Moving in Los Angeles: Do I Need to Rent a Cargo Van?

Moving can seem like an arduous task for many working-class people who barely have time to take a break let alone plan for a stressful move. There are lots of factors in a move that are difficult to anticipate.

Will the new apartment or house be noisy? How difficult will my new commute be? Is there a lot of crime and gang activity in this area? Moving in Los Angeles can be an overwhelming feat of impossible questions.

One of the best choices you can make when moving into any new area is keeping things as low-key as possible. You don’t want to alert people to the fact that you have a lot of possessions and are affluent in dense metropolitan areas.

For your best security and interest, renting a cargo van is the ideal form of transport for many in The City of Angels.

Los Angeles is home to a vast array of cargo van rental services. Below, we will try to address a few of your options by checking autumn rates about one-month in advance.

Los Angeles Van Rentals

This is the company that would facially appear to be the most convenient choice for renting a cargo van. After all, the company name couldn’t be any clearer. What we did notice when we tried to rent a cargo van from the online website, however, is that it rejected our itinerary for a simple 24-hour booking.

It also requires the user to make further consultations to confirm the booking if it is for only a day and conveys questionable discretion to approve one-day rentals.

Features/Options:

Provides a full range of insurance options
Priced at $139 per 24-hour period
Limited Mileage 200-miles per day
Optional Booster Seat
Optional Car Seat
Optional Infant Seat
Optional Trailer Hitch
Optional GPS

U-Haul

There are no moving companies with more fame in the USA than U-Haul. U-Haul is synonymous with quality moving equipment that is designed to please a broad range of consumers.

They offer one-way transports and offer pre-calculated discount mileage rates for long trips. However, it may be difficult in some locations to obtain a one-way cargo van rental for very long distances.

The dedication of U-Haul to serving the moving needs of Americans shines through by how well they have built their booking platform online.

Features/Options (from the U-Haul website):

Inside Dimensions: 9’6″ x 5’7″ x 4’7″ (LxWxH)
Door Opening: 5’1-1/2″ x 4’1-1/2″ (WxH)
$19.95/day plus 69 cents per mile
Large Enough to Fit a Queen Mattress
Mobile Booking through App Option
Simple Low-Cost Comprehensive Insurance Coverage ($10.00/day)
Low-Cost Dolly and Furniture Pad Rental Options ($6-10.00/day)
Full Selection of Reasonably Priced Packing Supplies
Optional Booking of Movers to Help by the Hour
Free Month in Climate Controlled Storage Unit with 24-hour access (included)
Multiple Convenient Drop-off and Pick-up locations

Enterprise

Just when it seemed like U-Haul had all the cargo van and options you could ever want, along comes Enterprise. Enterprise offers one-way trips from many locations. They feature a wider variety of cargo vans to provide movers with the versatility to fit all their goods without having to upgrade to a more difficult to operate U-Haul box truck.

Enterprise features Compact, Standard, Heavy-Duty, and Heavy-Duty XL cargo vans in addition to box trucks.

Features/Options (from the Enterprise website)

Interior dimensions ranging from 83″ x 52″ x 48″ (LxHxW) to 143″ x 56″ x 55″ (LxHxW)
Fuel Efficient 24-Miles Per Gallon in Compact Model
Extended Length Vans Available
Maximum 3,950-lbs of payload
Priced at $35.99/day for the standard model to $83.98/day Heavy-Duty XL
300 free miles included in larger models
0.69 per mile or additional mile in published pricing
Optional Dolly and Moving Pads rentals
Low-Cost comprehensive insurance coverage ($23.95)

State Van Rental

Although the name sounds alluring, this company was short on details when it came to renting a van. The pricing was not very competitive. They have a large selection of vans but not cargo vans per se. Even attempting to obtain answers through the online chat agent proved impossible. The process appeared to be automated and assumed you were booking a particular itinerary.

The company offers the convenience of a few remote drop-off locations in Southern California and Phoenix, Arizona.

Features/Options (from the State Van Rental website)

GMC G2500 or Chevy Express Cargo Vans
Priced at $69.00 a day
100 free miles included
Optional Child Safety Restraint Seats
Optional Roadside Assistance Coverage
Optional GPS Navigation
Optional Tow Hitch Package
Optional Collison Damage Waivers
Optional Additional Driver surcharge

Budget

Rather than the budget-conscious discount rates might one expect from a rental company named Budget, the Budget company rates seem to imply the opposite. Budget in this context appears to imply that you can rent a cargo van if you have a large enough budget. Although they weren’t the most expensive, the service seems pretty bare bones and short on incentives for paying more than the U-Haul price.

Hypothetically, because they are not as large, the vans may be in better condition and less used. Maybe the Concord-slanted cab is an incentive if you want a uniquely styled moving van.

Features/Options (from the Budget website)

Interior Dimensions: 10’11″x4’4″x5’6.75″ (LxHxW) (200 cubic feet)
Priced at 29.99/day and 89 cents per mile
No Towing Options
Pre-paid mileage
Multiple Locations but limited cargo van availability
One-way Drop-offs available
Convenient Dolly and Furniture Pad rentals
Convenient Mover-Help booking option (price per hour)
Various Insurance Plans that upsell full coverage at approx. $60 a day

All and all, it appears that frugal consumers who need an incentive to blow money have little need to look beyond Enterprise of U-Haul for their cargo van rental needs. These national chains have the best coverage for one-way trips and offer a wider range of features with the mover in mind.

It appears that these other companies are set up in airports as more of a tourist trap. If there are incentives for booking cargo vans (in particular) with smaller companies, they are not obvious from the website booking applications.