What is a Truck Rental Agreement?
When you need to hire a truck, whether for a long-distance move or just to get your things across town with less hassle than a rental van would allow, you will have to sign a truck rental agreement before you can drive the truck you are renting off the lot. Your truck rental agreement has several purposes: it lists what you are renting, outlines the charges involved, and explains your responsibilities as a renter. But more than that, it is essentially an insurance contract — and it is in your best interest to understand exactly what you are signing up for.
When you sign the agreement, you are basically certifying that you are authorized to hire the truck in question, that you are aware of the purpose for which the truck will be used, that you have sufficient experience and a valid driver’s license to operate the vehicle legally and safely, and that you will be responsible for complying with all local, state and federal laws regarding driving and truck rental . The truck rental agreement will also list the terms of rental — usually a daily or weekly fee and a mileage rate and/or per-mile charge when mileage exceeds a specific limit — as well as any extra charges (mileage overages, fuel, damage, cleaning) that might come into play. The agreement will also demand the renter provide a credit card number for billing and confirmation of the agreement, but there is no withdrawal of funds until after the vehicle has been returned to the rental lot.
A truck rental agreement is therefore meant to protect the company in case the truck is damaged, there are hidden stains and cigarette burns in the upholstery, the tire pressure is not correct, or the truck is involved in a collision. The truck rental agreement also protects the renters, as it frees them from financial liability if the truck is not in perfect condition at the start of the rental. Instead, the company will be forced to absorb the cost of the damage, since it was present when the renter hired the truck.
Components of a Truck Rental Agreement
There are three parties in each truck rental agreement. These are the person who rents out the vehicle, the person who wishes to rent the vehicle, and whoever is responsible for making sure that the policies are followed, much like a property owner and the tenants who rent from them.
Rental Terms: The rental terms contain details like mileage allowances, how long the vehicle can be rented for, deposit and any other things related to the use of the truck.
Payment: The paper details the total cost of the use of the truck, including the down payment, the deposit, the total cost, installment amounts if applicable and even late fees if the full amount is not paid on time.
Insurance: Here, the parties will have to agree on who is responsible for damage to third parties, damage to the third-party property and any personal injuries the driver will be responsible for in an accident with another vehicle.
Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the renter and anyone else are detailed here. This would include where the renter should took the vehicle when it is returned, if there is a schedule for maintenance, what to do about damages and anything else of importance.
Advantages of a Template
The most considerable advantage of this free commercial truck rental lease agreement template is that it saves time. You need to enter the important terms like the rental and deposit amounts, the dates, and other particulars, but so much of the hard work is already done for you. You can make a couple of minor changes to ensure that the lease reflects your needs and have an easy-to-use form that you know will satisfy the law and make the relationship between you and the renter as clear as possible. A template also helps you to be thorough in what you ask from the renter and what you offer. You can look through the document in a uniform way, making sure that you did not leave out any terms or provisions. You read and understand each clause of the agreement as a whole, making connections between different sections, allowing you to jot down questions so that you can do any further research that might be required. Often, when people face long legal documents, they zone out as they wrestle with unfamiliar terms and fail to make the connections between sections, terms, and conditions. This can leave you with large gaps and questions when you try to make sense of your various options and requirements a few hours or days later.
Modifying a Free Template
One of the advantages of using a free truck rental agreement template is that it can be easily adjusted to fit the situation at hand. You’ll generally need to edit three main fields in the free template:
Full Names of Both Parties: Parties should input their full names on their corresponding sections of the agreement. These should include their most common forms of representation – for example, their business name or LLC.
What Will Be Rented? This field should describe exactly the item that is being rented. In some cases with trucks , for example, there may be attachments that need to be described. A good way to frame this description is to include the rental itself along with relevant information such as miles and other identifiers that readers will understand.
The Rental Period: Just like the full names, you should be explicit with these fields. Dates should be reasonable, but you will want to be as clear as possible about when the rental period starts and ends.
Pitfalls to Avoid
With a free truck rental agreement template on hand, you may be tempted to use it without understanding the typical mistakes that lead to legal disputes. The following three mistakes are frequent pitfalls that should be avoided:
- Leaving blanks: Ensure all sections of your truck rental agreement are filled in completely before both parties sign. If any section is left incomplete, you may as well have a blank contract, as the wording is much easier to dispute.
- Wrongful delegation: Make sure only persons with the proper authority sign the truck rental agreement. Failure to do so can lead to invalidation of the contract. You can speak with an attorney to be certain that proper authority is present.
- Lack of witness signatures: Most truck rental agreements require certified witnesses. Be sure to have witnesses at both the signature and initial stage of the agreement if required.
Where to Obtain Trusted Free Templates
Several websites offer reliable truck rental agreement templates. The Legal Templates website offers a robust template with multiple fields to enter applicable information, and a downloadable version of the document. In addition , Rocket Lawyer offers a similar template for free. A website called RocketLawyer provides access to several similar services along with a very useful document checklist. One thing to keep in mind is that these resources are intended for basic agreements; a more complex truck rental may require the assistance and expertise of a licensed attorney.