2021 Review: My Move With a Penske® Truck
Posted in: I'm Moving, Local Moving, Long Distance Moving Advice, Moving TrucksWhen it comes to moving truck rental companies, your cup runneth over in terms of choice. You’re probably looking for any little detail to help one option stand out from the rest, so I’m going to tell you my experience moving with Penske, a national truck rental company that supports commercial, personal, local, and long-distance moves.
How does getting a Penske truck work for a local move?
My journey began on the company’s website—specifically, its personal rental page and not the commercial one.
They have this page they call the Penske’s Truck Wizard tool, which I used to determine which size vehicle I should rent. I clicked “Get a Quote” and then added my desired dates and my pick-up and drop-off location information.
The first time I moved, I was making a local move within my state, so I selected the same spot for both to keep costs down: Hackensack, New Jersey.
Then you pick the day
I chose a weekend for vehicle pick-up. Penske automatically determined the drop-off date based on my move details, inviting me to add up rental supplies and spring for insurance. Thankfully, I was also chatting online with a Penske customer service representative during this process (click the “live chat” button on Penske’s site to be connected).
My personal estimate initially suggested I would pay $79 per day for the truck rental and $0.99 per mile for my move, but my rep asked if I wanted to pay a lower rate. Yes, please!
“The other major difference for long-distance moves with a Penske truck is that you’ll be offered free unlimited mileage.”
They were able to knock down the price to $70 per day for the truck rental and $0.87 per mile driven, with the caveat that the offer was good only during the duration of our conversation. If I’d let it slip through my fingers, there was no guarantee I’d be able to get that same price again. Luckily, I sprang for their offer over the phone.
Penske guarantees your reservation
Once I’d accepted my quote, Penske guaranteed my reservation details. In case you haven’t used a ton of other moving truck companies before, you should know that this is huge; U-Haul, for example, can change the details out from under you at will, so it’s a huge perk that Penske sets your deets in stone. (The only exception is for bookings made less than 24 hours in advance, in which case Penske might switch you to a larger truck or alternative pick-up location.)
Mileage fees (only for local moves)
Another fine print to be aware of is that the calculated mileage ratings listed on your estimate are exactly that: an estimate. Penske notes that fuel mileage may vary depending on land, terrain, weather, and driving speed, so be sure to leave some wiggle room in your budget.
“And because I reserved through HireAHelper, I got an additional discount of $193.77.”
If you have to tack on extra days before truck pick-up, you’ll be charged $50, while if you add on after pick-up, the fee will increase to $100. And no, you don’t get a refund if you return the truck early, sorry.
How does Penske work for a long-distance move?
If you’re scheduling a long-distance or “one-way” move, as they often call it, the process will be similar to the way things work locally:
- Head to the website for a quote
- Chat with a representative to see if you can get that quote lowered
- Sign up for the appropriately sized truck
For a long-distance move, you’ll likely be picking up and dropping off your truck in two different locations, which Penske, like most moving truck companies, charges more for.
The other major difference for long-distance moves with a Penske truck is that you’ll be offered free unlimited mileage. That’s instead of the initial $0.99 quote I got for my local move estimate. If you want to apply that discount toward your move immediately, you can search HireAHelper to see if it’s feasible to hire a team of movers on one or both ends. (Spoiler alert: it probably is.)
How much does Penske cost?
As you might expect, prices will vary based on truck size, distance traveled, and the length of time you have the vehicle. But what you might not expect are the many ways to slash your bottom line. Penske prides itself on its discounts and usually has some sort of seasonal offer going on.
Here are the basic savings available year-round:
| Discount For | Discount Amount |
| US military | 10% off all truck rentals |
| Students | 10% off all truck rentals |
| AAA | 12% off all truck rentals |
$129.44 for a local move — three bedrooms || 5 miles
I received this quote in February of 2021. Even before I received any discount, my local move was looking quite affordable. A 26-foot rental truck, with enough space to move a three-bedroom home plus basement and garage from Fort Lee to Ridgefield Park within New Jersey, came to $129.44 with the following breakdown:
- Daily fee: $79.99
- Mileage: $4.95 ($0.99/mile x five miles)
- Environmental fee: $2
- Vehicle licensing recovery fee: $2.50
- Limited Damage Waiver: $40
TOTAL: $129.44
$2,089.05 for a long-distance move — three bedrooms || 1,200 miles
I received this quote in March of 2021. To move that same three-bedroom house from northern New Jersey to central Florida, I was charged $2,089.05, which included:
- Truck rental: $1,614.75 for the use of a 26-foot truck over six days
- Free unlimited mileage
- Furniture pads: $30 (two dozen at $15 per dozen)
- Hand trucks: $40 (two at $20 each)
- Protection plans: $232.50 (Limited Damage Waiver for $132 and supplemental liability for $100.50)
- Sales tax: $162.80
- Environmental fee: $9
TOTAL: $2,089.05
These costs put Penske right in line with those offered by Budget® and U-Haul®, but make sure to talk to an agent over the phone like I did, because you never know what cost-cutting promos you might qualify for.
The biggest perk for Penske
The first major thing is that a long-distance move gives you unlimited miles. This is massive value if you’re going across the country!
Plus, I don’t know about you, but since the average day doesn’t find me behind the wheel of a 26-foot truck, I was endlessly appreciative of everything offered in Penske’s vehicles. We’re talking safety features like:
- Anti-lock brakes
- Dual-faced mirrors
- Free roadside assistance
- Convenience stuff like an easy-to-operate loading ramp with a 1,000-pound capacity and a translucent roof with interior lighting so I could load and unload the truck in the dark.
My anxiety also really appreciated knowing that the average truck was less than two years old and that I could test drive one before pick-up, a perk that I wish more rental truck companies offered. (Just contact the district office in your area if you want to do the same.)
Potential downsides of using Penske
This first one is kind of a double-edged sword: Your truck may be more reliable than other rental companies, but the trade-off is that Penske prices might look higher than those offered by other rental trucks—at least at first glance. But ultimately, prices will vary based on your approach and how adept you are at sniffing out discounts.
Some ways to shrink your bottom line are by reserving through the website, a step that saved me $215.30! And because I reserved through HireAHelper, I got an additional discount of $193.77.
Along the same lines, I highly recommend being on the lookout for hidden fees, which can be as hard to pin down as the secret discounts. For example, it was only after multiple questions about the supposedly “nonexistent cancellation fees” they advertised. I was finally told that I would, in fact, be fined $100 if I made changes to my reservation within 48 hours of pickup. Dumb.
Why should you choose Penske over other truck rental companies?
For me, it came down to three major factors that helped mitigate the stress surrounding my move:
- The free unlimited mileage on long-distance moves (this is huge)
- The emphasis on safety in the vehicles themselves
- The fact that roadside assistance included with every order, totally free of charge
Ultimately, if you’re someone with safety concerns who’s willing to snuffle around for a while in search of the lowest quote, I definitely recommend Penske. The sheer amount of opportunities to negotiate your price down are frankly unmatched in competitors, and the ease of using the website and online chat functions really set the company apart.
