Any success with UHaul?

[DutchVN]

I have a reservation for a pickup at the UHaul on Virginia St in Reno to transport gear, bikes and such. After reading some of the other post online it seems like there have been a lot of issues with them. Has ANYONE gotten a rental from them without being dicked over?

I'm a little nervous now about what do to if that falls through that won't cost an arm and a leg. Any advice would be awesome, thanks y'all!

[BoyScoutGirl]

You already tried calling the Budget on Gentry Way and seeing if they have anything left you can use, right?

[DutchVN]

I did look into the Budget online and it appears that they only have larger trucks which are way more space than we need and money then we were hoping to spend.

[Savannah]

It might not hurt to Google the Gentry Way Budget Rental and call them anyway; speak to a human. They can tell you things the online version won't. And good luck.

I don't remember much love for UHaul 'round these parts.

I have used Enterprise in the past, although we did not volunteer where we were going, and they didn't ask. We cleaned the car well and got the deposit back. In general, I like them, but I'm using the Northern branches.

[FIGJAM]

I think uhaul is the one that cancels your shit if they even think you're going to the burn.

And if you bring it back and they think that is where you were, they charge you 100s of $$$.

[DutchVN]

Spoke to budget on the phone and they do not have cargo vans. Spoke to enterprise too and they are sold out.

[lemur]

avoid u-haul.

they will gladly wait until you show up on monday of the burn to tell you they wont rent to you.

i had good experience with budget ...they rented to us knowing full well where we were going and after we mentioned uhaul bailed on us.. even with no reservation before hand they rented a truck to us same day..

[junglesmacks]

AVOID U-HAUL AT ALL COSTS. THEY WILL CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION AND SCREW YOU.

Seriously.

DO NOT even try and rent from anyone but Budget on Gentry Way. They are the ONLY box truck rental company in Reno that is proven 1000% burner friendly. All other major companies will either cancel your reservation at the last minute and/or nail you with hefty fees. The Budget guys on Gentry Way are totally burner friendly, have a front office full of BM schwag and well wishes written all over the office and will go out of their way to assist you even MORE so if they know you're a burner.. because they know what a good thing they have going with us and what a reputation they are building. That.. and they seem to be some genuinely cool guys.

Check this thread as there are some coupon codes that are working right now for some good deals: http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... &start=120

[Eric]

Spoke to budget on the phone and they do not have cargo vans. Spoke to enterprise too and they are sold out.

Pay the extra & rent the smallest usable vehicle the Budget on Gentry Way has. Period. It's pretty much the only way you can bet that you won't be screwed- even if another place says they'll rent you what you need you have no guarantee that they won't yank it out from under you at the last minute. I know theme-camps that had Uhaul do it to them (and do you have any idea how hard it is to find a truck in the SF Bay Area during the Burn?), I've heard bad things about almost everyone except that one particular Budget (on Gentry Way...)

Your choice is a bit larger than you need, but safe; or exactly what you need with a strong possibility of being screwed out of it at the last second...

[junglesmacks]

A 10' box truck would be just right if you want something smaller. It sits on a standard HD van frame and is decent on gas. Try out the coupon code listed in the linked thread.

[SnowBlind]

We've taken UHaul trailers a couple of times, and all went well. We didn't have any problems returning them either, but they were open trailers that were pretty beat up already, so I don't think they care about those too much.

However, when we picked it up there was a guy in front of us who was moving and the truck he had reserved simply wasn't there. They told him they might get one for him later that day or the next day, but he was on a tight schedule with his move and was fuming. I think they do that frequently with their reservations. They are more like a polite request, not a firm reservation.

So even though our experience went well, I'd hate to depend on them.

[DutchVN]

Thanks for the input! I called the Virginia St U-Haul and was told flat out they will not rent to anyone they even suspect is going to BM. I called U-haul corporate customer service and registered a complaint. I'm sure it won't change anything but at least it makes me feel better about the situation!!

Reserved a 10ft truck from the Budget on Gentry. It is more than we were hoping to pay but perhaps it is for the best. I can't imagine how much it would suck to get screwed by U-Haul at the last moment!!! Plus we now have lots of extra transport space to share! yay

[whatevan]

We've got a rental with Budget the the airport. Any experience with them? Should I be switching to Gentry way? The reservation has been booked and paid for.
Thanks

[junglesmacks]

Did you reserve online as a "business" and use coupon code U368037? Rates are lowest if you reserve to pickup Sunday instead of midweek, too. You can always make a new reservation and cancel the old one if you didn't do this.

We've got a rental with Budget the the airport. Any experience with them? Should I be switching to Gentry way? The reservation has been booked and paid for.
Thanks

Gentry Way is the rental location for trucks only.. no cars. I don't believe anyone has had the Budget car rental @ the airport cancel on them. Just make sure to clean the heck out of the car before return.

[DutchVN]

Did you reserve online as a "business" and use coupon code U368037? Rates are lowest if you reserve to pickup Sunday instead of midweek, too. You can always make a new reservation and cancel the old one if you didn't do this.

I saw that the rates were much cheaper if you reserve as a business. Don't "business" rentals require proof on insurance or something like that?

[incubus_pantomime]

AVOID U-HAUL AT ALL COSTS. THEY WILL CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION AND SCREW YOU.

Seriously.

DO NOT even try and rent from anyone but Budget on Gentry Way. They are the ONLY box truck rental company in Reno that is proven 1000% burner friendly. All other major companies will either cancel your reservation at the last minute and/or nail you with hefty fees. The Budget guys on Gentry Way are totally burner friendly, have a front office full of BM schwag and well wishes written all over the office and will go out of their way to assist you even MORE so if they know you're a burner.. because they know what a good thing they have going with us and what a reputation they are building. That.. and they seem to be some genuinely cool guys.

Check this thread as there are some coupon codes that are working right now for some good deals: http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... &start=120

If anyone can find a place in Reno that will rent to someone under the age of 25 without tacking on $200-$300 of underage driver fees for the week, then I'm all ears. UHaul rents to 18+ without these charges. I'm going to take a chance on it because it's really all I have.

[theCryptofishist]

So, you're flying into Reno when? And how much luggage will you have? Do you need to go shopping? Are you spending any nights in town? Do you feel comfortable if your stuff has to go with someone else?

Can anybody take BoyGirlScout or some of her stuff to the playa?

I'd suggest working the rideshare as well. Let's find you a better choice, because if you're stuck in Reno for a week, that's not good.

[theCryptofishist]

This might pan out--I have no idea what their policy towards under 25s is.

[BoyScoutGirl]

I'm gonna have a lot of empty space in my box truck but my departure and return dates and times are firmly fixed. So if you want to try to arrange something with me, please give me some more info on when you'll be where and what you're bringing...

[incubus_pantomime]

This might pan out--I have no idea what their policy towards under 25s is.

I'll have to call and see what their location's policy on underage drivers is, but the Budget FAQ webpage says they typically charge $18/day for people aged 21-23 (I will be two months shy of 24 during BM), and that comes out to $162 in surcharges alone for 9 days (Aug. 26--Sept. 3). Thanks for the heads-up, though! You are right in saying that this could pan out.

[theCryptofishist]

I know money is money, but 162 seems a small amount for a make or break thing like transport to the playa.

[moonrise]

This might pan out--I have no idea what their policy towards under 25s is.

I'll have to call and see what their location's policy on underage drivers is, but the Budget FAQ webpage says they typically charge $18/day for people aged 21-23 (I will be two months shy of 24 during BM), and that comes out to $162 in surcharges alone for 9 days (Aug. 26--Sept. 3). Thanks for the heads-up, though! You are right in saying that this could pan out.

The Reno regional DISCUSSION list (NOT the Reno event announce list) has various sorts of trailers being offered on it frequently. You could sign up, post a shout out looking for a trailer/truck/what have you and keep the money in the family! Burn related commerce IS allowed on the DISCUSSION list.
Of course you'll want to be sure you're dealing with an honest reliable burner... So far everyone I've ever met through this list has been fantastic. YYMV

[incubus_pantomime]

So, just putting it out there for the masses, and feel free to say "I told you so", as I will nod my head in agreement:

UHaul totally dicked me. They have nothing available, according to the Nevada regional office, and they were very rude when I tried to inquire as to why. So! We're now thinking about the To Flame bus. There are still spaces open for both outbound and inbound to Reno, so this is probably what we'll end up doing. I may inquire on the rideshare board about our monkey hut, though -- I'm about 200% sure that the To Flame bus would not be able to accommodate our long PVC pipes in their luggage bays, but let me know if that's not the case.

Thank you to any helpful hints and advice that were mentioned. We really appreciate it.

[theCryptofishist]

It takes a big cookie fortune to admit that the conventional wisdom of the board is correct.
Thank you, and best wishes for your transport needs.

[Copper nicus]

We had a U-haul truck booked from Reno from January and got a "your reservation is cancelled because we don't have the equipment" message this Friday! Thank you for eplayans for the helpful info on Budget on Gentry - new truck booking made yesterday successfully.

[junglesmacks]

So, just putting it out there for the masses, and feel free to say "I told you so", as I will nod my head in agreement:

UHaul totally dicked me. They have nothing available, according to the Nevada regional office, and they were very rude when I tried to inquire as to why. So! We're now thinking about the To Flame bus. There are still spaces open for both outbound and inbound to Reno, so this is probably what we'll end up doing. I may inquire on the rideshare board about our monkey hut, though -- I'm about 200% sure that the To Flame bus would not be able to accommodate our long PVC pipes in their luggage bays, but let me know if that's not the case.

Thank you to any helpful hints and advice that were mentioned. We really appreciate it.

Why didn't you heed all the metric tons of advice on renting only with Budget on Gentry?

[incubus_pantomime]

So, just putting it out there for the masses, and feel free to say "I told you so", as I will nod my head in agreement:

UHaul totally dicked me. They have nothing available, according to the Nevada regional office, and they were very rude when I tried to inquire as to why. So! We're now thinking about the To Flame bus. There are still spaces open for both outbound and inbound to Reno, so this is probably what we'll end up doing. I may inquire on the rideshare board about our monkey hut, though -- I'm about 200% sure that the To Flame bus would not be able to accommodate our long PVC pipes in their luggage bays, but let me know if that's not the case.

Thank you to any helpful hints and advice that were mentioned. We really appreciate it.

Why didn't you heed all the metric tons of advice on renting only with Budget on Gentry?

I read the advice, but the Budget on Gentry Way did not have any cargo vans available back when I made the reservation with UHaul. Nobody in my group has ever driven a box truck before, and I did not feel safe testing that in these conditions. Plus, we don't need a 10' box truck, so I didn't see the benefit in paying that much money for a huge truck we wouldn't be able to drive. If Budget had had cargo vans available, I would never have given UHaul a second thought.

I still appreciate everyone's helpful hints...it just so happened that I couldn't make use of it.

[junglesmacks]

Ah. I would honestly just go with the 10' truck then. I don't think it's any longer than a cargo van anyway as it's pretty much just a box on an HD van chassis..

That was also when your tents blow away in the 70 mph dust storm of biblical proportions, you have a fail safe, dust free, wind proof living structure.

Seriously.

[havoc]

I made a reservation on June 18th with Uhaul for a trailer only. They just emailed me today and unceremoniously cancelled my reservation due to lack of equipment.

Pretty frustrating. Scouring the board for alternatives now but wanted to throw in my (bitter) 2 cents.

[HandJamMasterC]

Ya, U Haul called me and told me they didn't have a trailer for me either ( Sacramento area ). However, my local U Haul guy is helping me work around the corp. office. It's just dust U Haul - it actually washes off. Wouldn't be any different if I was going dirt biking in the desert for 10 days fer Christs sake !!