U Haul 9’ Van Rental Review

[Snagglefoot]

I rented a U Haul 9' Chev van to move my daughter's stuff to her new appt. This rental was in Victoria, BC, Canada, so I don't know how applicable it is to the US.

The van is a 2016 Chev 3/4 ton. It had a lot of pep, great power steering and good, if somewhat touchy brakes. A couple nice features were a backup camera built into the rear view mirror and electric door locks. It happened to have an electric parking brake AFAICT.

You could fit a queen size bed but only diagonally. It could not be stored upright nor would it lay flat between the wheel wells. I rented it over a cube van because it had better right hand side visibiity as I drove in a city I'm not that familiar with.

I added a package to my auto insurance for $20 per year that covers rental vehicles including trucks. The UHaul guy realized I did not want their insurance but still tried to sell me a ridiculous $30 package that would lower my insurance company deductible to $150. Also I had to check a box that said I realize the worth of the vehicle was $85,000 Canadian dollars. (Yeah right)

A few issues were, they had metal "chicken cage" to keep the load in the back that reduced visibility somewhat, and I jumped a few curbs with the rear right tire until I got used to the length of it. Total cost was $77 CDN for two full days plus the $25 in gas to fill up. All in all, I'd rent it again. YRMV.

 

[DoubleWasp]

GM puts the rear axle closer to the back than most vans. Great for load handling, but as you noted, you have to give your turns a wider berth.

This will happen with any very long wheelbase vehicle. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Rolla07]

85k ROFL!!! Okayyyy...at least thwy have newer models...wonder if they maintain thembetter than when W5 did a scathing report on them years back...

 

[Nick1994]

I've always been happy with Uhaul, have driven quite a few of them.

The 20' trucks with the Ford V10 have plenty of power and drive decently. Just drove one in August down from Oregon.

I drove a 26' Chevy super mover to San Diego, it did ok except for the weird loud engine popping noises at high RPMs and being low on oil.

 

[Donald]

I did two or three daughter moves until she got married.

One thing I hate is that U-Haul (in the box trucks) puts a handcart and a bunch of blankets in the back with a nylon tie holding them in. If you want to use them you pop the nylon tie and use them for an extra charge. But if you do not want to use them they are in your way taking up space.

 

[Chris142]

I worked for uhaul in 1995 maintaining the trucks. They were still running dent side Ford's with a 330cu in Ford FE and a manual trans! Also mid size gm trucks with a 366 and a 5 speed manual too.

 

[BearZDefect]

My experience is out of date from 20 years ago

but the box truck I rented was in horrible condition, and this was the better of the two F-350 they had available, I had to take the first one back by the time I got a mile down the road. The OP's rental experience sounds good, except for the typical salesperson pressure to buy unnecessary insurance.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Chris142
I worked for uhaul in 1995 maintaining the trucks. They were still running dent side Ford's with a 330cu in Ford FE and a manual trans! Also mid size gm trucks with a 366 and a 5 speed manual too.

Helped my parents move, this would have been around 2000. Pretty sure it was a 366 pushing a 5 speed--1st was stupid low so it was really a 4+creeper.

Dash had a spot for the choke pull. Pull was long gone but the truck was old enough to have a spot for it.

 

[supton]

Only been around a few. My parents moved in 1990 and got a diesel / 5MT and a 366 / 5MT (grandfather drove one, father the other; this was long before I had a license). The 366 made it about 10 miles before it decided it only needed 7 spark plugs. I think my father finally found a parts store and one new plug later neither gave us grief on the 500 mile or so journey. Well, other than getting the diesel to start--it was January, and that thing took forever to come to life.

 

[DoubleWasp]

If you tell them to take that extra stuff out of there, they will.

I so remember the total POS trucks they had in the 90s. Worst were the diesels. They should have kept those in the South. Took 6 tries and 5 minutes to get them started. Ford diesels IIRC.

 

[supton]

The one we used '90 was International--I recognized the DT446 emblem as being the same as on the buses I rode to school.

But it sure didn't like starting in January!

Come to think of it, I think I got out of school one day for that reason--bad cold snap, and not enough of the buses would start.

 

[Delta]

We rented a 20' Uhaul back several years ago (2015) to move to my current location, but it only had the 5.4 and was an absolute dog! Mind you I had to go up a mountain, which I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it up. The upside to being so underpowered I could put it in 2nd and it just creeped down the mountain with minimal brake applications...

We usually use Penskee, which we rented a 16' with car hauler when I moved from MS to PA. We massively overloaded it (yes I know, not very responsible...) but the GM 6.0 in that thing kept up well except for driving through Virginia. 45mph with the hazards on going up the mountains was all it had!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Actually, I think all the Fords are V10s. The SRW 10' GMCs are 4.8s.