Over the years: At least 2 60 Minute expose’s on U-Haul; Firestone 500 radials; Explorers rolling over. I wouldn’t do business with Ford or U-Haul.
It’s because U-Haul is smart enough to know that the Ford Explorer got a lot of bad press over a non-issue, blood sucking attorneys exist in droves, and the jury pool can be pretty opinionated or downright shallow from the get-go.
U-Haul knows that if someone has a crash with an Explorer towed trailer that the jurors have more than likely seen and heard all of those 2 minute doom and gloom sound bites on TV so they’re going to be toast even if their liability is less than zero.
Look at the suit in FL some years ago in which a guy rented a car from Avis I think it was. He got drunk, crashed it, and sued Avis on the basis that he had an Irish name and it was their fault for renting him a car in the first place because they should have known that all Irishmen are drunks. I do not know the disposition of that one; hopefully it was tossed.
(As a beer drinking Irishman I resent the inference we’re all drunks anyway.) 
And the stupid thing is that every bit of data was pointing to the Explorer having no more tendency to roll than its competitors… And that the Firestones were equally likely to cause rollover on any other SUV they were installed on - they just came standard on the Fords…
I see no probem with doing business with Ford. Firestone is another matter, and U-Haul? I wouldn’t trust them on any drive beyond walking distance. The last 3 times I picked something up from them the CEL was on, the thing ran horribly, and clearly hadn’t had any maintenance in ages. (2 Ford pickups and 1 Toyota)
out of curiosity i went to the uhaul website, and started a rental query.
if you fill out the towing vehicle with ANY year explorer it will say: not an approved rental.
but if you substitute a mercury mountaineer (same vehicle) it will let you rent a trailer!
go figure.
it doesn’t matter which year explorer, or combo fo drive or engine. they just WONT rent to an explorer.
sounds like lawyer legalese to me.
and another good reason to go to penske or budget.
I read the article fully…And I agree U-Haul should NOT be renting trailers too big for the vehicle…HOWEVER…the owner needs to take a little responsibility here too. I’ve been towing either a camping trailer or a utility trailer or even a U-Haul trailer(s) for over 30 years. And before I tow anything with my vehicles I make sure my vehicle can handle it. Every owners manual on all my pickups and SUV’s I’ve owned have at least a whole chapter dedicated to the proper and safety way of trailering. This includes things like (weight, proper loading, if over a certain poundage it needs brakes and/or a anti-sway bar…). If a owner does any towing they SHOULD/MUST read their owners manual.
I had a Ford Aerostar (rear wheel drive) and U Haul would not rent me a tandem axle trailer. When I replaced the Aerostar with a Windstar, there wasn’t this restriction and I could rent a tandem axle trailer to pull behind the Ford Windstar. This didn’t make sense to me sinced the Aerostar had a full frame and was a heavier vehicle. The U-Haul agent showed me the book as to what was allowable to rent for each vehicle. U-Haul had installed the hitches on the vehicles. I stuck with single axle trailer on the Windstar and only went 85 miles round trip.
Brakes is not the issue. My 92 explorer has towed a fully loaded band equipment trailer every weekend since…oh, 1992 . The u-haul issue is a legal one concernig he said / she said accusitions over liability. The trailer I tow on a regular basis is an old E-Z haul, single axle, no brakes about 12 feet long like a medium size u-haul. It’s not a trailer issue, it’s not an explorer issue it’s a lover’s quarrel and nothing more.
True, there’s nothing wrong with Explorers ( I have two, I gave the 91 to my sister in-law and still have the 92 ). I just can’t logic ANYONE, Ford or Firestone, allowing only 22 psi in the tires…any tires. My OE set of Firestones lasted until I wore them out and I bought a second set because they’re so good. I aired them by the numbers on the sidewall 32 psi. NEVER had a blowout, NEVER had a “ride” issue, NEVER had a handling issue until AFTER the recall ( which began about 5000 miles into my second set of 'stones) when they put on a set of Goodyear wrangler AT/S. O.M.G. did those things suck eggs ! Just on wet roads ( no ice or snow ) they would skate end slide in a corner as the 'stones never did ! After the recall I bought myself more 'stones that I’m driving on today. And Explorers don’t roll over …people don’t know how to drive , most don’t know their emergency maneuvers, and they don’t bother to learn the handling differences in vehicles. ( I have 3 trucks and drive them all differently…79 c10 p/u, 92 Explorer, & 06 hybrid Escape ).
And the stupid thing is that every bit of data was pointing to the Explorer having no more tendency to roll than its competitors…
Actually that’s not true. GM/Toyota/Nissan’s SUV’s made at the time had a wider wheelbase and lower center of gravity then the Explorer. They were Less likely to roll-over then the Explorer. Granted all SUV’s are more likely to roll over then any car on the road…but the Explorer was at the top of the list. The IIHS ( Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ) raised concerns almost the first year the Explorer was introduced (1990). It took Ford about 10 years to finally push the wheels out a few inches to make the truck safer.
Here’s a link about the Explorer… http://www.fordexplorerrollover.com/
U-Haul doesn’t seem to have a problem renting someone a truck with a worn out front end that requires both hands and a prayer to keep in one lane of traffic though.
I never did know why but I have heard of them refered to as “Exploders”
Amen to that!
This may help: I own a 93 Explorer Sport and have also been refused U-Haul service. Since the local U-Haul dealer is a total moron I didn’t even ask why. My guess is that U-Haul can’t tell the difference between Sport and regular Explorer. After a bit more research I discovered that the explorer (90’s series)is too light to tow just about everything, eventhough it has plenty of power to do so. 2000 series Explorer is built on the F-150 frame and is no longer too light. All-in-all I agree with most of the other replys: U-haul is just self defeating themselves. But, don’t give up on your Explorer. Explorer is probably the best product Ford has put out since the Mustang. Mine has 250,000 miles and still going strong.