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That moving truck from Denver to Phoenix taught me about ramps
I was helping my college buddy move out of his third-floor walkup in downtown Denver last August. We rented this big Penske truck thinking it would be easy, but they only gave us one rickety ramp that kept sliding every time I tried to walk a dolly up it. About halfway through loading his couch, the ramp buckled and the whole thing tipped sideways, scratching the hell out of his new floor model TV that was still in the box. I had to run to a hardware store nearby and bought a sheet of plywood for $28 to brace the ramp so it wouldn't flex. We ended up finishing three hours later than planned, and my back was sore for days. Has anyone else had a rental company just toss you a worn-out ramp without checking it first?
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andrew_baker927d agoTop Commenter
My buddy had almost the exact same thing happen with a rental ramp in Tucson last year... he was moving a washing machine up into a U-Haul and the ramp just gave out. The machine tipped over and cracked the side panel, then he had to deal with the rental company trying to blame him for it. They ended up charging him for damages to their equipment even though the ramp clearly had rust on the hinges... he fought it for weeks and finally got them to back off, but what a headache. Makes me think those ramps are just not built for anything heavier than a few boxes honestly.
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craig.parker26d ago
And that's the thing, right? The rental companies are so quick to point the finger at you when something breaks, but they're the ones handing out gear that's clearly been abused for years. I've moved four times in the last six years and I swear every single ramp I've gotten from Penske or U-Haul has had some kind of issue. Either the hinges are loose, the wood is splintered, or the whole thing just feels flimsy like you're about to snap it in half. Your buddy's story about being charged for damages just confirms what I've been saying, that they set you up to fail and then make you pay for their own negligence. It's like they figure if the ramp holds for the first guy in the morning, they can pass it off to the next poor soul and hope for the best.
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