Moving truck rental recommendations?
Question:
I'm moving from NC to Oregon in June. I'm planning to rent a 14' or 15' moving truck, and will have to tow my car behind it. Does anybody have any recommendations as to truck rental companies (Ryder, Uhaul, etc.). Do they all have trucks that ride equally well and are they all easy to drive? What kind of gas mileage can I expect to get towing a car behind the truck? I also have to decide whether to rent a tow dolly to tow my car (which would only carry the front 2 wheels off the ground) or rent something that will carry the entire car. With the tow dolly, they tell me you can't back up. Does anybody know anything about it?
Answer:
I recently moved from California to the triangle. The moving companies
aren't feeding you a line: when you add it all up a moving company is a
good option.
I knew I was going to use a moving company, and that was all. I chose
United because (I didn't have anything else to go on!) they always had
the cleanest trucks when I saw them on the road. They were wonderful! It
was definately worth it. I even had them do some of my packing for me
(which isn't so cost effective) and it was great.
When my husband moved here (also from California) he used a shipping
company. He had to arrange his stuff on a pallet at a wearhouse and then
it was brought to a wearhouse here and he had to go pick it up. That was
fairly cheap- only something like $100 a pallet, and all his stuff fit on
2 pallets (he didn't have a lot of stuff).
Then if you choose to drive your car, you could have an enjoyable trip.
-Though you can also ship your car. I took a road trip with two friends
and had a great time. I think this is the best way to move.
Trust me on this (as a veteran of NC-TX-NC and NC-CO-NC-CO-NC truck
rentals) you do NOT repeat NOT want to use U-Haul. Caveat emptor.
I had the best service (and price) from Budget. Hertz and Ryder are okay.
In that size range you're probably not going to be able to get a
diesel, so I'd hazard a MPG of about 10-15. The models that have
the cab directly over the engine (ie. no hood) are a bit easier.
've had good luck using U-Haul for long-distance moves. Their
LD fleet is pretty good. On the other hand, the U-Haul local fleets
suck because they retire LD units to local fleets.
Backing a 2-wheel two dolly is NOT like backing a normal trailor
because the dolly pivots both on the hitch point to the truck AND at
the front axle of the towed vehicle. This makes it like a farm
trailor with a "steerable" front axle. If you need to back around a
corner you have to turn the truck the opposite way you would normally
in order to get the trailor going the right direction and then turn
the truck to follow the trailor around the corner. It's a bit more
tricky than a normal trailor.
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