When looking for a box truck to rent, it’s important to find a rental company that has a fleet of trucks with great gas mileage so that you can get the best bang for your buck. We’re here to help with that!
Smaller trucks, which have a bed length between 10 and 14 feet, will average 8 to 10 miles per gallon. Medium-sized trucks, which are 15 to 19 feet in length, generally average 6 to 8 miles per gallon. Larger trucks, over 20 feet long, can travel 4 to 6 miles per gallon.
While larger trucks burn gas more quickly, they generally have a larger fuel tank to hold more gas. To learn more about different box truck brands and their gas mileage and fuel economy, continue reading!
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U-Haul Box Truck MPG
Many people prefer renting a U-Haul box truck because they are affordable, and there are tens of thousands of U-Haul locations across the United States and Canada. This makes picking up and dropping off a U-Haul all the more convenient, the rental process, in general, is quick and easy, and the prices are competitive.
You can expect fairly good gas mileage if you want to rent a U-Haul box truck. It would be best to remember that miles per gallon calculations are only estimates based on the ideal driving conditions, as many things can affect MPG, such as road conditions, weather conditions, vehicle speed, and driving with a large load.
U-Haul’s smallest box truck, the 10-foot truck, has a fuel tank with 31 gallons of unleaded fuel. You can travel up to 12 miles per gallon for a total of 372 miles per fuel tank. However, you will average around 350 miles.
The U-Haul 15-foot truck, 17-foot truck, and 20-foot truck each have a fuel tank that holds up to 40 gallons of unleaded fuel and can travel up to 10 miles per gallon for a total of 400 miles for each full tank. With all factors, you will average about 350 to 375 miles.
The U-Haul 26-foot truck has a fuel tank that can hold 60 gallons of unleaded fuel, and it can travel up to 10 miles per gallon for a total of 600 miles per fuel tank. The average distance for this truck will be 550 miles.
| U Haul Truck Size | Tank Size | Mile Per Gallon | Average Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10′ U-Haul Truck | 31 Gallons | MPG: 12 | 350 Miles |
| 15′ U-Haul Truck | 40 Gallons | MPG: 10 | 350 – 375 Miles |
| 17′ U-Haul Truck | 40 Gallons | MPG: 10 | 350 – 400 Miles |
| 20′ U-Haul Truck | 40 Gallons | MPG: 10 | 350 – 400 Miles |
| 26′ U-Haul Truck | 60 Gallons | MPG: 10 | 550 Miles |
Related Article: How Many Miles Per Gallon Does a U-Haul Truck Get?
Penske Box Trucks MPG
Many prefer renting a box truck from Penske because the staff inspects the trucks for mechanical issues and performs a thorough cleaning of the truck after every rental and because the company offers roadside assistance. Hence, renters have that extra peace of mind while driving it.
You can expect competitive gas mileage if you want to rent a Penske Box Truck.
The 12-foot rental trucks have a fuel tank that holds 33 gallons of gasoline and can travel up to 12 miles per gallon of gas for a total of 396 miles on a gas tank—averaging about 365 miles.
The Penske 16-foot rental truck will have the same size fuel tank (33 gallons) and amount of miles per gallon (12 miles) as the 12-foot rental truck, averaging about 365 miles.
The 22-foot rental truck from Penske will hold up to 70 gallons of gas, and it can travel up to 13 miles per gallon for a combined total of 910 miles on a gas tank and averaging about 840 miles. This truck is also available in diesel gas.
The 26-foot rental truck from Penske will hold the same amount of gas and travel for the same amount of miles per gallon and tank of gas as the 22-foot rental truck, averaging about 840 miles. This truck is also available in diesel gas.
| Penske Truck Size | Tank Size | Mile Per Gallon | Average Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12′ Penske Truck | 33 Gallons | MPG: 12 | 365 -390 Miles |
| 16′ Penske Truck | 33 Gallons | MPG: 12 | 365 -390 Miles |
| 22′ Penske Truck | 70 Gallons | MPG: 13 | 840 – 900 Miles |
| 26′ Penske Truck | 70 Gallons | MPG: 13 | 840 – 900 Miles |
Ryder Box Truck MPG
Many people love renting from Ryder because they have a wider selection of heavier-duty trucks and semi-trucks, which are versatile in that they can assist you in any big move, new job site, or delivery. Their smaller box trucks are great because they are perfect for moving from your current home to your new home.
Ryder only offers two box truck sizes for rent in its fleet. They offer a 16-foot box truck and a 26-foot straight box truck. Ryder isn’t very clear on what mileage you’ll get while driving. Those who reviewed the Box Truck rental have been able to make an estimation for themselves and to share it with others interested in renting one, though.
Ryder’s box trucks are 16 feet long and provide a fuel efficiency of about 8 to 12 miles per gallon, though it is uncertain how many gallons of gas the fuel tank can hold.
The 26-foot box truck gets 8 to 12 mpg of fuel efficiency.
| Ryder Truck Size | Tank Size | Mile Per Gallon | Average Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16′ Ryder Truck | – | MPG: 12 | – |
| 26′ Ryder Truck | – | MPG: 12 | – |
Budget Box Truck MPG
People love renting from Budget Truck Rental because it’s in the name of truck rental on a budget, so renters are attracted to this company for its low prices.
Unlike Ryder, the Budget Truck Rental company provides a bit more information on the fuel economy of their rental trucks.
Their smallest box truck available for rent, which is 12 feet in length, has a fuel tank that holds 35 gallons of gas and averages between 8 and 14 miles per gallon for a total of 280 to 490 miles on a tank of gas.
Budget Truck Rental also offers 16-foot box trucks for rent, which can hold 33 gallons of gas and average between 6 to 10 miles per gallon for a total of 198 to 330 miles per gas tank.
The largest available box truck for rent offered by Budget is the 26-foot truck. It has a fuel tank that can hold up to 50 gallons of diesel fuel and can travel between 8 and 10 miles per gallon for a total of 400 to 500 miles per tank of diesel fuel.
| Budget Truck Size | Tank Size | Mile Per Gallon | Average Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12′ Budget Truck | 35 Gallons | MPG: 8-14 | 280 – 490 Miles |
| 16′ Budget Truck | 33 Gallons | MPG: 6-10 | 198 – 330 Miles |
| 26′ Budget Truck | 50 Gallons | MPG: 8-10 | 400 – 500 Miles |
Enterprise Box Truck MPG
Customers rent from Enterprise because their rentals are more cost-effective, convenient, and flexible than some other box truck rental companies and because you can rent from Enterprise for several days, weeks, or even months. It’s perfect for businesses in which using a box truck to make deliveries or to load equipment or merchandise is necessary for several days in a row.
Enterprise box trucks can travel about an average amount of gas mileage per gallon, similar to most other box trucks. This is likely why MPG is not found anywhere on the company’s official website. The website also does not provide how many gallons a tank of gas can hold in box trucks of any size.
Enterprise’s smallest box truck, referred to as a parcel van, is 15 feet in length and, according to moving.com, can travel an average of 12 to 24 miles per gallon.
The Enterprise 16-foot box truck can travel an average of 12 miles per gallon. On the other hand, the company’s larger fleet of trucks, both the 24-foot box truck and the 26-foot truck, can travel an average of 13 miles per gallon.
| Enterprise Truck Size | Tank Size | Mile Per Gallon | Average Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15′ Enterprise Truck | – | MPG: 12-24 | – |
| 16′ Enterprise Truck | – | MPG: 12 | – |
| 24′ Enterprise Truck | – | MPG: 13 | – |
| 26′ Enterprise Truck | – | MPG: 13 | – |
Gas Mileage Per Rental Company Compared
With gas prices constantly rising and fluctuating, finding a box truck rental that will give you the most miles per gallon of gas you purchase is important. To see side-by-side comparisons of the gas mileage of each box truck rental company, view the following table:
| Company | 10-foot box truck | 12-foot box truck | 15-foot box truck | 16-foot box truck | 17-foot box truck | 20-foot box truck | 22-foot box truck | 24-foot box truck | 26-foot box truck |
| U-Haul | 12 MPG | N/A | 10 MPG | N/A | 10 MPG | 10 MPG | N/A | N/A | 10 MPG |
| Penske | N/A | 12 MPG | N/A | 12 MPG | N/A | N/A | 13 MPG | N/A | 13 MPG |
| Ryder | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8-12 MPG | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Budget | N/A | 8-14 MPG | N/A | 6-10 MPG | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8-10 MPG |
| Enterprise | N/A | N/A | 12-24 MPG | 12 MPG | N/A | N/A | N/A | 13 MPG | 13 MPG |
Fuel Tank Size by Rental Company Compared
It is also helpful to compare these gas mileages to the amount of gas the gas tanks can hold. Just because one company’s box truck has better gas mileage than another company’s box truck of the same size doesn’t necessarily mean it is more cost-effective. Some box trucks have very large fuel tanks, meaning they can hold more gas, so you won’t have to fill up the tank quite often.
The below table is ideal for understanding how large the gas tank is because the larger the tank is, the more you’ll have to spend at once to fill it up. It would be best to fill the tank before returning your box truck. Remember that your fuel tank size does not affect your gas mileage overall. Gas mileage is how fast the vehicle burns gas. To view how large the tank for each of these trucks is, see the following table, keeping in mind that some companies that provide gas mileage do not provide information on how many gallons the fuel tanks can hold:
| Company | 10-foot box truck fuel tank | 12-foot box truck fuel tank | 15-foot box truck fuel tank | 16-foot box truck fuel tank | 17-foot box truck fuel tank | 20-foot box truck fuel tank | 22-foot box truck fuel tank | 24-foot box truck fuel tank | 26-foot box truck fuel tank |
| U-Haul | 31 Gallons Unleaded | N/A | 40 Gallons Unleaded | N/A | 40 Gallons Unleaded | 40 Gallons Unleaded | N/A | N/A | 60 Gallons Unleaded |
| Penske | N/A | 33 Gallons Gasoline | N/A | 33 Gallons Gasoline | N/A | N/A | 70 Gallons Gasoline | N/A | 70 Gallons Gasoline |
| Ryder | N/A | N/A | N/A | Uncertain | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Budget | N/A | 35 Gallons Gasoline | N/A | 33 Gallons Gasoline | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 50 Gallons of Diesel Fuel |
| Enterprise | N/A | N/A | Uncertain, Gasoline | Uncertain Diesel Fuel | N/A | N/A | N/A | Uncertain Diesel Fuel | Uncertain Diesel Fuel |
Box truck Rental Company With Best Gas Mileage
Because the fuel tank’s capacity in the box truck that you rent out determines how often you’ll need to refill the tank, this only matters if you plan to drive the box trunk for several more miles than how many miles you can get out of a tank of gas. This is because before you return your truck, you’ll need to refill it back to full (or at least to where the fuel level was when you first started up the car), regardless of how empty the tank is. You’ll want a large gas tank so that you only have to put in a little bit of money to fill it up because filling a large fuel tank that is empty can get very expensive.
If you’re looking at which box car has the largest fuel tank so that you can know which one you’ll have to fill up completely less often, it’s going to be the Penske 22-foot truck and their 26-foot truck, both of which have a fuel tank that can hold 70 gallons of gasoline. But it would be best if you kept in mind that the mileage per gallon can affect how quickly that gas burns and how quickly you’ll need a gas refill. Both box trucks get 13 miles to the gallon, so you can, on average, drive about 910 miles before having to fill back up.
If you’re looking at mileage per gallon alone, the Enterprise 15-foot truck can get up to 24 miles per gallon of gasoline, but keep in mind that diesel engines are more fuel efficient, so those box trucks that run on diesel fuel are going to get you further on a tank of gas the same size.
Remember that miles per gallon are the number of miles you can drive on a tank of gas divided by the number of gallons of gasoline or diesel fuel you burn when driving those miles. In that case, we could say that the enterprise’s 24-foot truck and its 26-foot truck can travel 13 miles per gallon of diesel fuel. But, because we don’t know how large the tank is, we won’t know how often you’ll have to refill the tank with more diesel fuel, which is more expensive than gasoline.
All these things considered, we can say that the box trucks with the best gas mileage can get 13 miles per gallon, whether gasoline or diesel fuel. Those box trucks include the Penske 22-foot truck, the Penske 26-foot truck, the Enterprise 24-foot truck, and finally, the Enterprise 26-foot truck. Choose the truck from this list that best suits your needs, and you’re sure to get great fuel economy out of it.