Moving can be an expensive experience. From buying your new home to transportation costs, hiring movers, and moving your belongings, it can all add up quickly. Finding ways to cut down on costs is something that everyone wants while moving. We are here to help lower your moving expenses, giving you all the information you need to know on finding affordable moving truck rentals near you.
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Moving Truck Rental
Moving truck rental means that you are renting a truck to move your items from one location to another. This rental fee is just for the moving truck and does not include the cost of hiring a driver for the truck if this is a desired service.
Moving Truck Rental Companies
There are many different moving truck rental companies in the United States that you can choose to rent with. You must find a moving truck company that is local to both where you currently live and where you are moving to. Here are some moving truck companies that have locations throughout the United States.
U-Haul Truck Rental
U-Haul offers a wide range of truck rentals to fit the needs of anyone. Their truck rentals include pick-up trucks, cargo vans, and five different trucks ranging in size from 10 to 26 feet long. With over 20,000 locations in the United States and Canada, U-Haul offers one-way truck rentals where you can pick up at one location and drop the truck off in another location near your new home.
Budget Truck Rental
Budget Truck Rental has four different truck sizes that you can rent including cargo vans and trucks that are up to 26 feet long. All of the rental trucks have two seats for people to sit in, the driver’s seat and one for a single passenger. Their medium and large-size trucks do include a loading ramp for easy access and towing gear to move vehicles.
Penske Truck Rental
Penske Truck Rental offers both cargo van and truck rentals ranging in size from 12 to 26 feet long, with a total of five different options. A perk of renting through Penske is that they offer unlimited mileage for one-way truck rentals, no matter how far you are going. They also offer a discount and some additional perks to college students such as unlimited mileage, no underage surcharge for drivers 18-23, and 24/7 roadside assistance.
Enterprise Truck Rental
Enterprise Truck Rental offers eighteen different types of pick-up trucks, cargo vans, box trucks, and stake bed trucks that you can rent. All of their rental trucks have automatic transmissions and air conditioning. They have 500 different locations spread out throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Certain Enterprise locations also offer a wide variety of moving supplies such as dollys and cargo straps.
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Ryder Truck Rental
Ryder Truck Rental offers a wide variety of rental types that include vans, trucks, semi-trucks, and trailers. They offer 24/7 roadside assistance, protection services, and vehicle replacement to ensure you get the best truck rental experience. In addition, they offer a lot of deals if you are a first-time renter or if you are renting one of the smaller moving vehicles. These deals often include 20%-30% off your rental and sometimes free miles.
Moving Truck Rental Cost
The cost of renting a moving truck can vary a lot depending on certain factors such as moving truck size, distance of your move, and the time of year. It is important to take all of these factors into consideration when renting a moving truck.
Moving Truck Size
Moving truck size is one of the biggest factors that determines how much your rental will cost. Truck sizes are typically categorized into small, medium, and large trucks. According to the average data found by This Old House, a small truck ranges from $20-$30 per day, a medium truck from $40-$80 a day, and a large truck is $60-$100 per day.
Finding what size moving truck you need is a reasonably simple task. Most moving truck rental companies will tell you what size trucks are recommended for certain types of moving. They often recommend certain truck sizes on how many bedrooms your home has.
By finding the perfect size moving truck for your move, you will be able to ensure that you only pay for the amount of moving storage that you need.
Distance of Your Move
The distance of your move will often be a factor in the moving truck rental cost. A lot of places now offer one-way truck rental, which does help cut the costs of having to take the truck back to the same location. However, a lot of moving companies charge for how many miles you drive their truck. This typically means that the longer your move is, the more you will have to pay the rental truck rental company.
Mileage Fee
Mileage fees will vary for every moving truck rental company. Most moving companies will charge a mileage fee of less than $1 if the move is in the town you rent the truck in. If the move is long distance then the company will typically include a certain amount of miles that can be driven in the upfront cost, and then charge you around $1 for every mile that you go over that amount.
Some companies, such as Penske, do not charge a mileage fee at all if the trip is a one-way rental.
Time of Year
It is very common for rental companies to increase their prices during certain times of the year. Some of the most popular times of the year for moving companies are in the summer or on holidays. You will also often have to pay more for rentals that are at the beginning of the month or on weekends.
Hiring a Driver
When you are hiring a moving truck you are simply renting the truck and not a driver for it. You then have the option to hire someone else to drive the truck for you. This often costs quite a bit of money since you are hiring someone for the time it takes to drive the truck to the location of your new home. You also may need to pay the moving company an additional fee for having more than one person allowed to drive the vehicle.
Driving the Rental Truck Yourself
An easy way to cut down on costs is to drive the rental truck yourself. In the United States moving trucks that are not considered commercial vehicles, which means that anyone with a regular class D license can drive them.
While you driving the rental truck does help keeps the cost lower, it does require that you be comfortable driving a larger vehicle. This is something to consider, especially if you are renting one of the larger box trucks.
Damage and Cleaning Fees
One thing you have to be prepared for is paying any damage or cleaning fees that may occur while renting a moving truck. If you end up hitting something while driving the moving truck or you leave the inside or outside of it dirty, the company can charge you a fee to fix the damages when you return the truck.
Gas Fee
When you pick up your moving truck take note of how full the gas gage says the truck is. Before returning the truck you always want to fill it back up to that point. If you chose not to fill it up the moving company can charge you how much it cost them to fill it up as well as an additional fee for the inconvenience.
Rental Quotes
An easy way to compare moving truck rental costs is to get multiple different rental quotes from different companies. This is very easy to do since most companies can give you a quote if you fill out some basic information online. Comparing rental quotes will allow you to see which options are the cheapest and which companies charge you the most for what you need. From there you can pick which company fits your price range and includes the features that you want.
Alternative Option
Instead of renting a moving truck, you do always have the option of using your personal vehicle to move your items. While this may seem like the cheaper of the two options, that is not always true. Using your own vehicle often requires that you make multiple trips to move your items, since cars are smaller than the average rental truck. This can make you spend more money on gas, cause wear and tear on your car, and can cause your move to take more time.
While this option may seem easier, it also often causes more stress since you have to figure out how many trips it will take since you are using a smaller vehicle.
Conclusion
Renting a moving truck is a huge money commitment. You must take your time and figure out what moving truck company and what type of moving truck best fits what you need. This will help you to ensure that you get the best deal for your move.
If you need some additional help choosing what size truck will work best for you check out the blog post, “How to Choose Which Moving Truck Size You Need” on the UniMovers blog page.
FAQ’s
While you should always look at multiple companies and compare prices when renting a moving truck, U-Haul is a good place to start. They have the most moving truck rental location in the United States, so it is easy to find one near you.
This is up to personal preference. While hiring a driver will increase the cost of your move, it may be the best option if you are not comfortable driving a bigger vehicle like a moving truck.
If you go over the amount of mileage that was written into your basic rental price you will have to pay an additional fee for each mile you went over it. This fee can vary from company to company. If you know you are going to go over the mileage fee before you even start your trip you should talk to the company and see if you can get an additional mileage package added to your contract. This may help lower the cost a little more than by paying per extra mile.
Jessica is a students at the University of Northern Iowa. She is majoring in English Education with a creative writing minor. In her free time she loves to read books of every genre, write short stories, and spend time with friends. In the future she hopes to share her love for reading and writing with her future students.
