Towing with an Explorer

Just because I can avoid a roll over in a situation where my sife can not does not mean the vehicle is okay. I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that blow outs on the interstate have been happening for as long as we've had interstates, and the Explorer is the first to make headlines as a model that is particularly prone to a roll over that arises out of a blown tire.

I submit that a professional driver on a closed course does not provide the data set that dozens of crashes involving non-professional drivers on the highway will provide.

I'm not suggesting that everybody with an Explorer should trade it in, I'm only suggesting that if U-Haul wants to refuse business to Explorer owners, it has ample reason to do so.

I suggest *any* automobile will crash and roll after a blowout on the highway with an IDIOT at the wheel. Add to that a giant lot of defective Firestone tires installed at the factory, and walla! You get a ton of bad press (Think Intel floating point PR SNAFU) from a bunch of misinformed (think SnowBlower here) "do gooders". As has already been pointed out, there is NO design or stability problem with any of Fords Explorers.

As has been aptly proven over and over again, the media making a big stink about something has absolutely nothing to do with the facts. Intel floating point error GM pickup side impact gas tanks Ford Ranger Firestone rollover Ford Crown Victory gas tank leaks after high speed rear end impacts George Bush's fake national guard documents

Not true. Media created hype. And you don't even have the model year right. Explores were completely redesigned for the 2001 Model year (except for the "Sport" models, and the "Sport Trac).

The Explorers most often alleged to have a problem were the 1996-2000 models The truth was, of vehicles in it's class, the four door Explorers had the second best injury loss ratings (the four Jeep Grand Cherokee was better - slightly). The driver death rate due to roll overs for Explorers was much better than for 4Runners, Pathfinders, S10 Blazers, etc. The fact is, that model four door Explorer was one of the safest vehicles in its class, despite the media BS and the defective Firestone tires. the Explorer Sport models had a much worse safety record (shorter wheelbase) but even they were safer than

U-Haul doesn't rent to people towing with Explorers because the media hype created a feeding frenzy among trial lawyers. Anytime there is an accident involving an Explorer the sharks attack. U-Haul will rent to people with Mountaineers - which is the same vehicle as an Explorer in any way meaningful to towing safety.

Ed

How can one person get so many facts wrong. The Twin Traction Beans and Twin I-beans were gone for all 1995 Explorer models. The 4 Door Explorer was completely redesigned in 2001 (2002 model year), including a change to independent rear suspension.

Explorers were not particularly prone to rollover - 4Runners and S10 Blazer had much higher rollover rates than 4 Door Explorers. 2 Door Explorers were more likely to rollover, but still not as bad as

Even Firestone, at the height of their attempt to cover-up their defective tires, confirmed that the tire pressure recommended by Ford was at least 5 psi greater than necessary to safely support the maximum load. They wanted to increase the recommended pressure to 30 to provide even more margin....of course they made this claim after shipping tires to Ford for many years with full knowledge of the pressure Ford was recommending. I had a 1996 Explorer, with Goodyear tires. They were of the same size and type as the "bad" Firestone tires. Goodyear never claimed that the pressure recommended was too low - and more importantly - the Goodyears were not failure prone.

Ed

This is not true - Explorers did not have an especially high rollover rate. 4Runners and S10 Blazer actually had a much higher rate. However, even though the rate was lower, there were so many more Explorers on the road, the total number of Explorer rollovers was noticeable.

Ed

I mistated this - I should have said - they were completely designed during 2001 for the 2002 Model year (you could buy the "2002" models in early 2001).

Ed

The "experts" at the highway safety department would suggest different. While I'm sure you can create a precise set of conditions that can cause

Somebody that knows far more about this sort of stuff than you know says the Explorer is something to stay away from.

Once again, I'm not advocating that the Explorer should be sent to the scrap heap just because it is an Explorer, I'm only saying that if U-Haul wants to stand back from that vehicle, it has plenty of reason.

NO THEY WOULD NOT! In May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about a higher than normal incidence of tire failures on Ford Explorers, Mercury Mountaineers, and Mazda Navajos fitted with Firestone tires (later including Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series pickup trucks). The failures all involved tread separation- in which the outer tread carcass would delaminate and cause a rapid loss of tire pressure.

Who??? Present your links! What information are you privy to that the rest of us are not? U-Hauls (and SnowBlowers) position is not based in reason, logic or law, they don't count.

Sure you are.

You are missing the point, I do not care that U-Haul will not rent trailers to drivers of the Ford Explorer. I don't care jif U-Haul says they will not rent to drivers of red trucks. THEY think they have solid footing to be dumber than a rock, and I agree with their stand. That is, I agree that they have a stand and they are working hard to stick to it. I'm not debating the validity of the stand, I only accept they are taking one, and I know why they are taking it.

When U-Haul comes out and says that drivers of white trucks can not rent a traler, then I might have a problem because my truck is white. Frankly, I go out of my way to not rent U-Haul stuff, so whom they will or not rent to makes very little difference to me.

I agree with U-Haul that they can elect to not rent equipment to be used with a particular type of automobile. They can not elect to rent to a particular person, but they can elect to not rent to drivers of Fords if they want to not rent to those vehicles. If you feel differently, then get yourself a lawyer. I hope you lose.

I'm not suggesting U-Haul is making a sound business decision or even a valid one, I'm only suggesting they own the equipment and they are exposed to liability from a certain tow vehicle and they are trying to eliminate the exposure, and I agree with them that they can and should limit the liability, even if you and I both know the liability is not what has been presented.

From a business perspective, they could not possibly rent to enough Explorer drivers to cover the loses if only one of them crashed while dragging a U-Haul trailer down the road. If they choose to not rent to Explorer drivers, they are way ahead of where they would be if they rented to all of the Explorer drivers and one had a crash where U-Haul was dragged into court.