Towing with the NEWER Sport Tracs......UHAUL BAN?

[Deac M]

Does anyone have any insight into why there is a ban on even the NEW Sportracs from renting a Uhaul trailer. I can understand the Ford Explorers and the earlier Sportracs with the smaller wheelbase, but the NEW one? with 131 inch wheelbase? I called the Ford dealer about it and they didn't have a good answer, but I would think the 07-08 Sportrac would have no issues towing a 6 x 12 Uhaul trailer given what the factory rates its towing capacities.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Yes. If it says Explorer, it is banned. If it says Mercury Mountaineer, it is OK.



A Suzuki Samuri is OK. An Explorer isn't. It is not about safety.





Tom

 

[Todd Z]

Edited,



Apparently what I said was "Wrong" But everything posted below is ok...



Go Figure..



Todd Z

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

Am I reading this right? If I own an "Explorer" OR and "Explorer" Sport Trac, I cannot rent a Uhaul trailer?

 

[Tom Schindler]

That is right. If it says Explorer, it is a no-no.



I bet if you took an F-450 Diesel and stuck an Explorer emblem on it, U-Haul will say no.





Tom

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Yup, it is all about the law suits and our stupid upside down courts.

 

[Tyler Geddes]

Budget however will rent you a trailer no matter what you drive. so long as you have a class 3 hitch on your trac.

 

[TomT]

Just de-badge it. I did mine the first week I owned it because I never wanted it associated with the Explorer.

 

[Gypsy me]

SOME Uhaul business owners don't care and will rent to an "Explorer or Explorer ST" owner....but others follow the strict rule imposed by Uhaul years ago (against Ford Explorers)





from uhaul's site:

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.

So if your Trac says Explorer on it or you tell them Explorer Sport Trac...most will say NO.

The truth is.... they are PO"d at FORD. For having to pay out... they blaimed FORD.



Penske, Budge or others.. will rent to you.

 

[Gypsy me]

...and FORD said it was Firestone tires that were part or all of the cause....

Firestone blaimed Ford.

Here is an article from ConsumerAffairs.com From Jan 2004:

January 7, 2004





U-Haul has told its 17,000 outlets to stop renting trailers to customers driving Ford Explorers. The company said it can no longer afford to defend itself against product liability lawsuits involving the popular SUV.



Ford and Firestone blamed each other a few years ago for a spate of rollover accidents that killed more than 100 people.



"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," the company told the Detroit News but said the action is "not related to safety issues."



A Ford spokesman said the action demonstrates the dangers of "runaway litigaiton."



Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone have settled numerous individual wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits. Bridgestone/Firestone is now trying to settle 30 class-action suits for a reported $149 million.



Federal regulators have said they could not find a defect in the Explorer. Many, though not all, of the Explorers involved in rollover accidents were equipped with Firestone tires

a past NY times article....

linked below.

 

[Scott Tanner]

they (uhaul) have their heads up their a$$... I saw a Uhaul being towed by a kia sportage fishtailing away... i wouldn't give them my money even if they changed their minds...

 

[Jeff C]

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[Gypsy me]

I've often thought maybe it was the vehicle operators that didn't know how to tow...or faulty equiptment on Uhauls part....



Wonder if the Kia owner was offered the stabalizer unit to go with the trailer??? More than likely, NOT.



Uhauls equiptment is faulty IMOP, most of the time OR their employees don't know what the heck they are doing when the set people up. Back in Denver, a co-worker friend moved to MN. She was a single mother. She rented one of Uhauls trucks and tow dolly for her car to make the drive across country.



She came to work just before leaving to see if a guy/co-worker could double check her truck with the tow dolly (because she just had a feeling something was not right) Sure enough, UHAUL's knowledgable employee did not have her set up right at all. And the coworker that checked it all out, told me if had he not looked at it when he did, our friend would have lost it down the road and probably gotten hurt or hurt other drivers on the road.



I should also say, that Uhaul owners that do have common sense...are very knowledgeble and understand that it is not the vehicles fault in accidents...as most of the time is the operator or how the equiptment is set up to tow by the authorized dealer of the equiptment.



They the main Uhaul Headquarters and CEO etc... don't want to rent to us....BECAUSE they think they are saving money to not be in any potential law suits.

It's bad blood and resentment is all it really is on "their" side.

 

[Brett Wustman]

One of my co-workers was going to rent a trailer from U-haul, and didn't know about the explorer ban, until I told him. He came up with a pretty simple way to outsmart the idiot working the counter at U-haul. He just told him he had an Expedition. They never checked, and let him rent no problem.



Brett

 

[Scott Tanner]

True, but in the end it will cost them business... I agree 100% in that it is their franchisees. They'll send them down the road w/o lights and attached to the wrong vehicle. The proper way is to police their dealers and educate them and potential customers on how to do it right. some people should not be allowed to tow ... they will rent a tailer to someone with a car that weights less than the trailer they're towing!!... a little common sense on their part would go a long way. From what i've heard, explorers are not the only ones they won't rent to... trying to limit their liablility like they are is like not putting air in your tire, because you're afraid they'll go flat...



As Clint eastwood would say,,,, "Marvelous"



jmo

 

[Darrel Chaney01]

About 2 weekends ago I towed a U-haul with my Explorer Sport Trac. I don't have pictures tough. Okay I'll come clean. It wasn't a trailer. We were moving some things to our house we had just sold so we could have a tag sale. There were several pieces of large furniture that would not fit in the ST, plus a lot of other things. So the only thing I could find at the time was a 26 foot truck from U-Haul. We also had to bring some things from that house to our present house. My son's friend was driving on on the trip back and decided to back over the curb { which is higher than normal} to unload the stuff for the basement. He got it stuck and I had to "tow" it off with my ST. It pulled it off almost like there was nothing back there. I will have to say the truck we got needed work. The windshield was dirty and the headlights were so bad I thought they were the parking lights, and I am sure there were worse things. If was going any were but a few blocks, I would not have rented from U-Haul. I would not have done so to begin with, but time was not on our side.

Sometimes the places that sell trailers will rent them to you.

 

[CobraXP]

I wouldn't touch a piece of U-Haul equipment even if they would rent to me. Too many other options to use than a company that has one of the worst maintained equipment fleets in all of transportation...

 

[keith wallace01ST]

it is crap[Broken External Image]:

 

[jaime flores 2]

I rented a uhaul in Wisconsin and towed all my stuff to Texas when I moved last July, guy at the Uhaul place said I can't tow with the ST, but he let me drive off the lot with it.

 

[Gypsy me]

Aztek, he was probably one of those "common sense" uhaul business owners, figures, he advised you. but knows it's not all the Explorer that caused the issues of past, .(cause he knows their policy is foolish) so he is covered by advising you can't tow with it. He rented it to you so he wants business above anything else. If anything would have happened and came back to him, he probably would have said,.."hey I told him he couldn't tow with it in that truck, but the guy insisted" There you go...his word against yours and he has it in writing to not rent to you with that vehicle.



We have the choice to play their system, if we want to or not, but if something were to happen while towing thier product with your "Explorer", as written in their policy, (and of course we never want an accident to occur) but if an accident does occur...they are not going to settle easy with you.



I'd rather not use Uhaul if I can help it If they don't want our busines, then I say, let it be. It's their loss not mine.



I'd be curious to know ...during that same time period when all the law suits were going on and after, how many other rental companies, other than UHaul....had accident roll over issues each year? and How many of them were with the Ford Explorers wthin each year? ,,,something to ponder...