Towing Issues: mid-size truck towing honda civic, dodge dakota sport, uhaul trailer

Question
Hello,

I'm so glad I found this wonderful resource. My wife and I will be moving from Texas to Oregon in a few months. I have a 1998 Dodge Dakota Sport (V6) and a 1997 Honda Civic (4 door, 4 cylinder). Both vehicles are in great condition with good tires. Neither have any added parts or upgrades. We plan on driving about 8 hours/day at 60 mph on the main highway all the way there. We would like to rent a two wheel trailer from u-haul to pull the civic with the truck. In addition, we will need to fill the bed of the truck and the car with clothes, books, small furniture, etc. Maybe you can estimate how much this stuff will weigh better than I can. I realize that this situation is less than safe so my question has two parts. Is the risk unacceptably high for doing this? Is there anything I can do to lower the risk like a transmission fluid cooler, brake upgrade, etc? Also, I read somewhere that you should have trailer brakes on a trailer that weighs more than 1000 pounds. The u-uhaul trailer is not equiped with brakes.
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nick

Answer
well this is a loaded question ( ps Good luck in Oregon I am orginally from Portland )

The truck its self,with the car trailer and car attached is close to the limits for weight and towability for the truck.  Transmission temps are something that you would be concerned about with any vehicle pulling a heavy load. Most if not all vehicles do not have any form of gauges or lights that monitor transmission temp.
The weight of clothes, books and furniture is hard to figure out.  2 books and a pair of pants is something that we can figure out,  200 books and all the clothes for 2 people might be 2000 pounds or more. That is one factor to consider.

The brake option for electric brakes is one where it is based on the weight of the trailer and the axles it has. I know that the larger 2 axle car trailers have surge brakes on them that when you hit your brakes, there is a small hydraulic system which senses the truck slowing down and the trailer still moving at speed. That causes brakes to apply a bit.

You might be better off with renting a smaller sized ( approx 17 foot Uhaul truck to carry your belongings, and pull either the truck or the honda behind it on a trailer.
How ever this is an additional cost to you in terms of moving costs.
Hope this helps you...