I am looking to rent a truck and have somoene drive it

[pattsmoving]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for considering our company for your upcoming move. As far as driving a rental truck, we too are a little un-informed about the situation. We have never provided this type of service for an out of state move. We have qualified drivers that could handle the job, we just need to make sure we do it legally.

Maybe some of the vets can assist with this one.

If a customer rents a truck, and we use our authority to drive the truck, how do the laws about providing estimates come into play? Do we still need to follow our tariff for this type of service? The most logicial thing I could think of was to add a provision to our tariff for this type of service. The price would be set per mile.

I assume we would put an "operated by" sign on the truck, and follow all of the driver rules. HOS, Logbook, pre trip inspection, etc.

We would be happy to assist you, Larry. We just need to get some details worked out before we proceed.

[ArchieWhite]

rental trucks can skate past scales and never even slow down. Unless they are involved in a bad accident, whatever arrangements between the shipper and his hired driver are of no concern for anybody. Since all rentals are non CDL, I wouldnt worry about it.

[Diane]

Nevertheless, Mr. Patterson, Rick would probably know the regulations governing this type of move. Maybe you could send him a PM to ask.

I see that you joined the BBB in August 2007 and you have zero complaints as of now - http://nebraska.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=135&bbb=0714&firm=300031250

Congratulations, and also congratulations on your 200 good reviews on eMove.com!
_________________
Diane
Check out domestic companies on this thread. Click here for a detailed, authoritative article on international moving.

[Rick]

Now this is when you need an attorney, eh, Promover2!

I don’t have any experience with this type of deal but it appears that this is a perfect example of the problems inherent in a situation where an uninformed consumer tries to arrange their move with multiple service providers, each who don’t understanding their legal obligations/exposure the negotiation.

As explained, the customer intends to rent/lease a truck from a licensed provider, and then load their HHG and motor vehicle using the rental equipment. When completing leesor’s paperwork, the leasee is recorded as the party who will be operating the equipment and is responsible for purchasing insurance and assuming liability for the safe return of items rented. At this point the consumer doesn’t know the name of the company being considered or the operator of the truck.

After the equipment is loaded, the customer negotiates with a licensed interstate household goods carrier to provide “drive away” service on the rented equipment for a fee.

Assuming the carrier selected has the required household goods interstate operating authority, they can legally drive a truck rented by the customer from one state to another – provided the charges and assumed liability (and associated fees) to provide the service are included on their estimate and in their tariff.

The licensed mover is required to attach a “Operated by” placard to the exterior of the truck on both sides noting their motor carrier and DOT operating authorities and observe all DOT safety operating procedures, including the regulations regarding HOS and completing logs.

The truck driver takes possession of the equipment and starts to proceed to destination. While en route, he is involved in a fatal accident because he:
1) operated outside the bounds required for his DOT licensing (i.e. drove for 15 hours straight),
2) was legally impaired (drugged/drunk) etc), or
3) was just an unfortunate victim himself.

The equipment rented by the customer and its contents are totaled in the accident as well as the vehicle(s) and personal property of the other involved parties.

The family of the injured party(s) files a suit against the truck rental company because they have biggest pockets. In it they allege that the rental company was negligent for allowing the customer to hire a motor carrier who was negligent and operated illegally. The rental company files suit against the customer because they didn’t know anything about the arrangements made with the motor carrier. The customer, in turn, hires an attorney to go after the mover.

Someone is going to have to explain to me why any carrier would want to play in this game.

[ArchieWhite]

good question...we dont even load them anymore ( we used to, until a claim came in from thousands of miles away) and would never consider driving one.

I've found that if a customer is trying that hard to save money, that we are probably not the service provider that he is looking for. A customer these days can literally get a professional mover for just barely more than they would pay a PODS/ABF/Moovers etc, (with the huge discounts that professionals give these days) and then the professional would do all the arranging, lifting, driving and liability for cargo and injury claims.

For more details, refer to my post about 'the rise and fall of the professional mover,' on sale now at bookstores and truckstops near you.

[Rick]

I heard that ABF drivers have burned most of the copies left at the Choke-n-Pukes.

[ArchieWhite]

Yeah, and those boys would be ashamed to admit that their cargo is bedbugs.....freight drivers look down on us bedbuggers.....I heard a rumor that UPS and FED EX were trying to get into the HHG biz, don't know why they would be that dumb, but should they choose to join us, they, along with Cartus ( formerly Cendant) would probably end the misery of all but 2-3 of the van lines currently pretending to be soluble, since they have the deep pockets for advertising and employing service providers at a proper payscale.

[bigmove]

I don't see Fedex or UPS getting in the HHG action. What they are doing, is agressively taking market share from the LTL industry, which is making the U-pack/container stuff more attractive to LTL carriers.

[EastCoastMover]

well if fed x and ups did get into the hhg business and if they did it as partners then the name for the new hhg company could be .....drumroll please..... FedUp....might as well start off right....

[Diane]

As I said above, maybe the safest thing is for Larry to drive the U-Haul truck himself and have someone else drive or haul his car.

[ArchieWhite]

Speaking of such nonsense, does anybody know if its true the Walmart has their own in house moving company that moves their peeps?

I've never seen a WM move on United or Mayflower, just curious. We used to be the regional mover for K Mart, but Walmart put them out of business pretty quickly.

[EastCoastMover]

arch..yes its true walmart has its own little moving fleet..we run into the drivers every so often...you will see them pulling dropframe trailers painted up just like their freight trailers....25 years ago when i was working for kimberly clark (kleenex,huggies diapers) they did the same thing with the isd fleet..they have since stopped hauling their own freight and now schneider hauls the freight and one of the majors hauls the bugs....

[Rick]

[az ops man]

Archie,

Walmart does in fact have a hhgds fleet. I know for a fact because during my brief 12 year stint with United as an OTR man I saw a Walmart drop frame furniture van at a truckstop and asked the driver about it. They move only their employees and off duty Walmart employees are allowed to clock in and help with loading and unloading. If there are no employees moving in an area they unhook and go haul some freight until they are needed again.Keep an eye or two open and you might just see one of the many Walmart drop frames in your neighborhood soon!!

Oh by the way, can you imagine not so experienced people trying to load a drop frame of all things!!??? Those things arent for the weak, and you better know what you are doing!! Loading a drop frame correctlyand safely is sort of a lost art.

[ArchieWhite]

Rick, I'm going to get it copyrighted and reprinted, and leave free issues at truck stops and massage parlors, don't want them to go to waste.

I can't think of a better nail in the coffin than to have Fed Ex, UPS, Roadway and who else competing against us dumb mom and pop movers. Heck, half the movers I know are already bankrupt, they just won't admit it. Could be worse....could be Obama's preacher.