Penske vs U-Haul: what the federal record shows

What is the difference between Penske and U-Haul?

Both rent trucks to a customer who drives the truck. Penske files as one national registrant that also runs a leasing fleet, so a single federal record describes the company. U-Haul rents through separate state companies, so no single registration describes the brand. In use, the differences people notice are fleet age, one way availability, and how the mileage and fuel are billed, not the service model, which is the same on both.

What does each one actually do, under federal registration?

We do not assert a USDOT number for U-Haul. The number once stored against the brand belonged to another company entirely and was withdrawn, and the rental model does not produce a brand level registration to replace it. The comparison rests on the per state registrations recorded above and on what each company sells, not on a number we cannot stand behind.

Who does the loading, the driving and the carrying?

You do, on both. The rental company hands over a vehicle and takes it back. Loading is yours or a labour crew you hire separately, driving is yours for the entire distance, and unloading is yours at the other end. Nobody at either company touches your belongings at any point in the transaction, which is the reason the liability answer below reads the way it does.

What is each one liable for if something breaks?

Neither of these companies is a household goods carrier, so neither owes you carrier liability at all. A household goods carrier owes the shipper 60 cents per pound per article under 49 CFR 375.701, which is the no extra charge level of liability, and it must offer full value protection as the alternative. A rental company rents equipment, so damage to your own goods is not its risk; the damage waivers and cargo products both companies sell are insurance purchases, not carrier liability. The practical consequence is that damage on a rental move sits with the customer and whatever cover they bought, while damage on a carrier move is a claim against the carrier. See the federal moving rules page for the rule text and the claim window.

Which suits which move?

A rental truck suits a short local move, a move where you have people to lift, and a mover who is comfortable driving a large vehicle. It stops suiting the move as the distance grows, because the days at the wheel are real work and the fatigue is a safety question. If nobody in the household wants to drive a loaded truck for two days, the comparison you actually want is a carrier or a container, not the other rental brand.

What does each cost?

We do not publish prices for rental trucks, portable containers, or freight trailers. Those are vendor quotes that change by lane, date, and equipment availability, and we hold no stored dataset for them — a number here would be a guess with a dollar sign on it. Price the option you are considering directly, on your own dates, and compare it against the full-service figures above.

For the alternative side of the decision, a full service interstate move of a two bedroom home is modelled at $3,000–$7,000, and a local two bedroom move at $630–$1,395.

Full service figures on this page are produced by our pricing model. Editorial estimate, not a measured transaction price. Reviewed May 2026.

Budget Truck Rental sits in the same category as both. We hold no verified federal record for it, so it is named here rather than compared: a page that ranked three rental brands on records we do not hold would be inventing the difference.