WTF U-Haul

[sr139fox]

Went to U-Haul to rent a 5X8 trailer last week to go from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. After we hooked everything up, we went inside to take care of the contract. There was a problem and according to U-Haul, a Explorer Sport Trac is not an authorized vehicle to tow any of the U-Haul trailers. I had to disconnect the trailer. I then went to the main U-Haul in Altoona PA to see if I could work out something. Nope, won't happen. Had to hook up to my fathers-in-law F150. I asked why and the only answer I got was it has the Explorer badge and the company attorney wont let any Ford Explorer tow any U-Haul trailer. I guess this was from some law suit year ago.

Does anyone on the board work for U0Haul and has a better answer?

So be warned, U-Haul will not let you tow a trailer with a Explorer Sport Trac.

Dave P.

 

[swshawaii]

On December 22, 2003, U-Haul, the largest American equipment rental company, announced it would prohibit its outlets from renting trailers to persons planning to tow behind Ford Explorers due to liability concerns, with no published data to substantiate the claim. Unofficial reports from employees indicated that it was due to the rear bumper separating from the vehicle, including the tow hook assembly. U-Haul did not alter its policies regarding the renting of trailers to persons planning to tow behind the Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo or earlier versions of the Lincoln Aviator, which are all mechanically identical to the Ford Explorer. In mid-2013, U-Haul began allowing Ford Explorers of model year 2011 and newer to tow their trailers. All other Ford Motor Company vehicles are allowed to tow U-Haul trailers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Explorer#U-Haul_trailers

 

[koda2000]

The funny thing is that if you have a Mountaineer they'll rent you a trailer.

 

[sr139fox]

Those dirty rotten scrounges.
Funny thing, I have Curt Trailer hitch.
Thanks
Dave

 

[JimInRadfordVA]

U-Haul screwed me hard around 15 years ago. I understand that the local office is not the company themselves, but that day I vowed to never use a U-Haul product or service again. I still, 15 years later, flip them off when I drive by.

 

[01STrunner]

Yup, it's all due to the Firestone BS with all the rollovers. Like koda said above the other RBVs can tow with haul, just not Explorer-badged vehicles.

 

[intelisevil]

The funny thing is that if you have a Mountaineer they'll rent you a trailer.

That's why I bought one, (not really)!

Last Summer I had to rent a trailer to get some over-sized lumber home. After we did the paper work the dealer came out to hook up the trailer and stared at my Mounty with an odd look on his face. I smiled to myself and asked him what was wrong. He said that it looks just like an Explorer and he can't rent a trailer to be towed by an Explorer.

I agreed with him that it looks like an Explorer because it was built to the same specifications by the same people on the same assembly line. But that he didn't need to worry because the lawyers weren't smart enough to figure that out.

I then jumped in the driver's seat and drove away while he was scratching his head trying to figure out what I had just said to him!

When I returned the trailer I was half expecting him to ***** at me for leaving in such a hurry but he said I was correct with everything I had told him. He even gave me a discount coupon for the next time I needed to rent a trailer from him with my Mercury "Explorer" and laughed at his little joke.

 

[xlt1993]

I had heard something about this a couple of years ago. A close friend of mine and also my neighbor has a 93 sport and when he moved into the place next to me I saw him pulling a u-haul 5x8 behind his sport with everything loaded onto it. So either the lot he rented it from didn't know about this rule that u-haul has or they just didn't care. So I'm guessing that while the policy is company wide some people either dont know this policy or they just dont care what you drive as long as you have the money. But then again who knows

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Lots of threads started on this issue. Frustrating yes but some have figured out a work around.

There is actually a pretty easy way to see if Uhaul won't rent to you. Go to their website and plug in your tow vehicle info. They don't mince words if they won't.

U-Haul has chosen not to rent behind this tow vehicle based on our history of excessive costs in defending lawsuits involving Ford Explorer towing combinations.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I honestly think they do us a favor by not renting us their junk. I have seen some really crappy U-Haul trailers on the road. I even saw one a few years ago where the axle had come out from under the trailer.

 

[01STrunner]

I honestly think they do us a favor by not renting us their junk. I have seen some really crappy U-Haul trailers on the road. I even saw one a few years ago where the axle had come out from under the trailer.

Think about the majority of people that rent from Uhaul... Probably 85% have never driven anything bigger than their little Camry let alone tow a trailer or know how to load it properly, which ends up damaging the trailer over time.

That said, I'm with you and very glad I went ahead and bought my own car trailer. Adding removable stakesides has made it an extremely useful thing to have and has more than paid for itself.

 

[intelisevil]

I saw a movie a couple of years ago where one of the main characters was using a 2nd gen Explorer to tow a U-Haul trailer. It was in several scenes (and never rolled over).

My wife and I had a good laugh over it. I always wondered if someone on the crew was F'ing with U-Haul!