I need a pickup once in a blue moon to get some plywood and the like. I've looked at options like Menards (19.95 for the first 75 minutes, PLUS .30/mi mileage, but at least you don't have to fuel it) or uHaul ($19.95 "in town" PLUS .59/mi, PLUS $1 "environmental" fee, but I'm not sure if they charge per hour or not.)
Is anyone familiar with a truck rental place that will be at least upfront with me about the costs? If the truck costs $50 to rent, I want to know that, not this $19.95 plus mileage and fees deceptive advertising they all pull.
I have rented from Menards, Home Depot (I think) and U-haul. Each of them was upfront about the rate. U-haul's rate was per hour--and I had the truck back to them in 40 minutes, and they only charged me for the fraction of an hour--I had to top-off the gas tank.
The other two just charged me $25 for 75 minutes--no additional charge for gas. So, U-haul was cheaper. If you only need a truck "once in a blue moon", be glad one is available on those terms--you're saving a ton of money compared to owning one!
One other detail--were you aware that some of the prices by U-haul offered to businesses and non-businesses customers are different? You can verify this online. Maybe you can make that work for you?
This is America, where "The bold print giveth, and the fine print taketh away!" I don't think you'll change that. I don't like that all of the prices advertised by Internet providers are for the first year or two, and my way of dealing with that has been to mention it to them when I can, scale back my subscriptions, and throw the offers in the trash. Get off of my lawn! ; )
I helped my daughter move last November. I found that U-Haul was accurate in their upfront rate quote, assuming that you can do a good job estimating your own time and mileage. I have also found them to be the least expensive overall.
Don't forget to factor in your time to pickup and return. That is often an unknown depending on how busy the rental location is.
The biggest problem I had was with their clunky app which is supposed to save you time. Supposedly you can reserve, pick-up and drop-off without ever dealing with a counter person. I found that to be BS, which was verified by the counter person I had to deal with. He bitched about the app since he is the one that has to deal with the upset customers when the app doesn't work and renters have to stand in line behind other upset customers, getting even more upset.
YMMV. In theory, the app should really make thing more efficient, but in my experience it didn't. Reviews show that I am not alone.
Have you considered one of these? I had one for a while and since you own it, it's available whenever you need it and stores neatly. I don't know how often your blue moons come around, but eventually it would pay for itself. In addition, you'd probably use it more than you think since it's readily available. Add in the cost of a floor and walls if you'd like.
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I'm surprised that they don't have an image of it folded up for storage on their website.
What's not up front? UHaul charges a flat rate for the stated period plus whatever you drive. Surely you can estimate that pretty reasonably where you intend to go.
As for refueling, they no longer necessarily provide the rental completely full but note on agreement what the gauge reads -- have it that full or fuller when you return it to avoid the refueling fee.
Seems straightforward-enough to me; what else would you have them do; measure it out for you first?
Since his car is unable to pull his old trailer, my brother has taken-to renting a pickup or van when he needs one - a few times per year at most. Being in a fairly small city, he doesn't squabble about a minor price difference but rather he's happy when one is available when he needs it. In my experience - the daily rates are competitive but the extra "insurance" and mileage costs can be quite different - - note : if you are using your car's insurance policy to cover the rental - double check with your insurance broker to make sure that you are covered for a "commercial vehicle" rental ! Most are not .. John T.
I found some old pictures of my trailer in use. The rack unbolts, the walls come off and the trailer folds in 3rd's, ready to roll into my garage. It served me well for about 5 years until I sold it for $250. I think I paid about $400, including the trailer and the wood for the sides and floor.
The only time I had a problem with a rented truck (used for moving many years ago) was with gas mileage - this truck was in serious need of repair - it was getting maybe one tenth the normal mileage for such a truck, so the fuel fee was a big surprise. The counter folk did not argue with my complaint about low mileage, for all the good it did me.
I've never rented a pickup type truck, but the only issue we had with Uhaul was that they tried to charge us for using the strapped down dolly and moving blankets inside the moving box truck... they weren't strapped in place when we rented the truck. They relented and dismissed the fees.
I always keep an old pickup on hand as a spare vehicle and for instances when it is necessary to haul. If you live anywhere near Ohio, I've got a 1976 Chevy C10 with your name on it for $1,200 ;) ... I'll keep my '83 F150.
DerbyDad03 snipped-for-privacy@eznet.net on Tue, 15 Jun 2021 06:13:23 -0700 (PDT) typed in rec.woodworking the following:
The OP doesn't mention it, but I have considered renting a trailer, except for the small issue of the four to five hundred dollars to get a hitch installed and wired up. It is a one time cost, true, but it is still a cost.
Buying a trailer for "occasional use" is a good idea, but I still have that problem of "what do I do with it the other 50 weekends of the year?" {If I had my way, I'd own the parking/storage area where I kept "it" the weekends I don't use it.}
On the very odd chance that you drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee, there is a recall out on them that results in a trailer hitch being installed at no charge to you.
Your cost estimate seems pretty high, at least in my experience. Maybe there's something related to your vehicle that makes them overly expensive.
I can get a "hang below" hitch for my 2017 Odyssey for $128 and install it in less than an hour. I chose to spend about $180 and get a hitch that hides under the bumper cover. The install takes a lot longer, but the end result is a much cleaner look. Only the receiver is exposed.
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If you can use a wrench, you can install a hitch.
The harness cost about $40, and with many vehicles it's plug and play. You may have to pull a few internal panels, but it's pretty simple.
So now I'm at $220. I spent another $150 and installed a transmission cooler up front to hopefully extend the life of my tranny, even though I don't tow excessively, either from a weight or frequency perspective. Still, trannies are expensive and the heat caused by towing is not good for them. DAMHIKT
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So, for less than your low end of $400, I installed a high quality, hidden hitch as well as a high quality transmission cooler.
The fold up trailer that I linked to doesn't take up much space. I kept mine up against the wall of a single car garage.
As said it depends on the truck. It cost $365 for my 2017 Grand Caravan. There were two parts in that charge one for the hitch and the other adding the wiring to run the 12 volts back to the rear of the truck. As I understand it had something to do wit the tail lights being wired for LED lights. (Yes I may be gullible, but everywhere I went I got the same story)
I have a 21' sailboat so there was no question about the hitch. However since it cost about $200 just for transportation if my Lawn tractor needs service, I found that I could rent a trailer at U Haul for about $20 per day or $40 for transportation for service rather than $200.
You did not say what kind of truck you have but all of my vans including the Grand Caravan will handle a 4x8 sheet of plywood,etc on the floor all back seats being down.
DerbyDad03 snipped-for-privacy@eznet.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:
I tried uHaul's site and had to go through about 8 pages of add-ons that I declined. I was just looking for something to put some plywood in, I didn't need moving blankets, boxes, dollies, helpers, etc. They didn't even give me a mileage quote, so I was left doing it by hand.
The trailer and a bigger vehicle are the long term solution. My little car probably won't do that well with a trailer and 10 sheets of plywood.
Thanks for the suggestion of the HF folding trailer. I'll keep it in mind for the future.
I installed one on my wife's Jetta - to carry the bicycles only. It is custom made for that car ; comes with clear instructions - - torque values & such ; and I'm not very mechanically inclined - I barely know which end of the wrench to hammer on. John T.
We live in a rural area, and I know the dealer also has the trailer I need. When I rented it I went to the deal and told him what I wanted no extra questions.
Additionally I was rent an open stake type trailer not a van. So many of the bells and whistles did not apply
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