Has anyone rented a UHaul truck before?

[tvp2003]

I moving from BC back to Alberta and I'm deciding whether to rent a 17' UHaul truck, or have a moving company do it... how are they to drive (assuming you've never driven anything larger than a Toyota Corolla )?

I've also heard a lot of negative things about UHaul; apparently W5 did an investigation last year with pretty poor results: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...1022?hub=WFive

If we go with the UHaul, we'd also have to rent a hitch and tow our car behind us... on the highway it should probably be okay, but I'm a little concerned about weaving through the Rocky Mountains (as well as in residential roads)... any tips/suggestions/experiences to share from people who have rented a moving truck from UHaul before?

[Flames89]

http://dontuseuhaul.com/OtherPeople.html

http://www.uhaul-sucks.com/

[Incinerator]

Check out Discount: http://www.ediscounttruck.com/

[Sylvanfan]

Well, I used U-Haul to move from Sylvan Lake to Saint Albert. Thats a pretty short distance and not really any tough road to drive. I used the 25 foot long truck and filled the damn thing up two times. Going full out in top gear I could get that beast going about 115 on hiway 2. So if you're moving from BC and going to be towing a car.....I wouldn't recommend it if you're not a professional driver for a living. If it was Saskatchewan to Alberta, than you might be okay, but if you're coming through the number one hiway from BC, it is bar none the worst stretch of hiway in the civilized world and you don't want to be driving an underpowered U-Haul and towing a car on it. But in defence of U-Haul, a move that would have cost me $3500 cost me $270 in moving equipment and $200 in Deisel back in October when the price was at a record high, and some hard ass labour on myself. So I saved a pile of money doing it myself.

Depending on how much stuff you have to move though, you might want to consider selling everything and bringing what you can in the car if you're only looking at a 17 foot van because to me that doesn't seem like that much stuff. Get a mover to come in and give you an estimate though as it will give you an idea of how much it would cost, and what type of equipment you'll need. But getting a moving company to move anything that distance will cost you a small fortune. For what you're suggesting you might be better off to do a U-Haul one way type of thing, fly home and bring your vehichle back in a separate trip.

Anyways thats what I know of U-Haul. Short distance I think it's fine and you can get away with them, but anything substantial and over roads like where you're going and it gets dicey.

[Robbob]

Last uhaul I rented I found out after that both turning lights didn't work. Would have thought they inspected these things but I should have knkown better then that.

[jam26]

Add me to the list of people who've had terrible experiences with U-Haul. I returned the thing, it went missing from their yard and they tried to accuse me of stealing it!
Fortunately, I had a voice mail saved that vindicated me as they admitted the truck was in their yard but they couldn't find the keys. (They had told the police the vehicle was never returned).
At any rate, if you can afford to shell out a few extra bucks, I'd suggest paying a reputable company such as AMJ Cambell to do the move for you.

[ken0042]

Their official moto is "adventure in moving." I prefer to call it "U-Haul, we've got you by the balls."

Faulty equipment can be bad enough on a local move, never mind a long distance one. I used to move a lot, and about 65% of the time they were fine. It's the other 35% of the time that was a problem.

Have you looked at other truck rental companies? What city are you moving from?

[Superfraggle]

I used one once, just for a local move in Calgary and it worked out fine. When I drove it, having driven nothing bigger than a minivan before, I didn't have any problems other than being nervous as hell. They're big. No problems in that case, though.

[g_railed]

I've made reservations with uhaul where they didn't keep the reservation. Just like on Seinfeld. That left us searching for a truck the morning of the big move. But it was to our advantage that Uhaul didn't keep our reservation since we rented a newer model truck from discount instead of the 1970's model from uhaul.

[Lanny_MacDonald]

I drove a 26' U-Haul from Calgary to Tampa (2000 miles), and stopped to play golf 9 times along the way. At the time I didn't think it was a very good trip, but I learned my lesson when I made the move from Tampa to Phoenix (1800 miles). I rented a Budget truck for that move and it was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I towed my Mini on a car carrier and that thing saved my life. I could go into details, but it would only scare the crap out of you, and you don't need that before making the trip. Do yourself a favor and stick with U-Haul. You'll be thankful you did.

[HalifaxDrunk]

I used U-Haul to move from Toronto to Halifax. Depending on how far, you may be screwed, they were the only ones who would rent a "one way" truck for that distance so we were stuck.

The WORST service I ever had, ANYWHERE! I had to run around as my truck was not at my pre-arranged pickup spot, then had to travel to get my car carrier trailer. When I arrived for the trailer it was only a tow dolly (only front two car wheels lifted and your car rolls on back wheels). I explained that it was not the type of trailer I paid for, the staff could care less and tried to ignore me with "that’s what we have for you" I asked to speak to the manager, he came out and was as useful as an Oiler defenseman. I showed him our reservation, which was confirmed by his staff less than 24 hours before. He told me he had no reservation (so I showed it to him again). He actually said the words "I don't care what you ordered this is what I have for you, take it and get going" then turned and started walking away. I wasthisclose to actually punching him in the face, he just turned and walked away from me while I was speaking. I followed him out back/garage as he walked away, my wife grabbed me before I ended up with an assault charge...

The truck was a piece of crap, it was a 2,000 KM trip last June 28-29 and the A/C didn't work, we had to open those little triangle shaped vent windows (yes that’s how old the truck was) to get air, this would result in tornado sounding wind so we could not talk. Even with the windows closed we had to yell over the diesel monster under the hood. The cap on the oil tank fell off (probably shook off) on the trip and oil would leak on the engine, nice smell! The gas gauge was not really reliable so we had to fill up around 1/2 a tank for our peace of mind. We spent the night in a motel outside of Quebec City, in the morning the truck was dead. The glow plug was funky and the truck wouldn't start. After 30 mins of trying it finally caught (a tow truck was on route then), we cancelled the tow truck and got going. Once warm the truck would start fine (when we stopped for diesel and food) so no more starting problems until we went to return it. We loaded the house and left the truck in our driveway overnight, then next morning it was only 20 mins of cranking.

I complained on this end (in Halifax) the guy was really apologetic and was actually nice, he refunded a good amount of my money. I lodged a complaint with their head office by phone and email about the other manager and even gave his name (I grabbed his card) I bet he never even heard about it.

Conclusion - Uhaul = Crap!

[Vulcan]

I've used U Haul a few times and it's been OK. Twice on moves between AB and BC.
I'd try and get your better half to drive the Toyota, following you in the truck, instead of towing though.

[return to the red]

I used one of the smaller trucks and trailered my car behind...what a gas guzzler but that was to be expected. All in all I didn't find it a bad experience, after all they didn't charge me for the damage I did when I ran into the building's overhang

[Flames_Gimp]

Rented Uhaul 3 times and not one problem. Except having an un liscened friend drive it and clip a parked car!

[RougeUnderoos]

I've got about 50/50 success (1 good, 1 bad) going with U-Haul. There are a lot of horror stories though so I'd stay away.

The best move ever was from Lethbridge to Calgary and I hired a moving company (can't remember which, but a big name). They loaded my stuff up, dropped it off the next day, and it didn't cost me much more than a U-Haul rental.

I didn't have a lot of stuff, and they only charged me for taking up 10% of their full-size moving truck which they had filled with other stuff coming to Calgary and points north. Zero hassle = worth extra money.

[kermitology]

I helped a friend of mine move from Strathcona to Rocky Ridge...what an adventure that was. We had a total of about 6 hours to get the move done because U-Haul had over booked. Luckily he has a small house.

The people at u-haul were some of the bitchiest people I've ever met too. They really just treat you like some piece of garbage that somehow has the gall to ask for one of their precious trucks.

I hate U-Haul!

[AaronSJ]

Everyone's experience is different, but you are really rolling the dice with U-Haul. There is a reason why they are the cheapest, and you need to weigh the cost vs. the need for reliable service on moving day. For me, it's a no brainer... I will never, ever, ever use them again. It's a horrible feeling to find out that you don't have a truck (or a working truck) on your moving day. I posted my experiences with U-Haul in August 2004 and would suggest you read this thread: http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ghlight=U-haul

[V]

I rented U-Haul once, and had two trucks break down on me within 5 km of their shop. Third time lucky, but it set our schedule back a couple of hours.

[Ace]

Discount will cost you about the same, and you don't have to be scared of the axles falling off...

[ken0042]

The other pet peave I have with U haul is the dolly and blankets they have in the truck. You only get charged for using them if you cut the plastic holding them in.

Problem is it's at the very back of the truck so it's in your way the whole time you are loading and unloading. Also takes up very valuable "aw crap, there's more stuff to put into the truck" space.