Why Moving Truck Rentals Are Cheaper Than Moving Companies

Uhaul has been around for a very long time. Far longer than any of the other moving truck rental places. In fact, you could say that Uhual create the moving truck rental business.

When I first started out in my moving business, when I had no trucks of my own, I used Uhual exclusively. I didn't do that because I was loyal to them, but because they were the company that had the brand recognition for me. When I thought of a moving truck place to rent from, I thought of Uhaul. Just like many of you.

The prices of renting trucks and materials from Uhual are going to differ with the city your in; the time of year, month, week; and of course the availablitiy of the trucks, etc, etc, etc...

Uhual advertises very cheap trucks for daily rentals. For the smaller trucks you can rent them for less then $20 bux for the day...Where they get you is in the mileage costs. I have seen Uhual charge as much as $.99/mile. With a typical move, it is not uncommon to travel up to 50 miles, times that by a $.99 and you are paying close to $50 just in mileage, plus the daily rental of a typical moving truck (15 foot) of about $29 your total to rent a truck is close to $80. Suddenly, that cheap moving truck rental is not so cheap anymore. I hadn't factored in the insurance that is sometimes tacked on to your bill. Oh, and don't forget...you have to refill the gas tank before you turn it in; how much is gas these days? Need moving blankets or dollies, yep don't forget those costs as well.

After all that you could have hired a full service moving company for a couple of hours and you would have paid just about the same.

Uhual's fleet of moving trucks usually tend to be quite old, so they tend to break down quite a lot. And they are horrible with gas mileage. Expect to only get 10 to 12 miles per gallon of gas.

That is the cons of using Uhaul...

I like Uhaul because, unlike most of their competitors, they usually have everything available to rent at the time you need to rent. And they have everything you need to move for rent.

I have been able to go in in the middle of the day and rent moving trucks with no problems. Of course, this is not always true. They do sometimes have no availability, so it is always best to reserve your truck in advance.

The best thing about renting a truck from you Uhaul are their trucks. I know I said earlier that the break down a lot and are horrible on gas...and that is all true, but their trucks are low to ground which means it is easier to actually load and unload the trucks; and much faster, too.

The best reason to use Uhual when renting moving trucks is for the small (1 or 2 bedrooms or less), short distance moves. For the longer, large moves; the other moving truck rental places are best.

After I been moving people for sometime and using Uhual exculsively for my moving truck rental needs I discovered Penske.

Penske was a godsend. Unlike Uhaul, Penske was more willing to make deals with me on the costs of their moving trucks. While Penskes' daily rental rates were comparable to Uhuals' their mileage fees were so much better; so much better in fact that it was economical for me to rent one of their trucks from my home and drive to and from moves no matter how far away it was.

However, that was not the case at first. I had to rent quite a bit and build up a working relationship with the Penske franchise before I could get those great deals. But before I built that relation ship I was able to rent the trucks for close to the same cost as Uhual. So if you are going to be rent from Penske and you are not a repeat customer do not expect a price break.

Penske does charge less for mileage, but they get you with the insurance, which they will make you get. There is no option with insurance like there is with Uhual.

Penskes' trucks tend to be far newer than Uhual's. Only once did I have maintenance issue with one of their trucks and that was for a flat tire. I can't say that with Uhual. The gas mileage is about the same as Uhual's may slightly better because of the newer trucks. However, depending on the area where you are at, Penske's larger trucks are diesel which could mean a larger fuel bill when you gas up the truck. Their diesels do get better fuel mileage though.

The ease of renting is not even close to that of Uhaul. And they do not have the selection of other items that you may need for your move. Oh they can be gotten, but you have reserve your move far in advance to get them.

Penske's trucks are very high off the ground. Their trucks are more designed to be delivery trucks rather than moving trucks. So in wet or wintery weather you need to be really careful about going up and down the ramps...they can very slick. I can say that I have slipped and fell on a couple occasions.

I believe for your mid to large moves that tend to be farther in distance that Penske is the company that you should use when renting moving trucks.

Factually I have rarely used Budget Truck Rentals. And the couple of times that I did (when I had worked for a moving company) I was not really impressed with them.

Truth be told, they are not really any different than Penske. I could copy and paste my review of Penske and put here and just change the name of the moving truck rental company and there would be no differenece.

As with Penske, the good and bad with Budget is the same.

So what more can I cay?...

I believe that when we think of Ryder we think of Ryder renting trucks to semi drivers and large commercial fleets. And this is very true. Ryder made their mark renting large trucks to large commercial companies need semis, trailers and the like. But what is not as well known is that they rent moving truck to people like you and me.

Ryder has a very large array of trucks that can be rented, but they do not carry your smaller trucks like Uhual, Penske or Budget.

Like Penske or Budget there really is not much difference in the trucks, etc. However what I like about Ryder is their renting model.

With Ryder you get a flat rate renting fee. On the surface it looks like they cost a lot more than say: Uhual, Penske or Budget, but when you break it down it is actually somewhat cheaper. The reason behind this is because, with Ryder, they give you 1000 free miles with the rental.

So if you are moving some distance and have a medium to large move than Ryder is the company that you should be using. For your long distance one-way moves I am a firm believer that you should be using Ryder as well.

The one down side to renting a moving truck from Ryder is that they require a $200 deposit before renting. While the other moving truck rental companies require a deposit of what the actual move is expected to be (about $80 dollars or so). So, if you are on a limited budget and don't have that $200 bux then you should go with either Penske or Budget.

I have been looking into Ryder recently and I like what I am seeing. My mentor in the moving business highly recommends them so I think that I am going to be using Ryder a lot. Maybe so should you.

I HATE ENTERPRISE!

I can't stand them. Their customer service sucks. Their renting procedures are prohibitive. The trucks are junk and useless. I hate this company. Will never use them. Can't stand them. I would never recommend them to anyone for any reason.

So if you are looking for an unbiased, unopinionated moving truck rental review from me...Sorry, but I cannot deliver.

(I guess I should tell you how I really feel...haha.)