New UHaul Decals On the Way!

[Kevin A]

I've been working with Pat ( user name Goosler) to have some new decals made for our '86 UHaul VT. He has customized them to use the UHaul orange but with blue and white accent stripes rather than beige and black from the original company decals. They are on the way from his shop, so they should be arriving soon.

In the meantime, I've been starting the preparation for putting on the new decals. I've attached some photos of our VT from our purchase in 2007 to today to show the old and most recent decals we've been using. The VT had some original decals but with the word "UHaul" covered over. Also, the front decal job was kind of weird looking. To get the trailer looking presentable, I used royal blue tarp tape to make new stripes, added reflective white tape, and repainted the orange wide stripe. In hindsight, I shouldn't have used paint, but, ah well, that is behind me now.

Yesterday I peeled off the tarp tape, revealing the old decal. Then I used Goof Off (no real help), and an orange citrus based eco-friendly paint stripper. What a mess! The orange paint I applied bubbled right up (after 30 minutes), but the old UHaul decal tape, especially the orginal orange/red wide stripe, was very stubborn. It took about 5 applications of the stripper, plus scraping with a plastic scraper, to get it all off. Of course, it removed my coating of Red Maxx, too! I have one side of the front done with the removal, as shown in the picture. I'll do the other front side next week, and then see what has to be done with the side and back panels. I may even wait to put on the new decals from Pat until I have the whole trailer stripped later this summer or fall. In the meantime, we'll keep camping, ugly or not!

More to come when the decals arrive and more clean-up is accomplished.
Order of photos:
1. The way it looked in 2007 when we picked up the trailer.
2. The tarp tape decal I made to cover the old decal.
3. The old decal uncovered yesterday (with my orange paint job on the stripe).
4. The now clean front on the passenger's side. You can see some slight residual discoloration from the original decal that I'll try to buff out.
5. The way out trailer HOWIE (Hotel on Wheels) looked on a recent camping trip.

[Darwin Maring]

So how are you getting around the copyright thing?

[Thomas G.]

Great idea, Kevin. I never thought of asking him to customize the colors.

I'm amazed that he found the files to recreate the decals. I was working with UHaul Super Graphics to get a file for a Michigan related graphic and they told me that they no longer had the file digitally (except for a tiny jpg).

[Kevin A]

We have talked about copyright or trademark (whichever is appropriate), but an earlier post from Bob (at Bob and Mary on this forum) makes the comment that such use of displaying the name of the company that made the product shouldn't be concern. Of course, we haven't had a legal opinion on that, but I know we've been driving around with UHAUL on the trailer decals for 6 years now and no one has raised any concerns. We've even had it to UHAUL dealerships without a concern from them. Actually, they should be paying me for all the free advertising for them! No, really, I hope this isn't a problem but there are attorneys who will sue for anything.

[CindyL]

We are also looking into the repair of our neon sign which broke during some trip.

And perhaps looking into removing the stove fan, now that we know how to fix the fiberglass.

CindyL

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Kevin A

We have talked about copyright or trademark (whichever is appropriate), but an earlier post from Bob (at Bob and Mary on this forum) makes the comment that such use of displaying the name of the company that made the product shouldn't be concern. Of course, we haven't had a legal opinion on that, but I know we've been driving around with UHAUL on the trailer decals for 6 years now and no one has raised any concerns. We've even had it to UHAUL dealerships without a concern from them. Actually, they should be paying me for all the free advertising for them! No, really, I hope this isn't a problem but there are attorneys who will sue for anything.

Actually UHaul was glad to give me the file for the Super Graphic, they just don't have the older, classic ones digitally. Some of them are pretty cool.

U-Haul: SuperGraphics

[mary and bob]

OH NO! now I'm involved in the legal issue !!LOL I believe the intent of someone in Uhaul corporate was to de-ID the campers when they were sold, that is to remove any decals that had the Uhaul name. I retired from Ryder, and that is their policy. From what I've seen on the forums here, our camper, and one other Uhaul that I've seen in person, it appears that was 1] not done at all, 2] partially done, 3] they were covered up, or 4] it was completely done as ours was. . It would have been up to the individual locations where the trailers were sold as to what or how they de-IDed the units and obviously some did it right, some did nothing, and some did what was quick and easy. From my experience I know we didn't always follow company policies exactly as we were supposed to, and it looks like the same thing happened at Uhaul! The campers that still have the Uhaul name on them is most certainly of no concern to Uhaul management. Bob

[RogerDat]

An auto shop especially one that handles painting supplies will have a 3M stripe eraser, round wheel that goes in an electric drill. I removed all the decals from a scamp in an hour using it. It's designed to remove stripe decals from cars without damage to paint.

Make sure trailer is clean so you don't have dirt that can scratch your finish when using eraser on it if you decide to go that route.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Actually UHaul was glad to give me the file for the Super Graphic, they just don't have the older, classic ones digitally. Some of them are pretty cool.

U-Haul: SuperGraphics

I ended up using the small file available and having a 9x12 decal made. If it looks decent, I'll install it. The place I had it made is here:

Yard Signs, Signs, Custom Signs Online | BuildASign

You can custom design a decal, banner or license plate on line and see how it would look before ordering. They also have free shipping until July 1 with code Summertime12

This is the graphic that I had done:

[Kevin A]

Just letting everyone know... the new decals arrived over the weekend. They look great and I can't wait to get my trailer clean enough to install them.

One quick question (or two or three): I've been using Red Max Pro as a final coat to get a glossy surface. When the decal area is clean, do I put on the Red Max over the whole area, then the decals? OR Do I leave the decal area totally clean?
When installed, can I cover the whole thing with Red Max Pro or do I NOT cover the decals?

Thanks!

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Kevin A

Just letting everyone know... the new decals arrived over the weekend. They look great and I can't wait to get my trailer clean enough to install them.

One quick question (or two or three): I've been using Red Max Pro as a final coat to get a glossy surface. When the decal area is clean, do I put on the Red Max over the whole area, then the decals? OR Do I leave the decal area totally clean?
When installed, can I cover the whole thing with Red Max Pro or do I NOT cover the decals?

Thanks!

I'm no expert, but my inclination would be to strip the wax totally in the decal area, apply the decals, then wax over the top.

I hope you'll post pics when you are done.

[Darwin Maring]

I always clean any area where I will apply a decal with rubbing alcohol first.

[Kevin A]

Thomas,
Don't worry... I'll post pictures. It may be a while though, since I have a lot of clean-up first and I need to find the time to do a good job. I'm hoping to have it all done with the new decals in time for the trip to Algonsac Park in Sept.

[Thomas G.]

So, as I continue to shamelessly hijack Kevin's thread..........

Here is the UHaul graphic that I had made for my CT. I was only able to get a 750K jpg file, so I kept the size down to 9x12". I like it because it is a classic graphic for a classic trailer, tells people that I'm from SE Michigan and has the UHaul orange stripe and logo so it looks natural on the trailer. $5 delivered.

[djtriceflt]

Cool Man, It looks great!!!