KevinMD

When I picked up my '15 Tahoe the other day, I did a quick walk around and was surprised to see a tow package on it, considering towing with a rental is a major no. It has the wiring harness and receiver installed. It is just missing the hitch, which anyone could just slide in. I have not seen that before on a rental. Almost like a rental coming with an off road package.

3Cforme

U.S. rental agencies are buying more vehicles outright instead of getting manufacturer program cars where residual value is guaranteed if returned within xx months and under xx,xxx miles. That means they care more about depreciation and what equipment prospective used-vehicle buyers will want. A tow package on a Tahoe sounds pretty logical to me.

dwbf11

It's not a matter of options. Every Yukon/Tahoe and Yukon XL/Suburban has come standard with a hitch receiver since 2007 or so.

KevinMD

That is good to know. Rented a few Yukons before and never noticed. Even did a ride report.

Tuneman1984

I can't confirm this, but I read somewhere that rental agencies used to put a locking pin through the receiver, which would prevent a renter from attaching a tow hitch and ball.

I fully understand why agencies don't allow towing, due to the high risks of mechanical damage and liability issues through the roof, but it would be nice if there was at least a waiver option for established renters (such as Exec Elites) who have proven themselves to be reliable customers that follow the rules and behave appropriately. That way you wouldn't be violating the T&Cs and negating any possible CDW coverage if you did choose to tow. I never have, but it would be nice to have the option in some cases.

dwbf11

Hertz does that with their Lowe's rental trucks (3/4 ton pickups and Sprinter vans). I've never seen it with any of the major agencies' normal fleet though, and logistically that would probably be incredibly difficult. Can you imagine hitch receiver locks for the tens of thousands of vehicles in the fleet with a standard hitch receiver? I doubt there is a way to fairly vet renters' abilities for towing so I wouldn't expect anything like that. I once rented a Ram 1500 and found the prior renter's ball hitch and receiver pin under the back seat, so I bet a fair number of these vehicles do see tow duty.

If you want to tow with a rental, your best bet is U-Haul.

mapelle621

All the Explorers I've had were equipped with tow packages, and most (if not all) Flex's too.

Tuneman1984

True, they are a pretty good option to "legally" tow with a rental. However there's a big difference in cost between a U-Haul F-150 at 79 cents/mile vs. a Tahoe on Free Days.

91StealthES

I'm in a 2015 Tahoe right now with a tow package. It even has the non-standard factory trailer brake controller.

kxc262

Bumping this...
Had a colleague ask me if they could tow with a rental car and didn't know the answer. They got a 15' Tahoe LT with towing equipment and were thinking about towing a boat on the weekend.

Haven't gone through the complete T&C but wanted to see if anybody has a similar or related experience.
They rented with Enterprise if that makes any difference.

dwbf11

Can he? Sure.

If there's a problem though he can count on being liable for the $50K+ truck as towing is against the rental agreement and will negate any agency insurance and probably personal insurance as well.

kxc262

Ah okay I will definitely let them know about that then. Thanks!

Beckles

Does violating the rental agreement negate one's personal insurance? I don't believe the answer to that is 'probably'. My understanding of personal coverage is that if you do something they don't like they can't not cover you in many cases, rather they can just stop having you as a customer in the future, but are still responsible for covering you.

KevinMD

You would be surprised. Many insurance contracts specifically list activities that are excluded from coverage. I checked a State Farm policy and there is over a page of exclusions when they will not cover damage.

dwbf11

Respectfully, I don't think it has anything to do with them "liking" what you're doing or not.

If you're operating a vehicle in a way that is not covered by the policy, you won't be covered. Obviously, everyone has different coverage terms. For example, I know that with my own personal coverage, I'm covered when towing with my personal vehicle certain kinds of trailers.

In this case, the renter would be operating a rental vehicle in a way prohibited by the express terms of the rental agreement. Even if I'm covered towing a trailer with my personal vehicle, I think a strong argument can be made by an insurance company for "unclean hands"- i.e., towing renter breached the contract first by using someone else's (otherwise covered) vehicle in a prohibited manner, therefore we don't have to cover you. By breaking the rules first, the towing renter exposes him or herself to liability.

Same logic would apply if, for example, you had an accident and weren't wearing your seat belt. Many states' laws would allow an insurance company to deny you some or all of your benefits.

Perhaps you're right, but personally I don't want to find myself on the wrong end of that fight. Especially if there are injuries to passengers or third parties.