If you have decided to rent a moving truck for your do-it-yourself move you may then wonder, "Can I actually drive this thing?" If you're one of those people don't worry, it's a very common concern.
My initial advice to anyone concerned about driving a rented moving truck is don't be. Although the truck may seem massive and the drive daunting, you'll quickly find that they are easy to drive and not nearly as scary as you initially thought. The largest issue most people have is the lack of a rearview mirror, which makes perfect sense considering you wouldn't be able to see anything because of the cargo space. Rest assured that the huge side mirrors provide ample views of what is happening behind and next to you, it just takes some getting used to.
For some people, however, the issue of driving the rented moving truck goes beyond just whether or not they can drive it themselves. Some people simply don't want to, others don't like driving long distances. It's these situations that often prompt the question, "Can the movers drive my rental truck?"
Rental Truck Driving for Local Moves
Yes, our movers can drive your rental truck if you are completing a local move. There is no additional fee for this service. However, there are several requirements to ensure our compliance with state and federal laws as well as insurance regulations. These requirements, which are also outlined in the topic FAQ, are as follows:
- Customer must purchase the liability and physical damage coverage from the truck rental company.
- The mover that is driving must be added to the contract as an additional driver. This means that our movers must meet you at the truck rental location.
Rental Truck Driving for Long Distance Moves
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a driver for long distance moves. This is due to the quasi-illegal nature associated with having a mover drive a rental truck. For two years, Movinglabor.com tasked our interns with reaching out to each state's Department of Transportation, the division that oversees rules and regulations of the transportation industry. What we learned is that most states do not have an official rule for this type of situation and, therefore, deem it illegal. During our research, we were unable to identify a single state that considered the practice of hiring a mover to drive a rental truck as a legal practice. Most classified the driver as "for hire", which only created more complications when you overlayed the rules and regulations that exist for moving companies.
Bottom line, MovingLabor.com is an ethical company that believes in abiding by the rules, regulations, and laws which oversee our industry. While we agree that providing this service would be beneficial to some, we simply will not be able to provide this service until rules and regulations are established.
Rental Truck Driver Alternatives
If you feel that you must have a drive for your rental truck then my personal recommendation is to ask friends and family. There are numerous benefits to enlisting your friends or family to drive your rental truck as opposed to hiring a driver.
- It's perfectly legal. As we just discussed, hiring a driver may be considered illegal by some states. Save yourself the hassle and enlist a friend or family member.
- It's much cheaper. Most movers will want an absurd amount of money to drive your rental truck, whereas a friend may only want to have the expenses covered.
- You may actually be doing the driver a favor. Believe it or not, there are some people who love to drive, I'm one of them. If a friend asked me to drive their rental truck across the country I'd enthusiastically accept and thank them for the opportunity.