Avoid those hidden costs when renting a truck rental. Read our tips that can help you avoid those unnecessary fees.
If choosing a truck rental type of move, you've probably chosen that method of moving to save money. After all, a full-service move can cost thousands of dollars. But just because you've chosen the least expensive way to move your belongings, doesn't mean that you'll end up spending less than you should. With a truck rental move, if you're not careful, you can end up spending more than you can imagine on hidden fees. So how do you protect yourself from having to fork out needless money? Read our tips below that can help you circumvent those hidden costs.
Avoid early truck rental returns
Usually it's a good thing that you return something before the end of its term. Not so with a truck rental. If you rent the truck for a specific time period (i.e. Friday through Sunday), don't return the truck before the final day or you might find yourself paying a penalty fee. Rental companies apply the penalty since they might have been able to rent the vehicle to someone else for a longer time period. And if you specifically rented the truck for a cheaper weekend or weekly rate, that penalty might even be higher for that early return.
Watch the clock
As in the case of car rentals, truck rental companies usually charge you for an extra day (or the best scenario, for a few extra hours), if you return the truck more than 59 minutes past the 24-hour window. For instance, if you're renting the vehicle from Monday at 9 am until Tuesday at 9 am (one full-day), try your best to return the vehicle by 9:59 am at the latest.
Watch the mileage
Though most truck rental companies provide unlimited mileage, read the fine print. Some companies charge per mile over a certain mileage, so if you're moving long-distance, you might want to choose a company that allows for unlimited mileage. If that's not possible, just realize that you might be spending more for your truck rental than you first realized, and budget that amount into your move so you won't be surprised when you get that bill at the end of the move.
