Rented a U-Haul

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ROCHESTER, NY
$19.95/24 hrs.
Plus tax & mileage, fuel, insurance or extras. This truck was the BOX truck that is one step up for a full size Chevy/GMC van. Nice, I could travel in this if I had to.

$35 up front based on projected miles. $36 when we returned due to 1 mile over. And the gas gauge never move in the 11 miles so, I didn't refill.

You can also purchase an insurance for ~$15 but, we waved it. Still cheap! Moving blankets & dolly are extra as well. And though I didn't ask, they probably have ratcheting straps too or anything else you may need, I'm thinking, RAMPS?

Had to pick up a living room sofa & kitchen table/4 chairs from Big Lots(all marked waaaaay down).
U-Haul was right up the street from Big Lots. And the Truck we got was more than we needed but HAY!
We only needed to travel ~10 miles from U-H to B Ls to daughter's appt. Carry up the furniture and return the truck. But, we could have had the truck all day...NICE!
laugh.gif


U-Haul must be making a killing on people like us who only need the truck to pick up/deliver quickly and return their vehicle. Plus, they're located close by the BIG BOX stores. Perfect for situations like ours.
 
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Pretty nice deal...We went with a cheapo, no-name rental truck company years ago and got a hunk of junk that was probably not long for the road. That thing bounced so hard I felt like I was on a trampoline. Got the job done, but it was unpleasant.
I think I would only go with UHaul or Penske now.
 
I'm sure they make good money doing it, seems like they charge a lot -- but since most people only "need" one once a year or whatever, it's cheaper than a vehicle payment.

My closest one is about 10 miles away. I've never looked into their cost. Lowe's / Home Depot is more like 30 miles. Each way. I decided long ago that I could "use" a truck enough that I could just buy one. Not convinced it was the best decision, but it sure does pull my cargo trailer nicely when I do have stuff to move.

Harbor Freight has moving blankets these days pretty cheap. I tossed one into each vehicle for road side repairs (also double as an emergency blanket). I stacked a bunch into my trailer as when you need moving blankets, you need many of them.
 
I find U-Haul a total gamble. The two trucks I had for a longish move (~6 hour drive on one and ~8 hour drive on another) were clapped out piles of junk, the one on the 6 hour trip was towing a Toyota Celica on their flat car trailer. We were stuck at 60 MPH the entire drive as it threatened to overheat anytime you tried to exceed that.

For in town I have done both the local Uhaul moves in the smallest Chevy box van you mentioned and the Chevy cargo van and its neither here nor there. I have a ZipCar membership so lately I have just been using their cargo van option (Ford Transit's). Its ~$19/hour but covers all mileage, gas and insurance so its kind of a wash vs UHaul - but you don't have to deal with the rental agreements, etc.
 
I towed with a u-haul. The steering box was mega loose, so correcting the small oscillations one gets while towing was very unpleasant.

I'm fortunate that the standing costs for my (extra vehicle) F150 are under $250 a year. Trips to the dump alone make it worthwhile, as I'm not getting trash funk in the inside of my car.

Tried substituting a trailer for a truck, but it was awful.

All those hippies renting bicycles out could probably more effectively help the planet by making truck rental reasonable, so people don't commute in an empty truck because they might need it on the weekend.
 
I did this a while back to haul some furniture. It's a perfect solution for those of us who don't have a large truck.

In our case we had reserved a dolly and it showed as available on their system but the guy couldn't find it. An arrangement was made for us to pick one up at another U Haul location close by which was fine by me. The dolly charge was dropped as was the blanket charge as well.
 
Originally Posted by eljefino

All those hippies renting bicycles out could probably more effectively help the planet by making truck rental reasonable, so people don't commute in an empty truck because they might need it on the weekend.


ZipCar has this covered - $84/year just for the membership and they have a couple Transit's around here that I have used to move twice or help friends move. They used to have Grand Caravan's floating around too but the minivans seem to have gone away - used that a few times for some IKEA and furniture store runs for both myself and friends.
 
They may have changed now but last time I rented a trailer from them it took them sooooo long for all the paperwork and then to bring up the trailer and let me hook to it it was NOT worth it. 2 Hours!!!! never been back
 
I work in the garbage business and if you saw what i see that those uhauls carry in them ,YIKES. id be looking at the inside close b4 i took it.
 
Uhaul has always been decent for me. I've driven a 26' box truck to San Diego pulling their 12' trailer, it was a GMC and was 2 quarts low on oil. I bought some oil and topped it off, they refunded me the oil cost. It made some popping noise when climbing hills and the power steering pump was loud, but the truck got the job done.

Last August I drove a 20' truck down from Oregon, it did great. It was a Ford, unsure if the V8 or V10, power was decent but gas mileage sucked for a fairly empty truck, I was pulling a small trailer with toolboxes on it.

Also rented around town for moves with no issues.
 
Heck, I've seen people get one of the Lowes or Home Depot trucks (something like $19+tax for 90 minutes I think) and haul other store stuff on it. I rented one from Lowes a few years ago to bring home an air compressor but haven't since.
 
Heck, I've seen people get one of the Lowes or Home Depot trucks (something like $19+tax for 90 minutes I think) and haul other store stuff on it. I rented one from Lowes a few years ago to bring home an air compressor but haven't since.
 
Originally Posted by Nick1994
Uhaul has always been decent for me. I've driven a 26' box truck to San Diego pulling their 12' trailer, it was a GMC and was 2 quarts low on oil. I bought some oil and topped it off, they refunded me the oil cost. It made some popping noise when climbing hills and the power steering pump was loud, but the truck got the job done.

Last August I drove a 20' truck down from Oregon, it did great. It was a Ford, unsure if the V8 or V10, power was decent but gas mileage sucked for a fairly empty truck, I was pulling a small trailer with toolboxes on it.

Also rented around town for moves with no issues.

All the U-Haul Fords now are V10 E450s. (Older ones were V10 E350s...U-Haul always seemed to spec the top available engine.)
 
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