Container or rental truck? Pick by how you move
Days to pack, or one day to drive
The short version: Choose a portable storage container when there is a gap between homes or you want days, not hours, to pack; rent a truck when you can empty one home and fill the next on the same day. A container from One Stop Moving & Storage is delivered and collected for you, so you never drive it: $99 a month for a Standard 8×8×5 ft or $175 for a Large 8×8×7 ft, with delivery and pickup quoted in writing.
- You never drive a container
- No return deadline: the rental runs month to month
- Ground-level loading, no ramp
- Can wait between homes, or ship to the 48 continental states
Since 2008
Moving San Diego
CAL-190616
California mover license
USDOT 1956864
Interstate, MC 694565
BBB A+
Better Business Bureau
98%
Of our customers come back (company records)
7 days
7 AM–7 PM, phone open 24 hours
Side by side
Container or rental truck
A truck is faster when everything happens in one day. A container is easier when it does not.
| Factor | Container | Rental truck |
|---|---|---|
| Who drives | We deliver and collect it; you never drive it | You drive it loaded, then return it |
| Loading deadline | None; the rental runs month to month | Whenever the truck is due back |
| Loading height | Ground level, no ramp | Up a ramp into the cargo box |
| Storage between homes | Waits at home, or at our facility (quoted in writing) | None; the truck has to go back |
| Out of state | We ship it to the 48 continental states, quoted in writing | You drive it there yourself |
No truck prices are shown. We have no sourced San Diego truck rental rates to compare.
Time to load
How long do you get to load?
With a container, as long as the rental runs: days or weeks, month to month. With a rental truck, you get until it is due back.
That changes how you pack. With a truck, the whole house has to be boxed before the truck arrives, and loading becomes one long day against the clock. With a container on the driveway, you fill it over evenings and weekends and lock it with your own padlock in between.
Some cities limit how long a container can sit on a driveway or in the street. Chula Vista allows 30 consecutive days on a driveway and Del Mar 15 days at a time, so check your city on our driveway permits page.
Two sizes, one county-wide price
Month to month, no long-term contract and no early-return penalty. You supply the padlock.
Fair is fair
When a truck wins
A truck wins on a same-day move with nothing to store, and when you would rather drive than wait for a delivery.
A same-day move with no storage gap. If you hand over the old keys in the morning and pick up the new ones that afternoon, a truck does the job in one loop: load, drive, unload, return. A container would add a delivery, a move to the new address and a month’s rent you barely use.
You want it done today. We deliver containers same- or next-day for most San Diego County ZIPs, but a rental truck you collect yourself can be loaded the same day you pick it up. A shipped container takes about 2 to 4 business days to Arizona, Nevada or the Bay Area.
The container earns its place when the dates do not meet. A buyer’s closing that lands two weeks before your purchase, a lease that ends before the new one starts, or a house that needs work before you move in all leave your things with nowhere to go. A truck cannot hold them for that long; a container can sit on the driveway or at our facility until the new address is ready. If lifting is the part you dread, our own crew loads the container, quoted separately in writing.
How the swap works
Swapping the truck for a container
Three steps replace the truck rental, and none of them involves you driving.
1
It arrives before moving week
We set the container on your driveway, same- or next-day for most San Diego County ZIPs. Instead of a single frantic loading day, you fill it over evenings and weekends and lock it with your own padlock in between.
2
It waits out the gap
When the last box is in, the container stays put or goes sealed to our facility until the new place is ready. Storage at our facility, including the trip there and back, is quoted separately, in writing.
3
It meets you at the new address
We carry it to your next home anywhere in San Diego County, or ship it to the 48 continental states, quoted in writing, and you unload at ground level. Collection afterwards is part of your written delivery and pickup quote.
Questions
Container or truck, answered.
How a portable storage container compares with a rental moving truck for a San Diego move.
All moving questionsIs a storage container better than renting a moving truck?
It is better when your move has a gap between homes or you want more than a day to pack. We deliver the container, you fill it at ground level on your own schedule, and it can wait at our facility until the new place is ready. For a same-day move with nothing to store, a truck is simpler.
Do I have to drive the container?
No. You never drive a container. We deliver it, collect it when you call to schedule pickup, and can carry it loaded to your new address anywhere in San Diego County, quoted in writing for that address. The truck needs about 30 ft of clearance and level ground, so tell us about trees or wires overhead.
Can I load the container over several days?
Yes, over days or weeks. The rental runs month to month, so there is no return time to beat, and the container locks with your own padlock between sessions. Some cities limit how long a container can sit on a driveway, so check yours.
How long do I get to load a container compared with a truck?
A container gives you as long as the rental runs, month to month, so days or weeks. A rental truck gives you until it is due back. City rules can shorten the container side: Chula Vista allows 30 consecutive days on a driveway, Del Mar 15 days at a time.
Can a container go to another state?
Yes. We ship the loaded container to the 48 continental states, quoted in writing before booking, with delivery at the new address included. Arizona, Nevada and the Bay Area take about 2 to 4 business days; coast to coast about 5 to 10.
Free quote
No truck to return.
Price the container for your ZIP and the months between homes. When the office confirms, give it your closing dates and we plan delivery around them. Call (858) 633-8600; the phone line is open 24 hours.