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andrelaplume2

HD or Lowes truck Rental

andrelaplume2
14 years ago

Ok, I really need about a dozen sheets of drywall, some 4 X 8 and some 4 X 10. It almost seems nuts to bother/inconveniebce a friend when HD/Lowes claim I can rent a truck for $20 for 75 minutes...and my 13 year old is free! I live 5 minutes away.

Is there a gimmic with that price? Can you fit the drywall in the truck. Is 10' too long? 12'?? Any tips for loading and unloading. I am going to try to get in through my bilko doors in my yard.

I know this sound lame but I've never done this before.

Comments (17)

  • sniffdog
    14 years ago

    Not a gimmic - exactly what the rental trucks are for. You do a load and go where you rent the truck, then load the material, then they time stamp when you leave. Its a really nice option to have.

    make sure you bring a copy of your auto insurance card with you and obviously a valid driver's license - they will not rent to you unless you have these 2 docs.

    I do not remember the exact length of the bed but I know an 8' piece of drywall will fit in with bed door shut. 10' should work but you might have to leave bed door open.

    One funny story that I must share. When HD first started the truck rental program, I needed some mulch. I also needed a lot of top soil. This was for a pond project that got out of control - kept getting bigger.

    So I rented the truck from HD and brought home about 20 bags of mulch from the store. Then I ran out to my local dirt supplier and had them dump in a load of top soil into the bed - huge front loader. As the front loader was making it's way over to my rental truck, i started thinking about the weight of dirt and how much the truck could handle. Before I had a chnace to tell the guy to wait - the dirt was in the bed. Front wheels of the truck almost came off the ground. Luckily I did not break anything but I definately went over the load limit. I got home and had to shovel like a mad man becuase I was on the clock to get the truck back. It took a long time. This was a very bad idea and definately not allowed by the store - but this was before they had posted rules. Wife laughed the entire time I was shoveling.

    Now the trucks have a load sensor so if you go over the limit the sensor makes a very loud annoying noise to let you know you are over the limit. You should have no problem with a small load of drywall.

    The trucks are great - just follow the rules.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    thanks! Now dum question...sound like the 8' drywall will lay flat. Can the 10' or even 12' be put in on an angle resting on the bed door..then I need no worry about anything sliding out!

  • homebound
    14 years ago

    What, no minivan? I fold the seats down in my dodge caravan and slide them in on top. For 8 sheets and a 5 minute drive you can bungy the hatch down, or slide the fronts seats up all the way and drive with your face up against the windshield.

    Anyhow, nothing is going to slide out unless you're drag racing...or driving up hills. I mainly worry about things sliding forward if I have to brake quickly.

  • mike_kaiser_gw
    14 years ago

    Why not just call Home Depot or Lowe's and ask if their trucks can accomodate a 10' sheet of drywall. Just remember that a 4x10' sheet of drywall weighs about 90 lbs. which may be a bit much for some 13-year-olds.

  • worthy
    14 years ago

    I'd leave the longer sheets to the pros. Plus they may well not fit through your doors.

  • heimert
    14 years ago

    Haven't rented, but have thought about it.

    but why is $20 for 75 minutes a gimmick?

    That means they can rent the truck at lest 4-5 times per day (on a busy day). That's $100. You'd pay much less to rent a truck for a day at Budget/Ryder/UHaul. It's a nice option at what seems like a reasonable price.

  • mike_kaiser_gw
    14 years ago

    but why is $20 for 75 minutes a gimmick?

    I'd suspect that $20 just about covers their costs (and profit comes from what they normally sell). The reason they do it is to encourage people to buy things they might not otherwise because of transportation issues.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Can that be right, that means a 2 X 8 weighs 75 pounds....

  • aaroni
    14 years ago

    When I started purchasing repossessed mobile homes, I thought I was going to save money by buying homes that were in bad shape and rehabbing. What I realized very quickly was that rehabbing homes can get very expensive, not only with labor but also for materials. I was spending more money on rehabbing a home in bad shape than buying a repossessed home is good shape.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    well, I hope the it works out for you aaroni.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    we rented the truck. It took a few minutes to get all our info at the courtesy desk. Then they were going to have me pay right there and start my time throwing an extra 15 minutes in...glad they did not because it took longer to get the drywall and pay for it. We ended up paying for the truck at checkout. That drywall is a lot heavier than it looks but my son and I were able to unload the 18 sheets into our garage, return the truck and then lug them (one at a time) thru the bilko doors around back into the basement.
    The crew at Lowes could have been a little better about helping load...once they got someone they were nice though.

    It was suppose to $19 but I saw a $3.25 charge thrown...not sure for what....still a good deal.

  • StephanLuiz
    13 years ago

    HD of course

  • lazypup
    11 years ago

    Its not a gimmick,,it is downright highway robbery.

    Sure its a ten minute drive home, but buildimg materials are heavy. Once you get home and start unloading it is very easy to take a couple little 5 minute breaks and before you know it, you get the truck back to the store to find you ran over 3 or 4 minutes for another $20

    why pay $20 for an hour and 1/4 when you could go to Uhaul and rent a truck for $20 the whole day?

  • Pilm
    10 years ago

    U-haul for $20 ... LOL, not bloody likely! That $20 quickly turns into $30 or $40 when they add insurance, refueling charge and mileage cost, and whatever other crap they sneak in there!!

    Lowes/HD on the other hand is a great deal, no mileage charge, no insurance charges, and don't even have to refill the tank for the gas you used.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Just used Lowes again for 3rd time. They do ask that you replinish gas...but I use the sucker for maybe 12 miles. The only issue is they want you to shop, pay and then come get the truck....by then it could be gone. The first two times the lady rented it to me but post timed the paperwork to give me a half hour to shop and load. Maybe the last time the gal was just having a bad day OR maybe its something new.