What Size U-Haul Trailer Do I Need for My ATV or UTV?

Ross Ballot
by Ross Ballot
Photo Credit: U-Haul

U-Haul’s trailer rental service is a fantastic tool for off-roaders. Be it to transport parts, a vehicle, or even rescue a broken one, the relatively cheap rentals are a great option when a trailer is needed. But with different sizes come differing weights and the corresponding changing prices, so it’s an important decision to choose the right trailer to transport your ATV or UTV.

Photo Credit: Ross Ballot

It’s not uncommon for ATVers and UTVers to rent a U-Haul trailer to transport their toys. They’re solid units that can be had relatively inexpensively for a short duration, and the company offers a variety of sizes and and the option for covered or uncovered for differing security preferences and towing capabilities. And yet despite listed dimensions for each in the depths of the company’s website, we recently found out that a U-Haul’s listed gate width isn’t necessarily what the brand says it is.


Here are the open trailer sizes that U-Haul offers, their respective dimensions, and what powersports machines they’re good for hauling:

Photo Credit: U-Haul

4x7 Utility Trailer

  • Inside Dimensions: 7’8” x 3’4”
  • Opening Width: 3’4” (40”)
  • Empty Weight: 630 lbs
  • Max. Load: 1,770 lbs
  • Max. Gross Load: 2,400 lbs

IDEAL FOR: The 3’4” opening is the limiting factor here. As such, this trailer is only really suitable for youth ATVs and dirt bikes.

Photo Credit: U-Haul

5x8 Utility Trailer

  • Inside Dimensions: 108” x 51.5”
  • Opening Width: 51.5”
  • Empty Weight: 1,000 lbs
  • Max. Load: 1,890 lbs
  • Max. Gross Load: 2,890 lbs

IDEAL FOR: The 5x8’ trailer is a great go-to for normal-width four-wheelers. Its empty weight means it can easily be transported behind most CUVs, and the 108” length means you can possibly squeeze a youth ATV and an adult one tandem in its confines.

Photo Credit: U-Haul

5x9 Utility Trailer with Ramp

  • Inside Dimensions: 9’2” x 4’9”
  • Opening/Ramp Width: 4’9” (57”)
  • Empty Weight: 1,240 lbs
  • Max. Load: 1,650 lbs
  • Max. Gross Load: 2,890 lbs
  • Ramp Capacity: 1,810 lbs

IDEAL FOR: Most ATVs. Even the ultra-wide Polaris Scrambler XP 1000 S fits. However, UTV owners be wary; many are >60” wide, which makes this a non-starter.

Photo Credit: U-Haul

6x12 Utility Trailer

  • Inside Dimensions: 6’2” x 12’
  • Opening Width: 6’2” (74”)
  • Empty weight: 1,730 lbs
  • Max. Load: 2,670 lbs
  • Max. Gross Load: 4,400 lbs

IDEAL FOR: All ATVs and effectively every UTV.

Photo Credit: U-Haul

6x12 Utility Trailer with Ramp

  • Inside Dimensions: 12’ x 6’2”
  • Opening/Ramp Width: 4’9” (57”)
  • Empty Weight: 2,290 lbs
  • Max Load: 3,710 lbs
  • Max. Gross Load: 6,000 lbs
  • Ramp Capacity: 1,810 lbs

IDEAL FOR: Like the 5’9” with ramp, the limitation here is the width of the ramp/gate itself. Otherwise, it can be used easily with most quads and side-by-sides.

Photo Credit: U-Haul

4x8 Cargo Trailer

  • Inside Dimensions: 8’1” x 4’1” x 4’
  • Door Opening Dimensions: 3’1” x 3’5”
  • Empty Weight: 850 lbs
  • Max. Load: 1,650 lbs
  • Max. Gross Weight: 2,500 lbs

IDEAL FOR: Small machines.

Photo Credit: U-Haul

5x8 Cargo Trailer

  • Inside Dimensions: 8’ x 4’8” x 5’4”
  • Door Opening Dimensions: 4’ x 4’10”
  • Empty Weight: 900 lbs
  • Max. Load: 1,800 lbs
  • Max. Gross Weight: 2,700 lbs

IDEAL FOR: ATVs

Photo Credit: U-Haul

6x12 Cargo Trailer

  • Inside Dimensions: 11’7” x 6’ x 5’5”
  • Door Opening Dimensions: 5’0” x 4’10”
  • Empty Weight: 1,920 lbs
  • Max. Load: 2,480 lbs
  • Max. Gross Weight: 4,400 lbs
  • IDEAL FOR: ATVs of all shapes and sizes, though keep an eye out for the height factor being the limiting component here. UTVs need not apply.
Photo Credit: U-Haul

One other option is the Auto Transport trailer, which can work for the upper class of UTVs. Those ultra-wide machines likely won’t fit into the confines of one of the utility or cargo trailers, so an open car hauler is a good way to make the rental service work for the largest of side-by-sides.

The 55-inch wide Polaris Scrambler XP 1000 S barely fit through the supposedly 57" wide gate of the 6x12 Utility Trailer with ramp. Photo Credit: Ross Ballot

While we can’t tell you exactly what size each individual trailer in existence is, we can offer words of wisdom. First, the dimensions of the trailer as they’re listed-- as U-Haul calls the trailers, that is-- is not consistent with what the usable space of the trailer actually measures at. Notably, the opening through which an ATV or UTV needs to enter the bed, box, or cargo hold of the trailer varies from what the U-Haul trailer is listed as dimensionally. Chalk it up to different people managing trailers across different locations, and keeping everything perfectly aligned is effectively impossible. We highly recommend bringing a tape measure (or other measuring apparatus, should you prefer to do so with a more eclectic form of measuring) and checking the width of the opening yourself before driving the trailer home.


One other catch is the ever-present “we might not have that” factor. Once upon a time we drove to Canada to buy a Toyota 4Runner. U-Haul pulled the rug out from under us. Similarly, we went to book a standard 6’x12’ trailer to haul the 55-inch wide Polaris Scrambler XP 1000 S, and they didn’t have the exact one we were looking for, instead handing us the same size but with a ramp. The catch: The ramp-having trailer has a much narrower opening.

A few final U-Haul rental words of wisdom: You can always go bigger and enjoy excess space surrounding your ATV or UTV, but you can’t go smaller and still manage to transport the machine. It sounds trivial to say this, but it’s easy to try and spend a few bucks less to go with the smallest trailer you can manage, but once it’s at your house (or place of living), realizing you got the wrong trailer seems like a pretty silly thing that could have been easily avoided.


With countless U-Haul trailers on the roads being serviced and used by innumerable U-Haul facilities and renters, the service of a relatively inexpensive rental trailer is one that may just be worth its weight in, well, money. ATVing and UTVing is inherently expensive, but being able to snag a trailer from U-Haul for comparatively little money versus buying one is an easy way to cut financial corners, save space, or even still manage to run a trip when your own trailer is out of commission.

Ross Ballot
Ross Ballot

Ross hosts The Off the Road Again Podcast. He has been in the off-road world since he was a kid riding in the back of his dad’s YJ Wrangler. He works in marketing by day and in his free time contributes to Hooniverse, AutoGuide, and ATV.com, and in the past has contributed to UTV Driver, ATV Rider, and Everyday Driver. Ross drives a 2018 Lexus GX460 that is an ongoing build project featured on multiple websites and the podcast and spends his free time working on and riding ATVs.

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