I’ll go one further than the suggestions to be careful: some upcoming weekend, rent one.
Some of their day rentals are pretty cheap. You can take one out to the local empty parking lot and practice turns, braking, backing up, etc. You will still need to get used to the feel (sluggish acceleration; “it ain’t never stop!” braking) under a full load, but you’ll already have an acquaintance with the poor visibility, excess length, and odd turning characteristics.
They are NOT difficult to drive (either automatic or stick), but with 36 years driving stuff all smaller than a pickup, it is going to be a lot different than you’re used to.
I’ve driven UHauls several times, including Texas to LA. I’ve had much better luck in recent years with Budget – the trucks seem to be newer and in better shape. No governors on any that I’ve ever driven, however. I’ve found the best discounts are available reserving online – but it definitely helps to physically go look at the trucks at the location you’re renting from first, to make sure they have a decent-looking inventory.
Something that hasn’t been mentioned that you’ll want to consider if you’re driving a loaded truck and it’s hilly – going downhill, even if it’s an automatic almost definitely WILL require downshifting. I learned that driving a fully loaded 23-foot truck towing my car going down into the Los Angeles basin; that 5-mile downhill took several years off my life because I didn’t downshift quite soon enough. So make sure to slow down early and often, especially going downhill!
Thanks to all.
In 36 years of driving I’ve never used a stick-shift vehicle, either. (A girl I went to high school with told me, six months after we graduated, that driving a stick-shift car was “like having to learn how to drive all over again.”)
In more recent years a woman I know has driven a stick-shift Toyota Tercel she bought new in 1988–she says she’s had not had any trouble driving a stick-shift. And she drove a U-haul truck herself once when she moved and had no difficulties with that either. (I asked the U-Haul people and they said a 14-foot truck would probably be adequate. The biggest vehicles I’ve driven regularly were an eight-year-old Chevy Biscayne I bought in 1969, and a nine-year-old Chevy Nova I got in 1986. I also drove a friend’s Cadillac a couple of times and exprerienced no difficulty with that.
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Helpfull tip from my friends who own a McDonald’s. Please don’t use the drive-thru while driving a U-Haul. (They have to replace part of the roof, etc. about every year when someone drives a U-Haul through it).
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I’ll second that. Watch for overhangs as well.
I drove a U-Haul from New Mexico to D.C. It was a pretty wasy trip until I pulled into a motel to sleep and rammed the U-Haul into overhang in front of the building.
The front desk clerk knew exactly how to remove the jammed U-Haul (let a lot of air out of the tires) and said that people hit it about once a month.
[QUOTE=Eureka]
Helpfull tip from my friends who own a McDonald’s. Please don’t use the drive-thru while driving a U-Haul. (They have to replace part of the roof, etc. about every year when someone drives a U-Haul through it).
This reminds me of a line from C. W. McCall’s “Wolf Creek Pass”: The sign said “Clearance to the twelve-foot line”
But the chickens was stacked to thirteen-nine
Moral: Read signs and know how high the top of your vehicle is. :D:p
I did it once when I was moving about 550 miles. I was scared of driving something so big. It was in the winter which meant there was snow. I was driving through mountains which meant lots of steep drops and hills. I was towing my car behind me. It was a recipe for disaster…
To my surprise, once I got used to things, it wasn’t bad at all. I even found out that it had a governor on it so I couldn’t get it past 65 MPH and I was shocked that I found this upsetting because I felt that I could drive faster safely at times (the speed limit in many areas on the trip was 70).
Since you’ve already gotten all your practical advice… get the truck with the dinosaurs on the side.
U-Haul has “state” trucks with a big picture of something from each state. One of the state trucks (Wyoming?) has a big decal of dinosaurs. That’s just the coolest U-Haul truck decal I’ve seen. Raaawr! Dinosaurs!
The good-sized truck with the manual transmission? Once you (I) got out of first it shifted just fine (with all that momentum behind me). It sounded like an old school bus (because that’s pretty much what it was), but it drove pretty OK.
I drove a 17-footer from Kansas to Idaho in July 2003 when I helped a friend move here. It took a little getting used to since I had never driven anything that large, and I did miss having a windshield rearview mirror at first, but after a few miles it was like driving anything else. It had automatic transmission and it had air conditioning and power steering, so it was comfortable enough to handle. I got it up to 75 mph on the interstate, so speed wasn’t a problem. The most difficult times I had were when I nearly missed the I-25 turnoff from I-70 in Denver and wasn’t sure who was behind me as I merged back into rush-hour traffic. Also, while in Green River, Wyoming where we stopped for the night, we came to a low overpass with a 13-foot clearance. Not knowing how high the truck was, I braced myself for the worst as we went under it, but luckily we cleared it (the truck was only 11 feet high, as I later had seen labeled on the side of the truck). It was a fun experience. As much gas as it used, I was just glad we didn’t plan the trip any later than we did (gas prices were around $1.40 a gallon at the time).
You might want to insist on a newer truck just for your comfort factor alone. 1100 miles is a long way to drive when the truck is actively trying to beat you to death. A newer truck with an air-cushion seat would be preferable to one with a regular old, hard-mounted bench.
If the truck has a pull-out ramp, ask for a demo before leaving. Some of the procedures are not obvious, and a few ramps don’t work at all. Though this might seem obvious, never pull away from the load-in site without checking to see that the ramp is stowed.:eek:
Keep it up, FilmGeek – getting “blinkies” from tractor-trailers is good Car Karma. I get the blink about half of the times I let a truck in, especially when I can see they’re going to have trouble without my help.
dougie, this is a great piece of advice, because it keeps you thinking about all the vehicles on the road around you. When you’re in a U-Haul, especially on the highway, it’s easy to forget how big and fast you are. One more hint: check your route ahead of time for river crossings and large open plains, and be prepared for them; when your truck busts out of the treeline into a crosswind, you can get a nasty surprise (and small cars leeward of your truck can get a VERY nasty surprise).
Longest drive was from Footrot Flats, PA to Austin, TX (I never did learn the name of the area we were in). Had a load of furniture in the back and was towing a car. I didn’t have any problems, apart from the grannylady who ran us off the road in Little Rock.
OK, if you’re determined to do this, and you’ve read the warning threads about “reservations” and “maintenance”, here’s some tips.
Take a roll of duct tape. If you can’t find any other use for it, you can always duct tape the roll to the dash to make a cup holder.
If you are traveling with another vehicle, get a 2-way radio so you can talk to each other. If you get one with a headset, you can have nice conversations, just like you were next to each other. If you’re traveling alone, consider getting a CB radio for the same reason – entertainment.
Get a padlock for the back door of the truck – you don’t want your stuff disappearing on you while you’re in a truck stop.
Speaking of truck stops, use them. They have the clearance you need at the pumps, long-handled windshield tools, and generally faster pumps so you can fill that big tank in short order.
I have to agree with all the driving tips about size and visibility. One thing to watch out for is odd angled intersections. If you aren’t ‘square’ to the intersecting road, you won’t be able to see traffic in one direction. You have to maneuver the truck so that you’ll be able to see the short angle. This is especially bad if the short angle is on the passenger side of the truck.
I have been self-employed, in a sense, for 46 years and one thing I’ve learned is: The customer is always right.
I can recommend that the man who is planning for me to haul the furniture consider another truck company, but that’s as far as it goes. This is, after all, nine or ten months from now. Granted I’m not getting any younger–I’m 56–but I think it’s fair to get a general impression about U-Haul. Since I won’t be paying the bills, my major concerns are my own safety, the safety of other drivers around me, and the well-being of the truck and its contents.
In any case, the chances are slight that I’ll drive a stick-shift truck–I’ve never driven a stick-shift vehicle in my life (see my last posting).
I’ve had Auto Club since 1977 and I have a cell phone. The citizens’ band radio craze died out years ago and I don’t know how much they are used today, even by long-haul truckers.
Be careful backing up. One time I rented a fairly small truck, and almost took out a light pole in my own parking lot because I backed up without thoroughly checking out what was behind me. This was an area that I backed up in all the time with my car, but the truck was longer, and had that big old blindspot directly to the rear.
Not Wyoming - Utah - Wyoming has a cool cowboy on a bucking bronco, though.
I drove a U-Haul from Wyoming to NYC once, it took three days and I had to sleep in the back. (Long story). I’ve had no problem with the equipment (but I can drive an 18-wheeler, so I might not be the best judge.
The real downside is that the rental is pricey - especially one way. I have gotten better deals on the U-Pack it type deals, where you rent a portion of a semi trailer. Recently, I moved about 500 miles and the cost of the whole trailer was less than the two trips a large U-haul would have cost me.
