As a market leader in trailer hitch installations, U-Haul prides itself on being able to deliver quality products and services that truly enable anyone to tow, regardless of what they’re driving. In this pursuit, we developed the U-Haul Custom Hitch program – an initiative focused on designing specialized hitches for vehicles that otherwise couldn’t be fitted with a hitch. If this applies to your vehicle, then read on to better understand the process of how U-Haul creates its custom UHI hitches.
Requirements to Be Considered for a Custom UHI Hitch
If you haven’t yet, visit uhaulhitches.com to see if we already have the right trailer hitch for your vehicle. If it seems that your vehicle requires a custom-built hitch, then fill out the form online to join the waitlist and be contacted by a hitch representative. This waitlist functions on a first-come first-serve basis for each vehicle model. We do have a backlog of customers on this list, so it can take months to schedule your hitch creation – however, customers occasionally drop out, and any duplicate vehicles are also removed from the waitlist after a successful hitch creation. While this could mean that your submission is a duplicate too, it also means that we will have developed the perfect hitch for your vehicle well ahead of schedule.
3-12 Month Waitlist → 4-5 Days to Design → 6-8 Weeks to Manufacture and Ship
During this waiting period, U-Haul’s resident design specialists will conduct preliminary research on the vehicles next up on the list. Unfortunately, sometimes this research reveals that a specific vehicle simply cannot tow anything with a hitch, regardless of how creative we get in designing it. In a rare case like this, we will be able to notify you before the creation has even been scheduled.
The Process of Designing a Custom Hitch
During the preliminary research phase, our design specialists will evaluate whether a hitch from a previous model or sister vehicle can be used as a starting point for the design process. If nothing exists, the design will start from scratch, and this can of course take significantly longer to develop. Yet, even in this case, the design process will typically only take 4-5 days.
As soon as you drop your vehicle off at our R&D facility in Tempe, Arizona, our specialists get to work. The first step is digitally mapping the rear of the vehicle to begin 3D modeling a hitch that fits perfectly. Every individual element of the hitch must be 3D modeled to guarantee precision during the production phase, although some parts will factor in ‘wiggle room’ to account for any incremental adjustments that need to be made during the installation phase.
Throughout every stage in the design process, the prototype hitch is tested – this ensures that individual components are compatible and that the final welded hitch fastens securely to the rear of the vehicle.
It’s important to note that customers should be forthcoming about whether their vehicle has ever been in an accident. Any damage to the rear of the vehicle will likely corrupt the structural integrity of where the hitch will be fastened to, and thus limit the towing capabilities of the hitch. U-Haul hitch specialists will document everything as they work, including existing damages to the vehicle prior to this process.
The Process of Manufacturing a Custom Hitch
After the design process has been completed and your car has been returned, we’ll add the custom hitch to our online database and notify you. Then, when you navigate back to uhaulhitches.com, this newly-designed hitch will populate in the results, and you can place an order just as anyone else would. Once an order has been placed, our manufacturing facility starts forging your finished product based on the schematics provided by the design specialists.
UHI custom hitches are hand-welded as part of a unique program within a high-volume high-mix facility. Considering these hitches are custom made-to-order products, please allow approximately 6-8 weeks for your hitch to be completed and shipped. You may choose to ship your custom hitch directly to your home or to a center near you to then be installed by a U-Haul hitch professional.
The Process of Installing a Custom Hitch
These UHI custom hitches are highly-specialized for a reason – the vehicles they are being designed for are challenging to fix a hitch to. While a regular hitch installation usually takes about an hour of a hitch professional’s undisturbed time, a custom hitch installation can take up to three hours. Please account for this when scheduling your installation appointment.
Please refer to your vehicle manufacturer’s listed towing capacity before using your hitch.
