Truck Rentals

Renting a Truck

Most people who are thinking of moving actually own more stuff than a boxfull, or carfull, so they probably need a truck of some sort to deal with it. You might want to rent a truck with a driver, or drive the truck yourself, but what the hell, you may just want an empty truck to drive around town, do a wheelie maybe?

Whatever you do there are many considerations that you have to keep in mind. What is you goal, what type of truck you need, what will you be transporting, what type of road will you be driving on, and a whole load of other things that are quite important.

I'm assuming that most people rent trucks to move their things,those people who rent them for driving fun probably know a lot more about trucks anyway. So to move you have to take a lot of things into consideration. Larger companies like Budget Truck Rental and Penske Truck Leasing will have many-many options ready that cover the needs of most people, but it's a good idea to know what's what, just in case.

The biggest problem should be the size. How long should the truck be to accomodate your needs. This of course depends on how much stuff you have lying about, but in general, a 10 foot truck will accomodate an apartment, while a 26 foot truck is the tool for the 4+ bedroom houses. If you're good at maths you can probably work out the volume of your stuff and the volume of the truck, but only use this as a very-very rough guide. If it turns out that you will exactly fit into a 10 foot truck, go ahead and get a larger one for sure.

The second biggest deal is insurance. You should definitely make sure your property is protected well. All big rental companies have some sort of insurance, but it is a good idea to ask your credit card issuer if the card comes with an insurance policy and to what extent will it cover you in case of a problem with the truck.

All other problems apart from these can be easily overcome. Choosing the right size truck, and making sure that you have the proper insurance will make your life so much easier, but now let's see what all this costs. I don't want to go into very much detail because all companies have different pricing, but there are a few things you should look at.

If you are moving across town it may be cost effective to rent only a 10 footer and make two rounds than to rent a 26 footer and go once. This all depends on the rate of renting and fuel costs and so on. That brings us on to fuel costs. In accordance with every type of vehicle rental you get the truck with a full tank, but have to take it back with a full tank. Be sure to ask about the fuel consumption so you can better estimate your costs. Some added costs will arise if you also need a trailer, dolly, pads, etc. Anything special you need will cost extra, so be sure to take these into account.

Overall, your biggest concern (weather you're tight on money or not) is the truck size and insurance. If you're cost-conscientious though, you should be able to cut some, or a lot, of your costs if you take the time to take every cost factor into account and run the numbers a few times.