 lb.

Sit with that number. It's far higher than most states, and a pickup pulling a loaded car hauler almost never approaches it — a car hauler and a midsize sedan together land in the range of 5,000 to 9,000 lb. Read that rule on its own and you'd conclude Michigan doesn't much care whether your trailer has brakes at all.

A second provision does the real work. A new trailer sold in Michigan and operated on the highways has to be equipped with brakes on all wheels anyway, unless it's under 3,000 lb gross and its gross weight is no more than 40% of the tow vehicle's gross weight. That's what actually puts brakes underneath most of the car haulers in this market.

So here's the takeaway, stated plainly: the car hauler you rent probably has brakes because of how it was sold, not because the road rule compels it at the weight you'll be towing. Don't assume the statute is protecting you. Confirm the trailer's brakes work and confirm your tow vehicle has a functioning brake controller before you leave. A car is 3,000 to 4,500 lb of load that does not want to stop, and you're the one deciding how much stopping power is behind it. Check the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) on the listing before you book. Read more about what GVWR means and how to read it.

The 3-inch rule

Michigan writes down something no other state in this series bothers to quantify. Under MCL 257.721, the coupling has to be built so that when you're running in a straight line on level, smooth pavement, the trailer doesn't deviate more than 3 inches to either side of the path of the vehicle towing it.

That's a legal tolerance for tracking, and it's really a statement about your coupling, your hitch and where the car sits on the deck. A car hauler is long, and a car parked too far back turns the whole rig into a pendulum. Three inches is not much room to work with.

The same section requires safety chains — one on each side of the coupling, at the extreme outer edge, each strong enough to haul the trailer when it's loaded — and caps the drawbar at 15 ft.

The 65 mph question

Michigan posts 75 mph on some freeways, which is higher than anywhere else this series has covered. That makes the speed rule worth reading carefully rather than guessing at.

Under MCL 257.627, where the posted limit is above 65 mph, a truck with a gross weight of 10,000 lb or more, a truck-tractor, or a truck-tractor pulling a trailer may not exceed 65 mph on a limited-access freeway or state trunk line. Note what that covers. It names trucks at 10,000 lb gross or more and truck-tractor combinations, and a loaded heavy-duty pickup can sit right at that line.

The practical advice doesn't depend on where you land in the statute. With a car behind you, 65 is the ceiling worth keeping regardless of what the sign says, and the reason is the section above: your stopping distance is a function of how much braking is actually under that trailer.

Do you need a special license?

A standard Michigan driver's license covers a personal car-hauler haul. Commercial thresholds sit well above a pickup and a single car.

Matching a Car Hauler to Your Vehicle and the Car

Deck length and the car you're actually hauling

Car haulers commonly run 16 to 20 ft of deck. Measure the car rather than trusting the category — a long-wheelbase sedan, a classic with real front and rear overhang or a full-size truck will use more deck than people assume, and discovering that in the driveway is a bad afternoon.

Check the trailer's payload against the car's curb weight, too. A midsize car runs roughly 3,000 to 4,000 lb. A full-size truck or SUV climbs past that quickly.

Ramps, clearance and the winch

Ramp angle decides everything with a low car. A lowered car, a classic with a long front overhang or anything sitting on a dropped suspension will scrape on a steep ramp, and the damage happens in the first 3 ft. If the trailer's ramps are short, look for a lower deck or a longer ramp set.

If the car doesn't run, you need a winch and a plan, not enthusiasm. Confirm the winch is on the trailer before you drive out to get the car.

Hitch, tow vehicle and brake controller

Match the coupler to your ball size, confirm the receiver class is rated for the loaded trailer and confirm the brake controller is installed and working. This is the step people skip because the tow vehicle is theirs and feels familiar. Read more about what hitch and tow vehicle you need to pull a car hauler.

Where the car sits on the deck

Aim for 10% to 15% of the load on the tongue, which in practice means the car goes forward — engine over the axles or ahead of them. Too far back and the trailer sways, and Michigan has already told you how much sway it's prepared to tolerate. The 3-inch rule isn't a trivia fact. It's the standard your load position has to meet.

Use four rated tie-downs at minimum, attached to the car's designated points rather than to suspension components, and recheck them after the first few miles. Read more about how to load and tie down a car on a rental trailer.

Salt, Potholes and the Detroit Calendar

Michigan roads will find your straps

Frost heave, expansion joints and potholes are a real road hazard here, not a punchline, and a loaded car hauler transmits every one of them straight into your tie-downs. Straps that were tight in the driveway go slack surprisingly fast on I-75 or the Lodge.

So recheck the tie-downs after the first few miles, again at your first stop and again if the road surface changes character. That same pothole is also how a low car gets damaged while it's sitting on the deck, so watch the surface as much as the traffic.

Salt is the reason to think hard about an open deck

From roughly November through April this region runs brine and salt on everything that isn't nailed down. An open car hauler puts your car directly in that spray for the entire drive — underside, wheel wells, everywhere the wash won't easily reach.

For a beater, a parts car or a non-runner headed to a shop, that's a non-issue. For a restored car, a show car or anything with fresh paint and clean metal underneath, it's the whole argument for spending more on an enclosed trailer instead. If you do haul on an open deck in winter, wash the car soon after you unload, underside included. Read more about how open and enclosed car haulers compare.

Loading a car in a Michigan winter

Steel ramps and an icy deck are a bad pairing, and a non-running car being winched up a slick ramp is worse. Clear the loading area, salt or sand it if you can, and never stand downhill of a car on a ramp. Give yourself daylight for this rather than doing it at 6 p.m. in February.

Book around the calendar

The crunches are predictable enough to plan around. Fall, when the entire region puts its cars away. Spring, when it all comes back out. Dream Cruise week in August is its own spike, and Autorama does a smaller version of the same thing. Book ahead of those windows rather than into them, because the good open decks go first and the last trailer left is rarely the one that fits your car.

Insurance and Damage Protection

What about insurance and damage protection?

Before towing a rented trailer, contact your auto insurance provider to ask whether your policy covers liability and towing-related damage claims.

Eligible rentals booked through Big Rentals also include Basic Rental Protection at checkout. This added protection can help limit your financial responsibility for certain damage or theft events during the rental period.

For full details on how Basic Rental Protection works, including deductibles, exclusions, and renter responsibilities, review our FAQ and platform terms.

One thing worth being clear about: that protection applies to the trailer. The car riding on it is a separate conversation, and if you're hauling something valuable it's a conversation to have with your own insurer before pickup day.

Ready To Book?

Size the deck to the actual car, confirm the brakes and the controller rather than trusting the threshold, put the car forward for tongue weight and recheck the tie-downs once Michigan's roads have had a go at them. Do that and a car hauler is the most straightforward way to move a vehicle in a region that moves vehicles constantly. When you're ready, browse car hauler trailer rentals in Detroit from local owners near you.

The Short Version

• Car haulers are Detroit's constant — project cars, auction buys, non-runners, track days, Dream Cruise and Autorama, and the storage swap every fall and spring.
• Michigan's highway brake mandate doesn't arrive until 15,001 lb gross (MCL 257.705), far above a pickup and a loaded car hauler. A separate provision requires brakes on trailers sold new in the state, which is why most rentals here have them. Confirm the brakes and the controller rather than trusting the threshold.
• Michigan sets a tracking tolerance: the trailer can't deviate more than 3 inches from the tow vehicle's path on straight, level pavement (MCL 257.721). Safety chains on each side, drawbar under 15 ft.
• Where the posted limit is above 65 mph, trucks at 10,000 lb gross or more and truck-tractor combinations are held to 65 (MCL 257.627). With a car behind you, 65 is the sane ceiling anyway.
• Put the car forward for 10% to 15% tongue weight, use four rated tie-downs and recheck them after the first few miles. Potholes and frost heave will loosen them.
• Salt season runs roughly November through April. An open deck means road spray on the car the entire way, which is fine for a parts car and wrong for fresh paint.
• Book ahead of the fall and spring storage crunches, not into them.