U-Haul 2016 Annual Report Download - page 8

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Products and Rental Equipment
Our customers are primarily “do-it-yourself” household movers. U-Haul moving equipment is
specifically designed, engineered and manufactured for the “do-it-yourself” household mover. These “do-
it-yourself” movers include individuals and families moving their belongings from one home to another,
college students moving their belongings, vacationers and sports enthusiasts needing extra space or
having special towing needs, people trying to save on home furniture and home appliance delivery costs,
and “do-it-yourself” home remodeling and gardening enthusiasts who need to transport materials.
As of March 31, 2016, our rental fleet consisted of approximately 139,000 trucks, 108,000 trailers and
38,000 towing devices. This equipment and our U-Haul brand of self-moving products and services are
available through our network of managed retail moving stores and independent U-Haul dealers.
Independent U-Haul dealers receive rental equipment from the Company, act as rental agents and are
paid a commission based on gross revenues generated from their U-Haul rentals.
Our rental truck chassis are engineered by domestic 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 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, safe, 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 trucks are fitted with fuel economy gauges, another tool that assists
our customers in conserving fuel. To help make our rental equipment more reliable, we routinely perform
extensive preventive maintenance and repairs.
We also provide customers with equipment to transport their vehicles. 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 to 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, as well as tape, security locks, and packing supplies. 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. Each year, more than one million customers visit our locations for
expertise on complete towing systems, trailer rentals and the latest in towing accessories.