Penske Truck Rental

I rented a 26 foot truck in Barre, VT. Casey, the manager at the Penske place in VT was very helpful. Everything went fine, we filled the truck right to the back door, but still couldn’t fit in everything, bummer.
The only thing I would say is – there is some kind of special filter on diesel engines now, and if it gets full it has to be «regenerated» which means, pull over for 30 to 40 minutes, and let the enginge do its thing. It runs a a high RPM, sounds noisy so you can’t even stand to be in the cab, while it burns off whatever has built up in the filter.
If you don’t do it, it will hurt the engine, cut power, and you won’t be able to get any speed out of the truck.
Overall, the truck performed well. You definitely notice it’s slow on hills — like down to 45 mph on steep ones. Just use your flashers.

When looking at moving trucks for our move we considered all of the major companies. We learned a lot in the processes and ended up going with Penske for a variety of reasons.
We were moving from NH to DC and originally looking to rent a Cargo van: we quickly learned that none of the major companies (U-​Haul, Penske, Budget etc) would rent you a cargo can for one-​way rental. That means we were stuck using a box truck. We ended up reserving a 12-​foot truck from Penske with unlimited miles for about $ 290 plus $ 60 for insurance. The price included a discount for being a AAA member (although they never asked for the card) and was much cheaper than U-​Haul and comparable to Budget.
Of all the major companies only U-​haul wanted to charge a mileage fee and they were about $ 100 more expensive than all the other quotes. That combined with poor reviews for our local office eliminated them from consideration. Ryder refused to do a one way move, which left us with Budget and Penske. Both companies were similar in price, had convenient pickup/​drop off locations and had trucks available. Both companies also required a 3-​day rental for the move; despite only wanting the truck for 24 hours but allowed you to return it early (without any refund). What tipped the decision in Penske’s favor was their insurance was cheaper and didn’t exclude the roof and tires. Having never driven a moving truck before I wanted to make sure if I crashed into something I wouldn’t have to replace the whole truck. The booking process at Penske was very straightforward. I called to make a reservation instead of booking online to make sure the truck would be available and they took my information and emailed me a confirmation.
The Londonderry location looks great. The building is right off the highway and in immaculate condition. They had free donuts in the lobby and there was no wait to pick up my truck. Unfortunately there was no 12 foot truck either. They told me when I arrived they had «upgraded» me at no cost to a 16 foot truck considering I wanted a cargo van originally this was far more space than I needed and a bigger truck than I wanted to drive. When I explained that I booked a 12 foot truck because I was going to be driving through cities and didn’t want a 16 foot truck they explained my options were drive a few hours away to another location with a 12 foot available or they would give me a $ 50 discount off my reservation price. With that option I decided to go with the 16-​foot truck.
The truck itself was very nice. It only had 12,000 miles on it had power steering, cruise control and everything else you’d expect. They advertise 8 – 12 MPG, which is exactly what we got on the drive down. The trucks are governed at 75 MPH and cruse control won’t work over 70 MPH. We set cruise control at 60 for the whole ride and got 12 MPG on the highway.
The drop off procedure was very quick. The man looked up my reservation, noticed I got the insurance and just did a quick walk around and asked if I hit anything (I didn’t YAY!). The whole drop off procedure took less than 10 minutes.
Overall, it was a good experience and I would consider Penske for future moves despite them not having the truck size I reserved available. The girl at the counter seemed unsurprised saying that it happens sometimes and if you really want a specific size you need to ask them to make a note of it. So if any future Unilocalers have their heart set on a 12-​foot truck definitely stresses its importance.

Unfortunately this is the only commercial truck rental business in the area… This terminal is less than a year old and is the combination for two former yards, Manchester and Hudson.
ONCE AGAIN, Penske F’ed up… we are not talking about dinky truck used for moving furniture… the BIG ARSE TRUCK that was reserved and confirmed; was no where to be found in the yard this time!
We made a reservation. Confirmed it a few hours before pick up… we get there and there is NO TRUCK. And with the NO TRUCK there was NO MANAGER… I think both missing items were having beers and diesel shots at the bar down the road!
NOW I got to get up early, drive all the way back out there… leave my car there and go pick up several tons of whatever… all during a snow storm! Bad enough its snowing out, now I got to chase down a truck in this crap!
I work as a spare CDL driver and from time to time we got to rent an additional rig. Every time I have to deal with this company there is nothing but problems and this is not restricted to this terminal!
Every time I have to deal with this company there is an issue… an issue to the point I have had to call the state and request a audit from special cops that deal with commercial vehicles. Every time I sit in one of their vehicles, fleet lease or rental, there is something drastically wrong with it…
I have had to call Roadside Help an unknown under of times, I now have it on speed dial! I have had to have them chance me as I got to get things delivered on time, not their time… How would you like to have an air alarm screaming in your ear for a few hundred miles, cuz you are in East-​of-​Nowhere-​South-​of-​Not-​There and the nearest repair is in Any-​Other-​City-​But-​Your-​Location.
How would you like a ticket on your record for something that your have been complaining to maintenance about all week and then get nailed by DOT… thanks for the blemish Penske! And this isn’t the first time, second… more like fourth time. I can right up their rigs all I want, Penske will repair them once DOT has written me the ticket!
Go borrow Bubba’s truck a few towns over yonder, guaranteed Bubba used higher end duc-​tape and spit than Penske…

I recently had a poor/​fair experience with another truck rental company, so I was ready to go with Penske. This was my first time, but second attempt, at renting a moving truck.
The quote I found was very competitive — slightly higher than Ryder, but much less than U-​Haul. This was for a non-​CDL box van for a trip to New York City and back. I found one-​way rentals were the same price as round-​trip (Penske calls this «Local»).
I found making a reservation online straightforward and easy to complete.
The facility in Londonderry is fairly new, built in the last year or two, and the fleet of trucks around the property looked fairly new as well. The people in the rental office were friendly and helpful, answering any questions I had. They were very thorough looking over my truck, noting every scratch and writing it down on the paperwork. The truck was a 2010 model, so it was nice having a new vehicle. The cab was clean, and so was the cargo area. The truck was well maintained and drove very well.
On the road down to NYC, the engine light came on a few miles after we fueled up. Calling the Penske roadside assistance number, I was talking to a person after two rings! I was impressed with this. This person was friendly, clear to understand, and helpful. Continuing on we go!
After making it back home, unloading the truck, and returning the truck to Londonderry, I was very impressed with my experience with Penske and would highly recommend it to anyone needing a truck.