6 Advantages of Renting a Moving Truck

You are getting ready to pack up all of your belongings and move from your existing home to a new one, but are uncertain about the best method of transport. Do you hire a moving company to handle the task for you or do you rent a moving truck and take care of it yourself? There are many reasons renting a moving truck is the best option to choose for your move. If you are on a budget, for example, or you do not have a lot of belongings to move, then it may be more beneficial to rent a moving truck. Other advantages of renting a moving truck include flexibility, convenience and control. When you rent a moving vehicle you have the possibility of insurance coverage for damage or loss to your personal property or injury during the move. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to tow your own vehicle to reduce wear and tear if you are traveling long distance. Renting a moving truck can also give you the satisfaction of knowing you are helping to protect the environment by reducing the number of trips you take in your own car while moving.

1. Save Money

Paying a moving company to move your belongings for you can cost you a whole lot more than renting a moving truck and moving yourself. When you pay a moving company, you are usually paying the hourly wages of all the people helping you move plus additional fees such as administration and mileage. In addition, as long as you do not have a lot of belongings to move, you will be able to make the move in a single trip with your rental truck. Hiring a moving company to move your belonging may be more economical if you have so many belongings to move that it might take you several trips in a moving truck to do it yourself. However, some companies charge by the hour and the total cost to hire movers can exceed the total cost of renting a truck for a day to complete multiple trips.

2. Flexibility and Convenience

When you rent a moving truck and move yourself, you can do it on your own time and at your own pace. The truck is there when you are ready to use it and there is no one pressuring you to finish packing, so they can finish a job within a scheduled timeframe. When working with a moving company, you often have to work within their schedule, which tends to be busiest when people are most likely to move, such as in the summer. Furthermore, moving companies typically have strict guidelines for how they want all your items packed before they agree to move them. For example, most moving companies require you to box and seal all items with particular instructions for furniture, glass wear and other items. Not only does this impose upon you to pack everything to meet their needs, but it can also cause less items to fit in the same physical space in the back of the truck. Since professional movers charge more for additional trips, it might be more convenient for you to have the flexibility to decide how you pack your items.

3. Control

Renting a moving truck puts you in the driver’s seat, literally. You are in charge of your entire move, which means that you get to choose how each item is packed. Only you know which items are most precious to you, and only you will protect those items with the care they deserve. In addition, if it rains or snows, you can decide how to keep your items protected, even delaying activity until the weather clears, if you prefer. Moreover, when it is time to unpack the truck, you can make sure everything goes where it belongs in your new home, rather than movers simply dropping each item wherever it seems most convenient for them.

4. Tow Your Vehicle

If you have a car or other vehicle to transport to your new home, you can use the moving truck to tow it, since all moving trucks come equipped with their own ball socket hitch for a vehicle trailer. In towing your vehicle between your old home and your new one with a moving truck rather than driving it, you place the wear and tear of the trip on the moving truck instead of your own vehicle. Towing your vehicle with your moving truck also cuts down on the number of tolls you would have to pay on toll roads, were you to drive the vehicles separately.

5. Insurance Coverage

Many homeowners’ insurance policies and automobile insurance policies will cover you and your belongings while you move. Such protections may not apply, however, if you have a moving company take care of the moving for you. Even if your homeowners and auto insurance policies do not protect you while undertaking a move, you can purchase such insurance from the moving truck rental company.

6. Environmental Friendliness

Unless you hire a moving company that uses green vehicles, chances are that your move is doing the environment no favors. However, when you rent a moving truck from some suppliers, you can opt to receive a truck with a diesel-powered engine rather than one that runs on standard gasoline. Diesel is more fuel efficient, and allows trucks to drive farther on less fuel. In addition, rental truck agencies tend to stock newer model vehicles in their inventory, which means that you will be driving around in a vehicle with better fuel economy and fewer emissions than a moving company that is driving an old fleet.