Should You Rent a Truck or Hire a Long Distance Moving Company?
Are you considering to perform a long distance move by yourself? Is the idea of renting a truck from a truck rental company attractive because you could save several hundred dollars? Well, you are not alone in that feeling!
Forty to fifty million people move every year, out of which 66% (≈30 million) of them prefer to “rent a truck“. Nonetheless, there are some details to take into account when putting on the scale to either rent or hire movers.
Warnings When Renting a Truck to Move Across the Country
First and foremost, if driving a truck for a long while is something you are not used to doing, please don’t do it! You might put yourself and others (including your goods) at risk, only do it if you feel comfortable doing it. Not to mention that you need, at least, a crew of two people to organize, pack, load, unload, unpack, settle everything in your destination, safely.
Moreover, there are a lot of assumptions that people usually make with insurance that costs them a lot of hassle, time and money. Here I enlist a few of these overlooked or even dangerous warnings:
- Carrying over 2 000 pounds in your truck is going to make your driving experience hang on a razor’s edge. Driving at the right speed and keeping the right distance from the traffic is such a challenge when driving a truck is not a habit. So, get familiar with the truck and check the tires (specially the steer tires at the front) to avoid an accident.
- Be mindful of the size of the truck when driving under a bridge. You will be charged for the damage you caused, plus lost rental revenue while the truck is being repaired. So, do get the full coverage insurance!
- If you already have an insurance, make sure that it will cover 100% if anything goes wrong. Because you’ll be surprised that when you attempt to use your insurance, either they will end up making you liable for some hidden expenses that are not contemplated in your insurance coverage or simply they will tell you that you are financially responsible for the rental equipment for any and all damage regardless of fault.
- If you have the maximum insurance coverage, and something does go wrong, you might have to go through some extra hassle with them, but you will be protected entirely, regardless of what they say (though this might be a few hundred dollars extra).
- If you get stranded on the side of the road, be aware, specially with Penske and Budget, that they’re going to strand you there for hours; so you must stay on top of the phone and get a firm commitment to fix that. There are hundreds of thousands of reviews on the web from customers who have gone through nightmares when having their truck break down in the road. Some less painful than others, but Google might help you clarify this if you don’t believe me.
- Do not think that reserving a truck ahead of time will guarantee that the truck will be delivered the exact date you are moving. On the contrary, you might rather request the truck a few days before your move date, because things don’t always come out as planned.
- Make sure to have a personal mechanic check the truck you are being delivered, document what’s wrong with it, because they will make everything under the sun to blame you for any damages.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Are you having a hard time finding a reliable moving company that will be in charge of your long distance move? You’ve been shopping online but they are charging you fortune for your move? Or you suspect that they will come up with hidden charges, surcharges, gas, extra hours, and any conceivable fee moving companies usually bill you for, and if not paid, they will hold your goods hostage?
Moreover, you don’t feel 100% confident that managing the relocation by yourself is something that you are willing to go through (investing hours [if not days of work], paying for fuel, renting the truck or trailer, getting expensive insurance, driving, loading, unloading, packing, unpacking, and so on..) or you have no other option because you are on a budget.
Then I recommend to seek for a moving company that is small enough to offer a transparent and reasonable quote for your move but experienced enough to guarantee and exceptional delivery on the job. At State to State Move we have decades of experience in the moving world, starting to work for major van lines and moving companies, to setting up our own business to take over the jobs that cannot afford one of these big moving players.
