Long Distance Moving in Canada

[Jackal]

Two weeks ago, I moved the contents of a 2 bedroom townhouse from Toronto to Coquitlam BC. I drove a 17 ft truck for 5 days, stopping each night in a motel along the way. The total cost ran to $5000 for truck rental, hotels, food, gas and loading and unloading help. We figured it was a fair price to pay for peace of mind and zero loss of precious personal effects collected over the years. (Movers are notoriously famous for losing boxes).
I learned that it is difficult to rent one way trucks across Canada. Unlike in the U.S., Ryder, Penske and Budget one-way dealers are all over. Here in Canada all we have is a motley collection of rinky dink U-Haul dealers with their badly maintained trucks that are prone to breakdown. I did not want to have engine problems as I crossed the Rockies.
Luckily I stumbled on Universal Truck Rentals, a relatively new and small operation with truck mechanic dealers across Canada. I got an excellently maintained truck that just purred quietly through the entire trip. Moreover, it was GPS tracked along the way and I had access to 24/7 roadside emergency help. Check them out!

 

[americanadian]

I'm surprised that U-Haul doesn't have one way here in Canada. I've never used them here, but I know when I lived in the U.S. they allowed one way. They're probably the most popular truck rental company in the U.S., at least where I am from. I do however cringe at the thought of traveling cross-country in either U.S.A. or Canada in a U-Haul, those trucks are terribly maintained.

 

[gerryh]

I'm surprised that U-Haul doesn't have one way here in Canada. I've never used them here, but I know when I lived in the U.S. they allowed one way. They're probably the most popular truck rental company in the U.S., at least where I am from. I do however cringe at the thought of traveling cross-country in either U.S.A. or Canada in a U-Haul, those trucks are terribly maintained.

U-Haul does have one way LD. I used 2 - 24 foot uhaul trucks with a car hauler to move from Aldergrove BC to Calgary. Used the Coquahalla and both trucks were dreams, no problems, and no problems when I dropped them here in Calgary.

 

[americanadian]

I've never used them here, this is the first I've heard someone mention no one way.

 

[Ron in Regina]

I know two people that use to work for U-Haul in Canada, and most of their
time was spent shuttling Trucks back to their home depots from one-way
usage.....so I know U-Haul allows one way trips....

 

[lone wolf]

Yee-Haw does one way - but the franchisees really don't like it because that means they have to pay for a dead-head or wait for their truck. When I moved into this place, U-Haul was dealing with some safety issues. From Sudbury, I rented a van with Arizona plates (where their head office is) There's just something about the Trans-Canada highway and out-of-province plates that makes cops curious.

 

[gerryh]

actually, Jackal doesn't state that you can't, just that it's difficult. I guess that would depend on where your renting the original equipment from and how many trucks they have available for local moves. I can see the franchisee's not wanting 1/2 their trucks out on LD moves and not be available for the more lucrative local/short haul rentals.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

I'm surprised that U-Haul doesn't have one way here in Canada. I've never used them here, but I know when I lived in the U.S. they allowed one way. They're probably the most popular truck rental company in the U.S., at least where I am from. I do however cringe at the thought of traveling cross-country in either U.S.A. or Canada in a U-Haul, those trucks are terribly maintained.

U Haul does have one way in Canada; Jackal doesn’t know what he is talking about. My son rented U Haul one way, when he moved from London, Ontario to Windsor, Ontario three years ago. I helped him move, so I know it firsthand.

He rented the truck in London, we piled his stuff into the truck and he drove it to Windsor. I followed in my car. There we unloaded the truck, he returned it to a U Haul site in Windsor and I drove him back to London.

Now, it may be they don’t do one way between provinces, I don’t know. But they definitely do have one way rentals.

 

[gerryh]

U Haul does have one way in Canada; Jackal doesn’t know what he is talking about. My son rented U Haul one way, when he moved from London, Ontario to Windsor, Ontario three years ago. I helped him move, so I know it firsthand.

He rented the truck in London, we piled his stuff into the truck and he drove it to Windsor. I followed in my car. There we unloaded the truck, he returned it to a U Haul site in Windsor and I drove him back to London.

Now, it may be they don’t do one way between provinces, I don’t know. But they definitely do have one way rentals.

:roll:

 

[lone wolf]

Damned echo....

 

[TenPenny]

Reading comprehension scores dropping, captain...

Jackal actually says that UHaul does one-way rentals.

 

[Ron in Regina]

actually, Jackal doesn't state that you can't, just that it's difficult. I guess that would depend on where your renting the original equipment from and how many trucks they have available for local moves. I can see the franchisee's not wanting 1/2 their trucks out on LD moves and not be available for the more lucrative local/short haul rentals.

Damn...I missed that.

 

[TomKat]

I just recently moved from Ontario to Vancouver. I hired a moving company to assist with the move. I went to www.redball.com for my moving needs. They were great, inexpensive, reliable, and I had no losses during the trip. They were so helpful, in unloading the truck and putting all of my furniture in the exact places I wanted them to go. They went out of their way to make sure the move was a success. I would highly recommend them for any move that you are planning in the near future.

 

[Nuggler]

:laughing4: You SLEPT!!! every night??

What the hell kind of a Candidian is ya!!

Glad you made it.

Welcome to CC

P.S. this wouldn't be SPAMMIN for Universal rental thingys, would it??

Nah, didn't think so.

 

[gingersnap]

Two weeks ago, I moved the contents of a 2 bedroom townhouse from Toronto to Coquitlam BC. I drove a 17 ft truck for 5 days, stopping each night in a motel along the way. The total cost ran to $5000 for truck rental, hotels, food, gas and loading and unloading help. We figured it was a fair price to pay for peace of mind and zero loss of precious personal effects collected over the years. (Movers are notoriously famous for losing boxes).
I learned that it is difficult to rent one way trucks across Canada. Unlike in the U.S., Ryder, Penske and Budget one-way dealers are all over. Here in Canada all we have is a motley collection of rinky dink U-Haul dealers with their badly maintained trucks that are prone to breakdown. I did not want to have engine problems as I crossed the Rockies.
Luckily I stumbled on Universal Truck Rentals, a relatively new and small operation with truck mechanic dealers across Canada. I got an excellently maintained truck that just purred quietly through the entire trip. Moreover, it was GPS tracked along the way and I had access to 24/7 roadside emergency help. Check them out!

I just recently moved from Ontario to Vancouver. I hired a moving company to assist with the move. I went to www.redball.com for my moving needs. They were great, inexpensive, reliable, and I had no losses during the trip. They were so helpful, in unloading the truck and putting all of my furniture in the exact places I wanted them to go. They went out of their way to make sure the move was a success. I would highly recommend them for any move that you are planning in the near future.

:laughing4: You SLEPT!!! every night??

What the hell kind of a Candidian is ya!!

Glad you made it.

Welcome to CC

P.S. this wouldn't be SPAMMIN for Universal rental thingys, would it??

Nah, didn't think so.

Lol ... I would say that it's 2 bots spamming for both Universal and Redball trucking.

 

[Linh]

Filthy equipment, terrible customer service

My first impressions of this company were great! I had excellent customer service and felt that I had received a good deal. I was looking for a one way truck from Halifax to Toronto and it seemed like I would be saving a lot of money.

I then received an email saying that I had been "upgraded" to the larger truck for free. I told them that I did not feel comfortable driving a larger vehicle and they told me that I would "have to wait" for them to hear from another customer before telling me if the smaller truck (that I CONFIRMED the reservation for) was still available. It ended up working out that I got the smaller truck.

When I arrived to pick up the rental truck at Maritime Fleet Centre (they use another company's parking lot) in Dartmouth, the staff said I was "lucky" because they are "normally already closed by 4:30pm on Fridays." My scheduled pick up time was 4:30pm. They also informed me that they were not surprised by the fact that Universal Truck Rental company would have made an appointment during closed hours. Needless to say, this was not a good start to what I thought would be a simple/easy process.

The gas tank was not full when I picked the truck up and the driver's cabin was dirty. There was garbage left behind by the last driver. There was a chocolate milk bottle, a muffin wrapper and crumbs everywhere, an empty pop bottle and used napkins. The washer fluid was also completely empty.

The visor on the driver's side of the truck was broken and borderline dangerous. The clip is broken off. It sagged down into the driver's line of sight. This vehicle is not safe for anyone to be driving.

Also, I was charged $60 for "not filling the tank fully". I was then told that there would be an admin fee to see a scanned copy of the receipt showing that they added gas to the tank. Prior to dropping the truck off, I filled the tank to the point where gas spit out at me and onto the side of the truck. They do not do the inspection while you are there-- take a photo of the dash before you leave the truck with them. The mileage on these trucks are horrible. It cost me $600 in gas for 1840 kms.

Lastly, I am very disappointed with the customer service overall. I asked Shauna for a senior manager's name/contact information and was denied because she could " not give out that information." I called the Mississauga office and they provided me with Steve Baty's name and number, no problem or questions asked.

Needless to say, this was a horrible experience. I would pay the extra cash and go with a company that doesn't have an average rating of 1 star... You get what you pay for!

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

That's a real shame. I presume the word-of-mouth advertising they would have gotten from you with just a bit of professionalism will now be advice to look elsewhere.

Shortsighted on their part.