U-Haul International, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, that has been in operation since 1945. The company was founded by Leonard Shoen

Leonard Shoen

Leonard Shoen was an American entrepreneur who founded the U-Haul truck and trailer organization in Ridgefield, Washington. After growing up in the farm belt of the United States during the Great Depression, he envisioned the market for rental vehicles for families who wished to avoid the expense...

 (L. S. "Sam" Shoen) in Ridgefield, Washington

Ridgefield, Washington

Ridgefield is a city in the pastoral, rolling-hills countryside of northern Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,763 at the 2010 census....

, who began it in the garage

Garage (house)

A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...

 owned by his wife's family, and expanded through franchising with gas stations.

U-Haul is owned by AMERCO, a holding company which also operates Amerco Real Estate, Republic Western Insurance, and Oxford Life Insurance.