We haven't moved in 14 years. Last time we did it was an inter city move. My wife and I packed up the boxes that had the fragile stuff we cared about and moved them in our cars. Same with the expensive things we didn't want broken. Everything else we had the movers pack up, move and put in our new house.
That box damage was crazy! Last year when I moved WA to MI I got a nearly brand new Hyundai trailer - the hub odometer thing said less than 10K miles..
Unloading is way easier :) Also, you can track the truck on the U-pack website.
In reply to Kendall_Jones :
I expect unloading to be done in a few hours. Less if it weren't for the three heaviest items, my tool boxes, air compressor, and 6' cabinet (made from 1" thick wood) that I decided to fill with boxes 
If you have a little capital, buy an appropriate box truck and sell it when you get there. That's what I did when I moved from SoCal to Austin. I bought a 26' box truck on an F700. it had a Cummins ISB and an Eaton 6 speed. Bulletproof stuff. I paid $5000 for it. No time limits, no pay-per-mile, nothing. I owned it and I could load it at my leisure. I put out on craigslist in Austin that I was looking for a place to park it and I found a farm 10 miles outside of town for $20/mo. I was able to unload it at my leisure and I kept it for a while as storage. Sold it for $5000 about a year later.
I would have paid for fuel anyway, so that was no additional cost. I did change the oil once for $75. I paid one year of registration and the title transfer to TX (probably $200) and a year of liability insurance (probably a couple hundred bucks) but otherwise it was a little more upfront for an investment of about $500 and ridiculous levels of convenience.
Another alternative that I wouldn't shy away from is to find a wasted box truck and consider it disposable. I almost bought a used International 26' box truck with a questionable injector for $2300 and higher miles. DT444 (basically a powerstroke 7.3L) and a Spicer 6 speed. I wouldn't have hesitated to buy it and drive it to FL, then even if I sold it for $500 it's far cheaper (and way more convenient) than a rental.
Not sure what size you need, and this isn't in your area, but just some examples of what I would consider. These are all around $5k:
I was shopping for a box truck to do just what you mentioned. Then I realized that my wife wouldn't be able to drive it. The thought of doing 1,400 miles solo in a used box truck wasn't going to be fun. I'd also need either a trailer for the minivan, or my wife would be driving the minivan (solo the 1,400 miles) and it became less attractive. If I were doing this as a solo move, I would have done this for sure.
Put the wife on a plane?
In reply to dean1484 :
She's sharing driving duties.
the way we're doing it is working out very well I think.
we leave Monday morning and arrive Tuesday evening, close Wednesday morning and get the at the closing table.
10-25-2021 - Update time.
We arrived in FL on Tuesday evening (19th) with our van (over)loaded with enough belongings to sustain life. We hoped to have the trailer dropped off on Friday. The agreement says transit time is 8-10 business days. Friday the 22nd is the 8th business day, Tuesday the 26th is the 10th business day. I called on the 21st and was told the truck wouldn't be available on the 22nd. I figured it was a long shot, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
10/25 - Upack called this morning and said the truck is there and can be delivered as early as today, the 9th business day. We decided to push it off and have the trailer delivered to us on Thursday the 28th. The reasoning is because we have 3 business days to unload the trailer, so a Thursday drop off gives us the weekend. Unloading won't take long, but it will take muscle. We can have some labor lined up for the weekend, but getting help during the work week, after work is tough. So we'll continue to sleep on air mattresses for a few more days.
The only tricky part of unloading the truck is going to be getting the heavy items from the trailer into the workshop. Besides boxes and stuff, I have two Snap-On tool boxes, a 6.5' tall cabinet made out of 1" thick wood with boxes loaded in it, two workshop cabinets, and an IR 80-gallon vertical compressor. Non of these items are going to wheel across the grass into the garage. There is a walk-through gate on each side of the house, but again, those items cannot be carried. So I guess I'll transfer those items from the big trailer onto a smaller trailer and drive them around the block to the drive-through gate on the rear of the property. Then unload it again. Good grief LOL.
And yes, I know the two pictures don't match. The second pic is the current google earth pic, the first is a drone pic from the other day.
Congrats on arriving!
I would focus on getting those big items off and maybe in the garage attached to the house for now. It seems key to not get hung up on the placement of those items but for now the goal is to just get the semi trailer gone.
Congrats on the move!
What others have said about the quality of u-haul trucks was 100% spot on. My steering wheel was cocked 45 degrees and one of the ABS sensors was shot. Both issues were eventually fixed.
When I rented a trailer for the 2k challenge there was a wheel bearing that was almost ready to come completely apart. If Stampie hadn't noticed it I really could have lost the wheel on the return trip.
My SOP for u-haul now factors in an extra day for repairs.
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