The ‘U’ in U-Haul should stand for “Unsafe”. I think you only need to look at U-Haul’s trucks and trailers to see that much of it is old and not well maintained. U-Haul’s only real value is its trademark. The best thing that can happen is someone will buy the brand and make the much needed capital investment.
The millions the Shoen family spent over the years fighting amongst themselves should have been spent on maintenance, repairs and replacement of their fleet of trucks and trailers.
The good news is there are other rental firms including Penske, Ryder trucks and now even Enterprise.
most folks with their eyes open can note U-Haul equipment is usually not the cleanest, newest, or appears downright wornout. But they get business, most likely because they offer competitive pricing vs the competition.
Let’s say U-Haul requires their ee’s to question everyone about how they are going to use the trailer; does that mean the renters will tell the truth?
Let’s face it: when you rent one of these items, you are trying to cut costs. The safest thing to do is hire movers to complete the move; if something goes wrong, it’s usually limited to the property being moved, and that’s a separate insurance issue.
U-Haul should maintain their fleet; if they don’t, whack em’. However, that doesn’t seem to explain some of the stories noted in this piece. I’m sorry about the paralysis noted in this piece, but I’m still trying to figure out why the negligence of the husband was excused: towing something too heavy, being cheap, obviously driving too fast…where does common sense take over? An earlier poster made an excellent point: Does McDonalds have to ask how you intend to use the coffee? Sure, this may seem extreme, but when does common sense takeover?
Too many people in the country refuse to take any responsibility for the actions, and outright stupidity; it’s always someone elses fault: someone should save me from my own stupidity!!!!
Regarding the accident in the Ford Explorer: First, we all know that there were other problems with those vehicles flipping on the highway….and then a little research turns up that the woman who suffered the spinal injury had unbuckled her seat belt and was turned around to attend to her kid in the back seat. Below is a quote from an article on the topic:
However, those amounts were reduced by 10 percent, to about $9.9 million, because the jury apportioned 10 percent of the fault to the Burkes. It found that she either failed to exercise ordinary care or her husband failed to ensure that she was wearing a seat belt.
Court documents show that a state trooper said that Christopher Burke told him several hours after the accident that Corry Burke had “taken her seat belt off and was turned around in her seat tending to the baby” at the time of the accident.
All I know is I moved 1700 miles with towing a UHaul and the trailer would start swaying VIOLENTLY while going about 45 downhill in New Mexico and Arizona.
On the same trip our brake lights for the trailer kept going out and we had to jerry-rig them to keep them on at night!!!
Funny how people get so charged over these things. This country needs more people who are willing to take personal accountability over their actions. If 16 year olds were able to rent cars, trucks, etc I can see the fuss over the company’s lack of safety. However, my whole point in my posting is that I weigh the costs and risks and make an informed decision that I take ownership over. Just wish society would do more of the same. First tobacco, then mold, now U-Haul? Somebody please stop blaming others for their own irresponsibility!
By the way, the sound that resembled glass breaking was the suspension bearings that were completely worn out. I’ve been towing trailers long enough to know what a chain dragging sounds like (though it does not happen when I tow as I know what I’m doing from that perspective).
I’m all for personal responsibility but the expose the LA Times undertook regarding U-Haul showed numerous instances where U-Haul or its authorized dealers failed to maintain the trucks and trailers.
When brakes don’t work, it doesn’t matter if you loaded the trailer correctly. The consumer should have an expectation when they rent a truck or trailer that it has been maintained and that the critical elements of the vehicle are working.
I don’t see any connection between a person lighting up a cigarette knowing the health hazards and someone renting a U-Haul with defective breaks, etc..
As a side note, I wonder if all the people in this country who are so hip on ‘personal responsibility’ ever gave thought that we’ve allowed the creation of corporations in order to shiled owers from ‘personal responsibility’. I wonder if they ever thought that the ability to purchase insurance to pay for your own negligence also is a way to avoid ‘personal responsibility’. Much of the unnecessary litigation in this country is because someone or some corporation doesn’t want to accept responsibility. Insurance policies force the claimant to first establish that the other party was ‘legally liable’.
Personal responsibility is something that seems to be in short supply and certainly U-Haul has tried their utmost to shirk their responsibility.
1) responsibility of driving is the driver. did he ever tow a veh before, does he know that driving downhill should be at a slower speed, did he know the amount allowed to be towed by his veh according to mfg spec’s? again, in society we try to fend of any responsibility for anything to everyone but urself. just like that case of the gun case that was locked in the basement and the new temporary occupant undid the door to get to the gun and have an incident. i used to be a truck driver for long haul (48 states and canada), and i was responsible for my bobtail and the trailer. i can’t blame the anyone because i am supposed to check the gear/trlr before i leave. this is especially important when pulling hazmat loads.
2) maintanence on veh/trlrs is important and maitain proper records. this means that the company shud create records for such. the military does this all the time with it’s equipment. i used to be in the navy as a support equipment technician (yellow gear, as we call it). with today’s technology, u can xfer records and files for any vehicle via computer.
***
so, i conclude that the mr was not very familiar with towing equipment. from someone good research, found out that the family even violated the law by not wearing a seatbelt. so the possibility she definately could have suffered less injury. but also, knowing your equipment how to properly use it makes a difference. as a renter to a rentee, i shud make sure that all things i give/rent is in good condition. its just a matter of the rentee being familiar with the equipment and how it is used.
A trailer swaying violently is usually due to 1 of 3 things.
It was loaded wrong or overloaded. A vehicle is rated for a given maximum towing weight. However even a pickup rated for 10,000 lbs. might not be able to handle that load due to the hitch that was put on the vehicle. A hitch is rated for a maximum load as well as a tongue weight. For passenger cars, the tongue weight of the trailer is usually rated for around 100 lbs. If you don’t know what I am talking about when I say tongue weight, you shouldn’t be renting a trailer.
Another common problem is how the weight is distributed in the trailer. Too many times I’ve seen the heaviest things either loaded first or last. Well put the heaviest things too far forward and your tongue wieght goes up. Put the weight too far back and you have no tongue weight. Bottom line, the weight should be distributed slightly forward of or over the wheels as much as possible.
The final reasons trailers sway is that the drivers have no idea what they are doing. Ever look at the message on the fender of a U-Haul? If not you should. You can’t (well you shouldn’t) be driving 70 or 80 MHP when pulling one of those trailers. Another tendacy is to brake like you do when you’re not towing, and by this i am saying that you do not anticipate. When you’re towing, you should break gradually and remember that you have that trailer back there.
Finally… if I have a complaint with U-Haul, it is that they will rent their trailers to anyone and that is dangerous.
I really hope you people will help me to be frugal and use credit cards wisely. My credit history is far from perfect but I really need a credit card. Which would you think is the best offer for bad credit at
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The ‘U’ in U-Haul should stand for “Unsafe”. I think you only need to look at U-Haul’s trucks and trailers to see that much of it is old and not well maintained. U-Haul’s only real value is its trademark. The best thing that can happen is someone will buy the brand and make the much needed capital investment.
The millions the Shoen family spent over the years fighting amongst themselves should have been spent on maintenance, repairs and replacement of their fleet of trucks and trailers.
The good news is there are other rental firms including Penske, Ryder trucks and now even Enterprise.
most folks with their eyes open can note U-Haul equipment is usually not the cleanest, newest, or appears downright wornout. But they get business, most likely because they offer competitive pricing vs the competition.
Let’s say U-Haul requires their ee’s to question everyone about how they are going to use the trailer; does that mean the renters will tell the truth?
Let’s face it: when you rent one of these items, you are trying to cut costs. The safest thing to do is hire movers to complete the move; if something goes wrong, it’s usually limited to the property being moved, and that’s a separate insurance issue.
U-Haul should maintain their fleet; if they don’t, whack em’. However, that doesn’t seem to explain some of the stories noted in this piece. I’m sorry about the paralysis noted in this piece, but I’m still trying to figure out why the negligence of the husband was excused: towing something too heavy, being cheap, obviously driving too fast…where does common sense take over? An earlier poster made an excellent point: Does McDonalds have to ask how you intend to use the coffee? Sure, this may seem extreme, but when does common sense takeover?
Too many people in the country refuse to take any responsibility for the actions, and outright stupidity; it’s always someone elses fault: someone should save me from my own stupidity!!!!
Just change the name to ‘Renter Beware-Haul’…
Regarding the accident in the Ford Explorer: First, we all know that there were other problems with those vehicles flipping on the highway….and then a little research turns up that the woman who suffered the spinal injury had unbuckled her seat belt and was turned around to attend to her kid in the back seat. Below is a quote from an article on the topic:
However, those amounts were reduced by 10 percent, to about $9.9 million, because the jury apportioned 10 percent of the fault to the Burkes. It found that she either failed to exercise ordinary care or her husband failed to ensure that she was wearing a seat belt.
Court documents show that a state trooper said that Christopher Burke told him several hours after the accident that Corry Burke had “taken her seat belt off and was turned around in her seat tending to the baby” at the time of the accident.
This article references “breaks” on trailers.
“Bad breaks are a recurring problem with the company’s large trailers and its midsize trailers have no breaks at all.”
Brakes are still brakes, right? Even on a trailer? Or are ‘breaks’ some trailer-part lingo I’ve never heard before?
I’m surprised the Associated Press made that kind of error.
All I know is I moved 1700 miles with towing a UHaul and the trailer would start swaying VIOLENTLY while going about 45 downhill in New Mexico and Arizona.
On the same trip our brake lights for the trailer kept going out and we had to jerry-rig them to keep them on at night!!!
Funny how people get so charged over these things. This country needs more people who are willing to take personal accountability over their actions. If 16 year olds were able to rent cars, trucks, etc I can see the fuss over the company’s lack of safety. However, my whole point in my posting is that I weigh the costs and risks and make an informed decision that I take ownership over. Just wish society would do more of the same. First tobacco, then mold, now U-Haul? Somebody please stop blaming others for their own irresponsibility!
By the way, the sound that resembled glass breaking was the suspension bearings that were completely worn out. I’ve been towing trailers long enough to know what a chain dragging sounds like (though it does not happen when I tow as I know what I’m doing from that perspective).
I’m all for personal responsibility but the expose the LA Times undertook regarding U-Haul showed numerous instances where U-Haul or its authorized dealers failed to maintain the trucks and trailers.
When brakes don’t work, it doesn’t matter if you loaded the trailer correctly. The consumer should have an expectation when they rent a truck or trailer that it has been maintained and that the critical elements of the vehicle are working.
I don’t see any connection between a person lighting up a cigarette knowing the health hazards and someone renting a U-Haul with defective breaks, etc..
As a side note, I wonder if all the people in this country who are so hip on ‘personal responsibility’ ever gave thought that we’ve allowed the creation of corporations in order to shiled owers from ‘personal responsibility’. I wonder if they ever thought that the ability to purchase insurance to pay for your own negligence also is a way to avoid ‘personal responsibility’. Much of the unnecessary litigation in this country is because someone or some corporation doesn’t want to accept responsibility. Insurance policies force the claimant to first establish that the other party was ‘legally liable’.
Personal responsibility is something that seems to be in short supply and certainly U-Haul has tried their utmost to shirk their responsibility.
here’s my problem with the whole thing:
1) responsibility of driving is the driver. did he ever tow a veh before, does he know that driving downhill should be at a slower speed, did he know the amount allowed to be towed by his veh according to mfg spec’s? again, in society we try to fend of any responsibility for anything to everyone but urself. just like that case of the gun case that was locked in the basement and the new temporary occupant undid the door to get to the gun and have an incident. i used to be a truck driver for long haul (48 states and canada), and i was responsible for my bobtail and the trailer. i can’t blame the anyone because i am supposed to check the gear/trlr before i leave. this is especially important when pulling hazmat loads.
2) maintanence on veh/trlrs is important and maitain proper records. this means that the company shud create records for such. the military does this all the time with it’s equipment. i used to be in the navy as a support equipment technician (yellow gear, as we call it). with today’s technology, u can xfer records and files for any vehicle via computer.
***
so, i conclude that the mr was not very familiar with towing equipment. from someone good research, found out that the family even violated the law by not wearing a seatbelt. so the possibility she definately could have suffered less injury. but also, knowing your equipment how to properly use it makes a difference. as a renter to a rentee, i shud make sure that all things i give/rent is in good condition. its just a matter of the rentee being familiar with the equipment and how it is used.
A trailer swaying violently is usually due to 1 of 3 things.
It was loaded wrong or overloaded. A vehicle is rated for a given maximum towing weight. However even a pickup rated for 10,000 lbs. might not be able to handle that load due to the hitch that was put on the vehicle. A hitch is rated for a maximum load as well as a tongue weight. For passenger cars, the tongue weight of the trailer is usually rated for around 100 lbs. If you don’t know what I am talking about when I say tongue weight, you shouldn’t be renting a trailer.
Another common problem is how the weight is distributed in the trailer. Too many times I’ve seen the heaviest things either loaded first or last. Well put the heaviest things too far forward and your tongue wieght goes up. Put the weight too far back and you have no tongue weight. Bottom line, the weight should be distributed slightly forward of or over the wheels as much as possible.
The final reasons trailers sway is that the drivers have no idea what they are doing. Ever look at the message on the fender of a U-Haul? If not you should. You can’t (well you shouldn’t) be driving 70 or 80 MHP when pulling one of those trailers. Another tendacy is to brake like you do when you’re not towing, and by this i am saying that you do not anticipate. When you’re towing, you should break gradually and remember that you have that trailer back there.
Finally… if I have a complaint with U-Haul, it is that they will rent their trailers to anyone and that is dangerous.
I really hope you people will help me to be frugal and use credit cards wisely. My credit history is far from perfect but I really need a credit card. Which would you think is the best offer for bad credit at
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