Thanks U-Haul

My father rented a U-Haul to tow from NC to MI and back to pick up a sweet '49 Ford hot rod he had just purchased:

On Saturday night, at 7pm in rural Virginia, we had brake issues with the trailer. The bottom line is that within ninety minutes we had a replacement trailer delivered to us and got back on the road. We had been driving pretty much non-stop for 21 hours at that point and we were glad to get home that night.

I think that is pretty great customer service, all things considered.

I'm just gonna say that I have had differing experiences with Uhaul. Never again.

I've had good and bad with U-Haul. Pretty sweet Ford, regardless.

I had two tires blow out simultaneously (driver's side dually) at highway speed on a 26' UHaul box truck recently driving through St. Louis. Might have been a tad on the heavy side.

After I got it stopped and changed my shorts, I found their roadside assistance to be stellar (had someone there with the new tires and wheels in less than 30 minutes).

I have a problem with their payloads (too much box on too little chassis/ suspension). They are de-rated for their size. It is super easy to overload them (Penske 26' box is rated for 24,000 GVWR, Uhaul is rated for 18,000 GVWR, though it says "under 20,000" on the side). The truck weighs 11,800, so the payload is technically only 6200 lbs, which is thoroughly ridiculous.

I am, however, impressed with their roadside assistance.

Oh yeah... sweet Ford!

Do we know that car?

I'm glad you experience turned out so well. One of mine of the worst experiences ever. But I must say, this was in 1985 before they ever updated their fleet. You know, old Ford F-600 with stick shift and no power steering.

But my last two Uhaul experiences have been much better.

Their road side is awsume the store clerks not so much...or at least that been my experiance. Rented a trailer with bare wires the clerk came out and just seperated them and told us it would be fine.... Ah....no i want a roll of electrical tape. sorry i don't have any..Well give me that roll of packing tape then.

Well, my experience only a few years ago...

Roadside assist couldnt find Interstate 70 on a map. (Utah to Baltimore MD)

Spent a total of 10 hours on the side of the road waiting for 2 spare tires. First spare they brought was dry rotted and blew causing us to need to stop for spare # 2. Not them coming and taking the wheel somewhere, just waiting for them to show up.

Used trucks for under $3k

Home brew camper?

we rented a u-haul for the trip from east to west florida. one way, two days. asked the call center for a 10' truck. was told there were none shorter than 14 in the area. ok, ill take the 14. go to pick up said 14. no 14's. no anything other than the huge (24-26?). went inside and the guy looked up my order, laughed for a second, and told me he hadn't seen a medium or short truck in 4 weeks. WOW. gave me the 10 ft price on the biggest damn truck i had ever seen. then gave me 15% off, then gave me tax exemption because im a church (i didn't know i was a church, but hey), THEN wrote down the wrong fuel level at 1/2 when it was full. id say i did pretty well at u-haul. even if i did get 6mpg for the ride across...

-J0N

Like many of you, I have had good and bad experiences with Uhaul...

Them refusing to rent me a 6x12 enclosed trailer because I had a, yep, you guessed it, an EXPLORER. Not the mid '90s ones that were famously recalled but a 2004 V8 with the tow package (and Michelin tires). But they would let me rent it if the vehicle was it's exact mechanical twin, the Mercury Mountaineer. Close-mindedness much?

So I had to use my 1991 4cyl Ranger. The guy at the counter (who was extremely cool) said that even though he had a warning popup saying that the trailer weighed more than the tow vehicle, he would still let me take the trailer if I promised to be careful and take it slow. Uhhh, '91 Ranger with 88 hp? Anything other than slow would mean it's falling off a cliff LOL

neon4891 wrote: Used trucks for under $3k Home brew camper?

Yep, quite a few have done this, here is a good thread on one such conversion: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=999810

Oh and that '49 is amazing! Your dad has great taste!

If you want a real truck, rent a Ryder or Penske. If you want to rent a bigass car, rent U-haul.

Recent move- 24' Budget. Perfection. Everything as promised, comfy, automatic, diesel. Nuff said.

It really is a cool car, not GRM I suppose, but it was true grassroots back in the day. Flathead V8, great condition inside and out. He wants to add A/C and maybe paint it gloss black. I like the flat black, but he had a '31 Ford that was flat black and it was a bear to keep it looking nice.

My wife says that me, my brother, and my sons get our "car affliction" honestly and she has already warned her future daughter-in-law about the disease.

Lost a tire on a Uhaul 2-axle car trailer many years ago. Took them like 4 hours to get me a replacement tire, which put us a whole day behind schedule due to our planned stopping point. I was torqued.

Ranger50 wrote: If you want a real truck, rent a Ryder or Penske.

Or if you need a truck with a lift gate...

I think it's down to individual franchises and even individual workers as to how anal retentive U-Haul is and how good maintenance of the trailers/trucks and roadside assistance can be. I rented a tow dolly the other day, but due to a ground issue on my truck, I couldn't get the lights to work. Dude asked me if I would be back before dark, I told him I would, and he said I was good to go...

I can say i haven't seen any burning u-haul trucks in a while, I have seen at least a couple burned ones years ago though.

Rented a Budget truck a year and a half ago. I wanted a 14 foot, they didn't have one (they said, tho I saw several in the lot when I went to get the truck) so they rented me a 16 foot at the "same" price. All goes smoothly for the 1st tank of gas. But the 2nd and 3rd? I don't know if I did something or didn't do something, but the truck started running like it had water in the gas tank.

Thought about renting a 14 foot Budget to tow my Civic....Budget's website said that I couldn't combine a 14 foot truck and a tow dolly. Just this week was passed on the highway by a 14 foot U-Haul pulling a tow dolly and car. Maybe Budget's 14 foot Chevy's couldn't/can't handle something that U-Haul's 14 foot Fords, could?

Apexcarver wrote: I'm just gonna say that I have had differing experiences with Uhaul. Never again.

Likewise. Glad it worked out for you, though. Also, sweet SWEET car.

Twin_Cam wrote:

Apexcarver wrote: I'm just gonna say that I have had differing experiences with Uhaul. Never again.

Likewise. Glad it worked out for you, though. Also, sweet SWEET car.

me three, berkley Uhaul, never again

Had mixed experiences with U-Haul, but most haven't been memorable in a positive sense. Their franchisees are generally rude and slow.

I also recall once getting an old pig of a U-Haul box truck with a dead miss. Yay, I could have gotten maybe 6 mpg, but had to settle for 5.