We are getting ready to get UHaul trucks on site. We have worked at another site that had Penske. Meh!! As an actual rental customer we love them. Great customer service. As an agent not so much.

Anyway, I would like to hear from people who are currently using UHaul. What are the pros and cons to UHaul?

Thanks

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Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?

Pro - I don't have to do any of the maintenance, other than sweeping them out, etc.

Pro - They bring people in my door for boxes and spaces.

Con - All the trucks are in Florida, this time of the year. And I can't get any to fill reservations. Even the company stores have no trucks.

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Bob Taylor (Astro)
Blue Ridge Self Storage
Cashiers, NC

Disclaimer: What Gina said....'cause the the cheese fell of my cracker.

Pro- All the trucks are here in Florida

Here we do Penske trucks and have had a great experience with them so far. Hearing from customers about U-Haul..
1. It is cheaper but the trucks are crappy.
2. If you do not show up on time you lose your truck (one time they lost their truck even before the time they needed to be there)
3. They have to go where U-Haul tells them to pick up the truck.

Those are the main ones we hear all the time.
Just my two cents

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Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid. Basil King

To answer UncleLouRocks

1) Yes the in-town moving trucks are crappy...high mileage, and have seen thousands of customers use them. But then again most people only go 20 miles are less in the trucks, so they don't need to be luxurious. The one-way, longer distance trucks are newer, low-mileage trucks. U-Haul clearly defines one-way versus in-town trucks.

2) That can be true depending on the time of the month. Our U-Haul line rang all day today for people wanting trucks this weekend, and I'm booked up....so if someone has a truck booked from 9-2 tomorrow, I can guarantee I have another customer booked to get the truck at 2pm and so forth. If the first guy decides to mosey on over here at noon, he's not going to get the truck. If Penske can always hold all their trucks for whenever the customer decides to show up, they must not be nearly as busy as the U-Haul trucks...but U-Haul does require that set appointment times be honored since the demand is so high at certain times of the month. If someone reserves a truck for Tuesday the 15th, the demand isn't so high so we will hold the truck for them for a while if they are late.

3) You have to pick up a truck where a truck exists. Even Penske can't manufacture a truck out of thin air if there isn't one there available. If a customer reserves a truck 48 hours ahead of time or more for my location, and I don't have a truck, U-Haul brings me one. If a customer reserves a truck 10 minutes ahead of time, they have to go to where the truck is.

Hey Lisa
You made some good points. I was just telling you what I hear.
Penske is pretty busy but we won't give a truck away if they are an hr late. We call if they do not get here on time and go from there.
I would say 99% of the time Penske will bring the truck. We will send them to the depot if they need the truck right then and there. Most times when trucks are tight they raise the prices so high we don't have to do that.
People keep coming in today asking for trucks..I have nada here and the depot has nothing either.

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Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid. Basil King

Where I am located, the only time UHaul brings me anything is if the AFM brings me trailers. Even the company store in Asheville is out of stuff. I have one truck (2 in town reservations) and 5 trailers left. Can't fill reservations, if I had any. UHaul says take the reservation, and they will transfer it somewhere else. The next nearest location is 20 some miles away, then an hour away. UHaul looks at the number of miles, not the driving time. Even the crow can't fly a straight line up here. Frustrating. Still, I get tenants and box sales from truck rentals, so it isn't that bad.

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Bob Taylor (Astro)
Blue Ridge Self Storage
Cashiers, NC

Disclaimer: What Gina said....'cause the the cheese fell of my cracker.

Yes it's different in the more rural areas....down here there's an U-Haul dealer or Center on just about every corner, so we can always find a truck nearby, except for the week that UCF lets out in May.

I look at truck rentals as a necessary evil. If I don't have 'em for my storage customers, then they will be picking one up at one of my competitors, because the vast majority of rental trucks around here can be found at storage facilities.

I would hate to send a customer to my competitor to get their truck...and I've rented many a storage unit to people who came here to get a truck and were planning on moving into a facility that didn't have trucks, but never made it back there again after coming here to rent the truck.

Me too Lou!! Phone has rang all day and all my trucks were rented! But at least Central booked them with high revenue for this weekend!! YAY!!!

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All arguments can be resolved ... with high explosives and Humor!!!

Your funny MCG! I actually rented 2-16ft trucks at 100 bucks a day and 99 cents per mile..was actually shocked! lol Come on 6 O'Clock!!!

I meant to ask you..you manage a store in Houston? Or just your sister store?

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Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid. Basil King