No U-Haul for me.
03-Apr-08
Today I needed to rent a trailer. I went to U-Haul, because they have trailers. There I was told that they don’t rent to my kind (people who drive Explorer and Explorer Sport-Trac vehicles) because our vehicles are ‘unsafe’. Now I don’t patronize U-Haul.
From their FAQ:
Ford Explorer owners: 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. This policy is not related to safety issues. This is an unusual circumstance for U-Haul – we have built our success for over 59 years by saying “yes” to our customers, and do not like saying “no” instead. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are committed to working with our customers to find alternative options to help with their move. Please contact 1-800-GO-UHAUL (1-800-468-4285) for assistance with alternative options.
From Wikipedia
On December 22, 2003, U-Haul, the largest North American equipment rental company, announced that they would forbid their outlets from renting trailers to persons planning to tow behind Ford Explorers due to liability concerns.[3] This however was completely baseless by that time as the problem had been corrected with the tire recall, and the corrected inflation recommendation.
If you would turn down guaranteed business today because of an assumed outside shot at being sued tomorrow, you are stupid and I will not give you my money.
The best part of it is that they will rent to owners of rebadged Explorers, such as the Mercury Mountaineer, Lincoln Aviator and Mazda Navajo variants.
