Smooth sailing
Written: Apr 21 '07
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Pros: Convenience, price, easy-to-use website, truck was new and ran well
Cons: None that were Penske's fault (note to self: sunscreen is your friend)
The Bottom Line: Penske eased the stress of moving by being affordable, friendly, and offering a superior product.
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| Danae2OOO's Full Review: Penske |
Like many of today's youth, I'm not content to stay where I am for very long. What this translates to is three moves within three years (soon to be four, but I'll get to that).
The first two were local and completed mostly by making numerous trips in cars loaded down with boxes. When my sister and her fiancé (now husband) and I moved into our last apartment, we decided to go with a UHaul for an afternoon for some of the bigger stuff we'd acquired (see review). While the experience wasn't terrible (and I personally didn't have to shell out any cash for it), there's no way in hell I'd make a nearly 1000-mile move in a truck with no interior lights, a broken gas gauge, and only half a driver's seat.
Last August, I pulled up stakes once again and moved from Upstate South Carolina to Northwest Arkansas to be with the guy I'd been dating long-distance for almost three years. I'd decided that this was one of those times which called for homework and research as opposed to impulsiveness and thriftiness, so I looked at a lot of online reviews of moving services and companies (including, of course, this one). After all was said and done and all URLs were fetched, I got a Penske truck and tow dolly; I'd be guaranteed to have a fairly new vehicle, which was important, since the main reason I wasn't driving my own car was because I didn't think it would make it that far.
(I read somewhere that Penske has a policy of retiring their trucks after three years; of course, they don't send them to that great junkyard in the sky, but they sell them to other companies who need trucks so they will be driven and maintained by people who are skilled in truck driving and maintenance, and not people like myself, whose driving credentials are no more spectacular than having put 150,000 miles on a brand-new car for no other reason than I like road trips.)
I reserved a 16' Penske truck and a tow dolly four weeks ahead of the day I was planning to leave. I used their website, which is easy to navigate, and makes it easy to tweak your reservation if you need to. You can also check periodically for rate changes. The total cost of the rental was around $600 (I don't remember precisely, as it was almost 9 months ago.)
What I got for the price was:
- a 16' moving truck that was clean, ran well, and was easy to handle
- a tow dolly so my worn-out Neon could go along for the ride
- unlimited mileage
- five days in which to make the drive from Greenville to Fayetteville (although I only needed two)
Of course, there were drawbacks; none of them were the fault of Penske, but they are considerations you have to make if you plan to move a long distance away in a big honkin' truck:
- I spent a small fortune on gas (I had accounted for this beforehand; in fact, on Penske's website there was a rundown of their trucks' features, including expected gas mileage)
- I had to be careful to park in places I wouldn't have to back out of (backing up with a tow dolly attached is verboten)
- Because I was towing my car, I had to get a far bigger truck than I needed. As little stuff as I had (mostly boxed stuff), their smallest truck (12') would have been too big. But they only have towing capability for their 16' and larger trucks. The 16' truck was maybe a quarter full when I'd packed up all my stuff; however, this probably saved some money on gas in the long run.
The morning of my move, I went to pick up the truck and it was ready for me when I got there. The check-in process was easy and the employees I dealt with were helpful and friendly. They asked if I wanted to purchase their insurance, and they didn't push the matter when I politely declined (which is more than I can say for some rental car companies and electronics superstores). They answered my questions and wished me luck on my trip.
I did wind up having to drive the truck back to the apartment to load up my stuff, as you can't pull out the ramp with the dolly attached. After I'd put all my stuff in the truck, I went back to Penske where they attached the dolly and helped me hook it up. They also reminded me to check the truck and the dolly whenever I stopped for gas, food, restroom, etc. I was glad I did - the morning of the second day, I checked the tire straps before I left the hotel and found that one of them had slipped off to the side.
Returning the truck in Fayetteville was no problem. I cleaned out my trash, gave it a sweep, and signed some paperwork. I was out of there within ten minutes, and most of that was spent waiting for the woman at the storage facility to park the truck.
So why am I writing about this now, instead of in August or September? Because the time has come to move again. We're not going far, just an hour down the Interstate, but we've also managed to accumulate some stuff that might overwhelm our cars and a few of our friends' pickups. So I'm thinking that this time, we'll at least fill up the truck better. However, just like last time, the truck's going to be a Penske.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up on time
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: N/A
Amount Paid (US$): 600
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Epinions.com ID:
Danae2OOO
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Member: d-a-n-a-e-umlaut
Location: NC, US
Reviews written: 68
Trusted by: 19 members
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