Dangerous Trailers.org Loose U Haul Trailer Causes Loss Of Life

[MrPissfairy]

No safety chains?

[82maxim]

as you see on the tongue, it was not tightened on to the ball for the hitch and the safety's were not attached, sucks the kid lost his life over someone carelessness!! really proves the person next to you will be the death of you...

[mickblock]

I pulled a 5x10 trailer from U-Haul recently, first time I had towed a trailer in 10 years. No problems. the thing had awesome braking and the safety chains where massive. If what Pack726 is is saying is true then that's pretty remarkable. Why on earth would you disconnect a trailer and the put it back on without connecting the safety chains is beyond me.

[Pack726]

I work for a uhaul dealer. We are trained to inspect equipment and know what to look for. This later on was found to be the drivers fault because for whatever reason the renter disconnected the trailer and didn't tighten the coupler down enough and didn't reconnect the safety chains.. they went around a bend or hit and a bump and it came off. And the sad this is where this accident happened was not even a mile from the Uhaul center. More then likely they were going to return it.

[tinderinc]

That sucks that someone looses there life over something they love doing

[azsako]

Honestly I've seen more private trailers involved in accidents, mostly cement mixers and roofing tar boilers. I rent a lot of crappy trailers from Uhaul and I never trust other people to hook it upright so I always double check. I watch as they do it and then I crank down on the ball clamp again just for peace of mind. The people you need to watch out for are the ones who borrow someones big truck to rent only to unhook it and connect it to their own small car cause Uhaul wouldnt rent it to them

[ffjsb]

@azsako Most of Uhaul's equipment is crap, I wouldn't rent a furniture blanket from them. But a lot of people that rent from them can't drive worth a crap in a car let alone driving a truck and trailer.

[azsako]

@EarthFriendlyMover and @pxthirtythirty, they speed limits are 55mph on the larger ones, stay away from the trucks though. and they are safe for the most part, however you as a renter should always inspect any equipment when it comes to the safty of you your family and the public. Uhaul should limit alot of vehicles from pulling their stuff. They should put a youtube video of the mistakes most people do and ways to drive safer.

[ClarelakaKurt]

fucking careless renters

[jin3546]

Hydraulics brakes .. check the oil gauge... It's a part of level 2 inspection just do your job and never something like that will happen..(True about the people who rent a trailer with a car and hook this trailer with another car or the just hook it so bad..) (i work for u-haul and i can say that : all part of all vehicules and trailers are inspected frequently and it's greatly done if the u-haul csr do his job FINE..!) Sry about the accident . apologize..

[TheJunebugg97]

Iwork at uhaul and they do not give a s hit we are told if we have time do a simple inspection if not rentit

[DUKEJET]

@TheJunebugg97 i work at uhaul and they have us inspect the tires chains and the hitch coupleing some people will take the trailer off and not hook it back up right

[dirtydirty56]

i worked for u-haul, the trailers coming loose renter error, the trucks on the other hand, go to hertz penske!!!!! We never checked nor changed the fluids.

[NiceHat79]

The trailer was disconnected by the customer and they put the trailer back on the vehicle without tightening the coupler and attaching the safety chains. She hit a bump and it came off the hitch end of story.

[MilesFox]

The customer must have dropped the trailer to unload, and failed to tighten the ball clamp when he was making a short torip to unload the trailer. The trailer did make it all that way first between cities. It is likely the chains were just wrapped around the frame, since it was unloaded and a short distance, and the operator being lazy and complacent.

[TheCollegiate]

How it happened is very obvious, look at the tongue of the trailer at the end of the clip. Notice the square retaining nut is all the way up it should be in the completely tightened position.

[CounsilHan]

Knowing big corporations, U-Haul will not be at fault and blame the driver for not hinging the trailer correctly.

[EarthFriendlyMover]

Nothing is ever Uhaul's fault. Take a look at their rental agreements and all the stickers posted on their so-called trucks and trailers: "MAX SPEED 45 MPH" is always plastered in the driver's side wheel well. Of course, everybody driving cross country on more than a 45 MPH dirt road is guilty of going faster, and when the trailer starts wagging uncontrollably and flips, along with the car, it's the RENTER'S FAULT, not UHaul's.

[pxthirtythirty]

@EarthFriendlyMover So,wait, the company warns you not to do something with your equipment but you do it any way and you blame the company when it goes wrong. Not to mention that trailer sway is completely preventable by just not going too fast. It doesn't matter where you get the trailer from, it's physics. Sorry but you're are deluded.

[EarthFriendlyMover]

@pxthirtythirty: Maximum payload capacity is one thing. You can't put 12,000 lbs on a 26,000 gvw vehicle and expect it to work out well. But speed is quite another. Seriously, what interstate in America has a 45mph speed limit? It's all about Uhaul dodging responsibility for their equipment. Your trucks are well built. You can't deny a truck built in 1950 that's still on the road with zero maintenance isn't impressive.

[pxthirtythirty]

@EarthFriendlyMover Are we talking trailers or trucks? If you drive to fast with a trailer or load improperly, you're going to encounter sway regardless of who built or rents the trailer. It is physics. And last time I checked, there wasn't a speed restriction of the trucks less than the legally allowable.

[EarthFriendlyMover]

@pxthirtythirty Both. Uhaul trailers, when they're constructed, are actually pretty good. In fact, they're really good in terms of quality. It's their preventative maintenance program--or should I say complete lack thereof--that I have a problem with, along with the company's eagerness to blame the renter for everything. And while 45 mph might be the legal minimum, it's an unrealistic demand Uhaul places on the renter. It's how UHaul ensures it's YOUR FAULT FOR EVERYTHING THEREAFTER.

[pxthirtythirty]

@EarthFriendlyMover Well again, when speaking of trailers, sway is a matter of physics. If you drive too fast with any trailer, well maintained or otherwise, you will encounter sway. Last time I rented a trailer from them, it was 55 mph. If you want to say it's an unrealistic demand, then it is Isaac Newton, not U-Haul, you should be filing the compliant with. And just like in every other scenario where you speed, you do it at your own risk. It's a choice people make.

[EarthFriendlyMover]

@pxthirtythirty Don't pretend you don't work for UHaul. Accept responsibility for your company's policies and correct them! It's NEVER 55 mph safe operating speed, according to Uhaul. It's always 45 mph maximum safe operating speed. Walk outside and look at one of your trailers, it's right there on the driver's side wheel well in reverse so you can see it via the driver's side rear view mirror.

[pxthirtythirty]

@EarthFriendlyMover I don't work for Uhaul. I'm a student actually. I use their trailers for moving back and forth from my university. I also rent them when doing work with Knights of Columbus. Last time I had one (about a month and half ago) the decal said 55 mph. When was the last time you rented a trailer from them? Oh, right, you have an irrational hatred for them and would rather make claims rather than fact check it.

[azsako]

@pxthirtythirty I also rent them frequently and yes they have raised the speed limit on these to 55 mph, at least the 5x8' and 6x12' models, not sure about the smaller ones. I just used ones yesterday and it said 55, read my comment to both you and EarthFriendlyMover

[DUKEJET]

@EarthFriendlyMover they have some that say 45 and 55 depending on the trailer

[azsako]

@EarthFriendlyMover you are correct as well, Uhaul puts unrealistic speeds for these things and I agree its only to eliminate their liability. read my post to both you and pxthirtythirty

[EarthFriendlyMover]

Everything about Uhaul sucks.

Save your life. Rent a Penske.

[Hybris51129]

@EarthFriendlyMover This isn't U-Hauls fault like the other commenter below have stated the truck driver likely unhooked the trailer and didn't hook it back up properly.

[EarthFriendlyMover]

@Hybris51129 Uhaul has this predictable way of blaming the renter for everything, despite the fact that they have virtually NO preventative maintenance program except: "When a renter breaks down on the side of the road, blame them for everything, bill them for everything, then use duct tape to fix whatever broke."

At least Penske has a significant, documented history of preventative maintenance on their power units.

[liberalinthedesertaz]

@EarthFriendlyMover sorry but Penske is just as bad....

[boeing159]

Unless his hitch receiver broke off then yes it was not connected correctly. Even if just the coupler failed, there are safety chains that should have held the trailer to the truck.

[MINNEAPOLZ]

Charges better be filed, that coupler is fully disengaged. The customer clearly unhooked the trailer at some point, and simply set it on his ball without tightening the coupler or attaching one of the three safety chains. Manslaughter

[iloveboats1]

that's why the safety chains should always be attached

[TeamRecklessGoes]

woww..sad