U-Haul 2009 Annual Report Download - page 7

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Our rental truck chassis are manufactured by domestic and foreign truck manufacturers. These chassis are joined
with the U-Haul designed and manufactured van boxes primarily at U-Haul operated manufacturing and assembly
facilities strategically located throughout the United States. U-Haul rental trucks feature our proprietary Lowest
DeckSM, which provides our customers with extra ease of loading. The loading ramps on our trucks are the widest in
the industry, which reduce the effort needed to move belongings. Our trucks are fitted with convenient, padded rub
rails with tie downs on every interior wall. Our Gentle Ride SuspensionSM helps our customers safely move delicate
and prized possessions. Also, the engineers at our U-Haul Technical Center determined that the softest ride in our
trucks was at the front of the van box. Consequently, we designed the part of the van box that hangs over the front
cab of the truck to be the location for our customers to place their most fragile items during their move. We call this
area Mom’s AtticSM.
Our distinctive orange trailers are also manufactured at these same U-Haul operated manufacturing and assembly
facilities. These trailers are well suited to the low profile of many of today’s newly manufactured automobiles. Our
engineering staff is committed to making our trailers easy to tow, aerodynamic and fuel efficient.
To provide our self-move customers with added value, our rental trucks and trailers are designed with fuel
efficiency in mind. Many of our newer trucks are fitted with fuel economy gauges, another tool that assists our
customers in conserving fuel. To help make our rental equipment more trouble free, we perform extensive
preventive maintenance and repairs.
We also provide customers with equipment to transport their vehicle. We provide two towing options; auto
transport, in which all four wheels are off the ground and a tow dolly, in which the front wheels of the towed vehicle
are off the ground.
To help our customers load their boxes and larger household appliances and furniture, we offer several accessory
rental items. Our utility dolly has a lightweight design and is easy to maneuver. Another rental accessory is our four
wheel dolly, which provides a large, flat surface for moving dressers, wall units, pianos and other large household
items. U-Haul appliance dollies provide the leverage needed to move refrigerators, freezers, washers and dryers
easily and safely. These utility, furniture and appliance dollies, along with the low decks and the wide loading ramps
on U-Haul trucks and trailers, are designed for easy loading and unloading of our customers’ belongings.
The total package U-Haul offers the “do-it-yourself” household mover doesn’t end with trucks, trailers and
accessory rental items. Our moving supplies include a wide array of affordably priced U-Haul brand boxes, tape and
packing materials. We also provide specialty boxes for dishes, computers and sensitive electronic equipment, carton
sealing tape, security locks, and packing supplies, like wrapping paper and cushioning foam. U-Haul brand boxes
are specifically sized to make loading easier.
We estimate that U-Haul is North America’s largest seller and installer of hitches and towing systems. In addition
to towing U-Haul equipment, these hitching and towing systems can tow jet skis, motorcycles, boats, campers and
horse trailers. Our hitches, ball mounts, and hitch balls undergo stringent testing requirements. Each year, more than
one million customers visit our locations for expertise on complete towing systems, trailer rentals and the latest in
towing accessories.
U-Haul has one of North America’s largest propane refilling networks, with over 1,000 locations providing this
convenient service. We employ trained, certified personnel to refill all propane cylinders and alternative fuel
vehicles. Our network of propane dispensing locations is one of the largest automobile alternative refueling
networks in North America.
Self-storage is a natural outgrowth of the self-moving industry. Conveniently located U-Haul self-storage rental
facilities provide clean, dry and secure space for storage of household and commercial goods, with storage units
ranging in size from 6 square feet to over 1,000 square feet. We operate nearly 1,090 self-storage locations in North
America, with more than 395,000 rentable rooms comprising approximately 35 million square feet of rentable
storage space. Our self-storage centers feature a wide array of security measures, ranging from electronic property
access control gates to individually alarmed storage units. At many centers, we offer climate controlled storage
rooms to protect temperature sensitive goods such as video tapes, albums, photographs and precious wood furniture.
Another extension of our strategy to make do-it-yourself moving and storage easier is our recently launched “U-
Box”TM program. We deliver a storage container to a location of our customer’s choosing. Once the container is
filled it can be stored at the customer’s location, or picked up by us and taken to one of our storage facilities or
moved to a location of the customer’s choice within our expanding delivery area.