Although not the oldest player in the self-service truck rental market – that distinction belongs to Ryder – U-Haul definitively owns the category in the consumer’s mind. Similar to when FedEx is used as a generic for overnight delivery or when one asks for a Kleenex, U-Haul meansa rental truck or trailer regardless of that truck or trailer’s actual brand.

U-Haul also leads the pack mile for mile in terms of market share. With over 1,300 retail rental centers and a network of more than 15,000 independent dealers across the US and Canada, the company maintains a fleet of approximately 190,000 road-ready trucks and trailers. To put those numbers in perspective, Budget, U-Haul’s next closest competitor, operates about 500 truck rental locations and has a fleet of less than 30,000. Even when you factor in Budget’s Ryder TRS division – operated under license from the commercial behemoth Ryder Logistics and Transportation – and its 3,500 locations and 30,000 trucks, U-Haul still maintains solid footing as the category’s 800-pound gorilla.

The company is actually one of three falling under the aegis of Amerco, a Nevada-based company, whose other holdings include Republic Western Insurance and Oxford Life Insurance All three companies have a common heritage but U-Haul is the first born and remains the undisputed crown jewel of the triumvirate. Its roots trace back to 1945 when Leonard Samuel Shoen started the company out of his in-laws’ garage in Ridgefield, Washington. The post-World War II years were an opportune time for Shoen to launch just such a venture. As GIs returned home and babies started to boom along with the economy, the US stretched its legs in all directions. A more transient population produced a need for one-way rentals that could serve do-it-yourself movers.

Shoen rapidly grew U-Haul thanks to ingenious under-the-radar and viral marketing tactics. All rentals sported impossible-not-to-notice orange paint schemes featuring the company’s logo and key marketing messages. In addition, Shoen made customers his surrogate sales force by offering them discounts if they could enlist a service station at destination to become a U-Haul dealer.

The reliance on gas stations worked until the 1970s when many dealers folded under the mounting pressures of an oil crisis. Shoen responded by opening more and more company owned outlets and also branching out into other consumer rentals such as carpet steam cleaners and self-storage. To help with diversification, he drafted the eldest of his twelve children to become one of the company’s key leaders. Yet that action and Shoen’s failure to keep a majority interest in the company would ultimately prove a massive thorn in U-Haul’s side. For almost the next 20 years, Shoen’s offspring waged a bitter battle for company ownership that would cost U-Haul hundreds of millions of dollars.

Perhaps due to the consequence of internal squabbles, the fact that U-Haul is a generic for the category, or just the nature of the business, the company seems to bear the brunt of negative publicity surrounding self-move rentals. It is almost a rite of passage to share a U-Haul saga involving poor vehicle quality, a break down, or bad service. Indeed our own research with self-movers resulted in more than one pair of rolled eyes related to experiences with the three big players, U-Haul, Budget, and Ryder. A quick search on the Internet will turn up several sites detailing U-Haul “horror stories” and one even devoted to an action group called “Consumers Against U-Haul Negligence.” But while U-Haul may have spent more than US$ 300M (325 e.) to upgrade its fleet during fiscal year 2001, all it takes is a quick glance at one decrepit vehicle for notions of poor quality to crystallize in consumers’ minds.

Yet, a quick glance at a U-Haul might reveal more than just trucks that need repair. Borrowing from the practice that made U-Haul famous, all rental companies now use vehicle bodies to promote price points and service virtues. However, U-Haul does it to excess in an age when focused messages have the best chance of getting through to bleary-eyed consumers. On one truck alone, you might see signs for $19.95 in-town moves, lowest-cost options, gentle ride suspensions, cloth seats, low decks, and “Moving Adventures.” Add to that a colorful image characteristic of the vehicles “home state” and you might be a bit confused about what U-Haul stands for. Low price? Comfort? Convenience? Largesse?

Many of U-Haul’s problems likely stem from a tenuous and shady independent dealer network that can easily undermine well-intentioned corporate efforts. With 15,000 dealers, keeping tabs on rental inventories, service logs, and all of the innumerable details that go into such an operation is a formidable task for any company. We recently visited U-Haul’s Web site looking for a trailer that could be used for an out-of-state move. The site returned the address of a nearby gas station/convenience store and gave us the option to reserve our rental with a deposit. Yet, when we went to the location, the owner told us that he never rented trailers, had only one truck for out-of-state moves, and that all rentals were on a first come, first serve basis.

Moving is hot, sweaty, backbreaking, and tiring. It’s not designed to be fun. Or easy for that matter. But for consumers who cannot afford to hire professionals or for when it doesn’t make sense to do so, U-Haul is a salvation. As the industry pioneer, it is only fitting that the company develop and maintain a leadership stance in areas beyond its sheer size alone. Better attention to the product and the dealer network could see U-Haul moving in that direction.

Jonathan Schneider is the founder of Square One Research. He holds an MBA from Emory University's Goizueta Business School and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Randee.