You can read the full story in the towing section but to give a quick summery, last night was my first time towing a trailer. The guy at the U-Haul place hooked it up for me, when we went to pick up my buddies car as soon as the front wheels got on the ramps the hitch came off the ball and came forward into my tailgate putting a nice dent in it. It would of gone farther but thank god I had the chains hooked up. So question is should U-Haul pay to fix my tailgate since they hooked up the trailer (obviously wrong). After we got the unhooked and car loaded I reatached the trailer and towed it 80 miles no problem.

 

maybe they should but I doubt they will...kind of your responsability to make sure everything looks good before you put a car on...but I probably would have not checked it either...

 

the safety of the load is the responsibility of the operator... no different than tractor-trailers.

 

I rented that 6 x 12 trailer from U-Haul, and towed it with my 2000 Expy. I'm not a big fan of the hitch ball anyway (We had towing pintels in the Army), but the U-Haul guy told me to check the hitch every so often.

So, everytime I stopped to get gas (which seemed like every 150 miles with that trailer), I'd check the ball, and every time, that SOB needed tightening. And, when I say tightening, I mean it needed a couple of turns to get back to "secure".

So, yes- they may have put it on right when you got the trailer. But the action of drivign it from A to Z, would certainly have loosened the trailer's grip on the hitch ball- if what happened on my experience with a U-Haul trailer is any indication.

What I thought was a trip was, my friend had a 2001 (+/-) Ford Explorer. And U-Haul would not rent a trailer to him because they said the Explorer was not a good vehicle to tow with.

I thought that was BS, and went on the web site, and sure enough, the Explorer could not be rented to, if you had plans to tow a trailer.

Corolla, yes. Altima, yes. Accord, yes. Explorer, no.

I don't know if that's changed- but that was accurate in 2004.

He ended up getting a U-Haul truck, and towing his Explorer behind it.

 

The guy who hooked it up told me he had only hooked up one other trailer before which should of been a red flag to me but I didnt think twice about it. The trip from him hooking it up to getting to where the car was was no more then 5 miles of 45mph on flat road, I'd hope it wouldnt get loose from 5 miles with an empty trailer

 

Sounds like you probably should have checked his work.

 

Sue 'em! It's a rental buisness, for gosh sakes. They are SUPPOSED to know how to hook THEIR equipment up.

Go to notmyfault.com and search for Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe. One of the best law firms in the biz.

Be Bowlergt-Haul, before ya know it!

 

for God's sake why did you let someone else hitch up your rig? That is the biggest no-no out there in towing.

If you lost that trailer and it killed someone, I can guarantee U-Haul would not be the ones sitting in a prison cell.

Sorry dude, but I think that was pretty damned irresponsible of you.

 

This happened to a friend of mine also, they told him it was because of the tire blowout problem they had on the explorers. He would just use my truck to rent the trailer and then swap it to his explorer and return it with my truck.

 

I want to agree with some that say U-Haul should pay for it but...

If you went to Home Depot and they helped you put something in the bed of your truck, then when u hit the brakes it dented the crap out of your bed, would u blame the guy at HD? No it would be your fault.

You should checked the trailer yourself. It was your responsibility.
But the guy at U-Haul should have asked you to check it also.

 

I had him do it because I have never hooked up a trailer before or else I would of done it but he should of known what he was doing. I called their claim center I'll be getting a call by monday. The place where I returned it the manager said they would of done something about it if I had rented it there that the guy should of hooked it up right, we will see how it ends.

 

The first mistake was not coming to this site first. I guess that I am lucky. I am closing in on forty, and I have been blessed with a dad to ask these sort of questions.

I would kinda expect U-haul to be somewhat knowledgeable about towing trailers. Thats their business correct? But on the other hand, if the driver has no skill in towing, and kills someone due to neglegence... Should Uhaul be liable for renting to someone without towing experience?

In the OP's case, both parties are at fault. The OP renter, and the U-haul employee. The way I see it, is that the OP did not research how to connect the trailer, and put all of his trust in a snot nosed pimpley teenager...

Shines figures part of the worlds problems are that everyone wants to point their fingers, and not look in the mirror.

 

x2

I feel for ya man but sometimes you have to just take responsibility for your own fate.

 

You own a pickup truck, with towing capabilities, and you don't know how to attach a hitch to a ball?

When I was younger, I was taught the correct ways to attach a trailer.

Four simple steps:
1. Attach trailer to ball, then pull up, push down, and pull up. If it comes off, unlock the trailer, and find out why it is not locking to ball. Once it appears locked again, do the pull up, push down, and pull up method. It should not come off and you should be set.
2. Attach chains. Cross them. Make sure there are NO knots in the chains.
3. Attach trailer light adapter. Verify ALL lights work.
4. Check tire pressure, lug nuts, and bearings. If one of those items is not right, correct it before towing. If all verify to be good, then you can tow.

Only tow at the speed at which there is NO trailer sway. This can be easily done by watching the trailer out of the rearview or side mirrors and carefully watch for a fishing-back and forth motion. Slow down until it stops, and remember that speed.

When loading up flatbed trailers, put most of the weight on the axle or as far up on the trailer as possible. This eliminates trailer sway.

Be sure to check the power on the trailer brakes, as well as the brake fluid. Including the rotors/discs and pads. Replace as necessary. If you've got a backup battery on the trailer brakes, be sure to check with the manufacturer on the life expectency of the battery. Most have a "Test" button on them... so you can test it.

Also, make sure you follow local ordinances on towing. If towing a large load, be sure to watch bridge tonnages and local weight restrictions, especially on parkways.

Braking power is lost even if you've got trailer brakes. Always have a good brake controller when towing with trailer brakes. I recommend a Tekonsha brake controller. But there are many other good ones out there as well.

Lastly, if you don't feel comfortable towing... have a person that has good qualifications in towing tow the load.

Just my advice that I've learned.

 

There are alot of people who drive trucks that don't know how to tow, and who will never tow.

1. will not work if you have a heavy tounge weight.

But like everyone said the OP should have checked how to hook a trailer up prior to leaving. I rented a U-haul a few weeks ago A I watched than doubled checked the hookup before I left. The guy just looked at me weird, but I new I was safe when I left.