quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
If you were going the other way it would be practically free. It’s supply and demand.

So true, I recently rented a Budget 26' truck to take some furniture over to my daughter in Orange County, CA and it cost me $81. Rather than have my wife follow in her car to drive back, I figured, for that price I'd just drive the truck back. Hah, I checked the price to drive the same truck back here to Arizona and it was $1,350!!

Have you priced out what it would cost to leave a car behind and bring the truck back to the rental point, then driving back to Utah in your car?

The rental rate for say a week at the local rate vs the one way cost may make it worth the hassle.

Moving may be deductible on your 1040.

Driving out of CA, wheels-up Ranger on a trailer behind me, ass-heavy truck I REALLY did not want to unpack and redistribute, I pulled into a scales area. I forgot which state I was in; this was a cross-country trip. They stared at me as if, "What are you doing here?" That said, I'd every state may be different. Here is CA:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/traffico.../weigh-stations.html

RENTAL TRUCK -- YES

Discussion: Rental trucks can be a U-Haul, Ryder, Sears, Budget, Enterprise, etc. A rental truck is a motor truck, according to CVC Section 410, and must stop at the weigh stations. Most scale facilities make this very clear with signs reminding drivers: "All Daily Rental/Moving Trucks Must Stop At Scales When Open." However, if the rental truck is a pick up, it does not necessarily have to stop. If the rental truck is a flat bed or utitility bed, then YES, it does have to stop.

They may cut you a deal if you offer to drive it back. One of the cost factors is more trucks leaving CA than returning. A couple of years back one of the companies was paying drivers to bring a truck back West. Worth asking.

U-Haul doesn't guarantee that they have the truck when you rent it. They called me the day before my rental to tell me they didn't have it and I could get a smaller truck or drive 100 miles to get the size I had reserved.
I went with Penske and was happy with it. But it's a regular height truck so loading is more of an issue.
I also rented a tow dolly from U-haul and before I got it home to load my car, one brake light failed and the other popped out and was dangling by the wires.
I dont' like U-haul.

Wow, I moved 700 miles, Mississippi to NC.
Uhaul 400.00 ....
Damn CA prices are crazy !

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
100k? That sounds at least twice as expensive as I'd expect.

Granted $100k is on the high side, but here’s an example. Freightliner M2 Remember, diesel pickup trucks start in the $50-60k range. These trucks are considerably larger and more capable at gvw of 26k lbs, nearly twice that of F350.

I think perhaps what you've seen pricing on in the $50-60k range is for cab and chassis. It’s the upfit that can easily run up the cost.
I have an F650 with 24’ van body and large folding 6’ aluminum lift gate that added $30k to cost.

I wouldn't rent a truck that was not moving.

flashguy

As others have said, the prices can fluctuate wildly depending on where they have or need inventory...you might want to check rates on different dates or nearby cities if you are at all flexible?

Go cheap, it's only 700 miles.

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
Have you priced out what it would cost to leave a car behind and bring the truck back to the rental point, then driving back to Utah in your car?

The rental rate for say a week at the local rate vs the one way cost may make it worth the hassle.

Don't forget gas mileage & prices when you assess what is 'cheaper'. You have to figure 70 gallons of gas, maybe more, each way.

And you couldn't pay me to drive 700 miles in one of those fucking trucks for less than $1k unless I was moving something. They suck.

Most states now have a 'Weight in Motion' setup.

A good general rule is if the truck has a DOT number on or near the door, You'll need to go through whatever scale system is in effect.

Contact Old Dominion trucking. They drop a pup truck at your location to load. You load it and lock it up. They charge by the foot. I think I used 18' 5 years ago and it cost me about $1050 for the move. They pick it up and drive it to a distribution center near your location. You call and they drop it off at your location to unload. You have 48 hours each time to load/unload.

Thanks for the replies.

Looked at the Old Dominion site. Price wasn't bad, around $2500 for a full 28 foot trailer.
But the uncertain shipping times won't really work.

I think I'll go to the Budget location on the Thursday or Friday before I'm scheduled to pick it up on the Monday
and make sure they have something ready. And maybe see if a tip will ensure the pick of the litter.

BTW: Moving expenses no longer deductible under the new tax law unless it's military related. And, employer payments to reimburse moving expenses is taxable.

As an aside - when talking the new price of trucks - don’t connect Diesel and California. They won’t rent them out of that state.

Some years back Dad and I moved from Thousand Oaks to PA. Entire house hold and tow dolly with car on behind. Gas engine. Big box truck, little gas engine. Foot to the floor going through the Rockies, 30mph up hill.

Shared for OP as to what might happen driving yourself. 700 miles isn’t too bad. Think we did 3100 in 3 1/2 days.

I've worked for U-Haul for almost 26 years. Email in profile.

Everything went as planned.

Went with the Budget truck. Dropped by the pickup location and touched bases.
He seemed glad, maybe they get a lot of last minute cancellations ?
Had the Truck loaded in about 8 hours, and had a rare 90+ degree day.
Crashed early and hit the road at 3am. Beat traffic and I perfer to drive in the dark.
Made it to the new place in a about 13.5 hours. Couple of fuel stops, lunch and some construction in Virgin Gorge.
Truck ran great, slow over a few of the passes, but chugged along.

Got about 75% of the house on this trip, as planned.
We will finish up with a second smaller load, and truck in mid July.

Thanks for the advice.

Next question, Suppressor or SBR to celebrate the exit ?

Glad things went well for you.
I vote suppressor.