Which U-Haul Rental Truck Comes With Cruise Control?

Packing up all of your stuff and relocating it to a new home can be a truly grueling experience. And for many Americans, it's not out of the ordinary to move a dozen times in their lifetime. Of course, you can hire a moving company, but you're looking at between around $2,000 and $5,500, depending on the distance. So many people choose to save money and do the operation themselves, renting a truck, and luring friends or family to help with the promise of free pizza. There are several things to consider before you rent from U-Haul, such as truck size. But one way to save money and frustration you may not have considered is cruise control, which is available on U-Haul's 26-foot F650 moving truck.

If you're relocating across the country, or even just across the state, cruise control could help make the driving portion of your move more tolerable. One of the advantages of engaging cruise control is that you burn up less gas during your trip. It turns out that unless you can keep your speed relatively consistent, the oscillation between accelerating and slowing down takes a toll on fuel economy. Setting the desired speed with cruise control can also help prevent a speeding ticket, which would be the last thing you'd want during a stressful move. Finally, this feature can help provide your body a bit of a break, especially on long stretches of highway, with no need to keep your foot over the accelerator the entire time.

On the left side of the truck's steering wheel, you'll find the controls for the cruise control system. First, you'll need to press the "On/Off" button to begin, and then accelerate to the speed you want the truck to maintain. Once the desired speed is reached, press the "+" on the "Set" button to engage cruise control, which at this point will begin to keep the U-Haul going at a constant rate.

If you need to make adjustments, either slowing or increasing the set speed, you can push the "+" or "- "on the "Set" button. To stop the cruise control system from maintaining speed, you can either tap the brake or press the "CNCL/RSM" button, which stands for cancel or resume. If you disengaged the cruise control system by braking or canceling it, you can easily reengage your previous set speed by pressing the "RSM" or resume button, or to stop using it altogether, press the "Off" button.

While highly convenient, there are situations where utilizing cruise control wouldn't be advised. For example, you may want to think twice before you use cruise control while towing, and U-Haul specifically recommends against it, as even a small amount of trailer movement could potentially cause the driver to lose control. Also, this feature is reserved for highway or freeway use only and shouldn't be used on city or neighborhood streets. One of the major considerations you must account for when behind the wheel of a large, loaded-down truck is stopping distance. You'll need to give vehicles in front of you extra room and avoid following too close, as you may not be able to stop in time otherwise. 

In addition, you'll need to exercise good judgement when choosing to use this feature, as certain situations, such as highways with frequent elevation changes or sharp corners, could be hazardous with cruise control engaged. Essentially, this feature on U-Haul's F650 moving truck isn't able to take road conditions, elevation changes, or any other real-time information into account. It simply keeps the vehicle at the set speed and won't do things like slow for curves or reduce the truck's speed on steep downgrades.