# Rental companies that rent out trucks?



## CaliforniaDreaming (May 8, 2011)

Congrats on the trailer. I just got my first one myself this last October after years of wanting one. I held out for a particular brand because I dont have a truck to haul a big trailer with, but my vehicle is capable (and suitable) as a tow vehicle for the trailer I did buy.

What kind of trailer do you have? Suitable truck rentals might be touch and go, you'd orobably have to read the fine print to see if that falls under their liability, plus depending on the weight of your trailer, it might be too much since all the rental trucks from places like Uhsul seem light compared to some of the rigs I've seen used to haul trailers (a Uhaul truck could pull my Brenderup though)


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Most rental companies have a no towing/hauling rule. They purposely lease trucks without tow packages and will often have you sign something that says you agree not to tow/haul with the vehicle. It puts too much wear and tear on the vehicles, especially if you don't do it right and/or don't know what you're doing.

What most people don't realize is that rental companies don't OWN the vehicles they rent. They lease them. They'll keep them for a certain number of months, then they turn them back to the manufacturer to be refurbed and sold on to the public. The exception is Enterprise and any location that is a franchisee of the bigger companies (Avis, Budget, Hertz), but not corporately owned.

I used to work for Avis/Budget and we would have charged anyone a hefty fee if they took our vehicle off road or used it to tow with. Any damage decreased the amount of money we got back from the manufacturer at the end of our lease and they go over those vehicles with a fine-tooth comb when they're turned back.


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## NightFell (Dec 3, 2014)

CaliforniaDreaming said:


> What kind of trailer do you have? Suitable truck rentals might be touch and go, you'd orobably have to read the fine print to see if that falls under their liability, plus depending on the weight of your trailer, it might be too much since all the rental trucks from places like Uhsul seem light compared to some of the rigs I've seen used to haul trailers (a Uhaul truck could pull my Brenderup though)


Thanks, I'm excited to finally be able to trailer out whenever I want! I got a 2h bp stock, empty weight 2200lbs. My horse is about 900lbs (petite little half-arab). Numbers I've seen at Uhaul are 5000-5500lbs. 

I know just because it could be done doesn't mean it should though lol


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## NightFell (Dec 3, 2014)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> Most rental companies have a no towing/hauling rule. They purposely lease trucks without tow packages and will often have you sign something that says you agree not to tow/haul with the vehicle. It puts too much wear and tear on the vehicles, especially if you don't do it right and/or don't know what you're doing.
> 
> What most people don't realize is that rental companies don't OWN the vehicles they rent. They lease them. They'll keep them for a certain number of months, then they turn them back to the manufacturer to be refurbed and sold on to the public. The exception is Enterprise and any location that is a franchisee of the bigger companies (Avis, Budget, Hertz), but not corporately owned.
> 
> I used to work for Avis/Budget and we would have charged anyone a hefty fee if they took our vehicle off road or used it to tow with. Any damage decreased the amount of money we got back from the manufacturer at the end of our lease and they go over those vehicles with a fine-tooth comb when they're turned back.


Thanks for the insight- this does address something that I had been wondering. Any suggestions on where I could possibly get a decent refurbished fleet vehicle? Or would you say those are unsuitable for hauling?


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Home depot maybe?


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## CaliforniaDreaming (May 8, 2011)

NightFell said:


> Thanks, I'm excited to finally be able to trailer out whenever I want! I got a 2h bp stock, empty weight 2200lbs. My horse is about 900lbs (petite little half-arab). Numbers I've seen at Uhaul are 5000-5500lbs.
> 
> I know just because it could be done doesn't mean it should though lol


It's a great feeling, that sense of independence and freedom, being able to go whenever, wherever. Not being held back because you have your own rig. I still wake up giddy that two months ago, I bought a trailer. I don't like riding in the area at my barn, I love the trails so having a trailer was important to me since I can't just ride right off to go find trails, gotta haul to them. My friend who was hauling us out moved to a new barn earlier this month so now we just meet up at the trailhead. Soooo much easier for her and for me rather than having to come get us and take us home. We can jut go our separate ways after the ride.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

NightFell said:


> Thanks for the insight- this does address something that I had been wondering. Any suggestions on where I could possibly get a decent refurbished fleet vehicle? Or would you say those are unsuitable for hauling?


I wouldn't touch a fleet vehicle with a twenty-four barge pole. Even if one was given to me and it was a choice between that or walking, I'd walk.

You have to understand how rentals work. Rental companies don't keep their vehicles for longer than six to eight months. In that time, they often rack up 20-30K miles. It's not unusual for someone to rent a car for three days and put 200-300 or more miles on it. That car comes back and is immediately cleaned and flipped back on the line to be rented out again a few hours later. I've seen vehicles rack up 1000 miles in a busy week. Also, people drive rental cars HARD. It's not their vehicle and they don't have to do the maintenance, so they don't care. We used to save the oldest, highest-mileage cars for our nasty customers. If you ever get that rental car that has 30K miles on it, ask yourself how you treated your rental agent because chances are they gave you that car because you deserved it. 

Even though the vehicles are refurbished, that doesn't change the fact that a lot of miles have been put on that vehicle in a VERY short amount of time. You want a better-maintained, lower mileage vehicle with fewer potential problems to tow horses with, not a money pit that you never know what might go wrong when.


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## NightFell (Dec 3, 2014)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> I wouldn't touch a fleet vehicle with a twenty-four barge pole. Even if one was given to me and it was a choice between that or walking, I'd walk


Hmm I see, I appreciate the candid feedback and will be wary. I asked since I had just talked with another horse/truck/trailer owning friend earlier this week and he suggested looking into fleet vehicles. Then again he doesn't and hasn't work for a rental company lol

It's really unfortunate about the nasty customers though. I rent a lot of cars for my business trips and have seen a fair share of good and bad clients



farmpony84 said:


> Home depot maybe?


Could be worth looking into, thanks for the idea. And looks like they have some bigger trucks too around 10,000lbs


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

OP, your trailer sounds like the size I was hauling with my Dakota Quad Cab V8. Basic 2 horse with no dressing room. I made quite a few trips with the Dakota which was tow rated at 6000lbs. I often hauled 2 normal sized horses, say 900-1000lbs each and it was fine as long as I was on flat land. On hills and curves though, it could get little hairy and you had to be very, very careful.

Since finally getting my own horse trailer (Yay!!) with dressing room and all the "bells & whistles", I've been thankful that I was able to move up to a Ram 2500 rated at 13,000lbs. You can't imagine the relief when you have more power/weight than you need rather than not enough! Getting the right trailer/truck combo was at least a 5 year project for me, both the saving of the $$ and the shopping part!

That said, I have noticed U-Haul (and other rental companies) trucks with horse trailers attached sitting at various horse shows and events. I suspect that the U-Haul dealers aren't really agreeing to this use, but it happens.


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## Tack Collector (Nov 10, 2009)

Penske trucks used to have hitches on them, 10 years ago. Haven't needed to rent anything lately. This was the big box vans. 

Enterprise truck rental, if you are near a city. Says they have 3/4T trucks. https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckrental/en_US/locations.html

They might balk about renting for horse trailer hauling. Be sure to check what weight rating their hitches handle, too. Some older horse trailers are very heavy.


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## Tack Collector (Nov 10, 2009)

If you only plan to haul locally and infrequently, you could make do with an older truck. Some storage unit places have outdoor storage where you can park a vehicle or a boat for $25 or $30 / month, here. ymmv


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I've rented a tow vehicle before. The standard national companies wouldn't do it but a local one was fine with it. I had a chat to the owner about it and he charged a bit extra but was happy work it out. 

I'd call around the small local businesses and see who is willing to help.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

NightFell said:


> Hmm I see, I appreciate the candid feedback and will be wary. I asked since I had just talked with another horse/truck/trailer owning friend earlier this week and he suggested looking into fleet vehicles. Then again he doesn't and hasn't work for a rental company lol
> 
> It's really unfortunate about the nasty customers though. I rent a lot of cars for my business trips and have seen a fair share of good and bad clients
> 
> ...


Fleet vehicles are also what new car dealers call their stripped down work trucks/vans. Brand new but without the bells & whistles. Maybe that is what your friend meant.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Sometimes equipment rental places have a truck or two for rent. Our local one has a truck and a horse trailer out in their lot.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

OK....so try here.
_https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/content/truckrental/en_US/reservations/choosevehicle.html_

Rental trucks, in good working order _*are*_ available to tow with....
If you rent, be honest with customer service when you make a reservation so you know IF you are covered insurance wise if something should occur while hauling...accidents/incidents happen!
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## NightFell (Dec 3, 2014)

Just to follow up: I ended up calling my local Uhaul locations and they are fine with horse trailers. I spoke with two different representatives (double checking facts) and trucks come with standard 2" ball hitch but there is no brake controller so you have to either buy it from them or get your own plug and play. Hope this helps others who were wondering


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