Best Moving Truck Rental Companies

If you enjoy taking things into your own hands and saving money, you are probably considering a moving truck rental for your upcoming move. Whether you are looking at Penske or U-Haul, you will want to know what makes a moving truck rental company best suited for you. Though moving truck companies offer similar services, each company provides a unique experience and price range.

The This Old House Reviews Team has conducted in-depth research and analysis of the best moving companies in the country. This guide will cover the best moving truck rental companies in terms of availability, cost, additional services, truck sizes, and more.

Based on our research methodology, we find the following companies to be the best moving truck rental companies on the market:

• U-Haul
• Penske
• Home Depot
• Budget
• Enterprise

U-Haul

U-Haul is one of the most recognizable names in moving truck rental. The company backs up this recognition through its reputable customer service, affordable rates, and extensive selection of additional services. U-Haul is the only provider on this list that helps with international moves, too. It does so through its portable storage container service called U-Box.

Pros & Cons

Here are some of the major pros and cons of U-Haul:

✔ Available in all 50 states
✔ Offers a large catalog of moving truck options
✔ Offers assistance with packing, unpacking, loading, and unloading

✘ Customer reviews mention reservations changing on a short notice
✘ Mileage is limited on long-distance moves

Why We Chose U-Haul

U-Haul offers competitive pricing on a large selection of truck sizes and additional services. The company is one of the largest moving truck rental companies in the country with an extensive customer service network. U-Haul also uses a useful mobile app for you to pick up and drop off your truck and any equipment at any time you desire.

State Availability

U-Haul provides its services in all 50 states.

Cost

When we simulated the booking process with U-Haul to rent a 20-foot box truck (large enough for a three-bedroom home) to move from St. Louis to Austin, Texas, we received an estimate of $1,455. This includes $84 for the Safemove plan, as well as up to five days and 1,080 miles.

U-Haul accepts payment in the form of credit cards, debit cards, and cash. You may either pay in advance for your reservation or pay for it upon pickup. The company also includes a $50 reservation guarantee. If U-Haul through its own fault fails to meet your selected time, place, and equipment size, you receive $50 back.

Services

U-Haul provides a wide selection of services in addition to its moving truck rentals. Notably, the company provides storage options, as well as third-party assistance for moving labor through its own online platform called Moving Help.

U-Haul features a variety of insurance coverage plans. Its Safemove plan eliminates your financial liability for any damages that may occur to your rented equipment. You may also opt for its Safemove Plus plan that provides cargo insurance. Finally, U-Haul offers supplemental roadside protection through its Safetrip plan.

Penske

Another national moving truck rental company, Penske provides some of the highest quality rental trucks on the market. Penske frequently changes its low-emission trucks for new trucks. This means Penske often has higher rental rates, but the company provides additional benefits through its coverage plans and unlimited mileage option.

Pros & Cons

Below are the benefits and downsides to using Penske:

✔ Offers unlimited miles on long-distance moves
✔ Offers a variety of discounts for military members, students, AAA members, and more
✔ Makes an ongoing effort to keep its trucks clean and new

✘ Not available in Alaska
✘ Might be more expensive for a local move than some competitors

Why We Chose Penske

Penske provides high-quality, low-emission trucks for its rentals. Though slightly more expensive than some competitors, Penske provides a great selection of additional services to make your move more convenient. Its option for unlimited mileage is a great perk for interstate and cross-country moves.

State Availability

Penske offers its equipment in every state except for Alaska. However, Penske also partners with Home Depot to provide more locations for pickup and drop-off.

Cost

For a 22-foot box truck (enough for a three-bedroom home) going from St. Louis to Austin, we received a quote of $1,547. This quote includes $270 for the basic insurance coverage plan, a $9 environmental fee, and unlimited mileage with six days of use. Penske also requires a $100 deposit that goes towards your total moving cost.

Services

Penske offers a variety of additional services with its truck rentals. This includes assistance with moving labor through Simple Moving Labor, car trailers, storage options, and a roadside assistance plan similar to U-Haul’s.

In addition to its roadside assistance plan, Penske offers moving truck insurance plans. Its Basic plan provides a Limited Damage Waiver (LDW), so you are not held responsible for any damages that occur to your Penske equipment. More extensive coverage options include assistance with cargo damage and personal injuries.

Home Depot

Home Depot provides its own Load ‘N Go pickup trucks and cargo vans at low rates, starting at $19 per hour. This is a great service for local and smaller moves. Home Depot also pairs your moving truck rental with an long list of equipment and tool rentals.

The company also partners with Penske to provide larger trucks and long-distance moving services with a larger network.

Pros & Cons

Read over some of Home Depot’s moving truck rental services’ perks and drawbacks here:

✔ Offers unlimited mileage on its in-house Load ‘N Go trucks
✔ Offers a large selection of tool and equipment rental
✔ Partners with Penske to offer more availability for its high-quality trucks

✘ Larger moving trucks are only offered through Penske
✘ Rates for long-distance moves might be higher than some competitors

Why We Chose Home Depot

Though Home Depot provides the same moving truck rental services for long-distance moves as Penske, it makes an excellent truck rental option for local moves. In addition to unlimited mileage on each of its Load N’ Go vehicles, the company offers highly competitive rates that average around $130 per day.

State Availability

Home Depot helps provide rentals in all 50 states.

Cost

Trying to rent a 22-foot box truck from Home Depot routed us back to Penske, and we received the same quote to move from St. Louis to Austin for a total of $1,547. Again, this quote includes $270 for the basic coverage plan, a $9 environmental fee, and unlimited mileage with six days of use.

Renting a cargo from Home Depot in St. Louis would cost $129 for an entire day with unlimited mileage.

Services

Home Depot’s Load N’ Go service includes rentals of flatbed trucks, cargo vans, and 14-foot box trucks. Its F250 flatbed trucks are an especially good value if you have a studio apartment or don’t mind making multiple in-town trips using your unlimited miles. Home Depot requires that you use your own car insurance in conjunction with one of its Load ‘N Go vehicles.

Home Depot relies on its partnership with Penske to accommodate one-way truck rentals. Insurance coverage plans for these moving trucks (12-foot, 16-foot, 22-foot, and 26-foot) are the same as those available through Penske.

Budget

Budget is another great option for local moves and moving truck rental services. Unlike Home Depot, Budget offers a more expansive collection of moving trucks for local moves. Similar to Penske, Budget offers ongoing deals and discounts on its website. This includes discounts for students, seniors, military members, AARP members, police families, and more.

Pros & Cons

Here are the pros and cons of using Budget for your truck rental:

✔ Offers unlimited mileage on long-distance moves
✔ Offers deals and discounts on its website
✔ Offers PlatePass, an automated toll payment solution

✘ Has only four rental options
✘ Not available in Alaska and Hawaii

Why We Chose Budget

Budget offers highly competitive rates for local moves. The company also provides a user-friendly and streamlined rental process through its simple website. Budget also provides a selection of useful add-ons to make your move more simple and stress-free.

State Availability

Budget provides its services in every continental state. It is not in Hawaii or Alaska.

Cost

Budget provided us an estimated total of $2,396 to use its 26-foot box truck to move from St. Louis to Austin. This quote includes five days of rental with unlimited mileage and $245 for the Value Protection Package. If you pay with a debit card or cash, a minimum deposit of $150 is required.

Using the 26-foot truck for a local move in St. Louis would cost only $80 per day.

Services

Budget is a reputable moving truck rental company that offers competitive prices. The company provides four different sizes of trucks, as well as assistance with loading, unloading, and packing through HireAHelper.

Budget also offers the unique add-on of PlatePass. This is an automated toll payment solution that enables you to use toll gated lanes and cashless toll collection lanes with Budget’s vehicles.

Budget offers three coverage plans. Its basic plan, the Value Protection Package, includes both a damage liability waiver and roadside assistance. You will have to purchase its Complete Protection Package to receive cargo and personal injury coverage.

Enterprise

Enterprise offers moving truck rentals in addition to its car rentals. The company offers one of the most extensive selections of truck sizes on this list. Enterprise offers fewer additional services than some of its competitors like U-Haul, but it does offer standard moving truck rentals with competitive rates.

Pros & Cons

Here are the pros and cons of using Budget for your truck rental:

✔ Offers 14 different truck sizes
✔ Roadside assistance is available 24/7
✔ Offers towing services

✘ Does not help with long-distance moves
✘ Does not offer moving labor assistance

Why We Chose Enterprise

Enterprise offers a large selection of truck sizes and types of vehicles, allowing you to rent the right truck for the size of your move. The company also provides comprehensive coverage plans to pair with your rental.

State Availability

Enterprise is in all 50 states.

Cost

Enterprise estimates it would cost $250 per day plus $0.49 per mile to use one of its 16-foot cab-over trucks. It should be noted that Enterprise’s online reservation site crashed multiple times when we tried to obtain a quote.

Enterprise’s payment options vary according to pick-up location. Most of its locations require you to pay with a credit card in your name, and it may require a deposit. Deposit amounts also vary by location. Some locations accept a debit card, but it might feature restrictions.

Services

Other than equipment for towing a vehicle behind your rental truck, Enterprise is limited when it comes to additional service offerings.

Enterprise offers four options for coverage plans. Its most basic option is its Damage Waiver (DW). This makes you not liable for any damage that occurs to your rental. More comprehensive options include Enterprise’s Roadside Assistance Protection (RAP) and Personal Accident Insurance (PAI).

Sometimes, you just don’t need the stress of handling a move yourself, that is why our review team has found the best full service movers for you.

International Van Lines

If you want an all-inclusive moving experience, we recommend International Van Lines (IVL). IVL can handle practically every part of your move for you. The company provides services for packing, loading, transportation, unloading, and unpacking. IVL also offers multiple contents protection plans, moving supplies, and vehicle transportation services.

We received an estimate to move a two-bedroom home from Chicago to Houston for $2,015–$3,445 with International Van Lines. This requires a 25% deposit to reserve your moving date.If you want as stress-free a move as possible, we recommend you create a full-service moving package with International Van Lines.

Learn More: International Van Lines Review

1-800-PACK-RAT

If you’d still like a DIY moving process but want all the transportation handled, you may want to consider a self-service mover like 1-800-PACK-RAT. 1-800-PACK-RAT delivers a portable storage container in your choice of three sizes to your home. You then load the container up with your belongings at your own pace within a 30-day rental period. PACK-RAT then redelivers your container to your new home and you unload your items.

Though it is a self-service mover, PACK-RAT does offer moving options like packing and loading labor through a partnership with HireAHelper.

1-800-PACK-RAT gave us a quote for a 16-foot container moving from Chicago to Houston for $3,239.76. This quote includes all transportation during the move, delivery and pickup of the container, a no-cut security lock, and $10,000 in contents protection coverage. If you want a professional to handle the transportation for you, get a free quote from 1-800-PACK-RAT.

Learn More: 1-800-PACK-RAT Review

We have listed out some of the most important aspects to keep in mind when considering a moving truck rental.

What Kind of Truck You Need

There is a wide variety of moving trucks and vehicles you may be able to rent. Think about how much space you need to fit all your belongings. Having too much space is better than too little as you can tie down your belongings.

If you are planning a local move, renting a cargo van or pickup truck and making multiple round trips may save you money. Long-distance moves will probably require larger trucks.

Also, consider what size of truck you are comfortable with driving. If you are not comfortable behind the wheel of a larger vehicle, you may want to consider hiring a moving company that provides a truck driver.

Insurance Coverage Plans

One of the most unexpected costs with moving truck rentals can be insurance coverage plans. You will, at least, want to get a damage waiver of some kind. This way, you are not responsible for any damages that may occur to the company’s vehicle while in your possession.

If you have valuable belongings or are concerned about personal safety, you may want to consider more comprehensive coverage plans that include cargo insurance and personal injury coverage.

Roadside Assistance

Another important factor to look out for when reviewing coverage options is roadside assistance. You never know what might happen on the road, so it’s best to opt for a moving truck rental company that provides roadside assistance for flat tires, fluid leakage, and other mechanical problems.

Customer Service Reviews

Though moving truck rentals are a DIY service, you still want good customer support. An effective way to gauge the quality of the customer support of a moving truck rental company is to read through some online customer reviews. Popular online reviews sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB), TrustPilot, and Yelp all help provide a window into how a company’s customer service operates.

We’ve done in-depth research on the best moving companies in the United States and have compiled these easy-to-digest comparisons:

• Best Cheap Moving Companies
• Best Moving Companies for Small Moves
• Best Moving Companies for Military Moves
• Best Moving Companies for Apartments 
• Best Moving Companies for Antiques
• Best Moving Companies for Seniors Discounts
• Cheapest Moving Truck Rental Companies

The This Old House Reviews Team backs up our moving company ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each company. We conduct research by reading through the company websites, analyzing customer reviews, conducting consumer surveys, requesting quotes, and speaking with customer representatives. We then score each moving company against our review standards for services, contents coverage, scheduling, trailer and container options, additional benefits, and reputation to arrive at a final score out of 100.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.