Tips For Safely Navigating Your Neighborhood With A Rented Box Truck

15 June 2016
 Categories: Business, Blog

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When you're moving and want to save money by doing the work yourself, it's a good idea to rent a box truck instead of hiring a moving crew. With the help of family and friends, you can load the truck with your possessions and deliver them to your new house across town. If you're not used to driving a box truck, you'll need to make safety a priority—especially when driving in residential areas. Whereas driving a box truck along the highway is pretty straightforward, navigating residential areas requires a little more attention to detail. Here are some tips to ensure that you reach the new house safely.

Keep Your Turns Wide

Your rented box truck has a significantly wider turning radius than your everyday vehicle—and the longer the truck you rent, the more this will be the case. If you make turns like you make in your car, you'll cut the corner of curbs, which will jostle the items inside the truck, and you might even clip a streetlight pole. You can avoid such issues by making your turns wide. This means that when you need to turn right, for example, pull the vehicle a little to the left, first, before you begin turning the steering wheel to the right.

Be Vigilant About Watching For Hazards

Even when you position your mirrors carefully, you don't have the same amount of visibility around your box truck as you're used to in your car. This simply means that you need to make sure that you're highly attentive to any potential hazards. In neighborhoods, children can dash out onto the road without much notice, so it's important that you're constantly swiveling your head and checking your mirrors to spot any issues. For example, get in the habit of checking your mirrors twice before you turn; it's easy for a cyclist to park in your blind spot.

Keep An Eye Above You

One of the adjustments you'll experience when driving a box truck is that your roof is several feet taller than your car's roof. This means that you'll need to be vigilant about making sure there's always enough overhead clearance for you. In a neighborhood, the issue you'll likely run into is low-hanging tree branches in the driveway of the new house. It's worthwhile to pack a ladder and some clippers so that you can hop out and trim any branches that could damage the truck before you back into the driveway.

For more information on box truck rental, check out companies in your area.