Uhaul Story

Homework and preparedness pay off U Haul

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Summary:

U-Haul was the only cost-effective way to move a tractor and several hobby farming implements across the country from a Gulf Island to Eastern Ontario.

We chose U-Haul after eliminating all other alternatives. Trucking the tractor and attachments was too expensive, and logistically impossible. We investigated Ryder, and CP Rail, but in the end, me driving the U-Haul van, hauling the tractor on the Auto Transporter behind was the cheapest way to do it.

Before I left, everyone concerned did a lot of research into U-Haul. There’s a website devoted to anti-U-Haul stories, and I read a lot of stories about people being stranded, people renting units that were far too small for them, and horror stories of rental units not being where they were supposed to be. Although we decided to go with U-Haul, everyone concerned made a big effort to make sure that none of this bad stuff happened to me when I rented from them.

We tried to rent the truck and auto transporter on the internet, but couldn’t because the auto transporter could only be rented over the phone. Once on the phone, I ran into some problems telling the U-Haul people exactly what I wanted, and what I was going to use it for. It turned out that U-Haul customers are not supposed to use the Auto Transporters for tractors. Once I assured them that I would check with the nearest U-Haul agency after I loaded the tractor (to ensure it was loaded properly), that seemed to reassure them.

Once the truck (the 14′ Thrifty mover, which was a Ford Power Stroke Diesel) and the transporter were reserved, I had to wait for a call from the local representative, who would tell me where to pick up the truck and the transporter. I received the call about 2 days before I flew out, and they told me that I’d have to pick up the truck in one area and the transporter in another. I didn’t really like the idea of doing all that driving around, so I phoned the U-Haul dealer where I was to pick up the truck (on the day I arrived in Vancouver) and asked if I could pick up the transporter there too. The local U-Haul dealer was very helpful and worked it all out.

The U-Haul dealer was about 20 minutes away from the airport and my hotel. I’m sure there was a dealer closer, but I had to accept where the local U-Haul Rep booked me a truck. To get there, I had to take a bus and two subways.

Once I got the truck and trailer and filled out the paperwork, just about everything else related to the move went smoothly. I had a cell phone, pager and laptop (for email) to keep in touch while on the road, and in case of emergencies. Booking the truck and trailer on ferries going to and from the islands was quite a lot of work, because I had to know the length and weight of both truck and trailer. Since the main ferry going to the island had a broken propellor, I had to scramble to get another connection to the island. The cell phone came in handy here too.

The vehicle itself was very reliable, with one notable exception. I drove in early May, and the weather in the mountains was terrible, with snow and freezing rain, and the truck handled every weather situation very well. The one exception was a strange "miss" in the engine that occurred when going downhills. Going downhill into Banff, the engine stalled, and I managed to get the truck and trailer to the side of the road and restarted without a problem. That was the last time it stalled, but I made sure to keep the revs up in the engine when going downhill to make sure there was a load on the engine. When I mentioned the stall to the U-Haul dealer where I dropped off the truck, he made out like it happened all the time in diesels. I know now that it doesn’t.

The best aspect of this service:

It’s relatively inexpensive. Less expensive than the alternatives, in any case. The truck I got had about 84,000 miles on it, and was thus relatively new. Some of the trucks there were very old, and I wouldn’t have felt really secure in them. I don’t know how much flexibility U-Haul gives you if you don’t like the truck you’ve been assigned.

The worst aspect of this service:

Having to wait until 48 hours before moving time to figure out where to pick up the truck. If I was in Vancouver at the time all this was arranged, there would have been a lot less stress involved. It must be hard co-ordinating returns of equipment with rentals, especially when people are days late in returning equipment or days early.

Stalling when going downhill wasn’t much fun either.

My rating:

I’m rating U-Haul 4 stars, because I had a good experience with them. The hassles involved in booking the truck and trailer, and picking them up were offset by the helpfulness of the U-Haul dealer in Vancouver. The truck was reliable, and didn’t use an awful lot of fuel, and no oil.

Would I recommend this service:

Yes. For the informed consumer, U-Haul represents good value and given half a chance, the dealers will help too, I’m sure. Be aware, and be safe when using U-Haul vehicles. Have backup safety plans. Carry a cell phone if possible. Carry with you all the phone numbers of the U-Haul dealers in the area, in case it becomes necessary to find a replacement for the vehicle you were assigned. Don’t get too hung up on schedules, and leave extra time.

I bought the optional insurance when picking up the van. For a cross country trip, it was a bargain. I plan to use U-Haul again when driving the tractor out east in a few years.

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Tags: mover