Moving down south

[usabound12456 0]

I am sure this has been posted elsewhere, but wanted to get some recent experiences of people.

I am thinking of renting a U-Haul one-way to move from Toronto to D.C. I got a quote from a local U-Haul, and wanted to see what others' experiences have been both with U-Haul and other companies.

I am wary of doing the cube moving, as I want to haul my own items down and prefer they be with me at all times.

Any opinions are appreciated, thanks!

[Flames9_RN 358]

moved from NS to DC in 2004 with Uhaul..went well, no issues. make sure u look over the truck, as 1 of the biggest complaints has been centered around mechanical issues of their trucks! But was told they use the newer trucks for long distance moves.

[usabound12456 0]

moved from NS to DC in 2004 with Uhaul..went well, no issues. make sure u look over the truck, as 1 of the biggest complaints has been centered around mechanical issues of their trucks! But was told they use the newer trucks for long distance moves.

Thanks! Did you do a one-way trip? If so, how was it?

[Flames9_RN 358]

Thanks! Did you do a one-way trip? If so, how was it?

oh ya..1 way!! All went well, no issues at all. Did have some logistic issues this past summer moving my dad from Saskatoon to Kamloops with Uhaul. had to drive 1.5 hrs to pick up the Uhaul. Gal at the pick up spot and drop off stated that happens often. They promise u a truck, but it may be a different size and one may have to drive a ways to pick it up! But ur in Toronto a bigger market, so better odds that u wont have to drive as far.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Not recent (8 yrs ago next week), I moved from Kitchener ON to Northern VA just outside DC. We chose the largest truck my now husband could drive without a special license and loaded up my 2 bedroom apartment.

I set up the rental online and later visited my local pick-up office just to make sure all was in good order. We picked it up on Sunday, drove half way to Cranberry (outside Pittsburgh) on Monday and then the remainder on Tues morning. We returned the truck on the Weds after unpacking Tues afternoon.

Easy peasey, no problems - gas is also pretty good right now in the states so filling up here will be cheap!

Edited November 1, 2015 by Udella&Wiz

[Jknee 3]

I worked for U-Haul a few years ago, and there are a couple things I would recommend. 1 - Either go in person to a U-Haul location to book, or book online and then go in personally to check on it. I know that any trucks booked this way were definitely given preference over the ones that pop up in the system from online bookings, and therefore have a slightly smaller chance of being bumped around. (This might vary based on location and their size, bigger locations are going to have more ability to make guarantees) It's also a lot easier to make an impression and get someone on your side if something goes wrong in person rather than over the phone! 2 - CHECK THE TRUCK. It's not always true that they give better trucks for longer moves, so be absolutely sure that you make note of anything wrong with the truck BEFORE you leave (and get the U-Haul person to make note of it as well) That way if anything does go wrong, it's a lot easier for you to get compensated afterwards.

As far as any other options, I can't help, I condensed everything I owned and FedExed it down!

[NikLR 13,227]

We used a Uhaul from central Alberta to just outside of Denver, CO. It took about 18 hours of straight driving. The truck I booked was a 10' but apparently those are very rare in AB so we ended up with the 12' for the same price. However there was a "deposit" that we had to pay that I was not informed of when I booked the vehicle, and I'm unsure that my husband ever got it back. I hadn't calculated that deposit into my expenses so it was a little sudden.

Make a note of how long you can go before fill ups and plan accordingly. We had a few times between there and here that we were worried about getting more fuel. Mostly in Wyoming though which is really sparsely populated.

[Ms Hogan 295]

I actually lived about an hour and a half from the border so it made it worthwhile to go get a U.S. truck (Penske) and drive it to my Canadian home first. I picked up on a Friday and had it over the weekend so I could load it as I felt like it and then drove down on the Monday. I was doing a 5 hour drive. So it was still a one-way rental but it was less expensive plus the trucks with Penske are so much better than U-Haul IMO.

[usabound12456 0]

Update:

The move was great and went off without a hitch (no pun intended!). U-Haul actually delivered us a fine truck that was completely fine and actually nice and clean. It was slow driving down the interstate, but hey, we were carrying a heavy load.

To those in Toronto, I recommend All Canadian Storage. Easy to rent from there, and they have supplies in case you need them.

Good luck to all!

[Loki_Go 126]

Thanks for the update! We used Uhaul as well and we had no problems, went from Ontario to Ohio, only about 3 hours. I'd recommend them too.