The Genius Design of U-Haul Car Trailers
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2023
- These trailers are designed to be absolutely idiot proof.
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I've rented these several times over the years and always been impressed with them. One time I rented one and returned it to a different location and didn't think anything of it. About 5 years later I got a call from U-Haul asking if I'd ever returned it. I wish I'd known it was that easy to keep one
I returned a UHaul once and overheard the manager and workers absolutely blown away because a truck was returned the previous night during off hours… that had been out of their system for more than 10 years!
I guess that’s how far back their records went because they had no idea who rented it. It really is that easy I guess.
😂😂😂
Bizarre. They'd of listed it as stolen and you would've continued to be charged. Plus whomever you dropped it off to would've continued to rent it out and that's tracked... not sure why 5 years later they would've asked you where it was.
I used to be a uhaul mechanic. Uhaul trailers are the most durable units. They are designed and manufactured in house. They had 50 year old trailers in service. The galvanized steel was unpainted and survived 20 ontario winters.
I'm always amazed how well designed and built Uhaul trailers are. Not surprised they'll survive basically any weather for years on end.
Do they sell their old trailers? Not that I would want a 50 yr old trailer 😁
@@royhkusp1 no. Uhaul generally doesn't sell trailers, when we had wrecks, we would salvage parts to use on other trailers. They did sell a handful of trailers but these are the exception. But many "ex-uhaul trailers" are stolen. Trucks are sold after their rental life.
Will a 04 Chevy 2500hd fit? Single cab long bed. Ik the wheelbase will fit but idk about the width
I rented a U-Haul car dolly several years ago, and the guy behind the counter might or might not have made it through high school. At one point he couldn’t figure out what to do next with the computer:
Second employee: “Hit the space bar.”
Guy behind the counter: “Space bar?”
True story. I knew it was going to be a long day.
who doesn't know what a space bar is?
@@Stackali That guy.
U-Haul's point of sale software can be a real nightmare (POS is appropriate). They make changes to it on occasion, and it's like they want to add new problems before they fix existing ones. I've worked through a rental contract partway, only to have the whole thing go poof and have to start over.
I don't know where a space bar is required except to put a space in text for a comment.
True hell is if a contract is done, and the customer suddenly remembers that they wanted to rent some peripheral stuff like dollys.
@@greyone40 And imagine the challenge facing the employee who not only must master U-Haul software, but thinks a space bar is food eaten by astronauts.
Went to rent an a/t one time. Clerk came out and saw my classic ford said Explorer on the bedside.
"I can't rent to Explorers"
🤦♂️ It was in an F250 with a big block engine. Hard to find a better pickup to tow with
I just hauled a narrow front tractor on one a couple weeks ago. I just had to lay down some wood across the center and the trailer towed great. I was surprised when I saw the manufacture date of the trailer was 1999 and it still looked great.
zinc coating for ya
U-Haul really knows their business when it come to trailers... very smart people.
Indeed!
I’d hope they figured a few things out after being in the game for 50+ years.
This is very true. I worked at Uhaul 20 years ago and there's only been one change that I can see(the ball latch is different, but the old one was almost as idiot proof).
I bet these would be nice for a Side by Side hauler if you find one to buy
Their 4 x 8 enclosed luggage trailers are great!
There's also a loop right behind the forward "jackknife" bumpers that is perfect for hooking up to a come along/winch. Much easier than trying to push a disabled car up the ramps.
Oh! Didn't notice that! Nice!
@@thejunkyardnecromancer Yes, that little D Ring is great for a come along to pull up a disabled car.
They're motorcycle trailers are also very well designed. Low to the ground nice ramp ,tie down hooks and front wheel chock
"Idiot Resistant", yes. There's no such thing as "Idiot Proof", some idiot will always find a way to break it!.🥴
There's always a better idiot
make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot
Me lol nervous nelly never had to do this
The coupler (on this specific trailer - U-Haul has used other designs) is a Demco EZ-Latch. If you leave the release handle up it will release and will not couple; as the Demco manual explains "Handle must be facing FORWARD and DOWN to latch coupler to ball." If the handle is down, when you lower the trailer onto the ball the ball forces the sliding block inside the coupler up (taking the handle up with it but not pivoting the handle back), then a spring snaps it down (taking the handle down with it) to trap the ball in place.
The math on these trailers is genius too. U-haul has also designed the trailers with the lowest probability of trailer sway. Impressive considering the various weights, lengths, heights, of cars that will be towed on this trailer.
Most of the time that I have used one of their car haulers this was true. That one time though, it was a little hairy and made for a LONG trip.
I used one of these last year, and noticed a lot of these QOL features as well. One other thing I appreciate is how light they are, it means a wide range of vehicles can use them. U-Haul's website helps with idiot-proofing by forcing you to enter both the tow vehicle and vehicle being towed and tells you if the weight is too great or gives an alert if the weight is approaching the max. If you're towing with a smaller vehicle, they'll let you depending on what you're towing. I was using a 3/4 ton pickup so I didn't have an issue, but I see small SUVs and large crossovers pulling these all the time.
As for that speed limit sign on the driver's side fender... Sammy Hagar summed up my thoughts perfectly.😉
My experience with the calculator is somewhat different. I wanted to dolly tow a midsize SUV (Cadillac XT5, ~4k pounds) with my Tacoma (double cab 3.4L V6 RWD, 5-6k tow capacity depending on features). The calculator wouldn't let me proceed to even locate which store locations had a dolly available. It kept telling me it wAsN'T RaTed FOr tHaT. I went so far as to try smaller and smaller towed vehicles, all the way down to a Corolla (2800 lb) and a Fiat 500 (2300 lb) and it would never let me proceed.
Eventually I just lied to the site about my towing vehicle, found a location that had a dolly available, and then went and transacted my business in person. Of course they rented it to me without question, and of course the tow went off without a hitch (pun intended). I just know not to waste my time with the site in the future, as UHaul believes my truck incapable of towing a matchbox car.
@@floridag8rfan I had a similar experience, but I think you have to fully understand the calculator. I have an 03 F-350, I wanted to tow me then girlfriends camry. It is more than capable of towing it, and it said my vehicle wasn't rated for the vehicle being towed which makes no sense. The axles are far enough forward where even a heavy vehicle that'll fit won't be very tongue heavy. Makes no sense to me.
@@ndcentral8194I towed my brother’s old Cavalier a few years ago, they would only rent me the dolly to pull behind my F150. The reason I noticed on the website was that the towed portion would possibly weigh more than my truck. I’d say there is a lot of lawyer nonsense involved coupled with wanting to rent you one of their vehicles to pull it with.
From my experience these trailers are extremely heavy. I assumed that was to make them bulletproof
These trailers are far from light... in fact, probably some of the heaviest car haulers of their size. They weigh over a ton on their own.
Most of our trailers in the UK have surge brakes (we call them over-run brakes) The brake shoes have a clever linkage that allows you to reverse with them. I can’t recall ever seeing electric brakes/brake controllers over here, unless it’s a specially imported job.
I hired a trailer a while back with another clever feature which was the foot-operated latches for the ramps were combined with stabiliser legs, so you always had the supports down whenever the ramps were out.
I used one of these to rescue a family member on the side of the road 100 miles from home. Never used a car hauler before but have towed trailers since I learned to drive (still had my learners license when I learned to tow a trailer). I found the U-haul trailer very easy to use.
You didn't mention one of the best features! It's with the trailer jack. If it should happen that the jack isn't all the way up and driving forward it strikes the road surface it likely won't be damaged unlike a classic pillar style one. You see those bent a lot! Also the upturned edges on the inside of the tire decks keeps the car from falling down in between them.
Yeah! I didn't think about that whole making the video, but some other people mentioned those things as well! Good observation!
I've said for years that I'd love to buy a U-Haul trailer. They're well thought out.
Unfortunately they don't sell them
You could technically go down to Mexico, rent one, and then bring it to the states 😉
I bet that trailer jack design is also for in case the driver tries to take off with the jack still down. Since it's hinged where it is, it won't break off, just scrape.
Oh yeah! I didn't think about that, but you are right!
100% it’s so you don’t snap the jack by pulling away before you raise the jack.
Speaking of that mfr had a BBQ grill trailer and it was in the way the jack stand had a wheel broke off
Biggest issue is that using the tire straps gives you zero ability to balance the load, a big problem with shorter vehicles. I loaded my 2800lb Z4 on one of these and in the default spot I had 900 lbs of tongue weight. Most people aren't going to pay attention to this and will likely vastly exceed the tongue rating of plenty of vehicles that would otherwise perfectly suited to tow the weight.
I usually load vehicles in reverse when I tow one of these, since everything I've hauled (aside from a Subaru Tribeca and a Jeep Grand Cherokee) have been short enough that I can position the drivetrain over the axles. Makes a hell of a difference.
It's the best trailer for a rental company. Thru tried to engineer any expense from idiots out of these trailers.
Uhaul trailers are probably one of the best out their for the utility ones. I wish I could own one.
The brakes are for people that dont have a brake box because the heavier the load the more they apply.
The tongue jack is designed that way, because most of them are destroyed by driving off with them down. This design survives that.
If you have ever tried to buy a used trailer with a tongue jack, they are almost all bent from driving off with them down.
Other people have been saying the same thing. That makes a lot of sense.
It's worth noting that the "jackknife-protection" buffers work optimally when your vehicle's bumper height is aligned to it. So if you have something akin to a lifted truck that needs a super dropped tow ball, and you jack-knife it, it's hitting your suspension or worse.
As a equipment rental store owner that rents trailer along with the equipment, I have often lusted after that trailer jack setup because it doesn't dig in and break off the jack when someone invariably drives off with jack down.
I rented one of these trailers in Colorado to haul a 1929 Mail Truck back to California. I couldn't believe how well it towed, even with that big parachute of a truck on it!! Tow rig was a 1999 Ford F-250 diesel with manual 5 speed. It was like the trailer wasn't even there. I wanted to buy that trailer SO bad after that. Been on the lookout for one ever since, just in case.
That is super cool! Does Uhaul sell old equipment?
Cool video. I've always liked those trailers. They make them extra short and with tracked decks to help minimize what all people can put on them.
Well My 1964 Impala SS fit on one of these. Towed it from Florida to Toronto Canada 🇨🇦
Lol, I managed to fit a 1970 Buick Lesabre on one, my friend hauled a long wheelbase 1st Gen Land Rover Discovery. You just have to compare the length of the deck with the wheelbase of the car you’re towing….also don’t tell them you’re hauling something that big if they ask, say you have to pick up a Skylark or something. 😅
@@keithiverson6687 put a lwb trailblazer on one when I killed the engine, worked great. I told them a 02 corolla lol
I would love to buy one of these trailers but U-Haul won't sell them.
I've rented these a few times, most recently to pickup a Subaru Impreza Sport Limited and they are great car haulers. One tip, bring some 2x8 pieces of wood if the car you're trying to load is low (like the Impreza sport with it's factory body kit). First, back your tow vehicle onto the blocks to raise it, there by lowering the back of the trailer and making the peak where the ramps meet the trailer much less crowned. Second, you may need them in the little wheel well in the front of the trailer to get the front bumper of the car being towed high enough to clear the lip on the front of the trailer so you can get the wheel all the way forward. The front spoiler on the Impreza wasn't going to clear the lip on the front of the trailer and that meant the trailer straps that go over the wheels wouldn't be positioned correctly. The extra 1.5" provided by the chunk of 2x8 was enough to get the spoiler to clear and we could drive the car all the way forward and lock it down with the wheel straps.
They only recently started using the demco hitches, they used to use the screw down hitch
Dude I hauled a 1978 ford f250 from Wisconsin to Idaho in January on one of them trailers! Handled it like a boss! Had no room to spare width wise or length wise! 1730 miles. No complaints
That's awesome! What engine and transmission does your f250 have? I have a 78 F250 as well with a 400 and a C6 auto.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer I don’t remember exactly. It was my friends truck she inherited from her grandpa. They lived in Oregon so it’s a rust free very nice condition truck. She moved to Wisconsin about 13 years ago and then moved back to Idaho and wanted the truck out of the damp and salt climate we have here. I do know that it’s not the original engine. One time the dealer forgot to tighten up the oil filter and ran it out of oil and the dealer put a new engine in at no cost.
That jack also forces the hitch forward taking the stress off the ball!
my impression was just how minimalist they are. looks light and efficient for hauling average cars.
but probably won't work for longer wheelbase vehicles.
Love the U-Haul transporter but damn, they are heavy. I towed my Model A to a car show. I picked up a '65 Chevy Biscayne and brought it home and a '51 Ford AWB Gasser.
They weigh about 2500#. My Miata weighed less than the trailer. They are definitely over built.
I've towed a trailer only one time, and it was a U-Haul one. Now I'd grow up around cars guys and race cars and race tracks, so i had some knowledge about how to tow before I went into it, but no experience. I was fully prepared for the increased stopping distance, but was pleasantly surprised with how well the surge brakes worked, it almost felt like there was no trailer at all. I could certainly feel it when accelerating, but breaking was amazingly light.
Towed their big moving trailer one time and decided to let my mother driver (big mistake it was winter time) anywho we ended up flipping my pickup and sliding some 200 feet or so. The trailer literally had a small dent on the fender from the tip and repairable scratches to the paint. Everything worked perfectly fine and the uhaul we dropped it off at was able to hammer the dent out and it looked like nothing happened. (Apart from the paint scratches ofcourse) dude ended up not charging for the damages.
100% idiot proof.
Looks pretty European if you ask me. We use these types of jacks on basically everything - but with a wheel on the bottom and a quick-"up and down" release of the pipe which contains the jacking mechanism. Surge brakes? Sure - on all of these small trailers, but they are mechanically and not hydraulically. You also get a handle to set them while parking the trailer and a wire to attach to your car which - when pulled away - sets the parking brake.
Those ramps and these nets for the front wheels are also very common.
I bought a used car and needed to tow it home, and rented the above and it worked perfectly. One and only time I’ve towed a car and it was stress free.
A lot of thought went into the design of that trailer. I towed a 16' enclosed trailer, although it was from a different company, across the country with a Chevelle and loved the surge brake setup. I would just barely touch the car brakes and the trailer brakes would take over. No wear on the cars drum brakes at all. I was relieved and surprised since I had worried about only having drum brakes on the car before starting the 2800 mile trip. I did have to get out and turn a lever on the hitch before backing up but I think I only had to backup no more than 3 times during the whole trip. Later in life I towed my race car and wished the trailer had the same braking system. I had to clean the rust off the electric brake system a lot to keep them working properly, so the magnet would grip well enough and I used it every weekend. Thanks for going over the features of the u haul. I believe it's also aluminum which makes it lighter and doesn't rust.
Surge brake are great, because they are easy to use, it also exit an automatic reverse, means the brakes dont engage when you drive in reverse.
Uhaul galvanizes stuff, with really heavy plating. The zinc plating on the steel parts stops rust
Decades of having their trailers beat to hell and back has led to this.
I have used their dollies and there hauler like this. They are built like an absolute brick. They are made to last.
Growing up we had an older English camp trailer with surge brakes (cable operated). There was supposed to be a solenoid that locked out the brakes when you shifted into reverse. I remember the solenoid not working (and my dad was too cheap to fix it), so a rock was placed in the mechanism when we needed to back the trailer in.
I love the uhaul car trailer, I just wish it was longer. You can’t haul anything bigger than a short cab short bed half ton pickup truck and I wish it was long enough for a long wheelbase 3/4 ton. Otherwise, no complaints except maybe the hitch retention mechanism which seems cheap and flimsy
Reason for this is weight, you might know how to drive and you might have a car to pull heavier weight, keeping it small is basically idiot proofing the size of vehicle on and infront of the trailer. Their trailer is probably rated for a 2700kg total mass, weighing in at 700kg itself, so a 2000kg loading capacity. Keeping the trailer small basically insures people don't overload their trailer🤷
Hell, I wish somebody sold these lol. That idiot proof design also makes for speedy loading/unloading when you know what you're doing. They're fairly light too which is nice for towing with v6 1500s also.
They do sell them once in awhile keep an eye on marketplace
I'll add, the surge brakes are hydraulic brakes like you find on a normal vehicle. Typical trailer brakes on other trailers are electric brakes.
Oh yes! Good info to add!
Given the choice electric brakes are much safer.
@@mikewest712 you definitely have way more control over them with gain settings and all that. Some of these trailer brake controllers that are selling now do some pretty cool stuff.
I love those trailers and wish I could buy one. Every time I see someone renting the car dolly, I wish I could talk them out of it. The car hauler is only like $10 a day more and pulls great when empty. The dolly bounces around and makes so much noise. You can back the car hauler up but the dolly is limited. The car hauler is probably 1500 lbs or more but I guess the dolly is lighter.
Edit: I heard the motorcycle trailer is also great but they chop it up at the end of its life. I bet they do they same with the car hauler but can’t see how it would be worn out. Everything is replaceable on it.
People oftentimes get the dolly because they're hauling a car on it behind a vehicle that shouldn't be towing anything in the first place....so they figure saving weight using the dolly VS the trailer will help LOL.
You can buy a tow dolly and a car hauler if your lucky enough
Car trailer is 2200 pounds empty weight
@@bdun1226 That explains why it tows so nice when it’s empty.
in the 70's a U-Haul agent was scraping a bunch of these! I got one for scrap metal price just needed to bring my own wheels tires and redo the brakes on it! I had to remove the U-Haul markings and repainted it got a new serial number from the State Patrol and used it for years to haul my stock car on! good trailers!
Although this video is old, I was going to just mention that the video is pretty good but I wish that the person in the video would have actually shown some of the different things that they were discussing such as pulling out the ramps and showing how they pull out and go down to the ground and then how you put them back in and how the latch is hold them in. Also, they didn't mention how the front ratchet straps that go over the tires of the vehicle actually slide slide side to side so you can make adjustments based on how narrow or wide the track of the vehicle is which is nice. Also, I wish they would have shown how the Jack operated and jacket up and down to actually show how it works with what they were discussing. I'm not trying to be super critical because the person discussed a lot of things that were great but it would have been nice to see them show the features such as showing that the wheel fenders actually fold over and down so people can see how that works. This trailer is actually a really great trailer and I've used it a few times over the years. U-Haul trailers are unfortunately a bit on the heavy side so that's kind of the downfall of them but the reality is, they are built that way because they are meant to withstand the harshness that they have to endure with getting beat up by idiot people pulling them. As he mentioned, they are meant to be idiot proof and they almost are. If you ever wanted a great trailer that would last for years on end for a smaller car and it didn't need to be enclosed, one of these trailers would be one of the greatest ones out there that would probably last you almost forever. Just do some basic maintenance on the wheel bearings and brake lights and simple things like that and you would probably have it operate with no problems for you.
Two of the most dangerous places to be on the highways today is beside, or behind a uhaul, so many of the people using them shouldn’t even be allowed to drive lol. Definitely some good id10t proof features there you pointed out though.
I trailer a brand new GT500 from Houston to Tacoma WA on that U-haul trailer and had a flat in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday. I called U-haul and 4 people jumped on the line and really took care of me. Best customer service I've ever experiences.
I was wondering how it handled lowish cars. Any issues with the GT500?
@@ddivinia Yes, the only thing I did was place a 2x12 under the front tires so the splitter could clear the front of the trailer "lip."
All the uhaul trailers are built like insanely well, like some of the stuff they do should be reqirements on all trailers. Cant praise them enough.
This makes a lot of sense when serving the public.
Had to use one of these twice lately. One was a VW Bus, and the other a 944 Porsche. Worked perfectly for both trips.
These trailers are great for hauling cars. Super simple to use and inexpensive too. I highly recommend U Haul Car Trailers
I rented one of those to drive an old pickup from southern OR to southern CA using a Uhaul box truck. The trailer was great for the reasons you stated. I also bought some HD ratchet straps from Home Depot to secure the back end for the longer trip. What concerned me is the lack of a lock on the plastic ball lock lever from a rough ride standpoint. I hit some big freeway dips and whoops that I know lifted up the tongue with a lot of force. I had to put a bolt through the hole to keep that locked in place. A 1/4" standard trailer pin was too large. Uhaul said it is no needed, but I did not trust that design.
That's what other people have been saying too. I totally missed that hole, and the rental place didn't mention it either!
The lever being plastic means it weighs very little(and it's spring loaded) - there isn't enough mass there to have enough inertia from a dip/bump/etc. to make it try to separate from the trailer. It's actually pretty damn well thought out.
just use a bolt thats smaller than 1/4.
@@ddjohnson9717isn't 3/8 thicker than 1/4?
@@legionofanon yeah I was wrong. don't know what I was thinking
I completely agree. If I find one for sale, I will buy it immediately.
Now, there is a weight limit to their trailer jack. I don't know it off hand, but learned by doing when I was towing for my local police. I found out when I was going to recover a stolen truck, that was hooked up to a Uhaul car trailer. On the Unhaul car trailer was another truck that had a plow on the front, and it was forward. It took a coordinated effort between myself and a coworker to use a 3 ton floor jack and the trailer jack in combination to get that stupid trailer off the stolen truck.
I loaded the truck, and my coworker pulled the trailer with the plowtruck on it back to our impound yard.
The trailer had been stolen, and Uhaul was glad to get it back. But they couldn't tell if it was stolen without seeing it in person for some reason _shrug_
That sounds like quite the fun time haha
Rented one of these once to haul Grandma's Civic about 1400 miles from LA to eastern Washington behind one of U-Haul's 26' movers. I had experience with trailers, but that was my first time towing a car hauler, and everything was very easy to work out. I also have to say that the trailer followed and backed very nicely, including one point where I had to do a 20-point turn to get the whole consist out of a tiny motel parking lot in Nevada.
I rented one in Arizona 2 days ago and have always had nothing but praise for these. A friend broke down and they wanted $200 to tow her jeep GC to my house i runa shop out of. So got in the old 01 f350 and could not even feel the trailer behind me. Balanced nicely and loaded it didnt squat my springs at all. Current pricewith insurance i paid $75
They have a pretty good motorcycle trailer, too.
This jack absolutely sucks for someone who tows regularly. It actually moves the location of the coupler when you jack it based on the design so if you pull up to hook up, it will actually move forward when you jack it down.
My Ski boat trailers all had surge brakes... Loved them.....
You can lock those couplings. Theres a hole but you have to use one of the pin locks or a long M6, or 1/4" bolt to get the length you need
Good to know!
Locks are made specifically for this style of coupler.
This leads me to question "what is the best trailer", I never thought that needed an answer.
If course it depends on what you want to do with it and what you are pulling it with, but I personally think the larger flat bed car haulers are better. You can use them for other things than cars, and you aren't limited in length and width as much.
@@thejunkyardnecromancer You are correct, if you live next door to a hillbilly like me I can fix up for what-ever you need. LoL
Great review buddy! I didn’t expect to watch a review on a U-Haul trailer but I’m glad you were thorough
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
I rent a trailer once or twice a year. Big fan of the U-Haul trailers.
I haven’t rented their car trailer yet but I have the larger enclosed one twice, and the double axle utility trailer with a ramp, once. I completely agree with your assessment of their trailer features and benefits. I previously owned a midsized Skid Steer with a Utility Trailer so I have towing experience and in my humble opinion, the Uhaul Trailers were excellent overall. Great video.
Thanks!
That U-Haul car trailer is pretty awesome. I drove a 26 foot U-Haul van with that trailer towed behind with a vehicle on it from Norfolk Virginia to Vancouver Washington. No problems at all
You could have drove it north to Ridgefield and returned it to where U-Haul was founded. Ridgefield, WA. The birthplace of U-Haul.
i WISH i could buy a couple uhaul trailers. a car carrying one and a couple of their box trailers would be awesome.
I like how they put the recommended speed limit on the left fender and mirrored it so it looks correct when looking through your side mirror
Great info for someone like me. My family owns a pickup truck with trailer hitch and I've never driven with one or had the opportunity to learn.
I cannot speak for their trailers but I rented the two wheel car dolly to tow our sons car from Wisconsin to Colorado and they are the very solidly constructed and share many of the idiot proof features. The best $85 dollars I have ever spent!!
chassis is galvanized which helps combat rust
I just rented one, first time ever. And, my first time towing a car on a trailer. It was pretty simple and pretty safe, but I was disappointed it didn't come with straps for the back tires, like it did for the front.
Those brakes are really nice, if you know how to drive with them they're amazing. If you don't, they still work great :). One thing usually with these types of brakes, the brake shoes usually release when reversing, so no need to worry about that part :)
Surge brakes usually have a cutout that reads when the vehicle has been put into reverse through the reverse light wire in the trailer wiring harness and deactivates the brakes
@@acedecade8337 a rental trailer can't use a reverse light signal, because most tow vehicles don't have that. A U-Haul only has a 4-pin electrical connector - no reverse in that. The brake mechanisms at the wheels are designed to not work in reverse instead.
I've used a couple of UHAUL dollies, a couple of their car hauler trailers, and the utility trailer....none of them had properly adjusted brakes...the utility trailer was over-adjusted, the brakes on that thing drug during the whole trip...
Problem with UHAUL, and other similar rental companies is the total lack of upkeep and maintenance on their equipment....most of it should have been scrapped years ago.
They are better than the half trailer. I used one of those years ago an it was a nightmare. Having said that, I've used the one above for a full sized car towed behind one of their 26' trucks and had no issues. Just remember to stop after the first 20 mins, recheck the straps that they're tight and doing occasional checks if you're going long distance.
I can imagine. I was quite thankful when I did a move from MT to WA and even though I was pulling a FWD car I was glad we used the flatbed because the axles were next to eachother and the surge brakes for going through the mountains.
I've used the car dolly a couple of times to pull vehicles home, but never more than 160kms .
At like $50 Canadian it's a cheap way to move a non runner. The full trailer would definitely be the the better value for longer trips or heavier vehicles.
Those trailers are pretty heavy duty, I've towed 2500hd gassers on them in a pinch and they handle the weight like a champ
Wish they would sell them, I’d buy one today.
I used one on my military move from Great Falls MT to Chicago, then on to Tampa. Mine had safety chains at the rear of the trailer to secure the rear of the car.
Oh dang! You moved away from the great state of Montana!? I love living here.
You should see some of the trailers my cousins hauled racecars on. They were flimsy! Any kind of tubing they could get their hands on and rusty also.😂
Hey! If it works, it ain't stupid!
I always throw a floor jack underneath the back cross member so it doesn’t seesaw. The dumb part is no rear securement for the vehicle
The no rear securement is actually a DOT violation, not sure how UHAUL gets away without having any sort of tie down points in the back....guess they just figure the person renting it knows to have all 4 corners anchored LOL.
@@wildbill23c last tow I had a “1990 Miata” on it wink 😜 I ran a 1/2” chain and binder from the hitch on the “Miata” and to the crossmember of the trailer. It’s scary tbh because sometimes ppl are clueless
Apparently they have yet to "idiot proof" the lynch pin to lock the coupler. It's not exactly intuitive but the pin goes through that hole in the coupler, which is why the handle doesn't have holes for the pin.
@adventureswithkyle mentioned that too. I totally missed it!
We would appreciate a 2020 aluminum u-haul Auto hauler
The jack design is also stabilizing fron to back motion. A simple jack could break with too much forward or backward movement, from the car driving onto the trailer or applying its breaks near the front stops.
Another smart feature of the Demco hitch latch is that it can be left “locked” down and will automatically latch onto a hitch ball. It does not need to be in the open position when connecting to a hitch ball.
The ball latch has always fascinsted me the most. Its so easy to latch and unlatch! I always wonder why all trailers can't have a latch like that. Its always such a pain to have to wrestle with a rusty traditional latch and get it to work properly.
Also notice how the trailer is built in sections that bolt together. This is so it can be easily repaired when damaged.
I usually rent their enclosed trailers, those things are built like tanks and tow very nice.
I hauled a 1969 International Travelall with one of those ONE time. To say it was grossly overloaded is an understatement. But it’s all I had access to, and my top speed was 40mph.
Fun fact, uhaul fabricates all their own trailers themselves. That's why you can never find them for sale
Nice trailer. Here in the U.K. it is all rod and cable over-run brakes until you get big enough for air brakes. There is some internal gizmo for reversing and a lockout latch.
I'm a Uhaul dealer. Idiots is right. I rent these trailers myself sometimes. They need to be a bout a foot longer so I can haul a pickup. They will let you haul a 1 ton single cab Chevrolet dually with 8 ft bed but my half ton crew cab with 6 ft bed is too long.
Another genius thing they do with their trailers is put “tree kicker” type guards protecting the fenders. Hard to explain but you can imagine how many people would side swipe other cars or buildings and rip off fenders if they didn’t have that. Like you said “idiot proof”
Idiotproof? That's a bold claim! Have you seen the calibre of some of the idiots out there? But yes these features are certainly a step in the right direction. Good video 👍🏻👍🏻
You make a good point! haha Thanks for watching.
There will always be a newer, bigger, and better idiot to come along😂
I don't use the term 'Idiot proof'.... I say 'Idiot resistant'.....
I had a car trailer with surge brakes. To make backing easier you could insert a pin to keep the brakes from activating. If you forgot to remove the pin you would know it the first time you stopped, the trailer would try to push the tow vehicle into the intersection.
We used a line lock activated by backup lights
In the UK (where just about all trailers up to 7000lbs have surge/over-run brakes) the surge brakes only work in a forwards direction. To reverse there is some brief resistance if the trailer is not free to move (reversing uphill or on soft ground) and then the brake shoes in the drums release. I've had a heavier trailer which had a manual lock to stop this initial resistance which is great when you have poor traction, but as soon as you pull forward and stretch the coupling, it would automatically disengage so you can't drive with the brakes disabled.
I searched hi and low to buy a uhaul trailer and didn’t have any luck.
They are definitely the most durable trailer I’ve ever seen.
Really appreciate the video. Honestly... didn't need all of that info (but it was good), but I've been looking for pics / video of this damned thing for a week trying to see if there's anywhere to attach ratchet straps with j-hooks to the back so I can prevent a RZR side by side from shifting. Every pic I've seen shows no D rings... no hooks... nothing. But in your video I can see the chains coming off the welded D rings on the inside wall of each track in the back, and that's what I needed. I'd even called U-Haul to confirm they had D rings somewhere for this and they couldn't even answer it. Again... thank you.
Glad I could be of some help! Good luck hauling your side by side!
I work on these regularly, people still break them daily.
Thanks for the information
Why am I watching this? I wasn’t even searching for this. Like this is informative but I don’t understand why I’m watching it.
It's a mystery! Next question you should ask is "Why am I subscribing to this channel?"
These trailers do have a number of features mostly aimed at making them idiot proof and able to survive the rental business. But any “one size fits most” design will always have drawbacks, and these trailers are no exception. The biggest drawback is the enormous number of smaller wheeled vehicles that can’t be accommodated because of the trough design of the floor. Compact tractors, mowers, utility vehicles, and, as pointed out here, even some cars can’t go on this trailer, even though they are smaller and lighter than a typical load. The simple act of flattening the trough “lips” would vastly increase the design’s utility with no additional weight - but also allow incompetent renters to manage to get their loads stuck.
It was likely a deliberate design decision, to simplify the renting of these trailers. They also rent flat floor utility trailers that'll carry most of the other stuff you've listed. I rented one of those for the first time earlier this year, and while it was missing some of the features of the auto transporter (no brakes or tongue jack) it was equally well designed for it's intended purpose.
Just so you know, you actually can lock that style of coupler. There is a little hole on the side of the coupler right in the middle, that can fit a certain type of coupler lock.
Some other people pointed that out too! I think uhaul should start providing people a locking pin.