[gmurrpa]

I need to get a hitch installed on my new Jeep compass. I see that Uhaul does this and was wondering if anyone has used them and if they do a good job and use quality materials? I know every location will be a bit different as far as workmanship goes.

 

[Miker J]

Used them in the past with no problem.

 

[CyclesnIPAs]

I had a hitch installed on my Ford windstar mini van. They had some kid back the van into the bay onto a ramp with the rear up in the air. He didnt apply the parking brake and it rolled off and out into the parking lot. Thankfully it didnt hit anything or anyone. Thats how it started. 4 hours later, told me they had trouble with the wiring but "figured it out". I leave, shortly afterwards Im driving on the highway all of the dummy lights on the dash suddenly illuminate, the radio made a horrible high pitched whistling sound, and the entire dash cut out. No power at all. No gauges, lights, no blinkers nothing. Surprisingly it stayed running. Apparently they managed to short out the entire interior electrical system. Being a work van it wasnt worth fixing and we settled it out of court. Word of advice. Do some research on your local uhaul branch before using them. It can save you alot of trouble. Good luck!

 

[kapusta]

I used them about 20 years ago for a hitch on a VW Golf and then a few months back for a 1999 Outback. Both came out fine.

 

[patski]

Check out the difficulty level and instructions at Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com

Some of them are REALLY easy..... My son did his first(Land Rover LR3) when he was 14...

Great prices @Amazon too.... http://amzn.to/1oIrNpb

I need to get a hitch installed on my new Jeep compass. I see that Uhaul does this and was wondering if anyone has used them and if they do a good job and use quality materials? I know every location will be a bit different as far as workmanship goes.

 

[Thomapa1]

Did mine by myself, was pretty easy except instructions were not explicit on one point, making me redo part of the install.
2 sets of hands would be best (I struggled to get the hitch in place before securing a bolt) - but it is not a technically challenging install.
Look up videos of the installation on etrailer.com
It is basically 4 bolts into existing holes...about a 1 out of 10 on the difficulty scale.

 

[Tystevens]

Yep, last time I put one on, it was very easy. It was a 1/2 ton SUV, so it was all pre-drilled and stuff. There are websites that will tell you if your vehicle is an easy install or not. But I have generally heard good stuff about Uhaul as well.

 

[patski]

Yep, last time I put one on, it was very easy. It was a 1/2 ton SUV, so it was all pre-drilled and stuff. There are websites that will tell you if your vehicle is an easy install or not. But I have generally heard good stuff about Uhaul as well.

The big difference in DIY is a savings of $300-$400

 

[kapusta]

The big difference in DIY is a savings of $300-$400

Must depend on the vehicle, because the hitch on mine from U-Haul was $248 out the door (installation, tax, etc), which was only ~$75 more than if I ordered one from someplace like etrailer.com.

But you are right that it can be a really easy install. Were it not winter and having no good place to work on my car at the time, I would have done it myself.

 

[Dochartaigh]

The big difference in DIY is a savings of $300-$400

...And how two different uHauls by me have f'd up the last 3 hitches they did for my group of friends. I'm a fan of the eTrailer. Helped (ok, more like watched my friend install one and that's what I'll be purchasing.

 

[GpzGuy]

I've experienced them scratching the crap out of my paint on a brand new SUV, and claiming they would have to splice my wiring harness for the trailer wires when I knew damn well there was a plug in adapter specific to my vehicle that they sold, but didn't have in stock. My vote is no. Poor workmanship.

 

[One Pivot]

I've been in automotive for a long time, and have seen tons of bad work. It almost always comes from quick oil change places, uhauls, or budget independent shops.

Kids making 8 bucks an hour tend to do bad work. If you can't put the hitch on yourself, you won't know if they did a good job until it's way too late. The way uhaul splices wires causes tons of problems a few years down the road. By the time it causes issues, your labor warranty is gone... Then you're paying me a grand to fix it!

 

[mtnbikej]

Check out the difficulty level and instructions at Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com

Some of them are REALLY easy..... My son did his first(Land Rover LR3) when he was 14...

Great prices @Amazon too.... http://amzn.to/1oIrNpb

This is great advice.

After installing one on my Titan, in a matter of minutes I thought they would all be like that.

However, my wife wanted a rack on the back of her VW Jetta....was kind of a pain in the ass, even watching the installation video and studying the instructions. Took me 2x the time that they claimed it should.

We sold that car and bought a VW Golf Wagon....even worse than the Jetta. Required quite a bit of removing body parts and panels, plus modifications. When this car was totaled in an accident a few months later....I refused to install a hitch on the Passat she got.

Moral of the story is do your homework.

 

[matuchi]

I had U-Haul put one on a car twenty years ago that went well. The last two hitches I put on myself - a Hidden Hitch on my wife's Toyota Highlander, and a stock Ford hitch on my F-150 Lightning. If you're good at following directions and have a socket set and a friend that will help give you a third hand, you can save some money and be assured that the hitch was put on right. :thumbsup:

 

[sevenhelmet]

I would stay away from U-haul. I'm sure some branches are great, but customer service just isn't consistent enough to trust any of them.

Recommend DIY, or a mechanic you trust.

 

[Jayem]

However, my wife wanted a rack on the back of her VW Jetta....was kind of a pain in the ass, even watching the installation video and studying the instructions. Took me 2x the time that they claimed it should.

In the DIY auto-realm, that's actually pretty good, time-wise. I usually count on at least 2x what it usually says, because inevitably you'll be searching around for some tool it didn't specify or that you thought you had, etc.

 

[Flamingtaco]

This is great advice.

After installing one on my Titan, in a matter of minutes I thought they would all be like that.

However, my wife wanted a rack on the back of her VW Jetta....was kind of a pain in the ass, even watching the installation video and studying the instructions. Took me 2x the time that they claimed it should.

We sold that car and bought a VW Golf Wagon....even worse than the Jetta. Required quite a bit of removing body parts and panels, plus modifications. When this car was totaled in an accident a few months later....I refused to install a hitch on the Passat she got.

Moral of the story is do your homework.

The desire to tow with a passenger car is so low that mfg's don't bother with designing a receiver for most models. When they do, it tends to be a very low capacity hitch that's useless for towing, so no need to attach to structural rails. This makes a bit more work for installing a real receiver from a receiver mfg, like drilling through structural rails.

The majority of SUV's and Trucks come from the factory with a receiver installed, so even when one isn't, the mounting points are there, even captured nuts, because it's cheaper to have the guy on the line that installs the nuts to put them into every frame than to check the build sheet.

Another issue is there isn't a lot of room between the bumper and chassis (and bumper and ground) with cars, so the mfg's often have to use tighter turns, tighter tolerances, and additional bracing. $$$

You can get a good idea of the quality of work you'll get from a U-Haul by looking at their vehicles. Except for new trucks, they tend to be in a state of disrepair. I've never been about to roll out with a truck or dolly without having them fix something, and the one long-distance move I did resulted in a blown radiator hose. I've used them in three states, and it's obvious to me that they do zero preventative maintenance. They are a lazy company, with lazy employees that do the minimum they can get by with. There's a reason they are the cheapest receiver installer. You can go to the guy that's installed receivers for 20 years, or the kid that was shown once a few months back.

 

[Dribear]

Overall, I would not suggest Uhaul.
The main place in PHX seems legit. If there is not a hitch available for your vehicle, they will build one for you free of charge. Obviously, their niche is that they end up making money on it.
Only reason I would consider going, is that they do not make a hitch for my Jeep Comanche, and it would be done for free. But, in my experience Most of Arizona fails at life in general so no thanks!

 

[mtnbikej]

The desire to tow with a passenger car is so low that mfg's don't bother with designing a receiver for most models. When they do, it tends to be a very low capacity hitch that's useless for towing, so no need to attach to structural rails. This makes a bit more work for installing a real receiver from a receiver mfg, like drilling through structural rails.

The majority of SUV's and Trucks come from the factory with a receiver installed, so even when one isn't, the mounting points are there, even captured nuts, because it's cheaper to have the guy on the line that installs the nuts to put them into every frame than to check the build sheet.

Another issue is there isn't a lot of room between the bumper and chassis (and bumper and ground) with cars, so the mfg's often have to use tighter turns, tighter tolerances, and additional bracing. $$$

You can get a good idea of the quality of work you'll get from a U-Haul by looking at their vehicles. Except for new trucks, they tend to be in a state of disrepair. I've never been about to roll out with a truck or dolly without having them fix something, and the one long-distance move I did resulted in a blown radiator hose. I've used them in three states, and it's obvious to me that they do zero preventative maintenance. They are a lazy company, with lazy employees that do the minimum they can get by with. There's a reason they are the cheapest receiver installer. You can go to the guy that's installed receivers for 20 years, or the kid that was shown once a few months back.

Fortunately, I didn't have to do any drilling.....both receivers mounted up to existing holes. However I did have to trim away some of the rear fascia on the Golf Wagon, but it was hidden away underneath the vehicle.

 

[zebrahum]

If your car is easy then go with E-trailer, otherwise I've not had a complaint on the two cars I've had Uhaul install hitches on. More expensive than doing it yourself, but what would you expect?