I agree with those that say that Penske is better, but you should be fine with Budget. As far as how those cross-country trips go, I have no idea. I slept through most of them.
well, I've only gone from Albuquerque to Dallas, so not quite cross country, but we were praying the truck would make it...They're always pieces of crap and when I moved within town, I had to exchange it because it broke down... Also when you haul a bunch of stuff, its not like you're be driving fast at all, so just be patient...
I will never rent a truck from Uhaul again. I rented one last summer and it broke down on me. I was stranded on the side of the road for about 2 hours. A tow truck driver who was contracted with Uhaul just happened to stop by to help, and he called in to UHaul. They told him that the truck they gave us was not even supposed to be on the road because it was being repaired, but they wouldn't let him tow it until their mechanics got there. For some reason they had put transmission fluid in the gas tank to clean it or something (I dunno but thats what they said). So the gauge was reading that it had 1/4 tank of gas in it and you could see fuel in the tank when you looked in the spout. I finally got tired of waiting and went and bought a gas can and put more gas in it. I got it to work enough to go finish what I needed to do (the thing kept dying tho). Then when I got the POS back to them they would not reimburse me for the gas tank, nor would they give me a discount.
I went from New York to Montana in a Uhaul this summer, no problems. Ride was smooth the whole way through.
I drove from VA to Houston... In my car, not a Uhaul. One recommendation I would have is to take the route through Atlanta and up 95, instead of the Truck route of Knoxville to 81... While the 81 route is much more beautiful, you may be served better going through bigger cities, especially in a POS Uhaul Took me 22 hours of driving, stopped in Atlanta overnight.
It's pretty cool that all U-Haul trucks are solar powered now -- it used to be expensive to drive those things across the country.
Let me know how you fare. I hope to be making that trip early next year but it all depends on how I do on the GMAT and what Schools over there decide to let me in.
I took an overstuffed UHaul from Houston to LA and came away with some rather memorable experiences... the trailer hitch came loose when I was driving through the mountainous stretches approaching el paso. the POS was whipping back and forth as I went up and down the inclines with the cross winds knocking the trailer into a pretty steady fishtail. due to the grade of the inclines I couldn't stop, and had a few near misses with passing cars fortunately once I arrived in El Paso, I pulled into a goodwrench and they tightened me up free of charge. They even refused the cash I offered. that began my trip through the desert stretches of New Mexico and Arizona on 6/6/06. the earth did not swallow me whole so all in all a good day. side note: phoenix is a cesspool of humanity. while I have been to scottsdale and loved it. a life in phx is a fate I wish upon noone. the two visuals which I still take with me to this day: the expanses of nothingness that is New Mexico the ring of smog engulfing LA when you are approaching from a distance on I-10. 2nd side-note: anyone else experienced "The Thing"?
Whatever my GARMIN says. I think its up through ATL. I have it planned that we will stay at a hotel after we get through ATL and Ive planned it so we'd be going through ATL around midnight, saving time on all the traffic.
I've done Ryder from TX to FL and then FL to TX... great. I've done Uhaul form FL to TX, Houston to Dallas (multiple small loads), DAL to ABQ, and ABQ back to Houston... Larger trucks with the "Mom's Attic" like a 26' pulling a fully trailered pickup was smooth as butter. The Ryder was actually more bumpy from what I recall... I preferred Uhaul's lower loading deck and ramp. Get ready for a slow go, especially in hilly or mountainous terrain. Be careful, watch for other drivers (idiots especially), and plan for more time than your garmin tells you.
About 3-4 months ago, I moved a friend from Houston to San Diego. There were 5 of us driving an Explorer and a big-ass Penske truck full of all their crap and also pulling a trailer with a car on top of it. 1500 miles and 30 hours. Non-stop. It was awesome.
Not cross country but... I remodelled and had a huge pile of construction material to haul away so I rented a uhaul. They had a special rate on a 1 day rental ($29.95). I guess this is how they can rent these trucks that aren't made for long distances (as this truck fit that category). I've driven and riden in some very unsafe rides in my life but this one topped them all. The wheel had so much play in it that you could make a quarter turn of the wheel and it wouldn't change direction at all which meant that the truck was all over the road. The top speed was around 50-55 mph which I found to be too fast for that truck's steering so I had to keep that truck around 40-45 mph and learn to drive that truck like an amusment park ride.
I've been from Houston to LA, in a car. What the heck was "The Thing" anyway? Probably something not worth all of those signs.
UHaul sucks. Penske has much nicer trucks. Did Detroit-Houston and Naples-Houston. Hints: 1. Bring a pad lock. If you have to stop overnight, you want to lock the truck. 2. Make sure you got some music. FM Transmitters are cheap ...and they suck ...but it's better than nother. 3. I got pulled over for not stopping at a weigh station in Florida. Not sure you really need to but in Florida they are looking for drugs so they told me I had to stop. Fker. 4. Leave lots of room for idiot drivers. I now have a new respect for people driving UHaul's and always give them lots of room. You'll be amazed how stupid people are. 5. Pack the truck as tight as you can. Don't have anything lose that can flop around or slide off. On such a long trip, it will fall. Good luck driving <65mph the whole way. Govenator won't let you go faster.
