Home Depot tool rental

[bluedog225]

Does anyone have experience with Home Depot tool rental?

I’m thinking of renting a 36 inch trencher for a day. I’ll go ahead and pay for the extra coverage they offer for $50 or so to cover any damage whatsoever (I think). Otherwise the agreement says you’re liable for damages caused by ordinary use. Which seems goofy. But whatever.

There’s a local place that will rent me one as well. They are a little over 100 bucks more expensive. And I know from past experience they are rotten to deal with.

I’m leaning towards going with the regular corporate role of the dice at Home Depot rather than the devil I know.

Thanks

 

[mike93lx]

I've rented trenchers a couple times and several other pieces of equipment from them. Overall, it's been great.

Reservations are meaningless. Get there early to make sure you can get equipment.

And definitely get the tracked version... Don't settle for wheeled

 

[Mick56]

I rented a floor sander two different times, no problems at all.

 

[gizardlizard]

I’ve rented for work and for home. I agree: get there before the store opens. Reservations don’t mean a thing. Never had an issue.

 

[blacksporty]

Rented tile saws a couple times, no issues

 

[reader2580]

I've rented trenchers and other power equipment from HD. The tools tend to be fairly new and usually in pretty good condition. The pricing can be hit or miss when compared to local rental places. The best thing about HD tool rental is much longer hours and open seven days a week, including holidays when the store is open. I can pick up a rental item on my way home from work in the spring/summer and have it back by 8 pm to only pay for four hours.

A local equipment place I like stopped opening on Sundays due to lack of staff. You can no longer go in on Saturday morning and rent something for 24 hours to return when they open Sunday morning. They charge 1.5 times the 24 hour rate if you pick it up Saturday morning since you can't bring it back until Monday morning. A "24 hour" rental picked up on Saturday morning is due back Saturday at 5 pm to pay the 24 hour rate.

 

[MooreGarage]

I've rented an auger a few times from HD, no issues. Eventually ended up buying my own PTO driven auger though... much easier to use than the 2-man rental units, and it was cheap enough that 3 uses justified the purchase compared to renting.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I rented a trencher from HD. Easy transaction and it worked good too


I've also bought a few things from their rental section at good pricing as well.

 

[whateg01]

I've never had any issues. Why are you balking at their insurance charge?

 

[Mark_17]

I used to work for HD tool rental.

Only issues were things like the wood chippers and mini ex/tractors. They were owned by a 3rd party so if something broke, the 3rd party had to come in and fix it. For instance, customer took the tractor with backhoe down a muddy hill, hit a rock, mangled the rim and put a hole in the tire. That was on them to cover the cost to fix and recovery costs.

If anything we (HD) owned, I could fix before it went back into service and I could charge the customer at my discretion. I don't think I ever charged anyone for damage except a couple instances where they clearly beat the piss out of the tool. Like chainsaws tossed around and run through the dirt.

Hit up the do it yourself car wash and power wash the trencher off before returning it. I have absolutely charged a cleaning fee on trenchers (and their trailers) that came back caked in mud.

 

[duneslider]

I live in a really rocky area so the insurance is a must. We tried to hire out our trenching, the first guy didn't get out of his truck, saw all the rocks in the yard and called to say he didn't want to quote it. The next guy as soon as we gave him the address said he wasn't interested.

Knocked the chain off the trencher half a dozen times but none of the teeth broke off.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

My suggestion is to call 811 for your locates early enough that you can hand dig out any utilities that are going to have to be crossed before your rental period starts.

Had a guy rent a trencher similar to the one you show in your pic a few months ago and cut through a gas main. He went to shut off the trencher, it apparently backfired and lit off the gas. There was nothing left but a smoking pile of wreckage by the time the gas company got the main shut down. The fire department put a little water on it to put out the last bit of rubber fire where the tires had melted into the sod.

No locates called in. I have no idea what it cost anyone for this. No one was injured or killed, so all in all could have been a lot worse.

 

[Stelzer]

I've rented trenchers, floor sanders, big plumbing auger, and a host of other goodies. All good experiences. I do try to return stuff in at least as good of condition as when I picked it up, but usually even better/cleaner.
Take time to thoroughly inspect the equipment for any issues, damages, etc., take pics & make sure it's mentioned in your rental agreement prior to leaving the store. Everyone I've dealt with in equipment rental has been great actually.

 

[reader2580]

You need to read those damage waivers carefully. The first thing is they usually make it pretty clear it is not insurance. I haven't seen one yet that covers damage to the equipment during transportation. There are a whole bunch of limitations and negligence is one of them.

It feels to me like there is almost nothing covered by the damage waiver that wouldn't be the responsibility of the rental store to fix. If a hydraulic hose breaks so long as not hooked on something that is on the rental store to fix. If you hook a hydraulic hose on something, and it breaks, then they might call it negligence and say it is not covered by the damage waiver. I still get damage waiver, as it is often required, but I don't expect it to really cover much.

I had a rented $35,000 towable lift come unhitched from my vehicle and the safety chains both broke. The damage waiver didn't cover that incident since it was during transport. I was damn lucky and the lift just skidded to a stop along the curb with only the safety chains and the lighting harness damaged. I would have been screwed if I had to pay the $35,000 for a new lift if it had been destroyed. The rental store owner also said it was up to two years to get a new one so he might have hit me with loss of use while he couldn't rent the thing for two years. He charged me around around $300 for new heavy duty safety chains, wiring harness, and the labor for his guy to install everything.

 

[whateg01]

My suggestion is to call 811 for your locates early enough that you can hand dig out any utilities that are going to have to be crossed before your rental period starts.

Had a guy rent a trencher similar to the one you show in your pic a few months ago and cut through a gas main. He went to shut off the trencher, it apparently backfired and lit off the gas. There was nothing left but a smoking pile of wreckage by the time the gas company got the main shut down. The fire department put a little water on it to put out the last bit of rubber fire where the tires had melted into the sod.

No locates called in. I have no idea what it cost anyone for this. No one was injured or killed, so all in all could have been a lot worse.

And when they ask when you need it done by, buffer it by a few days. Here, they wait until the last minute and then the weather or darkness or sun or a headache prevents them from getting back to it for a few days.

 

[reader2580]

No locates called in. I have no idea what it cost anyone for this. No one was injured or killed, so all in all could have been a lot worse.

Locates are no guarantee. One time next to my employers building someone was installing something via boring. Centurylink didn't respond to the locate request within the required 72 business hours so the contractor was allowed to start boring without the locate. They hit the Centurylink fiber for my employer. It cost Centurylink easily $10,000 for the repairs. Centurylink had to pay since they didn't do the locate on time. My employer pays extra for diverse routes for the fiber that come in different sides of the building so our service stayed up.

 

[bluedog225]

Thanks all. Sounds like it’s the way to go.

Rural undeveloped land. No utilities.

Reading the contract makes me pucker. It’s all heavily in their favor. But the extra insurance gives a gooder legal argument that they should fix things if you don’t do something dumb.

And thanks for the tip on holding out for tracked. And the deal with reservations. That part would annoy the heck out of me.

 

[dcg9381]

HD rentals have been fine for me. You're in my state, there are quite a few places where a trencher won't do the job (not even close). If you're in one of those places, you're wasting your time with a trencher. If out of state or ground is normal, a trencher is great and a huge time saver.

My "hack" on rentals - the local rental place is closed Sunday. So anything you rent on Saturday gets returned Monday, as long as you don't go over 8 hours usage, they don't care.... HD is open 7 days a week, so for a few tools, it's cheaper to go to the "other place" and get 2 days out of it.

 

[75gmck25]

Unless it's on its own trailer with ramps, another consideration is to figure out how you are going to get the trencher in and out of your truck. I rented an 18" trencher and it really weighed a lot more than I expected. My pickup is high and my ramps were really too steep to easily move something that heavy up and down. At the store they used a vertical lift to get it in and out of my truck, so very easy for them.

 

[bluedog225]

Unless it's on its own trailer with ramps, another consideration is to figure out how you are going to get the trencher in and out of your truck. I rented an 18" trencher and it really weighed a lot more than I expected. My pickup is high and my ramps were really too steep to easily move something that heavy up and down. At the store they used a vertical lift to get it in and out of my truck, so very easy for them.

Good point. It’s on a trailer with ramps and a 2” ball. My jeep is (under) rated 3500 with the tow package. I’ll need to check on the weight.

 

[bluedog225]

Looks like I should be ok.

 

[mike93lx]

Unless it's on its own trailer with ramps, another consideration is to figure out how you are going to get the trencher in and out of your truck. I rented an 18" trencher and it really weighed a lot more than I expected. My pickup is high and my ramps were really too steep to easily move something that heavy up and down. At the store they used a vertical lift to get it in and out of my truck, so very easy for them.

It will come on a tilt deck trailer

 

[nicks78camaro]

Rented a mini excavator from them, went flawless. I even forgot to refill the fuel tank and didn't get charged.

 

[jives]

This thread could not have come at a better time. I am planning on digging a 24" deep trench, 6" wide, about 90' across my driveway and parking area for a water pipe (gutter downspout outflow). The driveway area is mostly seriously hard packed bank run gravel with a topping of crusher run. The bank run was fill to level out my garage pad and packed with a huge multi ton full size road roller.

So, will a trencher, like the biggest Baretto from HD, cut through the packed bank run? There are lots of rocks, some about the size of a football. I did dig a 60' trench for the electrical through this stuff with a mini-excavator, but that seemed to be to be highly inefficient and slow and rental was not cheap. Thoughts on a trencher. .. . and if so, how big?

 

[reader2580]

My "hack" on rentals - the local rental place is closed Sunday. So anything you rent on Saturday gets returned Monday, as long as you don't go over 8 hours usage, they don't care.... HD is open 7 days a week, so for a few tools, it's cheaper to go to the "other place" and get 2 days out of it.

The closest rental place to me charges for 1.5 days if you pick up before 3:30 pm on Saturday. After 3:30 pm on Saturday is just one day rental. Other rental places are open on Sundays, at least for five or six months of the year when it is warmer.

 

[mike93lx]

This thread could not have come at a better time. I am planning on digging a 24" deep trench, 6" wide, about 90' across my driveway and parking area for a water pipe (gutter downspout outflow). The driveway area is mostly seriously hard packed bank run gravel with a topping of crusher run. The bank run was fill to level out my garage pad and packed with a huge multi ton full size road roller.

So, will a trencher, like the biggest Baretto from HD, cut through the packed bank run? There are lots of rocks, some about the size of a football. I did dig a 60' trench for the electrical through this stuff with a mini-excavator, but that seemed to be to be highly inefficient and slow and rental was not cheap. Thoughts on a trencher. .. . and if so, how big?

The main issue with cutting a 6" wide trench is that the trencher won't really do it cleanly, in my experience, and you can't run a second pass to wide as the head will just get pulled into the existing trench.

If you really need room for a 6" pipe, I would look for a bigger trencher (might need a skid steer mounted one) or go for a mini excavator again.

I'm not expert but I did a decent amount of trenching in the last few years at my house for drainage piping. Maybe others have had better luck

 

[Higgy1300]

I rented one last summer from Home Depot , I did the insurance. I am in Florida and it made the job so easy. 50' in a couple hours after I really learned how to use it. It came on a trailer.

 

[rsparks64]

We have rented a few small things, even a yard roller that you fill with water. We have also rented their small flatbed truck a couple of times. Never an issue.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Rural undeveloped land. No utilities

You're still required to call 811 and give them your dig location. Until you do, you're making an assumption. There are more miles of gas and oil pipelines in the US than there are paved roads. I wouldn't assume anything. You get that ticket number and someone doesn't locate? That's your "Get out of jail free" card. Not your fault at that point.

 

[bluedog225]

You're still required to call 811 and give them your dig location. Until you do, you're making an assumption. There are more miles of gas and oil pipelines in the US than there are paved roads. I wouldn't assume anything.

While I agree that it is a good idea, and often required, for a variety reasons supported by statute I do not believe it is required by Texas law in this instance.

Combined with the facts that I have been in possession of the property for a couple of decades, and had it checked by 811 in 2019, I believe I’m good to proceed.

Thanks all.

 

[mjeff87]

I rented a small tiller from them a couple summers ago, worked perfect for what I needed. Washed it off and filled it with gas for the return, they appreciated that. Also, awhile back I needed an appliance dolly to move a refrigerator for a friend. Went to HD to rent one, a kid took me back to the storage area and I grabbed one. Took it to the register and an older guy (supervisor) tried to ring it up but their system wouldn't recognize the ID tag stuck to it. Turns out someone returned it to them after hours but it was from a different supplier (ooops). Guy says, take this thing out the door and don't come back with it...I didn't see anything. So now I own it, lol. Apparently having inventory in their system that "isn't in their system" is not good and he just wanted it gone. Score one for me.

 

[Bucko]

With any rental place it can be hit or miss depending on the level of care by the associates. I've rented several items from Home Depot without issue.

 

[PhantomEB]

Done it lots for stuff I would never want just kicking around.

actually need to rent a hammer drill with Core bit Again soon.

Pick it up Friday, oh you closed for the weekend….how am I to drop it off Saturday or Sunday?….oh pay for one day, bring back first thing Monday morning!

 

[mike93lx]

Done it lots for stuff I would never want just kicking around.

actually need to rent a hammer drill with Core bit Again soon.

Pick it up Friday, oh you closed for the weekend….how am I to drop it off Saturday or Sunday?….oh pay for one day, bring back first thing Monday morning!

What home depot is closed on Saturday or Sunday?

 

[PhantomEB]

Home Depot ain’t the only places to rent tools. I use United Rentals too.

 

[mike93lx]

Home Depot ain’t the only places to rent tools. I use United Rentals too.

Ok, thread was about home depot rental, so I was a little confused.

I've rented from united as well and have definitely benefitted from being closed on the weekend, but prefer HD as I don't have to make a trip on monday morning

 

[Sumboodie]

I rented a trencher from HD. Easy transaction and it worked good too


I've also bought a few things from their rental section at good pricing as well.

You were able to run a trencher in the middle of winter?

 

[Sumboodie]

I rented a small tiller from them a couple summers ago, worked perfect for what I needed. Washed it off and filled it with gas for the return, they appreciated that.

Not sure how else it'd be returned? That's the normal SOP for rentals.

 

[NUTTSGT]

You were able to run a trencher in the middle of winter?

It wasn't Winter when I rented it.

 

[Sumboodie]

This thread could not have come at a better time. I am planning on digging a 24" deep trench, 6" wide, about 90' across my driveway and parking area for a water pipe (gutter downspout outflow). The driveway area is mostly seriously hard packed bank run gravel with a topping of crusher run. The bank run was fill to level out my garage pad and packed with a huge multi ton full size road roller.

So, will a trencher, like the biggest Baretto from HD, cut through the packed bank run? There are lots of rocks, some about the size of a football. I did dig a 60' trench for the electrical through this stuff with a mini-excavator, but that seemed to be to be highly inefficient and slow and rental was not cheap. Thoughts on a trencher. .. . and if so, how big?

I'd use an excavator, though if it needs to only be a 6" wide trench that'll be a tiny machine.

I'd recommend going more than 2 feet unless you're putting a heat trace in the pipe.

Rocks and gravel aren't material that is trencher friendly, you'll end up with a 2ft wide trench as the sides will keep caving into the trench.