U-Haul 2008 Annual Report Download - page 8

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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, they 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 three towing options, including:
auto transport, in which all four wheels are off the ground, tow dolly, in which the front wheels of the towed vehicle
are off the ground, and tow bar, where all four wheels are on 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.
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 barbeque-refilling networks, with over 1,000 locations
providing this convenient service. We employ trained, certified personnel to refill all propane cylinders. Our
network of propane dispensing locations is the largest automobile alternative refueling network 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 845 square feet. We operate nearly 1,075 self-storage locations in North
America, with more than 387,000 rentable rooms comprising approximately 34.2 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.
Additionally, we offer moving and storage protection packages such as Safemove and Safetow, protecting moving
and towing customers with a damage waiver, cargo protection and medical and life coverage, and Safestor,
protecting storage customers from loss on their goods in storage. For our customers who desire additional coverage
over and above the standard Safemove protection, we also offer our Super Safemove product. This package provides
the rental customer with a layer of primary liability protection.