How Does Renting A U-Haul Work?

[AKL_Megs]

We're moving across town in about a month and a half. We're trying to get our ducks in a row, and wonder how it works to rent a U-Haul. I know it says something like, $19.95 a day on the side of the truck, but I know you pay for mileage, and probably have to figure out insurance and what not. So, how much does it really end up costing a day?

 

[HelenePA]

you also pay for gas which is the killer they dont get great gas miliage! You'll need to bring it back filled or you'll get charged ALOT per gallon! We rented one for a day when we moved. And i think in total it cost us just about 200$ gas included. this was 3 years ago

 

[AKL_Megs]

you also pay for gas which is the killer they dont get great gas miliage! You'll need to bring it back filled or you'll get charged ALOT per gallon! We rented one for a day when we moved. And i think in total it cost us just about 200$ gas included. this was 3 years ago

I understand about the gas and having to pay for that, but do you also pay an amount per mile? If so, do you remember what it is? How far did you travel?

 

[HelenePA]

I understand about the gas and having to pay for that, but do you also pay an amount per mile? If so, do you remember what it is? How far did you travel?

no I dont remember, we moved maybe 20 miles

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We rented a Penske trunk in August to move DD to college. Ours cost us a flat $150 if we didn't go over a certain number of miles, maybe 200. College is 85 miles away and we took it back to the same place we rented it within the 24 hours. I think we paid an additional $20 in insurance plus gas.

Check different companies. With UHaul, I have know people who have gone to pick up the trunk and the store not have the size they reserved. We would deal with Penske again.

 

[HelenePA]

Check different companies. With UHaul, I have know people who have gone to pick up the trunk and the store not have the size they reserved. We would deal with Penske again.

we actually had this problem with U-Haul! So we had to go get it another place!

 

[Dr Pepsi]

The last time I rented a uhaul was a few years ago. It ended up costing us about $100 (with gas). They also had insurance that we did NOT buy (we like living on the wild side). Before you buy insurance, check with your credit card. A lot of cc's will cover damage for car rentals, so maybe they'd do it with a uhaul rental too.

Also, movers may not be all that much more expensive. We paid just under $400 for movers the last time we moved. We boxed everything up for them and the loaded and unloaded for us.

A word of advice if you are using a uhaul: unless you have a very small house or apartment, spend an extra $10-20 to get a larger truck. We had to make two trips with our uhaul and that really, really sucked.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

U-Haul price matches. We rent alot. Make sure you do price shopping to get the best deal.

Basically it is .40-.50 a mile plus gas.

DH says sometimes it is cheaper to rent "one-way" and deliver it to a different location in the same area.

The 19.95 is for a small truck. If you are looking at moving your house that is 30.00-40.00 a day depending on the size you need.

 

[bumbershoot]

About the insurance, it will depend on the size that you are renting and your car insurance. And someone mentioned credit cards as well.

Check with the credit card you'll be using.

Check with your insurane company, letting them know exactly the size you'll be renting. We rented a...16 foot? something like that, truck, and it was covered by our car insurance.

HOWEVER. This is how it was explained to us by our Allstate guy. If you don't buy the insurance, any problems will have to be claimed with your insurance, which means you deductible and a possible/probable raise in rates to go along with that.

If you buy the extra insurance, you wont' get your insurance agency involved at all, and it won't result in that direct raise in rates (I'm hedging on the strength of that statement b/c I don't know if there's some magical way Allstate would find out if I had a claim on the "extra" insurance, and then have a raise in rates down the road). It will all be handled without getting the car insurance company involved at all.

So we actually bought the insurance when we moved last year, for that reason.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

We just moved at the end of December and rented a big 26' U-Haul truck, moving almost everything in one trip. The rental period was for 24 hours, but we returned it in less than six. The rate was $39.95 for the day, mileage was .79/mile (50 miles - from the lot to the old house, to the new house and back to the lot - cost $39.50) plus taxes of $8.36. Our final bill was $87.81. We made a $105 deposit, using our debit card, at the time of reservation ( a day or two before the move), and were refunded the difference.


Oh, and we replaced $15.00 in gas. We did not purchase additional insurance and never notified our carried we were renting a truck.

 

[MM27]

UHaul advertises the 19.95 deal, but there are other costs that are in the fine print. If you use their hand truck that they conveniently place in the back of the truck, you get charged extra.

The guy that rented us ours checked the gas gauge and said several times, if you don't have it filled to that line, we'll fill it and charge a penalty plus the gas. And I made sure it didn't go one little line above where it was.

 

[Cool-Beans]

$19.95 is for the littler one. If you get a bigger one, it is more. It ends up costing more than $19.95, that's for sure.

Make a reservation. Especially if you'll be needing it on a weekend.

I crashed one into the side of a building once and put a small dent in the box. I didn't try to cover it up - I even showed the guy which dent it was and told him how it happened...and they didn't care. Didn't charge me one extra penny. I don't *think* that's the rule, but they were super nice about it.

Word to the wise: Don't make a hard turn in the parking lot without checking to see if the back of the truck will crunch into the brick building you're 2 feet from!

 

[tngramma]

We rented a Penske trunk in August to move DD to college. Ours cost us a flat $150 if we didn't go over a certain number of miles, maybe 200. College is 85 miles away and we took it back to the same place we rented it within the 24 hours. I think we paid an additional $20 in insurance plus gas.

Check different companies. With UHaul, I have know people who have gone to pick up the trunk and the store not have the size they reserved. We would deal with Penske again.

Making a reservation with U-Haul does not mean they will the truck you asked for or any truck. This is experience speaking from a deal with U-Haul last year.

DD also reserved a U-Haul truck a couple of months ago. When she got there they did not have the size she reserved. She took the smaller one and they lowered the cost per mile. I still don't remember the cost per mile.

If I had options I would not use U-Haul.

 

[december]

Our problem last year was with their hauling policy. We got the smaller trailer. Dh showed up to pick it up in his 4 wheel drive Explorer, and they wouldn't let him get it. No one ever mentioned that you couldn't hook to certain trucks when we rented. He had to find a friend who could switch trucks for the day, drop off the trailer here (3 hr move), then drive the friend's truck back to him the next morning. Not good.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, I also wanted to add that (and I do not endorse this or approve of it, just reporting) the UHaul places we used went carefully over the van when we did not get insurance, but when we did for the trucks they barely gave it a cursory glance. So it's sort of paying for convenience and time.

But people are right about the no-inventory thing. Very annoying.

 

[bfeller]

We moved our son from Cincinnati to New York City last July. There are hidden costs like mileage and the the dollie on the truck. And they do not get good gas mileage. But it is cheaper than having a professional move you. We purchased the insurance and we are very glad that we did. This is not to be picking on New Jersey but Jersey drivers that we encountered were not very nice. As we were coming from turnpike to get on bridge to Staten Island the car that was behind us somehow squeezed up and hit the trailer that we were pulling with DS's car on it. The state police said it was a 50/50 accident but the lady's insurance kept calling us and wanting us to admit guilt. All we had to say was contact UHaul insurance and that was over. We had the truck for 24 hours and dropped it off in New York. I believe it was somewhere between $600-$700

 

[Plantlady]

three years ago, I requested a large truck via the internet, it was to move to a small neighboring town, returning it to the same location.

When I went to pick it up that morning, they wouldn't give me the size I requested, because those were for "out of town" moves, and since we were bringing it back to the same place, we were considered an in town move. So, it took multiple trips. Family of five, doesn't fit in a small uhaul.

When we move again, in a year or so.. it will be out of state, but, i think I will try a different company. the customer service was terrible for us.

 

[Barbossa]

Here's how it works: you look up the nearest U-Haul franchises in your area, and avoid them like the plague. I had an unbelievably bad experience with U-Haul, I wouldn't rely on them unless you have several days to resolve equipment breakdown or non-availability problems. Rent a Penske or Ryder instead.

 

[remain seated please]

I have rented trucks from several companies and Penske is by far the best. U-haul is without a doubt the worst. There are many tricks to renting. First of course are the rates.

Look online at most companies and then their different locations. Some locations are cheaper than others. Prices also vary by inventory. Sometimes a larger truck can actually be cheaper than a small one. Also. VERY IMPORTANT!!! The rates change almost daily. Try to make a reservation at least a month to 6 weeks out and then check back. If the rate changes, you can call the company and have them change your rate to the new one or cancel the rental and start over.

I have never purchased the optional insurance. The only thing I believe about it is that it is a waste of money. They will charge you to rent blankets, dollies, car carriers, etc.

When we moved from Denver to California, we actually drove one of our cars out to California ahead of time and flew back, and it cost less than renting a dolly.

If you are moving locally, you can probably borrow a dolly from someone and of course you can try to locate boxes for free from businesses who throw them away. Also, try using plastic bins instead of boxes. They last for years and can be used for other moves. Less to throw away, and sometimes they are cheaper than boxes.

Good luck