You can’t truly calculate the cost of moving without taking into consideration gas. Whether you’re renting a moving truck or paying a moving service, your stuff is going to get from point A to point B on the fumes of gasoline.
Moving trucks, like all trucks, get pretty terrible miles per gallon. At best, on an open highway, they’ll get 17-22 mpg. At worst, in a congested city, they get 8-12 mpg.
To put that into a dollar figure, if you’re planning on driving a moving truck 1,200 miles to your new home, 200 of which will be in traffic or a city, you’re looking at shelling out roughly $290.
1000 miles / 19 mpg x $4 per gallon = $210 200 / 10 x 4 = $80
Point being, the price of gas should be a part of any accurate moving budget. And if you’re thinking about renting a moving truck, definitely consider the moving truck’s mpg.