Finding a one-way U-Haul truck rental (Grand Rapids: apartment complex, new house, trailer)

[Bhaalspawn]

Has anyone had any experiences recently with obtaining a one-way U-Haul truck rental in Michigan? I figure that it must be very expensive since all of the trucks are going out and not coming in.

Has anyone scoped out prices and are there some cities where the price of renting a truck would be lower than others? Unfortunately, U-Haul seems to want to discourage rental location price shopping and only allows a couple website price inquiries per day, last I checked.

What if you rent a truck from a location in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, or Kentucky? Has anyone tried that?

Factoring in the cost of diesel and a 17' truck's thirst for fuel, I bet a long distance move could easily get to over $2000. At that point, I might just sell off my furniture and get a trailer for one of our two cars and take whatever can fit.

[Torrid]

Hey Bhaalspawn....You're right on the money about it costing around 2K. We rented the biggest truck they have a few years back and that's exactly what it cost us. I agree with you, sell the furniture and buy when you reach your destination......2K is ridiculous to pay to borrow a truck......Good luck!

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

Has anyone had any experiences recently with obtaining a one-way U-Haul truck rental in Michigan? I figure that it must be very expensive since all of the trucks are going out and not coming in.

Has anyone scoped out prices and are there some cities where the price of renting a truck would be lower than others? Unfortunately, U-Haul seems to want to discourage rental location price shopping and only allows a couple website price inquiries per day, last I checked.

What if you rent a truck from a location in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, or Kentucky? Has anyone tried that?

Factoring in the cost of diesel and a 17' truck's thirst for fuel, I bet a long distance move could easily get to over $2000. At that point, I might just sell off my furniture and get a trailer for one of our two cars and take whatever can fit.

Depending on how much you have to move you may want to check out ABF Freight. They will either drop off a container(s) or bring a 28' trailer to your house, allow you to fill what you need and charge by the foot. When I lookd into it it was a bettr deal than renting a truck and trying to do it all myself.

[cassy1]

We drove Pinsky to NC in 2005 and it was no where near that kind of money, even including gas. Try other rental agencies, look online I got a discount for renting online and it was a new truck. We have had some bad experiences with U-Haul and the condition of their trucks.

[sundancer]

Try penske truck rental, they rent nationwide and are much cheaper then U-haul. There are also trucking companies that will let you load their 40 foot trailer and they take it to your location, you can get quotes online, pretty reasonable. PODS are similar but very expensive.

[Naya01]

How big of a truck do you need? I moved from Chicago to Grand Rapids for only $250 for one way three day rental. The truck was great on gas. I only filled it once and then a little more before dropping it off. I had no problems with UHaul at all.

[Bhaalspawn]

We go with the 17 footer.

[cassy1]

Try Pinsky, that is the size truck we used and hubby found it just as easy to drive as a car and just as comfortable (of course in the mountains I am sure he did not really think that). I looked into the freight side of this also, where someone delivers a truck to your house and you have 24 hours to load, then they pick it up, drive it and deliver it to your new house or a drop off place. It is then up to you to unload. We did not go with them because we were in temporary living for 2 months and I did not think the apartment complex would allow a truck that size in the complex for 24 hours.

[kwhitt]

I agree with Penske as a better choice. The trucks were newer, cleaner and cheaper when I moved last year.

[Bhaalspawn]

I'll have to take Penske into consideration. One advantage of better equipment is better gas mileage, which lowers the price differential between Penske and U-Haul.