OT: U-Hual Moving Trucks

[susan137]

I know this is way off topic, but I was wondering if U-Haul and the vairous moving truck companies offer any discount codes similar to those you see for rental cars.

My son is going to college in Louisville - moving from Pa. He doesn't have much and we really only need a small truck or cargo van. I can't find anywhere that rents cargo vans one way, so we are stuck with a 10' truck at over $400 for 4 days. I'd love to be able to lower this cost a little if possible.

Thanks for any help. I knew if anyone knew, it would be the Budget Board

Susan

 

[KimandBrian]

If the move is over 500 miles one way, I'd price ABF. Here's their link: http://www.abfs.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1

We used them when we move here to FL and it was the most affordable option. You pay for the room you use on the truck- it was $110 per linear foot at the time of our move. It's nice because you dont have to worry about driving a UHAUL, paying for gas, worrying about the truck breaking down (it happened to me once) and towing a car.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

If you go to the post office and get a change of address form/packet they sometimes have coupons off for Rider or U-haul. I know some companies offer a military discount and usually a AAA discount.

 

[winjos]

I know that we used coupons from the Entertainment book for Budget truck rental.

I do not use U-haul ever! They have some of the oldest trucks around. I have had nothing but bad experiences with them. My relatives have also used them and they have broken down, received trucks with no working lights, worn tires, etc.

I would definitely check out other truck rentals in your area!

You might want to see if Costco has anything too.

Good luck!

 

[CathrynRose]

I dont know about coupons - however, I do know these rates change more than daily - sometimes more than once a day.

AND they can vary between pick-ups...even if the pick up is less than a mile away from one another.

I was able to get an unlimited miles, 17 foot truck, from Florida to Chicago for under $1000 with tax and their insurance.


But I kept checking and checking and checking. And checking different pick-up locations and checking and checking and checking. And everytime it would go down, I'd rebook.

Good luck. If youre diligent - youll get something better.

 

[ducklite]

Ryder no longer rents business to consumer, they strictly lease to businesses now.

Penske has the newest and best maintained fleet out there, hands down. You'll get 20 percent or better fuel efficiency with them as well. If you do the reservation online you'll save something (I can't recall if it's five or ten%) and if you have AAA, that's an additional 10% savings. Additionally once you reserve with them, you can change your reservation date once at the same rate. if the rate goes down you can rebook for the lower rate.

Also Penske includes a generous milage allowance for a one-way rental, U-Haul often doesn't include milage or shorts it. With Penske we were able to run some errands with teh truck after we got to Florida (Home Depot, best Buy, etc.) and still had plenty of miles--and time--left.

Here's my question--how old is your son? Because I'm not sure if either will rent to someone under 21 years old...

Anne

 

[susan137]

Thanks for all the great replies. I knew I could count on you guys to help. My DS was impressed that I knew right where to ask such a question

I took the advice of one poster and got 10% off a Budget truck through the USPS change of address kit. That saved me $40 dollars and milage is unlimited. I will keep searching, but time is running out. I'm afraid I left this till the last minute thinking we could easily rent a cargo van. Oh well, live and learn.

As for Penske, they seem so much higher than all the other companies out there. I will look again, though, because safety is a high priority. Also saving gas wouldn't be bad.

My son is 22, but I will be traveling to KY with him. My DH will be driving the truck, my son his car and I will drive our family car. We will move him in and then drive home in our car.

Thanks again for the help. If anyone else has any suggestions, keep them coming.

Susan

 

[swilshire]

If you go to the post office and get a change of address form/packet they sometimes have coupons off for Rider or U-haul. I know some companies offer a military discount and usually a AAA discount.

Mailing the lighter, bulkier stuff might be a cost effective option.

If he's staying in a dorm, he won't have a lot of room. Most of it would probably fit in the two cars. We sent #2 off to college with what would fit in a Subaru Legacy. He did come home a couple of times the first semester and take more back with him. Guess we'll have to take the van down to pick it up unless he brings it back gradually.

You might also consider a couple of those roof top soft luggage bags. I paid $50 for mine, but they seem to be cheaper now. It holds a lot of stuff. We use it on a luggage rack, but according to the box it can be used on top of a car without a rack. We fold ours up and put it back in the box for storage. We've also thrown the box into a suitcase and taken it on flights.

Sheila

 

[Kycha]

4 days seems like a long time to rent if you are only going to Louisville. Is it really going to take that long?

 

[flying_babyb]

u haul is good, they do overnight rental but they cant garuntee you a truck that nots a automatic. Otherwise they have good deals.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Have you looked into renting a SUV or truck from a car rental company? And if you need the extra room rent a trailer (to go on the end of the truck/suv) from u-haul

 

[Kycha]

Does your son have much furniture? If it were me, I would load your 2 cars with as much stuff as possible and just forget renting the U-Haul. Any furniture he needs, I would buy at a reuzit shop in Louisville. He could probably furnish a whole apartment for less money than renting a U-Haul.

Or maybe you have a friend or relative with a truck or van that you can borrow for the weekend.

 

[ceiligh1]

We didnt have one but I told my DH the only thing on our prenump would be that we would never use Uhaul again. One thing that at least the locations we have around here state is that you can reserve a size but that doesnt mean they have to have it for you. You could be stuck driving all over to find the size you need and then you have to pay extrea milage for it. I would go with budget we actually have rented a large van from them before that had more room than the uhaul equivelent. I have had only wonderful experiences with them.

 

[flying_babyb]

celi- that happened to us last move, we had to buy a trailer and a hitch, wait hours to get it installed then we had to move. U haul has gotten bad