Unlimited Mileage Cargo Van Rental Rates

Moving is always a pain in the rear. There’s boxes to label, dishes to wrap, junk that you’ve hung on to for years needs to be sorted out and discarded. There’s just no easy way to do it.

There are moving companies that will do most of it for you, but you still have to spend hours comparing prices and policies.

If you’re renting a truck or cargo van for a number of miles, the following unlimited mileage rental comparisons should at least give you a sense of what you’re in for.

moving mapThere are a multitude of factors to consider in the price of the vehicle. For the purpose of this article, I used the same hypothetical parameters for each quote; a cargo van or small truck, going one way from Denver, Colorado to San Diego, California.

The dates quoted are from September 12th, to the 14th.

Rates from Denver to San Diego 2015

Penske Unlimited Miles

  • Price – $792 (10% Discount when Booking Online from Penske)
  • Service – Every truck comes with automatic transmission, antilock brakes, air conditioning, AM/FM radio, AUX or USB input, power steering, cargo tie rails, dual-faced mirrors, rear roll-up door, cargo lighting and non-slip floors.

U-Haul

  • Price – $950
  • Service – U Haul trucks come with lower deck heights, a gentle ride suspension. U-Haul has over 20,000 locations and as an added benefit their trucks use cheaper unleaded fuel.

Avis

  • Price – Renting a cargo van from Avis requires personal information to obtain an exact quote. Their website says, “around $40 per day and $.90 cents per mile”.

Enterprise

  • Price – $80 a day, unlimited mileage.
  • Service – Free pick-up and 24-hour roadside assistance.

My original plan was to do a list of all the major rental companies, so a side by side comparison was possible. However, some of the sites were difficult to access, and others wouldn’t give the information without giving them your email address or some other form of personal information.

What I was able to gather, was a pretty good sense of frustration. There are many rental companies to choose from, all of whom have different ways of determining their rates. By the time I had gathered basic information from one provider, the rates had changed on another.

The things that affect the fluctuating rates are:

  • The size of the vehicle.
  • Is it one way, or round trip?
  • The total miles traveled.
  • Day of the week, and month of the year.
  • How much demand there is for the vehicle in the area of your destination.

The pricing variables from one company to the next are inconsistent. The only thing that didn’t change was the difficulty of trying to get an accurate quote online.

If you are looking to rent a cargo van, or any vehicle for that matter, you will probably need to call and speak to an actual representative.

Especially if you want to make comparisons. But remember, the quotes are only good for a short time.