The good and bad of U Haul U Haul
UHaul Saga So hi. I was gone all weekend but now I'm back so I can update you on the oh-so interesting things that happen to me. (Read that with some ...
U HAUL EXPERIENCE U Haul My opinion on U-hauls are not at all good I have rented several in the last four years, the are not at all comfortable for the money they co...
I have used U-Haul twice in the past two and a half years. I was very impressed with some aspects of using U-Haul and disappointed with others. I will go over some of each and hopefully help you out if you are considering using a U-Haul truck. If you are in a hurry, I have a summary at the end of this reveiw.
First a little about why I chose U-Haul. The first time I used them was in December of 2001. I had just graduated from college and was moving about 150 miles from my college apartment. For the past 4 years I had been moving around town. Pick-ups and mini-vans etc had been working for in town moves because multiple trips were possible. For a longer distance move I had to make it in one trip so I priced out some diffent self-move companies and U-Haul seemed to have the best deal.
I had been living in apartments and had been splitting up most of the furniture so I didn’t have a whole lot to move. I called about a month ahead to reserve a truck. The gentleman that I spoke with worked with me and we decided that the smallest truck would work for me. Luckily I had called as far ahead as I did because I got the last out of town truck that size. Apparantly each U-Haul center has certain tucks that are for in town moves only, so had I taken one of those I would have had to return it to the center I rented from, and that wasn’t going to work in my situation.
When I arrived at the U-Haul center I noticed that the truck I had asked for was out front running and ready to go. Being in Minnesota at the end of December they had to have it out and running to let it warm up for a while. I went in and showed my ID and was off with the truck. The rate was $19.99/day and then a charge for mileage. Total it came up to about $120 with tax. This was the lowest cost I could find in our area. This is the main reason I chose U-Haul. The truck I had was on a small Toyota pick-up chasis and was a 10 foot bed with the little “Grandma’s Attic” over the cab. There was a two wheel cart and blankets included in the truck, but they were locked in and there was an extra charge to use these. I believe it is $5.00 each for those. We had both a two wheel cart and the blankets so I didn’t need to use these. It was filled with gas as I left, which is part of the contract that when you pick it up it is filled with gas and when you are done you are to fill it with gas.
The truck held everything I had, but was filled as full as I could get it. Like I said earlier, I had been splitting most of the furniture and big stuff with roommates, so this truck would have been too small for a normal one bedroom apartment. The next size bigger (which is the same $19.99/day charge) would have been a much better choice for someone moving from a normal one bedroom apartment. However, for me this was the perfect size.
As I left for my new home I stopped at a convience store to pick up something to drink for the trip. As I came out I put the key in the ignition and it would not turn. I worked with it for about 10 minutes and nothing happened. I have driven many different vehicle types, and this had never happened. Since the key was the only one they gave me I knew it was the correct one. After looking through the very few books they give you and finding no answers, I called the service number. The nearest tow truck for U-Haul was about 2 hours away so they told me to wait in the truck until they could show up. I had people at my new place waiting to help me move in so this was not going to work. I was very disappointed with this aspect of U-Haul. The people on the phone were very rude as well. Angrily I got back in the truck and worked the key some more, finally I decided that either the key was going to break in the ignition and we would have something for sure to fix, or it was going to start. Lucky for me it did start. I called back and told them to cancel the tow truck for me. The rest of the trip went fine, but the truck I had, had a top speed of 58mph. The trip took a little longer than planned, but I wasn’t exactly expecting a race car so that did not bother me too much. Also, I got about 10 miles outside of my new town and looked and the truck would not have had enough gas to make it, so I had to fill after only 140 miles of driving. I think that small Toyota pick-up is too small for using as a moving truck.
After unloading the truck we brought it to the U-Haul center in my new hometown. Since the center was closed I just dropped the keys in the drop box and that was the end of that U-Haul experience. I had given them my credit card number before I left and the bill was charged to that. So all in all it was a very convient way to move.
A year later I used U-Haul again to move into a house and the truck I had worked just fine. I had the next size bigger and that seemed to work much better for moving. I have had many friends that have used U-Haul, and it seems like most of them have at least something small go wrong with the truck. So dependability with the trucks is something to look out for. However, I have heard that with other companies as well. With people that are not used to driving vehicles like that, the trucks are not always treated with love and care.
Summary:
Overall I was impressed with the service I received at the U-Haul centers. They know which size trucks will work for which people. Also I liked the little “Grandma’s Attic.” It is suprising how many little knick knack items you can fit up there. They do offer all the tools you need for the move, however, some of them are at an extra charge. Also I was happy with how easy it was to drop the truck off and be done with it.
Some things I wasn’t so impressed on was the dependability of the truck. When the truck did have a problem, luckily a minor one, the customer service people were very rude and obnoxious. Also, at least in my area, U-Haul needs more tow trucks. A two hour wait is unacceptible in my opinon. If someone was in an unsafe area, or in real trouble with the truck, two hours could be dangerous.
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