U Haul Mileage Cost Calculator
The advertised $19.95 truck is never $19.95, and most of the gap is mileage: U-Haul charges by the mile on top of the daily rate, and you buy the fuel too. Isolating the mileage portion matters whether you are sanity-checking a one-way quote or budgeting an in-town move.
The U-Haul Mileage Cost Calculator below computes exactly that slice: pick your truck size to auto-fill a typical per-mile rate and MPG (both editable), enter your miles and any included miles, and get the mileage charge, the fuel cost, and the combined travel cost. For the full rental build-up with daily rates, equipment, and insurance, see our U-Haul cost calculator.
Per-mile charges plus fuel for your move. Picking a truck fills in typical rates; overwrite anything your location quotes differently.
What your location charges per mile. Common range: $0.79 to $1.39 depending on truck and market.
One-way quotes include a mileage allowance. Enter it here and only the overage is charged.
How to use the U-Haul Mileage Cost Calculator
Pick your truck size: the per-mile rate and MPG fill in with typical figures (10 ft at $0.99/mi and 12 MPG, 15 ft at $0.99/mi and 10 MPG, 20 ft at $1.09/mi and 10 MPG, 26 ft at $1.19/mi and 7 MPG). Overwrite either with your location's actual quote. Enter total miles and, for one-way trips, the miles your quote already includes. The calculator charges only the overage, adds the fuel bill, and shows the combined travel cost.
Formulas
Charged miles = max(0, total miles – included miles)
Mileage cost = charged miles × cost per mile
Fuel cost = (total miles ÷ MPG) × gas price
Total = mileage cost + fuel cost
Note the asymmetry: the mileage charge applies to the billable miles, but fuel is burned on every mile driven, including the included ones.
Worked example
A 15-foot truck drives 250 miles at $0.99 per mile with no included miles, gets 10 MPG, and gas costs $4.00 per gallon: mileage = 250 × $0.99 = $247.50; fuel = (250 ÷ 10) × $4.00 = $100.00; combined travel cost = $347.50. If the one-way quote had included 100 miles, only 150 miles would be charged: 150 × $0.99 = $148.50 for mileage, with fuel unchanged at $100.00. Both examples were verified against the calculator above.
Typical per-mile rates and MPG by truck size
Rates vary by market and season; use these 2026-typical ranges as a starting point and replace them with your quote:
10 ft truck: $0.79–$0.99 per mile, about 12 MPG.
15 ft truck: $0.89–$1.09 per mile, about 10 MPG.
20 ft truck: $0.89–$1.29 per mile, about 10 MPG.
26 ft truck: $0.99–$1.39 per mile, about 6–8 MPG.
Bigger trucks burn more fuel per mile, which is why the 26-foot truck's real cost per mile is the highest of the four even before the rate differences.
What competitors miss
The strongest rival page publishes the formulas and a per-mile rate table, but its tool makes you read the table and type the numbers in by hand. Here the truck preset fills in both the rate and the MPG, and nothing else offers an included-miles field for one-way allowance overages. Full-stack estimators, meanwhile, skip the mileage math entirely or bury it inside a bigger total; this tool exists precisely for the mileage slice, the part most people misjudge.
Frequently asked questions
How does U-Haul charge for mileage?
On in-town (local) rentals you pay a per-mile rate for every mile driven, on top of the daily base rate. On one-way rentals the quote includes a mileage allowance for your route; only miles beyond the allowance are charged extra, usually around $1 each.
What is a typical U-Haul per-mile rate?
Roughly $0.79 to $1.39 per mile depending on truck size and market, with larger trucks at the higher end. The tool presets a typical rate per truck size, but your location's quote is the number that matters.
Do I pay for fuel on top of the mileage charge?
Yes. The mileage charge and fuel are separate: U-Haul bills per mile for the truck and you return it with the same fuel level you received, so fuel cost = (miles / MPG) x gas price is added on top.
Does this include the daily rental rate or taxes?
No. This tool isolates mileage and fuel only. For the full in-town cost including the daily rate, equipment, insurance, and the environmental fee, use our full U-Haul cost calculator.
How many MPG does a U-Haul truck get?
About 12 MPG for the 10-foot truck, about 10 MPG for the 15 and 20-foot trucks, and 6 to 8 MPG for the 26-foot truck. Real MPG drops with heavy loads, hills, and highway speed.
Can I use this for a one-way move?
Yes: enter your quote's included miles and the tool charges only the overage. For the flat trip price itself, get the quote from U-Haul directly, since one-way pricing depends on route, date, and equipment availability.