U-Haul Trailer hitch dragged through driveways Canyon Country California

I am a technical advisor to the U-Haul hitch installers. I have worked as a mechanic/welder for various companies as well as the Marine Corps for more than 15yrs. I have been with U-Haul for 4yrs, serving as a hitch installer at the center level, a Sales & Reservation Specialist and now currently a HitchPro tech advisor.

I would like to point out that U-Haul installs more hitch's than any other installation facility in the US or Canada. It would stand to reason that all hitch retailers will get customer compaints and that we being the largest will get more than other. More often than not the customer I speak with looking to put a hitch on a vehicle are looking to use or tow in a manner outside what the vehicle manufacturer intended for the vehicle. Our U-Haul hitch professionals will always try to educate our customer as to their vehicle abilities, but in the end we will sell the customer a hitch as long as it is safe to do so.

As with any large company we always try to hire the best employees for the job. When ever possible we hire former/retired mechanics from both the civilian and military job force. For those employee's without prior mechanical background we do continous on the job training, from our existing Hitch Pro's within the marketing company they work in. 

Our customers satisfaction is of great importance to us and we always strive to meet the needs of our customers in both products and service. That being said, all of our employee's are human and subject to having bad days and making error's in judgement. 

With regards to the statement concerning the lifetime warrany, it is for damage and/ or workmanship. I you have us install a hitch for you and then choose to have it removed because you don't like the aesthetics of it.  Since U-Haul does not sell used hitch we would have to take a huge loss for that type of return. If a customer would like to know what it will look like on his/her type of vehicle we can provide photo's and ground clearence specs before installation if the customer request it.

Just as an added piece,the employees installing these hitches arent that well trained.They hire part time workers for what is basically a retail job,pay them 8 to 9 dollars an hour,charge the customer about 80 in labor for these same people to the job.To sum this up go to a shop that installs hitches to receive quality work.

Just read his other posts. Nice try Steve. Which office do you work out of? Doesn't matter though, all you rebuttals won't change the fact you work for them AND that their customer service is sub-par.

 i am a cdl heavy duty equipment operator here in Hawaii. any long standing professional truck, bus or heavy equipment operator always does a pre trip before going on the road. The inspection of the vehicle is taught in classes before getting your final road test. There fore the husband should know about suspentions or he drivers little pick ups

I don't like U-Haul either. I've had some unpleasant experiences with them. But they don't deserve the stupidity of this particular customer. It's COMMON for trailer hitches to drag the ground when going in and out of places like driveways. Particular cars that are low-slung can make this problem worse. It hurts nothing for a hitch to drag and scrape. It sounds terrible, but hurts nothing. That is this user's first bogus complaint., If a car has bad shocks, the dragging problem might be a little worse (so fix the shocks). But this brainiac says HER car doesn't HAVE shocks because it has springs. This is the terror of all businesses everywhere. ALL cars have shocks! And ALL cars have springs. I would have blocked her car in too, and I would have sued her for the cost of removing the hitch -- which never had to be done. This customer will probably range far and wide bitching about U-Haul, while it appears that U-Haul was not even remotely at fault. Customers like this are why I sold my last retail business last year and will never, ever own another. 

I'm looking for a hitch to be installed and am trying to become knowledgeable as Steve suggested. The problem is no one I've talked to so far seems to know what they are doing when it comes to hitches. When you go to the "experts" on hauling you'd expect it to be done right. Or modified until it is done right. The consumer should not have to know anything about the installation - they should just be instructed (by the installer) on how to use the hitch safely, since there can be so much variation on installations and equipment used. I fix my own cars, I have bachelors and masters degrees in engineering, and I get tired of telling people I pay money to how to do their jobs. I expect the people who do this all the time to figure it out. That's why I pay them money.

Hi Liz

It's fairly obvious that you are unhappy with a local U-Haul dealer for having installed a receiver hitch on your vehicle which caused problems for you. Note: Most of what needs to be said about your experience has already been posted here. Steve seems very knowledgeable and certainly tactful in his responses. I have to commend him and the others who offered constructive correctness no an obviously incorrect statement of vehicle anatomy.
I myself am sometimes not so tactful. There is no substitute for knowledge and common sense. My observation is that you and your husband, despite his obvious driving skills, are not mechanics, nor are you familiar with the working parts of your vehicle's suspension system.
"Not all hitches are created equal." Each manufacturer has their own design, typically the only components that are made to a specific standard are the actual mounting points, and this is designed to mate with your particular vehicle's hitch mounting points that are designed into the vehicle's frame or undercarriage. From that point it is the manufacturers prerogative to design it how they want, to the point of the actual receiver, which again is manufactured to a set universal size and class schedule based on rated towing capacity.

Another note: Auto manufacturers design accordingly for the intended vehicle use. Your Ford Windstar was not designed to be a towing vehicle from the factory. That requires heavier suspension with slightly more ground clearance, additional cooling capacity for the engine coolant, crankcase, and transmission. Usually the brakes are also beefed up to handle additional stopping resistance. Heavy-duty SHOCKS are an integral part of a towing package as well. Air bag suspension for passenger vehicles is relatively new. The trucking and rail industries have been using them for years.

Nearly all vehicle have some towing capacity, and you should know the limitations of your vehicle's design and plan accordingly.

My suggestion is that before you lambaste a company or individual, that you get all of your facts straight. Also, your complaint should be registered locally with the BBB, and no, you were not treated fairly by the local dealer.

Knowledge is power!

Randy,

I have no interest in U-Haul, one way or the other. AND, why is it that anytime someone posts a rebuttal, they automatically work for the company reported? This is such a third grade mentality.

Simply put, consumers MUST educate themselves BEFORE making a purchase.

And, the original poster made several statements that simply are not true, like the vehicle not having shocks. That is a no brainer. That was my point.

Education and common sense will get you through almost any situation. This person had neither, and that was the problem.

And, anyone who has been on this site for even a few months, knows exactly what my background is, and what I currently do for a living.

Elizabeth, I wonder if Steve from Bradenton, Florida really does work for U-Haul, because he seems so interested in defending them everywhere. He had to defend them on my report, #210063. I wonder how many other reports he has defended U-Haul on? It's amazing how many times the same few people show up in different threads.

This report said that the hitch U-haul installed dragged without a trailer being attached.

I have had trailer hitches added to all of my trucks and I can tell you that different manufacturers make their hitches differently from one another. Sure a Class I or Class III (I use class III) will meet the load requirements of that class hitch, but the distance from ground to receiver can and usually does very from manufacturer to manufacturer.

A class I from mfg X might have the receiver x inches from the ground while class I from mfg Y is Y inches from the ground even though there are installed on the same vehicle.

All trailer hitches are not made equal.

Seems to me that the U-haul folks should have seen that the hitch was going to sit too low and simply said so instead of going for the quick sell.

I would ask the car dealer and the other hitch installer to write a "to whom it may concern" letter and then send these letters (make copies for your records) with a certified, return receipt letter requesting a full refund.

Good luck.

let me tell you a couple of things...every car,truck,van etc etc...has shocks..it controls the SPRINGS movement ...if the hitch was bottoming out,and thats the only hitch for the vehicle,then you need a smaller trailer or new springs or boosters.
uhaul will install a hitch on ANY vehicle,even if you are not to really tow with it,can use hitch for a bike rack.
sure we are not getting rich working for uhaul,hence why im not there anymore for a better job,but we dont act like you are saying they are.
thanks

Elizabeth,

You never mentioned your husband was driving the Windstar. You only stated that he said it didn't have shocks.

You Windstar DOES have shocks if it does not have the tow package with the air springs. Therefore, your husband doesn't know too much after all in spite of his alleged 30 years of truck driving.

FYI. I do not work for, nor have I ever been affiliated with U-Haul. That must be a little class 1 hitch if it fits that close to your bumper.

Elizabeth,

You never mentioned your husband was driving the Windstar. You only stated that he said it didn't have shocks.

You Windstar DOES have shocks if it does not have the tow package with the air springs. Therefore, your husband doesn't know too much after all in spite of his alleged 30 years of truck driving.

FYI. I do not work for, nor have I ever been affiliated with U-Haul. That must be a little class 1 hitch if it fits that close to your bumper.

Elizabeth,

You never mentioned your husband was driving the Windstar. You only stated that he said it didn't have shocks.

You Windstar DOES have shocks if it does not have the tow package with the air springs. Therefore, your husband doesn't know too much after all in spite of his alleged 30 years of truck driving.

FYI. I do not work for, nor have I ever been affiliated with U-Haul. That must be a little class 1 hitch if it fits that close to your bumper.

Elizabeth,

You never mentioned your husband was driving the Windstar. You only stated that he said it didn't have shocks.

You Windstar DOES have shocks if it does not have the tow package with the air springs. Therefore, your husband doesn't know too much after all in spite of his alleged 30 years of truck driving.

FYI. I do not work for, nor have I ever been affiliated with U-Haul. That must be a little class 1 hitch if it fits that close to your bumper.

Update on trailer hitch saga: This Ford Windstar was not ordered new with a tow package, therefore, did not come equipped with air-springs on the back. (wouldn't you think the "experts" at U-Haul would have pointed that out?) It has stock springs on it. After U-haul installed the trailer-hitch and before we took it back to them, we took it to Ford. They laughed and said, "take it to someone who knows what they're doing". They sent us to the trailer-hitch people who installs trailer-hitches for them.

It works fine, as I stated in my previous rebuttal and is flush with the bottom of the bumper. We installed a 4 1/2in. rise receiver which brought the trailer up to 18" level. No problem since. This Windstar performed perfectly (almost better than we expected) throughout 9,000 of desert and mountains. This car only has 23,000 miles on it. Springs are not worn. (we had that checked at Ford when we had the oil-cooler put on). One other thing, my husbend drove a truck for 30 years so I think he has enough experience to pull a tiny trailer like a 10 foot motorcycle trailer. I'm wondering, Steve......do you work for U-Haul? As I said befoe, these people at U-Haul have no experience, obviously. judging by all the U-Haul complaints on this web-site alone. Their "customer service" (?)at their Corporate Office is even worse, if that's possible. Imagine all the people who don't complain.

Elizabeth,

ALL vehicles have shocks and/or struts. They are a safety item, they give you traction to the road and handling control. Some vehicles such as your Windstar come with an AIR Spring, which is like a shock and a spring combined, and this is what you probably have if your hasband is saying it has no shocks.

Here is the ford specification for the SHOCKS on your vehicle:
MOTORCRAFT Part # ASH52
Standard; North American Sales; 2 required per
vehicle; Rear #2F2Z18125AB

And here is the one you need for pulling trailers:
MONROE Part # 58624
REAR; Exc.w/ Rear Air Spring; For Towing and Hauling; This part number is pair packed/priced. {SENSA-TRAC LOAD ADJUSTING SHOCK ABSORBER}

If your van cannot handle the load of that small trailer, your springs are needing to be changed. However, there are many factors such as tire size/load rating as well as proper inflation, and you should always use heavier springs and/or helper springs on any light duty vehicle you intend to pull a trailer with.

FYI..That hitch is supposed to be approx 3" under your bumper. The trailer/ball height on most trailers is approx 19", or at the height where it rides level. There are different recievers readily available for that hitch that you can change in less than a minute that can raise or lower the ball height until it was right.

If you have no experience with trailers and/or towing you should not be pulling one. This goes for U-Hauls in general. If you have no experience with it, don't drive it!

I had a few rebuttals on my complaint about u-haul's installation of a trailer hitch on my car. It's a 2003 Ford Windstar. According to my husband, the car has springs in the rear and struts in the front. The trailer is a 10 ft long motorcycle trailer which wasn't even on the car yet. The hitch they installed was three inches below the bumper. We had another one put on somewhere else, attached the trailer, loaded the bike, drove 9,000 miles and only dragged once through a very steep driveway. Oh, and the manager moved from in front of my car because I told him I'd run over his *&* if he didn't.

Foreign-made or not, it is a requirement that you be able to tow a class I trailer. Your vehicle may need some work.

How did you leave if he was standing in front of the car?

Elizabeth,

No car only has springs. And, you never mentioned what type of car you have and what type of trailer you were pulling. Please let us know.

FYI... Just because you put a hitch on a car does not mean you will be able to safely/properly pull a trailer. There are a lot of other factors, and most cars will need some sort of suspension upgrade to pull a trailer.

And, shocks are NOT load carrying devices. Springs are.