Safe 
Trailering has always been a priority at U-Haul. It is important to ensure you are following proper towing safety guidelines to keep everyone in your vehicle and on the road safe. Shannon Papa, Program Manager for Trailers, says, “We are concerned about all trailers on the road.” She has been active in providing education on towing safety at a NATM meeting and at several local community events as well as throughout our U-Haul community. Recently U-Haul participated in several Driver Education Conferences and a National Organizations for Youth Safety Summit to help teach the importance of safe towing to young student leaders and their advisors. There is also a great Safe Trailering video series that is available to help drivers on YouTube. Wanting to do more to help with educating drivers on Safe Trailering, U-Haul went to work on finding more visual ways to help show the effects of improper towing.
About a year ago Marco Garcia and his U-Haul team created a Safe Trailering Demonstrator to help customers understand how the 60/40 weight distribution rule works and help teach how to calculate their tongue weight after loading the trailer. The demonstrator has already evolved throughout the year to provide a very realistic and interactive feel for the customers, allowing them to add weight to the front or back of the trailer and see what can happen when the trailer is improperly loaded. The demonstrator uses a remote controlled car body and is towing an aluminum trailer behind it. The car and trailer moves on a scale roadway to show how a car traveling on the road can be impacted by a proper or improper load.
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The Safe Trailering Demonstrator was debuted at the Phoenix International Raceway, where race fans were able to stop by and learn how to load their trailers properly. It was a hit and many were surprised to see what can happen when the tongue weight is not correct. Since then, the Engineering Team has worked on their demonstration for the customer and updated the model to give more help and guidance on calculating their tongue weight. During the demonstration they show how to tell if your tongue weight is correct or incorrect.
“We would like to educate drivers at a young age so we can help save lives and accidents involving towing”, Garcia said. Many may wonder why would young drivers need to know about towing. But soon enough they will be moving to college, their first apartment and starting their adult lives. By teaching them at a young age we are hoping they will bring these important safety guidelines with them as they begin their journey. We also hope that those familiar with safe trailering will be careful on the road when they may encounter other drivers not towing safely and leave extra space between their car and the tower.
For more information on our Safe Trailering Demonstrator, email trailerdemonstrator@uhaul.com or read this article.
What questions do you have on safe trailering? Share in the comments.
