Renting A Truck For Your College Move

Choosing to find a truck rental company that will have vehicles available for your college move can be a good alternative to hiring a moving company. Renting a van means that you need to load it yourself, drive it to the school, and unpack it yourself.

However, because you are doing all of the hard work, it is cheaper than hiring someone to do it all for you, which is what you’re paying for with a moving company. Like everything other decision you will make as you set out for school, there are pros and cons to rental trucks when moving and there are things that need to be taken into consideration.

The beginning of school, which will usually be at the beginning of September, is right in the middle of a rental company’s busiest season. Because of this, renting a truck at this time is going to cost you much more than doing it when the company doesn’t have that much business. Unless you’re planning on moving before the previous May and staying in your dorm until then, there is no way around this.

Also, the very beginning and the very end of any month is a very busy time for a rental company because this is the time when most people are moving. This is something that you can do something about. Consider renting the truck in the middle of August. It will still be during the peak times but, it may be easier to get a truck when other movers aren’t yet looking for one.

When you are filling out the paperwork for renting a truck for your college move, the salesperson will ask if you want insurance on the vehicle. Although you’re first inclination may be to jump at the insurance, first call your credit card company. Many companies have insurance built right into your card and right into your credit card fee, so it’s something that you’re already paying for anyway. This may be a cost that you can keep from paying to the rental truck company.

It’s extremely important that if you plan on allowing anyone else to drive the rental truck for any period of time, that you be upfront about this and tell the company that. It may be a few more dollars for the short-term but if an accident occurs while someone else is driving and they are not on the account, it could cost you much more.

Rental trucks are fairly big and a dorm room is not. For this reason, you may not need all of the space that you are given, even when choosing the smallest truck option. Check to see if anybody else in your area is planning on going to the same college as you or at least going your way and it may turn into a situation where you have automatically cut your costs in half.

Not only will you have someone else chipping in on the bill but if you were planning on driving by yourself, this may be a good chance for company!