Thursday, June 25, 2009

Top Car Rental Questions and Answers

Every summer brings about roadways full of travelers all going somewhere on vacation, many of them in a rental car. Rental cars can be great as they can be tailored to fit the needs of a certain trip you are planning. With a rental car you are free to choose whether you need a minivan for the entire family or an economical smaller car for yourself, it’s all up to you. With renting a car, there are many questions that can be covered but there are three that usually come up every single time.

Here are the top three rental car questions and answer:

1. QUESTION: ‘Do I need to buy the rental car insurance?’

ANSWER: Obtaining rental car insurance can be costly. In fact, there are certain instances where the insurance can cost you more than the rental itself. But you must keep in mind that YOU are responsible for the car you rent if any damages or even theft occur while the car is in your possession. Many individuals decline to get the coverage because they assume that their personal insurance or their credit card has them covered, only to find out later they were mistaken. Never assume. Always check first with your insurance company and or credit card company to see if you are fully covered. If you are not, then it is definitely to your advantage to buy the rental insurance, as you never know what might happen.

2. QUESTION: ‘Is there any way to obtain a cheaper price than what I was quoted over the phone?’

ANSWER: Absolutely yes! Keep in mind that when you call for a price the agent is not going to tell you about any special deals that may be going on. The first step is to ask if they do have any unadvertised specials. You can also go online to book your reservation and many times this will save you money as well. While online, look for other specials like free upgrades or things of that nature that the car rental company may be offering. AAA Members can almost always save a few bucks, but only if they tell the agent that they are members. Lastly, call your credit card company. Many credit card companies work hand in hand with car rental companies and can give you a special ‘code’ that will save you additional money.

3. QUSTION: ‘How far in advance should I book my car rental?’

ANSWER: You should always book your car rental at least one week in advance of your trip. Why? First of all you want to ensure that the vehicle you want will be available and the closer you wait until your trip, the more of a chance you have to get stuck with whatever is left on the lot. Second, and even more important, it may save you money. Here is another unadvertised special that the car rental companies will not tell you about. Really it is more of supply and demand. The longer you wait, the more the car rental companies generally charge because basically they know you will pay the fee as you have little choice. What are you going to do, walk to Disney? On the flip side though, if you book in advance, the car rental companies know you have plenty of time to call around and price shop if you are displeased with the price of the rental and so they will offer you a lower rate to try to seal the deal so to speak.

Car rental can be a headache and the car rental companies love to play the game. If you prepare yourself and know the answers to the top car rental questions, then you will not only be able to play the game with them, but win the game and save yourself some time and more importantly, money.

Tip: Use a Budget coupon code and save up to 20% off your next Budget car rental.
With every move comes packing, calling friends, and of course securing a moving truck rental. While there are plenty of moving truck rental companies out there, there are three that stand out from the crowd, not just because of their names, but also because of their reputations. Chances are you saw one or all of the trucks out while you were driving to work today. Yes when it comes to moving time, nothing says time to go like U-Haul, Budget, and Penske.

Each company offers many different options and sometimes choosing comes down to who is offering the best deal. The following is a little bit of information about each moving truck rental company and what they have to offer:

• U-Haul: Perhaps the best known of all the moving truck rental companies, U-Haul has been around forever and it is not uncommon to hear someone say, ‘We have to rent a U-Haul,’ even if they simply mean a moving truck. The company can accommodate your moving needs if you are doing an in town move or across the country move. They offer a wide variety of vehicles from a pick-up truck all the way up to a 26-foot moving truck. Depending on what your needs are you can rent a truck for a flat rate per day plus extra per mile driven for an in town move and they will give you a free quote on an out of state move, also known as a one way move. U-Haul sometimes offers special pricing when making your reservations online so it pays to check.

• Budget: Budget is not quite as well known as U-Haul but their presence in the moving truck rental business is big. They offer vehicles from the size of a cargo van to that of a big straight truck. Budget also charges a flat per day fee and also extra per mile driven for in town moves. You can rent a Budget moving truck for a local move or a one-way move across the country. If you choose Budget as your moving truck rental company, be sure to reserve your truck online as you can use a Budget promotion code and receive an additional discount.

• Penske: These are the big yellow trucks that can be seen on a daily basis running the highways. Penske’s vehicles range from smaller trucks to big rigs that can pull a 52-foot trailer. Like U-Haul they offer free quotes on one way moving as well as in town moving for a flat per day fee plus additional money per mile driven. Penske, like the others, also offers certain discounts when reserving online.

Each company has a toll free number that you can call if you have any specific questions that need to be addressed and each company suggests that you make your reservations well in advance so that you can make sure that the truck you want will be available on the date you need it. As far as choosing the right one for your move, make sure the truck you need is available and then go with the best deal.

Moving can be a big stress, but you can lighten that stress by making sure that you go with one of these top moving truck rental companies. With the piece of mind of knowing that your truck needs will be filled you can be left with worrying about which friends you can sucker into giving up a weekend to help you move your things.

Find a self storage unit near you, where you can also quickly locate moving companies and moving truck rentals near you.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Storage Pod Cost

A sure way to get your friends to cringe is to ask for help moving your stuff to a new house or a storage unit. What a pain! First you have to rent a truck, round up some willing or not so willing friends, load the truck, drive to the new house or storage unit, unload the truck, return the truck, and then you have to buy everyone dinner. Fortunately with the advent of the storage pod there is an easier way.

A storage pod is a portable storage unit so to speak. The company that owns the storage pod will drop off the pod to you at your home. You then fill up the pod with your belongings and the company will come and pick it up from you whenever you are ready. You have the choice now of having the company store your pod at their facilities or they will take it to your new house where you can unload it before they pick up the emptied pod. Almost takes the hassle out of moving and storage doesn’t it? But what is the cost?

The cost of a storage pod will of course vary from company to company, but with each company there are three rules that will apply that will determine how much your storage pod will cost you. The three rules are:

1. Size: Just like with renting a moving truck or storage unit, the bigger the truck or unit, the bigger the cost. Before you rent your storage pod, you need to first determine how much stuff will go into it. You don’t want to rent a storage pod that can fit all the belongings of a three-bedroom house if you are moving out of a one-bedroom apartment; that’s overkill. If you let the storage pod company know exactly what is to be moved they should be able to give you an idea of how big a storage pod you will need.

2. Duration: The longer you need to utilize your storage pod the more it will cost you. If you only need the pod for a couple of days to complete a cross-town move, then you will of course pay less than if you need to store your pod for several months. Some companies even offer specials such as your first month storage for a dollar or even free when certain conditions are met; so don’t be afraid to ask if there are any specials that are going on.

3. Location: Since the storage pod company is footing the bill for the gas to drive your storage pod to and fro, you can bet that the farther they have to drive, the more you will have to pay. If you are moving right around the corner, you won’t pay much, but a move from sea to shining sea will ring the bill up in an awful hurry. If you are renting storage space on a monthly basis, then you should use a storage pod company that is in your area as most have the price of delivery and pick up built into the monthly rent.

All the bigger storage pod companies have toll-free numbers that you can call to get a quote of how much you can expect to pay. Knowing first though how big of a storage pod you need, how long you will need it for, and how far the pod will travel is key if you expect to get the most for your money.

Save on Pods portable storage units by using a Pods promo code.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Online Storage Space - Insurance for Your Computer Files

There you are at the most important business meeting of your life. You are dressed to impress and your presentation couldn’t be any better prepared unless Warren Buffet himself was the creator. Then all of the sudden you realize that you forgot your jump drive with all the files you need to make the presentation back at your office and the sweat begins to pour as if you had just run a the Boston Marathon. What can you do?

You can avoid this nightmare from ever happening by backing up all your computer files using online storage space. This is accomplished by using an online file storage service, which is also known as a file hosting service or online media center. An online file storage service is an Internet hosting service specifically designed to host static content. This content is typically large files that are not web pages. They can be optimized for serving many users, as is implied by the term hosting, or be optimized for single-user storage, as is implied by the term storage. Once a user’s files are stored, those files can be accessed from any computer that has a connection to the Internet. The user’s files can then be shared publicly or can be password protected if the user so desires.

Online storage space is quite simply a back-up plan if all else fails. Think of it as insurance, you hope you never need to use it but it is nice to know that you have it should a situation arise.
While there are many advantages to having your personal files backed up with an online file storage service, here are just a few:

Little to no cost: Many online file storage services charge per gigabyte and some have a bandwidth cost component as well. While there are plenty that will charge for their services, there are plenty more that are free up to a certain point. While it is up for debate as to which service is better, the biggest difference seems to be that the freebie services have more ads for you to look at.

Easy to access: Once your files are stored all you need to access them is a computer that is online. Your files can be accessed from anywhere whether you are in Atlanta, Australia or Timbuktu.

Piece of mind: Never again will you have to worry should you forget to bring your files on your jump drive or any other format such as disk or cd-r. Your files will always be ready to be accessed should you need them, even if your personal computer crashes.

In today’s business environment being prepared is key, but being ready for anything, even the unexpected, is what separates the great from the good. Let’s face it, in life the unexpected can and will happen. Computers crash and jump drives get left behind, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be unprepared. Having your personal files backed up with an online file storage service is quite possibly the easiest and smartest business decision you will ever make. The piece of mind that comes with knowing that your files are always at hand is priceless and if you play your cards right the service is anything but.

Review sites offering free online storage space.

What to Look For In A Rental Truck

Eventually, one of these things happens to us all: you have to move from your house to a new home, you need to get rid of a lot of extra trash in and around your house, you need to move a car from one place to another or you need to pick up some supplies that just won’t fit in your car.

What do you do? You rent a truck that’s what you do.

The question now is what to look for in a rental truck? How do you know what exact type of rental truck you need? Herein we shall go over a few different types of rental trucks and for what jobs they are most suited. This way, when it comes time for you to rent a truck, you have a better idea of what to look for.

Pick-Up Truck

The pick-up truck is the most common type of consumer truck you see around. These are ideal for hauling small loads of things such as trash, some furniture and building supplies for a household project. You don’t really want to try to move an entire household with a pickup truck because you’ll end up making dozens, if not more trips. Pick-up trucks are perfect for hauling concrete bags, mulch, yard supplies and smaller furniture.

The Stake Body
A stake body is an oversized type of pickup truck with a specialized back. These backs are larger than your normal pickup truck and are normally a good few feet taller. This allows them to hold more material which means more stuff hauled per trip. Stake bodies are perfect for larger haling jobs for trash, old furniture and things of that nature. These are very common rental trucks, as most people don’t own their own.

Dump Body
A dump body truck is more typically known as a dump truck. These come in different sizes are a perfect for hauling large loads of loose material such as sand, dirt and mulch. These are also perfect for hauling large piles of trash and refuse for deposit in a landfill because you can just tilt the body up and dump all the stuff out of it.

Aerials & Buckets
If you have a large tree in your back yard that needs some work done to the top of it you really don’t want to try to climb up there because, well, you would fall. This is why you will want to rent a bucket or aerial truck. These have the extendable arm with a bucket on them you ride up in to reach higher objects like treetops. You should always use these with someone else as a spotter for safety.

Snow Trucks
You’ve seen them and you can rent them if you have a large area that needs to be plowed of snow as well as salted. These types of trucks do double duty in this regard and are good to get if you need to get a lot of snow plowed in a short time.

There’s a truck out there for every job so, the next time you need to know what to look for in a rental truck keep these few examples in mind.

Save on Budget truck rentals by using a Budget promotion code.