UHaul Van Rental Tips
This past weekend we rented a UHaul truck from Uhaul Natick site. Here are some tips/tricks that you should know to help make your move just a bit easier.
First make sure to reserve a truck online before going to the store. One person in line want a truck but was told by the manager that there were none available. However, there were a few available because a customer canceled a large order overnight. So, it doesn't hurt to constantly check on availability when you need a truck on short notice.
The Uhaul Natick store is well stocked with everything that you need for moving. They had lots of boxes, tape and twine at reasonable prices. The store seem clean and the layout was nicely done with similar products placed near each other.
We got one of the new model cargo vans. The truck was nice and clean. The dashboard was a bit hard to read, so I wasn't sure exactly how many miles it had on it - but I think it was roughly around 800. It took a while to learn how to use the side mirror on the Masspike traffic.
I found that the radio was a bit hard to use and didn't have much time to learn to get my station on. They did have an audio cable jack where I could have played my iPhone through the radio speakers, really quick way to listen to my music. I would recommend bring a male-to-male retractable audio cable. You'll need some music because van makes a lot of noise. There is a power car jack so you can also charge your phone as you drive. Yes, you'll need your own USB Car Jack charger. Oh and there's plenty of cup holders, I counted 4 places where a driver could put down their drink.
I had to remember that I didn't have my fastpass transponder with me and use the Mass Pike cash-only lanes. I have gotten so use to the fastpass system that I didn't know how much the tolls were. I put some change on the dashboard to remind me to pay cash. Currently it's $1.30 from the 84 exit to Framingham.
We rented some furniture moving covers which came in handy moving some mirrors and frames. These only cost $20 for a dozen and were perfect protection. Nothing broke during the move! The moving covers were dusty when we open them, so your best to put the covers on the pictures in the truck.
I cleaned out the van using a Multi-Purpose Mega Cleaning Brush that I got years ago at the California State Fair. It worked really well and got the job done quickly. I noticed that the rear cabin floor mat looks like that it comes out for really quick cleaning. I did a simple sweep job and made sure the drivers area was clean.
Returning the van it took longer than expected since someone else had to open the store on a Sunday and that person got lost on the way. Once the manager opened the store, it took a few minutes to figure out how to turn off the alarm that was going off. Once the alarm was off, he then took a few minutes to figure out how to sign into the Uhaul computer system.
At this location, when you return a UHaul vehicle your supposed to stay with the truck until someone helps you - similar process when you return a car. I didn't do that this time, since I arrived before the store opened and thought it would be faster to be the first person in line at the store, that wasn't the case. There was another worker that was handling returns that was working while the manager was trying to get the store ready. Your best bet is to stay in the vehicle and wait for someone to come up to you.
Overall it was a good van rental experience and we certainly would use them again.