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rs8001 · 07-08-2003, 11:12 PM

A long time ago I worked at a gas station that was also a national chain truck rental outlet. It was a long time ago but here a couple things that come to mind.

1) Make a reservation well in advance. The last weekend as well as the last day of the summer months are busy busy busy. Don't assume there will be a truck just because there always seems to be one on the lot when you drive by. The 15th of the month end of the month days would be booked solid for weeks in advance. At the place I worked we also had a minimun rate for those days. We weren't going to rent a $100 local when we knew someone would want it for a $1000 one-way. For the distance you're moving this shouldn't be an issue.

Sometimes there is a price difference between the 800, an on-line reservation, and what the dealer itself will quote you. You can try to save a few $ by reserving on-line or through the national number but BEWARE: if you reserve on-line the local dealer may just get another reservation that they can't fulfill. This shouldn't happen but in the truck rental company I worked for was bad about that. If that dealer is not a piece of shit they'll call right away and tell you upfront they probably won't be able to get you a truck on the day you requested. My best advice is to call the local dealer direct and make a reservation. If you do make a reservation online or by phone the companies 800 number call the dealer the next day and confirm your reservation directly with them. I would also call again two days ahead and re-confirm. This will give them a chance to find equipment if something got screwed up.

There was a competing truck rental place in the city where I worked that would routinely overbook the busy weekends. I had many many people come over from them looking for a truck. If you can make you reservation for the much less busy middle of the week DO IT.

Here is my personal story about on-line reservations: Sometime after I worked at the rental place, I did make a reservation (very inexpensively) three weeks in advance for a short one-way for August 15th only to have the dealer call me a day or two before to say they couldn't get me a truck that day. My reservation was dirt cheap (several $100 off what the local quotes had been) because the on-line rate was out of whack with what they could get for that truck on that date. I have no doubt the dealer had and was getting plenty of last minute and more expensive (read more profitable) reservations to fill so I wasn't on the top of his list. I called the national rental 800 number right away with my reservation number and all the detials. Nothing more happened until the day of the move and I had to make several more calls to the national line before they got me a truck from another company. I saved but it was a royal pain in the ass.

I have also had a different company bend over backwards to get me a truck on very short notice. It can work both ways.

2) You note that the price is higher for the weekend. With a one-way rental you get X number of days and Y miles included in the rental price. If you have two more days than necessary make the reservation two days earlier. Hell, paying the extra day rate still might be cheaper than the weekend rate. Use Mapquest or some other mapping program to get an estimate of the mileage for your trip and make sure you wont go over (the included mileage was quite liberal so this wasn't really a common problem). It gets expensive unless you pay for these in advance. I could and would include extra miles for free no problem if the allotted miles weren't enough. Keep this in mind if you plan to make a side trip to pick something up at Grandma's.

3) Insurance. Most personal auto policies do not cover the type of trucks you'll rent. I would not rent one without proper coverage. If this means buying the 'damage waiver' do it. Contact your insurance agent about this before hand and find out if you have a policy that will cover you in this case. Some may even write you a policy for this at less cost than what'll you'll pay the truck rental company. This a a phone call that is worth making. This can add quite a bit to your rental costs.

4) It was quite a while ago that I worked in this business. At that time U-haul had some real shit boxes. Most of them were local only units. I think they are better now. It is somewhat of a crap shoot with what you'll wind up with anyway. I personally would save the nicer truck that happened to be on the lot for the guy with the long one-way but don't count on it.

5) 4 bedroom house with all the shit? Get the largest damn truck you can. I think about the largest available would be a 28' truck. Get that. You'll have enough trouble jamming everything in there. Even if you don't---the ease of packing the same amount of shit into a 20' truck or a 28' is well worth the extra dollars. Pack as much as you can ahead of time. Don't make boxes very heavy. Two small boxes beat the shit out of one large heavy box. Do as much as possible before hand. You will thank me later if you do this now. Also, for the length of your trip I personally would want a diesel to save on fuel costs. I would imagine most of the large trucks you're looking at will be just that.

6) Moving supplies: they are way over priced at the truck rental outlet. Get them elsewhere ahead of time. Don't forget a lock for the or truck, put one aside if you have one already. It will need to be slightly oversize to fit on the latch. However, you will want a furniture dolly and hand truck. If you need to rent them do it.

7) When checking out the truck: Do a walk around a make sure all damaged is marked. One thing that is beyond the obvious, check for signs of water leaking into the box. You don't need your shit getting all wet. I would request another truck if there are water stains inside the box. If these trucks are more than a day old they'll have scratches all over. I'd never look at them twice but you don't know what asshole you have to deal with at the dealer you return the truck to. Make absolutely sure that any holes are marked on the paperwork. Also, it is very common for the bumpers (especially the step at the rear) to be bent. Make sure that is recorded as well. The front wheel fenders also were often damaged to check them as well. Check the windshield for cracks.

On the diesels we had you could see right down into the tank. Don't trust the guage. It could be down $20 worth before the guage left the full mark. Remove cap check fuel visually. It isn't full if it isn't full - don't let them send you out without filling it or marking it down properly.

If you don't understand how any of the controls work ask. Also, before you leave make sure the mirrors are set properly. It is a lot easier to have the person at the place adjust for you. Instead of trying to do it yourself. Check the height of the truck and don't forget about low tree branches and overhangs. Just look at how many off these trucks have marks on the rear about the level of where the roof over hangs the garage on a lot of homes!

On a (sort of) funny note. I actually saw a guy drive a U-haul truck through a drive-thru at McDonald's not long ago. It drive-thru wasn't completely covered it just had a portion that jutted out from the building. I have to admit I didn't even think about the fact that someone was stupid enough to do this even though he was right in front of me until he hit the building. Be careful.

07-08-2003, 11:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
rs8001 Crazy Location: Indiana	A long time ago I worked at a gas station that was also a national chain truck rental outlet. It was a long time ago but here a couple things that come to mind. 1) Make a reservation well in advance. The last weekend as well as the last day of the summer months are busy busy busy. Don't assume there will be a truck just because there always seems to be one on the lot when you drive by. The 15th of the month end of the month days would be booked solid for weeks in advance. At the place I worked we also had a minimun rate for those days. We weren't going to rent a $100 local when we knew someone would want it for a $1000 one-way. For the distance you're moving this shouldn't be an issue. Sometimes there is a price difference between the 800, an on-line reservation, and what the dealer itself will quote you. You can try to save a few $ by reserving on-line or through the national number but BEWARE: if you reserve on-line the local dealer may just get another reservation that they can't fulfill. This shouldn't happen but in the truck rental company I worked for was bad about that. If that dealer is not a piece of shit they'll call right away and tell you upfront they probably won't be able to get you a truck on the day you requested. My best advice is to call the local dealer direct and make a reservation. If you do make a reservation online or by phone the companies 800 number call the dealer the next day and confirm your reservation directly with them. I would also call again two days ahead and re-confirm. This will give them a chance to find equipment if something got screwed up. There was a competing truck rental place in the city where I worked that would routinely overbook the busy weekends. I had many many people come over from them looking for a truck. If you can make you reservation for the much less busy middle of the week DO IT. Here is my personal story about on-line reservations: Sometime after I worked at the rental place, I did make a reservation (very inexpensively) three weeks in advance for a short one-way for August 15th only to have the dealer call me a day or two before to say they couldn't get me a truck that day. My reservation was dirt cheap (several $100 off what the local quotes had been) because the on-line rate was out of whack with what they could get for that truck on that date. I have no doubt the dealer had and was getting plenty of last minute and more expensive (read more profitable) reservations to fill so I wasn't on the top of his list. I called the national rental 800 number right away with my reservation number and all the detials. Nothing more happened until the day of the move and I had to make several more calls to the national line before they got me a truck from another company. I saved but it was a royal pain in the ass. I have also had a different company bend over backwards to get me a truck on very short notice. It can work both ways. 2) You note that the price is higher for the weekend. With a one-way rental you get X number of days and Y miles included in the rental price. If you have two more days than necessary make the reservation two days earlier. Hell, paying the extra day rate still might be cheaper than the weekend rate. Use Mapquest or some other mapping program to get an estimate of the mileage for your trip and make sure you wont go over (the included mileage was quite liberal so this wasn't really a common problem). It gets expensive unless you pay for these in advance. I could and would include extra miles for free no problem if the allotted miles weren't enough. Keep this in mind if you plan to make a side trip to pick something up at Grandma's. 3) Insurance. Most personal auto policies do not cover the type of trucks you'll rent. I would not rent one without proper coverage. If this means buying the 'damage waiver' do it. Contact your insurance agent about this before hand and find out if you have a policy that will cover you in this case. Some may even write you a policy for this at less cost than what'll you'll pay the truck rental company. This a a phone call that is worth making. This can add quite a bit to your rental costs. 4) It was quite a while ago that I worked in this business. At that time U-haul had some real shit boxes. Most of them were local only units. I think they are better now. It is somewhat of a crap shoot with what you'll wind up with anyway. I personally would save the nicer truck that happened to be on the lot for the guy with the long one-way but don't count on it. 5) 4 bedroom house with all the shit? Get the largest damn truck you can. I think about the largest available would be a 28' truck. Get that. You'll have enough trouble jamming everything in there. Even if you don't---the ease of packing the same amount of shit into a 20' truck or a 28' is well worth the extra dollars. Pack as much as you can ahead of time. Don't make boxes very heavy. Two small boxes beat the shit out of one large heavy box. Do as much as possible before hand. You will thank me later if you do this now. Also, for the length of your trip I personally would want a diesel to save on fuel costs. I would imagine most of the large trucks you're looking at will be just that. 6) Moving supplies: they are way over priced at the truck rental outlet. Get them elsewhere ahead of time. Don't forget a lock for the or truck, put one aside if you have one already. It will need to be slightly oversize to fit on the latch. However, you will want a furniture dolly and hand truck. If you need to rent them do it. 7) When checking out the truck: Do a walk around a make sure all damaged is marked. One thing that is beyond the obvious, check for signs of water leaking into the box. You don't need your shit getting all wet. I would request another truck if there are water stains inside the box. If these trucks are more than a day old they'll have scratches all over. I'd never look at them twice but you don't know what asshole you have to deal with at the dealer you return the truck to. Make absolutely sure that any holes are marked on the paperwork. Also, it is very common for the bumpers (especially the step at the rear) to be bent. Make sure that is recorded as well. The front wheel fenders also were often damaged to check them as well. Check the windshield for cracks. On the diesels we had you could see right down into the tank. Don't trust the guage. It could be down $20 worth before the guage left the full mark. Remove cap check fuel visually. It isn't full if it isn't full - don't let them send you out without filling it or marking it down properly. If you don't understand how any of the controls work ask. Also, before you leave make sure the mirrors are set properly. It is a lot easier to have the person at the place adjust for you. Instead of trying to do it yourself. Check the height of the truck and don't forget about low tree branches and overhangs. Just look at how many off these trucks have marks on the rear about the level of where the roof over hangs the garage on a lot of homes! On a (sort of) funny note. I actually saw a guy drive a U-haul truck through a drive-thru at McDonald's not long ago. It drive-thru wasn't completely covered it just had a portion that jutted out from the building. I have to admit I didn't even think about the fact that someone was stupid enough to do this even though he was right in front of me until he hit the building. Be careful.