"Unsafe To Carry"

[playerpage]

Down at the local Uhaul today, picking up the car carrier to haul my 180 Turbo project over to the body & paint guy.

They had me down for a Tow Dolly instead. When I said that wouldn't work the lady tried to change it in the computer, and the computer wouldn't let me have the carrier. The system claims a Corvair is "Unsafe to carry."

That is exactly what it said.

[bbodie52]

Over the years, U-Haul has developed an established list of vehicles they don't want to deal with. The Ford Explorer and Corvair are two such vehicles on their list. Years ago the Ford Explorer developed a bad reputation for rolling or crashing when a tire failed. A series of accidents involving Ford Explorers and Firestone tires establish the negative reputation. U-Haul decided at a corporate level the safest thing for them to do was to ban trailer rentals when a Ford Explorer was to be the towing vehicle. I ran into this problem years ago when I tried to rent a trailer from U-Haul and showed up with a Ford Explorer. There was no argument that I could make to get them to rent a trailer to attach to that vehicle. It didn't matter that I did not have Firestone tires on the truck. It also didn't matter that the Mercury Mountaineer was not on their "do not rent to" list, but the Ford Explorer was, even though both vehicles were essentially the same! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone ... ontroversy

The Corvair became a banned vehicle that was not allowed on a U-Haul car hauler because of the weight distribution problem. Because of the rear engine and powertrain in the Corvair, loading the vehicle in compliance with their safety list below would tend to put more weight to the rear of the trailer. They also don't like the idea of loading the Corvair backwards. I would guess that the last item on the list below was referring to front engine cars being parked on the trailer backwards, which would put more weight to the rear and could cause the trailer to "fishtail"and possibly cause the driver to lose control. The same problem can occur when loading a cargo trailer if too much weight is loaded behind the axle of the trailer. A forward facing Corvair can be loaded on a long trailer, because most of the vehicle can be positioned further forward in front of the trailer axle. Loading the car on the trailer backwards can also solve the problem, but the safety checklist provided by U-Haul makes no provision for exceptions when loading rear engine vehicles.


I believe that I rented a truck and car hauler from Penske, and they had no such exception for hauling a Corvair. The trailer was long enough that I experienced no problem with the trailer "fishtailing"with the Corvair facing forward.



Remember - crashes are caused by

• Driver error or Inattention.
• Excessive speed.
• Failure to load a vehicle-in-tow facing forward.

You should always

• Load trailer heavier in front.
• Reduce your normal driving speed.
• Wear your seat belt.

https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/121 ... tructions/

[Deuce]

Over the years, U-Haul has developed an established list of vehicles they don't want to deal with. The Ford Explorer and Corvair are two such vehicles on their list. Years ago the Ford Explorer developed a bad reputation for rolling or crashing when a tire failed. A series of accidents involving Ford Explorers and Firestone tires establish the negative reputation. U-Haul decided at a corporate level the safest thing for them to do was to ban trailer rentals when a Ford Explorer was to be the towing vehicle. I ran into this problem years ago when I tried to rent a trailer from U-Haul and showed up with a Ford Explorer. There was no argument that I could make to get them to rent a trailer to attach to that vehicle. It didn't matter that I did not have Firestone tires on the truck. It also didn't matter that the Mercury Mountaineer was not on their "do not rent to" list, but the Ford Explorer was, even though both vehicles were essentially the same! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone ... ontroversy

The Corvair became a banned vehicle that was not allowed on a U-Haul car hauler because of the weight distribution problem. Because of the rear engine and powertrain in the Corvair, loading the vehicle in compliance with their safety list below would tend to put more weight to the rear of the trailer. They also don't like the idea of loading the Corvair backwards. I would guess that the last item on the list below was referring to front engine cars being parked on the trailer backwards, which would put more weight to the rear and could cause the trailer to "fishtail"and possibly cause the driver to lose control. The same problem can occur when loading a cargo trailer if too much weight is loaded behind the axle of the trailer. A forward facing Corvair can be loaded on a long trailer, because most of the vehicle can be positioned further forward in front of the trailer axle. Loading the car on the trailer backwards can also solve the problem, but the safety checklist provided by U-Haul makes no provision for exceptions when loading rear engine vehicles.


I believe that I rented a truck and car hauler from Penske, and they had no such exception for hauling a Corvair. The trailer was long enough that I experienced no problem with the trailer "fishtailing"with the Corvair facing forward.



Remember - crashes are caused by

• Driver error or Inattention.
• Excessive speed.
• Failure to load a vehicle-in-tow facing forward.

You should always

• Load trailer heavier in front.
• Reduce your normal driving speed.
• Wear your seat belt.

https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/121 ... tructions/

I had a little trouble but if I remember correctly they changed the year and it excepted it. Don't ask me what year.

Sent from my [device_name] using Corvair Forum mobile app

[skipvair]

I rented a bigger one than that from I haul, and it pulled one of mine to Georgia from Pennsylvania loaded back first with no issues at all.


Sent from my iPhone using Corvair Forum mobile app

[playerpage]

Yeah, I hadn't shown up with the vehicle, and the lady running the counter was (really) 85 years old. She just looked at me and encouraged me to go ahead and give her another vehicle to list. So we used my wife's car.

I was able to drop it off.

[Ford]

I had the same problem, but the Uhaul guy noted that some Corvairs in some years were ok in their system. So, if you call yours a 1961-63 Corvair 900, they'll ok it. Also, they permit '61-64 Corvair pickups.

Steve

[wbabst]

I just moved my Lakewood from Washington to SoCal. I went with Penske because of price and equipment. They were cheaper than Budget or U-Haul. Corvair wasn't an option so put Chevy Cavalier on the web site. When I showed up their only concern was tire size. Once I told them they didn't care. I put the car on facing forward to get home, but switched it around for the trip. No problems at all.

[playerpage]

Thought I'd bring this subject back to point out that the new mid-engine Corvette has the same weight ratio as a Corvair Coupe--40% in the front, and 60% in the back. I wonder if it is similarly banned by U-haul? There are a few Memes out there that show the Corvette falling off garage lifts because the mechanics were unaware.

[Wittsend]

I rented a U-Haul trailer and they wouldn't rent pick up trucks to tow it with. I HAD to rent a 10 ft. box truck. So, I hauled my car and about 800 cubic feet of AIR 400 miles from San Francisco. The people at U-Haul were very nice, about five of them came out of the office just to see a Pinto. I'm surprised it wasn't banned as a fire hazard. LOL

Pinto Trip Home.jpg (22.6 KiB) Viewed 160 times

[sethracer]

You could say it's a Chevy Monza, not positive of the year. Not telling a lie.