Renting a Moving Truck…
If you’re renting a moving truck and need help, get a quote from Intelligent Labor and Movng.
If you’re renting a moving truck we charge our regular rate for helping out. We can load your rental for long distance if you’d like, or unload it if you’re coming in from out of town. It’s recommended you rent some moving blankets from the rental company as cloth blankets are better than the paper/disposable alternatives we can offer for one-ways. If you’ve got ratchet straps we can use those, or we can provide some rope that will do the trick as part of our flat-rate supply charge which is $40 for a 16′ truck and $50 for a 24′ truck and includes rope, stretch wrap, and mattress bags. It doesn’t include paper pads (an alternative to cloth pads, $2.50 each or carboard boxes, see our supplies page).
Rental Companies
When you’re renting a moving truck some rental companies are better than others. Some maintain their trucks well, some don’t. The bad news is that this changes from year to year. Companies buy fleets, and then when the fleet gets old, they auction them off and get new trucks. You’re better off getting a truck from the company that just bought a new fleet than the guys who stopped doing maintenance and are about to sell. Most companies use a multi-digit serial number which is prominently displayed on the trucks (usually 6 digits like 795271). Some use the last digit of the year the truck was manufactured for the first digit of this number, so the sample I provided would be a 2007 model year truck.
Pricing can also vary when you’re renting a moving truck, but you get what you pay for. This brings us to the question, what do you need it for? Is the possibility of a breakdown an absolute nightmare for you? or are you willing to hedge your bets because if it takes an extra day to get where you’re going it’s not the end of the world? Chances are you won’t have a breakdown. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on rentals over the years and only seen a towtruck twice. Once the truck died empty locally and it got towed. The other time it died on Rt90 in MA on it’s way to Virginia and we had to swap the load. I have had to put up with some real annoying trucks though (no reverse, broken ramps, broken gates.
Who can I rent a moving truck from?
Penske:
Generally the trucks are in decent shape and not too old. They’re well equipped and well spec’d. Sometimes you get an old lease truck that’s been dumped into the rental fleet so it’ll be an oddball with a weird setup. Sometimes a lease customer will grab the rental destined for you. But generally they’re not a bad bet. They also have larger commercial trucks for rent if that’s your thing. They also seem to be the best at hiking trucks from other locations if there’s a free truck a few towns over.
Uhaul:
They vary greatly from year to year. For a while they had the most ancient decrepit antiques around, but lately they’ve been better. They do have their own weird uhaul bodies on them which most movers hate (aluminum floor, wheelboxes, weird tie offs). I suppose if you’ve never loaded a normal truck you might like it, but we don’t. They are however EVERYWHERE. Back in the early 2000’s half their trucks broke down on any given day, but these days they’re much better. Usually they’ll have your truck, and if the don’t and they’re overbooked they’re such a big company that showing up early and being first in line makes a big difference.
Budget:
Budget rent-a-car bought Ryder’s truck rental business back in the early 2000’s. Sometimes they’ve got decent equipment for the best price, sometimes not. Sometimes they have your truck, sometimes not. Trucks are usually under-powered but otherwise a decent spec.
Enterprise:
I have very limited experience with renting a moving truck from Enterprise. They seem to spec similar trucks to budget, but I’ve never beaten a price out of them I liked so can’t say much.
Ryder:
Ryder is a direct competitor for Penske as far as commercial rentals and leased trucks go. I’ve found the much more likely to have a truck on busy days when the others are overbooked. Their heavy equipment seems to be a nice spec and in better shape as well. Their customer service and checkin-checkout process is by far the quickest as well.
Other:
You can also get rentals from some local car dealerships, Ford dealerships seem to do this the most. There are also random small rental companies in some towns, but not many near the Boston area. These may be decent for local rentals but be wary of going too far out on the road and needing some roadside assistance. The big companies are pretty good at getting someone out to help, little companies… I don’t know.
Reservations
If you’re renting a moving truck on a very busy day, make sure to get there at the time the place opens, and be very patient and nice. Often times the rental agencies can run out of trucks. This is because the corporate office will sometimes overbook via web-bookings, and sometimes because the people who rented yesterday got lazy and haven’t returned the truck yet. Additionally some rental companies also support leased fleets and the lease customers get dibs on truck. But generally speaking the early bird gets the worm. I wouldn’t sit outside the apple store to get the latest ipad, but I’ll sit outside the budget office before they open to make sure I get a truck on September 1st if I need to.
You’re renting a moving truck, they have a truck, just not the truck you wanted
This happens. If it’s a truck that’s bigger than you wanted (a 24′ truck instead of a 16′ truck) this is good for loading, but bad for driving. Take the truck, take it extra slow, have a friend spot you. Use the brake. Look at both mirrors like you’re in a horror movie. If you don’t look at the mirrors like crazy, it may turn into a horror movie.
If they have a smaller truck, you may have to make multiple runs. This isn’t a big deal if you’re not going far but if you have a long trip it can be a deal breaker. If they’re going to give you a truck you don’t want, but you’re willing to take it, try and beat some discounts out of them. When they try and give you a bigger truck than you wanted, definitely insist on paying the smaller truck rate (this usually works) and get the insurance coverage. If it’s a smaller truck, impress upon them how hard it will make your life and see if they can hook you up with a commercial rate or AAA discount or something.
Insurance
Always buy all the insurance they offer. Chances are you won’t need it and will throw away $25-$50 bucks but really, it can make a huge difference if something goes wrong. If you’re not used to driving trucks you really need to get it. Those things are NOT cheap and the rental company wants top dollar to repair them. They always charge you for new parts and for a hefty labor price. But if you get 0 deductible coverage, you have nothing to worry about no matter what happens.
Inspect your truck
It’s also necessary to do an inspection if you’re renting a moving truck. Damages that aren’t noted on the paperwork prior to you taking possession will be charged to you. You’d hate to owe $900 for damage to the truck that was done before you got it.
If you’ll be working in the rain or doing a long distance trip and will have your goods in the box for a couple days, check to see how waterproof the truck is. Look for recent repairs, they’re a good sign. Any truck will leak eventually, so signs of maintenance means they’re on top of it. Of course, if you can see daylight, that’s a problem, but that’s easy. Look for stains that could be the result of a leak. A small leak doesn’t need to be a deal breaker for a truck, just be wary when packing to put goods that can handle it (plastic tubs, out-door furniture, etc). underneath the leak and goods that really need to stay dry farther away (cardboard boxes of documents, paintings, etc).
Fuelling
Check the fuel gauge before you leave the rental agencies yard. Don’t get charged for their error. Also depending on the truck and the agency, they may base their notes about fullness on the gauge, OR a visual examination by looking in the tank. Find out what they classify as full before you head out. Some trucks with large tanks may read full at 80 out of 100 gallons. If you take it out for a short trip and then fill it you may have only used 5 gallons but are then putting in another 15 to top it off un-necessarily. If you don’t put enough in and they decide to top it off they’ll usually charge you 4x the going rate for the fuel they put in. Many dealers make most of their money charging for topping off unfilled fuel tanks.
Other equipment
When you rent a moving truck and might rent dollies, blankets, or any other equipment from the same vendor, make sure you understand what they require when you return it. See if they require that you bring the items into the office, or just that the blankets are folded.
General advice
If you’ve never driven a larger truck before take your time. If you can have someone with you, that’s a great idea as two heads are better than one. Watch your mirrors on both sides every time you turn. Watch the swing of the back of the truck out the outside of the turn, watch the middle of the truck on the inside of the turn. Leave at least 7 seconds of following time between yourself and the vehicle in front of you on the highway. If you back up, get your helper to get out and spot you. Get out yourself and look twice as often as you think you should when you’re backing up, even if someone is helping you. Get Out And Look: GOAL. If you get in a jam, stop. Don’t make it worse. Call the cops, call a tow-truck, don’t go it alone. Also watch out for the low bridges.