Summary of U-Haul vs Ryder (who to move with?)
Andrew V. Curtis
clear "better" moving company because most rental places are franchises.
Because they are franchises you really need to spend some time checking out
where you plan to rent the truck and the condition of the trucks on the
premises. I did get a few useful pieces of information/advice on what to
look for:
(1) Price: U-Haul is less expensive, but usually there is a reason why....
In the MA area I was quoted for a local move at $39.95/day at one U-Haul,
$44.95/day at all Ryders (1-800 number), and $19.95/day at another U-Haul.
I scrubbed the 5$ difference between the first U-haul and Ryder and found that
the $19.95 price at the other U-Haul were for 1978 standard transmission trucks
only.
One person suggested haggling between Ryder and U-Haul for price. When
I tried this on the Ryder line (of course mentioning the $19.95 price) I was
told that local, round-trip, moves are a fixed price and only the one-way moving
fee was negotiable.
Extras, are the same price for both: dollies ($10), furniture pads,
($10/doz), etc.. Mileage charge was the same at both places (.39/mile).
(2) Condition of Trucks: I had pleasant replies from people using both truck
companies, and unpleasant trips also, but my personal experience was that I
found the U-Haul from 1978 mentioned above and I was told on the Ryder 1-800
number that they only keep there trucks in operation for so many months (<3 yr).
(3) Ergonomics: Ryder's trucks have no wheel well but U-Haul's trucks are
lower to the ground. Some Ryder trucks were said to have a hydrolic lift on
the back to compensate for this.
(4) Service: The 1-800 number was nice for Ryder because it assures you of
a fixed price.... I went to a Ryder truck dealer in town who was going to
charge me $10 more than the price the 1-800 number gave me because it was a
weekend move. You can also confirm you reservation on the phone with a credit
card with Ryder where some U-Haul dealers I called wanted the deposit in
person before reserving your truck. Despite this it is important to note
that because both are franchises service varies depending upon the place you
go.
(5) What did I do??: I went with Ryder because:
(1) The local U-Haul dealers had either old trucks or difficult owners
(2) The 1-800 number for Ryder allowed me to reserve a truck with/out taking
time off from work/school/other new house stuff.
NOTE: I did check out all the condition of the trucks at local Ryder
and U-Haul rentals before calling so I knew what Ryder location to
specify before I called.
(3) Ryder's trucks were newer for only five dollars more.
(4) Ryder was opened earlier and was open later than the U-Haul locations
which was important to me because I went with a one day rental.
Once again thanks for all the help!!! The following is all the posts that
I received. There is a lot of useful information that can be gained by
reading them but just press "n" is you've had enough already.
THANKS,
Andy Curtis
__________________________________________
"Beth Weiss" <bwe...@cs.arizona.edu>
You'll get various answers, but the bottom line is that franchines are
locally operated (and owned?), and national trends are probably not
reflected in local stuff.
BTW, if you're making a local move, you might check out local movers.
When we moved last summer, it took two men 4 hours to load the truck
and then unload it at our new house. That cost us $200, plus a $40
tip. We had pletny of energy left to unpack, etc. (We packed
ourselves)
If we'd hired a truck:
truck hiring: $30
pads/carrier thing $50
food for friends $50 (including sfot drinks,e tc)
For the extra $100 or so, we didn't have to impose on our friends, we
didn't have to worry about our furniture beng damaged by amateurs,
etc. Of course, this doesn't apply if you're moving nonlocally,
because prices then skyrocket. I was surprised at how reasonable it
was to have someone else move us.
Good luck.
--
--Beth Weiss
bwe...@cs.arizona.edu
_________________________
br...@gordian.com (Bruce Hafford)
I preferred the Ryder I got to a uhaul, but the best bet might be
to swing by both and just take a look. they're pretty independant
"franchises"....
___________________________
"Peter Marvit" <mar...@cattell.psych.upenn.edu>
I've had experience with both. Ryder rents the largest size of the two,
with which I moved two households together (over 26,000 pounds) from San
Francisco to Philadelphia. I found their service to be reasonable and
the truck itself was quite new and ran extremely well. In fact, the
truck was way overloaded, but performed nicely.
The most recent episode also went quite smoothly (a local move), though
the transmission needed attention. I would suggest, whichever company
you use, to drive the truck a short bit and ask for another if you feel
it's not up to snuff and you are moving long distance or in tricky
situations.
BTW, American Express has some discount coupons for student card holders
for one-way trips. Check it out if you need them.
Good luck,
Peter "not moving for a while" Marvit
: Peter Marvit <mar...@cattell.psych.upenn.edu>
: Psychology Dept., University of Pennsylvania
___________________________________
Laurie Hafner <lha...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu>
I don't know about the age of Ryder, but we have used both and find that
the U-Haul trucks are much easier to load because they are lower to the
ground. The Ryder trucks are much taller and the angle at which you have
to push to move things up or down is greater. We were much happier with
the U-Haul. The only reason we choose U-Haul this last time was because
there was a dealer closer to the house we bought and the Ryder folks were
clear on the other side of town. It turned out to be a good choice!
This was a 16-17' truck if it matters. Happy moving!
Laurie Hafner, Weeg Computing Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
lha...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu
_________________________________
I just moved with U-Haul. No power steering, very difficult
manual transmission. I've driven a lot of manuals, and this
was the hardest. My arms are still sore from the cranking
that steering wheel, too. But the U-Haul people were friendly,
and they have all the accessories that one might need for
moving. Don't know about Ryder.
________________________________
Mary Ryan <MR...@stsci.edu>
Andy,
I recently rented a U-Haul truck. In my area they were significantly
cheaper than the competition. It was a wonderful truck: pretty new,
automatic transmission, good brakes, handled nicely, wasn't hard for me
to drive at all (I'm 5'2"). The floor of the box sits very low which makes
loading easier. I had not rented a U-Haul for 10 years - the one I rented
10 years ago was a nightmare (lousy handling & brakes, etc.). So if your
local U-Haul dealer has new trucks (why not stop by and look at his lot?),
you'll probably do well there.
Mary Ryan mr...@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
_______________________________
jhar...@banner.Prime.COM (Joe Harrington)
Andy,
I rented a Ryder last month from the center up on Montvale Ave,
right off 93 in Stoneham. The truck was brand new, had about
3000 miles on it. Clean and spotless. I looked around and
it looked like most of the trucks were new. It had a
hydraulic powerlift tailgate, very nice feature. I've rented
Uhauls and Budgets, this was the nicest truck I ever rented.
Plus, they had TWO dozen donuts on the counter when I went
to pick up the truck.
Joe
_______________________________
Ed Wegert--MACC Communications <WEG...@macc.wisc.edu>
Hi,
I recently drove a uhaul from Wisconsin to Connecticut. It was HELL.
The truck was uncumfortable and loud, very uncumfortable and very
loud. The only other brand of rent a truck I have experience with is
Budget. They rent Isuzu diesel's that ride and drive very nicely and
get about 20 mpg (the uhaul got about 6). So if you're going very
far, the savings in gas would probably pay for the difference, and if
you're not down to your last cent, and you've been good, then you owe
it to yourself to get a truck that won't torture you. By the way, I
didn't rent the uhaul, I was just unskilled labor helping a friend.
**********************************************************************
Ed Wegert weg...@macc.wisc.edu
MACC Communications (608)262-8336
rm. B263 Comp. Sci. and Stat.
Madison, WI 53706
**********************************************************************
___________________________________
dgoo...@fossa.rmNUG.ORG (Doug Goodwin)
Andy,
I've had experience with both fleets (west coast only). Here are my
conclusions:
1. Ryder's fleet is generally newer and give a smoother ride.
2. UHaul's trucks are built for war, but Ryder's are lighter.
3. Both fleets have trucks that use unleaded gasoline, which is
a lot easier to find on a lonely interstate (compare Budget).
Hope this helps.
-Doug Goodwin
dgoo...@fossa.rmNUG.ORG
________________________________
Tom Combs <co...@systems.cc.fsu.edu>
Andy,
I've used U-Haul several times and have never had an equipment problem.
Here in Tallahassee, U-Haul is quite a bit lower in cost but I'd be sure
to call all the U-stores (or Ryder for that matter) to make sure they
all have the same deal.
At the end of May I rented a U-Haul. I called a week in advance and
got the price and all the outlets had the same deal. However, when
I went to pick up the truck, the guy tells me the rate he quoted me
is now for a 6 hour period instead of a 24 hour period because it
is the 'beginning of a month and they want to keep the turn-around
down' (this is May 29). He tells me this is U-Haul policy and all
the outlets are the same. So I get on the phone and call another
U-outlet and they have a truck and will rent it at the original quote
for a 24 hour period instead of 6 hour period. I'm not sure what the
deal was with the first guy but you might want to make sure there is
no ending/beginning of a month price difference. I think the guy was
full_of_it and that is why he had a lot full of trucks.
I've always gotten a chuckle out of the 'adventure in moving' sologan;
as in tramatic adventure. Have fun.
--Tom Combs
_____________________________________
"Chad R. Vizino" <cv...@andrew.cmu.edu>
About 4 years ago, my wife and I rented a Ryder truck to move our
belongings from Indiana to Georgia and were very pleased with the truck.
We experienced a rather cool morning in the mountains near Ashville, NC
on the trip down and had trouble starting the truck in the motel parking
lot were we had just spent the night. Ryder quickly sent one of their
service vehicles to us and had the problem resolved quickly as well.
The rest of the trip went very smoothly.
Recently, we moved our belongings within the city of Pittsburgh and used
U-Haul.; we were not pleased at all. The truck was in perfect
condition, but the problem was that they could not guarantee that the
truck we wanted would be at the U-Haul Center on the day we wanted it
(we found this out 3 days before our move and were very upset that we
weren't told this when we had made our "reservations" 2 1/2 weeks
earlier!) My wife called the regional U-Haul complaint/comment number
and told them that it was poor business to not be able to plan on having
a particular size truck reserved. The woman at U-Haul was not very
sympathetic but said she would see what she could do and assured us that
we would have "our" truck. When the day came to move, we indeed had the
truck we asked for waiting for us at the service center. The man at the
counter told me that he was glad I was there at that time to pick up
the truck because several people had already asked about the truck and
he had to make up lies (like the truck is broken, the steering doesn't
work, etc.) to discourage them from renting the truck (since it was
being reserved for us). Poor business, indeed! I would certainly think
twice before renting from U-Haul again.
Hope this helps.
-Chad Vizino
Carnegie Mellon University
__________________________________________________
p...@Cayman.COM (Paul Fox)
I prefer the lower bed level of u-haul trucks...
--
paul fox, p...@cayman.com, (617)494-1999
Cayman Systems, Inc., 26 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139
________________________________________________
Over the past few years, I've done some moves w/ both. Both seems
to have good reliability and were of reasonable age. However, the
Uhaul trucks tend to have lower decks, making loading easier, at the
expense of having to load around the wheel wells. Also, I could get
the Uhaul in a manual transmission, which I prefer (this is just
what I ended up with by default).
- Steve
_____________________________________________
David Lesher <wb8...@SCL.CWRU.Edu>
Ryder is in business. U-Haul is just there to make life
miserable.
Ryder trucks have flat floors. U-Haul has wheel humps - a total
pain. Ryder has 24 hr repair centers. U-Haul - tough shit. And
so forth.....
You now know which I'd use again, and which I wouldn't.
--
A host is a host from coast to coast..wb8foz@skybridge.scl.cwru.edu
& no one will talk to a host that's close..........................
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
_____________________________________________
Since there have been a number of anti-U-Haul postings, I thought I'd
at least let you know that not everyone who uses U-Haul gets screwed.
I recently moved from LA to SF, in stages.
Stage 1 involved a medium sized truck to move some necessities from
LA to a Palo Alto rental. I kept most of my furniture in LA because I
didn't have room in the rental and because the house looked better
with the furniture (it was for sale). I reserved the truck by phone,
paid something like $80 via credit card. The truck was ready as
promised and worked fine, even up the big mountain on Hwy 5 (it
slowed down a lot, but no worse than the other trucks on the road).
Stage 2 happened when my landlord turned out to be a flake. I moved
from Palo Alto to La Honda (~25 miles apart). I went to a local
U-Haul and reserved a truck. Again it was ready as promised.
Stage 3 happened when I sold my house. I moved a whole bunch of stuff
from LA into storage here in the bay area, with some going to my
rental. This time I reserved a big truck (like second or third
biggest), as well as the deluxe car carrier. Again by phone. Again
both were ready as promised. Matter of fact, when I walked in to
U-Haul there was someone wanting to rent the car trailer and the guy
behind the counter was saying that it was reserved already.
Stage 4 (can you believe this?) happened when I finally found a house
I liked that I could afford to buy. So, I moved out of my rental. I
went back to the medium truck, since I had two loads anyway (one from
storage and one from my rental). I also had to rent the car carrier
again. Again, everything was ready as promised.
When I picked up the stuff at Stage #3, the guy told me that he could
have rented the car carrier 5 times over that morning, and would have
if I had not shown up by the time stated on my contract (which was
the time I told them I'd be by).
So, I've not had the problems others have stated, and I've used about
4 or 5 different U haul places. But then, I've always made a down
payment to reserve the equipment and have been real clear when and
where I would pick it up. I even changed my mind at one of the
stages, and was accomodated (although there is something like a 48
hour deadline for no-charge changes). For local moves (return to
place rented) you can't use the 800 #, you have to call the place
directly, and some won't reserve equipment. This happened in Stage
#4, so I rented from one place and returned it to another, only a few
miles away (cost was pretty close).
If you're worried about the reservation, go to the U-Haul you want to
pick the stuff up from and arrange things there (or reserve by phone
and go there to place the down payment). This way you'll have a
contract that promises the equipment to you.
Happy moving,
Bennett
PS: I don't know what to advise you on the SafeMove stuff. It
protects you, your occupants, and your stuff in case of a traffic
accident. I don't know what else it does, in terms of the truck
breaking down, etc. The only time I got it was when I had the car
trailer in stage #3 (the longer haul).
_______________________________________
sl...@cfa260.harvard.edu (Patrick Slane)
I recently rented a Ryder truck at a place over on Western Ave in
Brighton. The price was basically the same as what I was quoted for
a U-Haul, but the truck was brand new. I also rented a Ryder when I
moved from Wisconsin to Massachusetts, and I had a nice truck then
as well (fairly new, AC, AM/FM). In years past I've rented U-Hauls
and always found them to be old and clunky. However, I must say that
this is limited data over a fairly long spread in time.
The guy at the Brighton Ryder place told me that Ryder is in the process
of updating their fleet, if this is any indication.
..........................................................................
"Images of broken light
Pat Slane Which dance before me
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics like a million eyes
sl...@cfa.harvard.edu They call me on and on
Across the Universe"
..........................................................................
_________________________________________________
s...@valinor.mythical.com (Stu Labovitz)
At the "request" ;-) of the Air Force, my wife and I moved from Dayton,
Ohio, to the Fort Walton Beach, Florida, area during this past December.
We did a large portion of the move ourself, and I thoroughly investigated
all of the available moving truck rental companies in order to get the
best deal. I called Ryder (1-800-327-3399), U-Haul (no 1-800 number),
Penske/Hertz (1-800-222-0277), and Budget (1-800-527-0700) and asked for a
price quote for 10' and 14' trucks (or their closest equivalent), as well
as the number of allowed days and mileage.
After the first cut, only Ryder and U-Haul were in the running. They were
both close in price (although U-Haul was less expensive by $20 or so, as
well as allowing an additional 1 day and 20 miles), so I went and
inspected sample trucks at the local U-Haul and Ryder locations. The
trucks were nice for both companies (some older, some newer, but they are
always constantly in the process of upgrading their rolling stock), but I
preferred the cab and the lack of wheel-well cutouts in the main cargo
area that came with the Ryder trucks. I then went into the Ryder office
and spoke to the manager. I told her (truthfully) that I had previously
rented Ryder trucks and had been satisfied with those rentals, and that I
preferred the Ryder trucks to those of U-Haul. I also told her that
U-Haul (e.g., "the competition") was offering me a better deal (as
described above), but that I wanted to rent a Ryder truck. I told her
that if Ryder would match U-Haul's offer, I would rent from her location.
She had to check with the regional office, but they _did_ beat U-Haul's
offer (equal number of days, 30 more miles, and $23 dollars cheaper than
U-Haul). We rented from Ryder; received a clean, efficient,
well-maintained truck (that allowed us to exceed 50 mph --- not possible
on all trucks due to the installation of a speed-limiting governor on the
engine); and had a very successful move. The people at Ryder were very
supportive, and I hope that I am able to arrange to use Ryder during our
next move.
Good luck with your move, and be an aggressive consumer. These companies
are in constant competition, and you should use that fact to make your
move as successful as possible!
Stuart L Labovitz home: s...@valinor.mythical.com
(insert standard or uunet!valinor!stu
disclaimer here)
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side,
and it holds the universe together. --- Carl Zwanzig
=============================================================================
___________________________________________
ga...@cdthq.UUCP (Gary Heston)
U-Haul may have improved their fleet and maintenance in recent years,
back when I was on the road a lot (theatrical support tech) their
reputation was terrible. We only used Ryder.
Last year, I rented a Ryder for a 650+ mile trip, and had *zero*
problems with it.
Sunday and Monday, I'll be helping load a Budget truck (a friend is
moving halfway across the country), and perhaps I can get a report
back on how it performs. You might also check with American International,
they rent 18-24' trucks, including some with lift gates.
I'd take a Ryder without hesitation, and anybody before U-Haul, but
as I said, my experience isn't recent.
Gary Heston, at home....
ga...@cdthq.uucp
________________
After seeing the old beatup U-Haul trucks around town, I decided to
go with a Ryder truck (24 foot I think). A couple of days before I was
to pick up the truck, I ran out of boxes. Since there was a U-Haul dealer
a few blocks away, I went there to pick up the boxes I needed. While I was
there I got talking to the manager and he told me about the great new
trucks that U-Haul was buying for the fleet and he had just received 2
that he was not expecting. He showed me the truck and it was very nice.
It had the air-ride shocks so that the truck deck could be lowered to
about 24 inches from the ground. This is much nicer than the Ryder
trucks where the truck deck is around 40 inches from the ground. I called
Ryder and cancelled the truck and used the U-Haul instead. The ride was
smooth, the lower deck was easy to load, the cab was quiet and
air-conditioned and the truck was totally reliable.
Chris Poole Po...@ADMIN.USask.CA
de...@meaddata.com (Mike Dedek)
In article <130u9c...@agate.berkeley.edu>, st...@ocf.berkeley.edu (Cliff Stoll) writes:
|>
|> Rental insurance: You can buy collison damage waver for $10 per day,
|> however, if your contract says you have 7 days to make the trip
|> and you actually return the truck in 2 days, you still pay $70.
|> I don't know if ordinary car insurance covers you when driving
|> a rental truck.
We bought collision damage for a 1-day rental for $12. Boy was it worth it
when, after manuevering the 26-ft. truck through 5 stops (we moved 2 apts.
into our house and got a couch from someone else and dropped off a washer
and dryer somewhere else), as I was taking the truck back I slid off the curb
and dented my brand new in-laws' brand new van! The rental insurance paid
with no hassles, including rental vehicle for the repair time of the van.
Some credit cards supply insurance when renting vehicles and using the card.
I don't know about regular auto insurance covering it though.
BTW Cliff, good job nailing the cracker! Sorry I haven't bought your book
though :)
-Mike Dedek
_________________________
el...@chutney.rtp.dg.com (Topher Eliot)
I just used a Budget 22' with a lift (instead of a ramp). It all went fine.
Budget was the only place that would take an advance reservation.
(*and* they will let you cancel with no penalty). When I
first called them, they quoted a higher price than everyone else, but as I
got down to moving day, everybody else said they had no trucks, so I called
back to Budget. Surprise! Their price had gone down! (That was for a 15'
with a ramp, actually). After I got there, I decided to switch trucks, and
payed a premium for the bigger one, but that was my decision, and they went
with it happily (after all they got more $). The lady was very up-front about
them altering the prices as the supply and demand change over the weeks. So
I would recommend you reserve with them, and then keep calling back and
checking the price. If it goes down, cancel the old reservation and make a
new one.
The trucks all looked shiny and new. The prices for pads and dollys were
average ($10/day for the dolly, $10/day for 12 pads). They clearly make money
on these, so I would look around for alternatives.
Oh, yeah, the move took from 8:30 am to 1:30 a.m. What a day.
--
Topher Eliot Data General DG/UX Systems Administration Development
(919) 248-6371 el...@dg-rtp.dg.com {backbone}!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!eliot
Obviously, I speak for myself, not for DG.
misc.consumers.house archivist. Send mail to house-...@dg-rtp.dg.com
"Daddy, did you know that super banana squash is a vampire? And he drinks
blood from cactuses?" -- Tommy, age 3.
_____________________
bro...@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Peter Brooks)
I have a smidgeon more: I did a couple of local U-haul rentals. I never
quite got the U-haul From Hell (tm), but #1 needed serious persausion to
get into 3rd gear, and the mutants who worked on #2 decided that the
driver needed only one seatbelt strap.
OTOH, a friend needed a one-way truck. Ryder was OK, but they only had
24' trucks, and he needed an 18-footer. (From San Jose to Pittsburg,
you'd really like the right sized truck. :-) Hertz/Penske
promised an 18' truck, but comes the day, they only had 25-footers on
hand. They rented the beast at the lower price (he had reserved
the smaller truck), but he was a bit irritated. Still, it was an
easy job to load the truck...
You pays your money and you takes a bit of a chance. It's not terribly
likely I'll be moving this decade, but I will *not* try U-haul.
Pete Brooks
__________________
dor...@shrooms.ingr.com (Doris Lippert)
When we moved cross country, we rented a Hertz-Penske truck.
Turned out to be less expensive than U-Haul or Ryder for the
amount of time we needed it. Mechanically the truck worked out
fine.
Doris
Tim W Smith
> didn't have to worry about our furniture beng damaged by amateurs,
> etc. Of course, this doesn't apply if you're moving nonlocally,
> because prices then skyrocket. I was surprised at how reasonable it
> was to have someone else move us.
Non-local can be reasonable to have someone else move you, too. Some
friends of mine rented a Ryder truck one-way from the San Jose area
to Seattle to move some stuff they had in storage. This came to something
like $1200.
I'm doing the same move at the end of this month, and it's going to cost
$1500 to have a company do it (Bekins), including full coverage insurance
and the surcharge for my being upstairs.
An extra couple of hundred dollars is well worth it, since I have several
big bookcases and a 50" projection TV. No way am I going to try to try
to carry that stuff downstairs (and upstairs on the Seattle end).
It's definitely worth calling the moving companies. Most will give you
a rough estimate over the phone if you describe what you have, and most
will send someone out for free to take a look at your place and give you
a firm price.
--Tim Smith