Best times to rent equipment

Boyd Ruckhaber rented a box truck to haul materials for a job. It isn’t a vehicle he uses all the time, so it made sense to borrow it rather than invest.

“I was driving along, and a tree fell on the car in front of me,” says the president of BR Landscape in Carnation, Washington.

The tree then bounced up over the cab of the box truck. “I ducked and it hit the box of the truck, ripping a hole in it,” he says. “Then, the tree went over the truck and landed in the road.”

Ruckhaber happened to have said “yes” to the extra rental insurance, and he never hesitates for a second when asked, “Do you want our coverage?” especially after that unusual situation.

Sure, no one plans on a tree falling and crashing down on equipment. But as Ruckhaber learned, anything can happen. “I always get the insurance on equipment I rent, even if my own insurance would cover damages, because it’s peace of mind,” he says.

Read the full story from the January issue here.