Trailer to flat tow an Explorer?

"flat tow" means the car is on the ground, all 4 wheels- if your car is on a trailer, it is being trailered- U Haul rents car trailers AND car dollys- (2 wheels off the ground)- I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve-

Thanks - I'm trying to find a trailer that I can tow an Explorer 2wd, 2dr on top of - neither of the UHaul options will rent for that combo

Don't waste your time. U-Haul will not rent trailers for explorers. I tried at several locations after Katrina. Something about being rollover prone. Finally purchased at 12 foot by six foot enclosed trailer to get out of Dodge with belongings. By the time I got on the interstate and ten miles down the road I understood exactly what they were saying. I also doubt the specs in the owners manual could accommodate such a load.

I do not know what year your explorer, so I looked up the figures for a 2004, other years will probably be similar. A v8 vs a v6 does not make much difference. The curb weight of the vehicle is about 4300 pounds. GVWR is about 5600 pounds. That includes passengers, gear inside the vehicle, fuel, and what you're towing. As you can see you have about 1300 pounds to spare. Maybe 1100 pounds if one two hundred pound body is driving. No way you are going to tow another 4300 pound vehicle with a trailer that probably weighs another 500 to eight hundred pounds.

I tried to simplify the calculation for you, but it is not completely correct as the GVWR should include the tongue weight of the trailer attached to the rear of the explorer, not the total weight of what is being pulled which is GCVWR. But suffice to say a 4300 pound vehicle plus the weight of the trailer will probably far exceed the 800 pounds or so capacity you will have once fueled up and ready to go. Twenty gallons of gas by itself add about another 140 pounds to the weight of the vehicle. And I would advise you leave yourself some room when approaching the max load.