Let the Holiday season begin! Many seasonal items get booked early. Better start planning all your holiday parties and family gatherings now, before it’s too late. Rental Stop is here to help!  Let us partner with you to make your holiday parties stress free!

Rental Stop has so many random items that most customers can’t believe we have when they call to ask.  So, we thought it would be fun to start an “Odd Items ” listing. Over the next few editions of the Rental Stop News and Views, we will have some fun sharing our most Random Items that we rent to our customers.

Items include : Hole Hawg Drill, Coffin, Water Bed Pump, Piano Dolly, Stilts

The beginning of Fall means Tailgate parties are in full swing.  With football starting and baseball coming to an end, Rental Stop can help you with all your Tailgate needs today!  Here is just a sneak peek of what we have to make your tailgate party the one people talk about.

From tents, tables, and chairs to grills, generators, fans, and coolers. Give us a call today.

Snowy roads and parking lots create dangerous driving conditions and increase the likelihood of traffic accidents. Maintaining safe driving conditions on the parking lot and driveway of a home or business is easy if you use household items you may already have on hand. Here at Rental Stop, we have a lot of traffic in front of and around our building with customers’ vehicles and our own vehicles and equipment.  Here in North Texas we do not get a lot of winter weather, but when we do have frozen precipitation it can disrupt everyone’s daily routine. Ice is the thing that really causes all the problems. The following are a few things that Rental Stop uses to prevent the slips and falls.

Use one or two boxes of ice cream salt over the surface of the parking lot. Begin sprinkling the salt in any corner of the parking lot. Work your way through the entire surface of the lot. As the salt begins to melt the snow, you will notice some water begins to run toward the storm drain if the parking lot has one. Use a shovel or snow blower to remove large amounts of snow. Depending on the size of the parking lot you may want to rent a spreader to distribute the pellets quickly over the surface of the parking lot.

You can do the same thing with cat liter. Sprinkle cat litter across the parking lot. Cat litter begins to melt the snow while working to improve driving conditions by providing better traction. As the snow begins to melt, you may want to use a snow shovel or snow blower to remove large patches of snow to facilitate better melting of the smaller patches of snow on the sidewalk. While cat litter works to melt the snow, it is a bit of a challenge to clean up after a snow or ice melts, but your local Rental Stop store can also help you with equipment and tools to do the clean up.

In a pinch household bleach can be used to melt the ice and snow. But if you want to have someone to professionally remove the ice and snow, Rental Stop recommends that you contact Shane’s Lawn Maintenance or McKnight Yeary Landscaping. Most importantly be prepared for the changing weather and call Rental Stop for all your party and equipment rental needs.

The Holiday’s can be fun, but a stressful time of year. There are gifts to wrap, parties to attend, cooking, planning, a never ending list of to do’s.   Let Rental Stop be your partner in the planning.

Start by renting the table top.

The water goblets, wine glasses, china, flatware and linens (table cloths and napkins). This will create a style that will make your home and table setting look amazing. Another nice touch would be to add the gold chiavari chairs with the cream colored cushions. How about children’s tables and chairs for “the kid’s table.”

Why not dine in style after spending hours in the kitchen preparing the meal.

Simply scrape the plates, rinse, and put all items back in crates. Set in garage and Rental Stop will come and pick up your rentals.

Make your Holiday one to remember.

Visit us on line at www.rentalstops.com or call us at (817 or 972) 336 0059.

When you consider having an outdoor event, the most important thing to remember is that the weather conditions can change here in Texas very quickly. Everyone envisions the weather will be 78 degrees, bright sunshine and no appreciable wind, but that is not usually the case. So, you really need someone who has experience in planning these type of events, like Rental Stop. I have used them in the past and they have saved my bacon several times. If you are having an outdoor wedding, birthday party or corporate event, you will probably want to include renting a tent. That means you really need to have a site evaluation to determine where the tent can be placed. Rental Stop will come to your site location to walk the property and ascertain the proper placement of the tent. The planning expert will look for what is above, around and below the site. He will take measurements and look for obvious signs  of trouble such as overhead wires, underground utilities and sprinkler systems, signs of poor drainage , the slope and lay of the ground, prevailing wind direction, trees and shrubs and the accessibility to the area. Be sure you are open to alternative ideas.

If there are issues with the site, it is important to find out as far in advance as possible. This would allow for alterations to be made to the location that can accommodate the activity that is being planned. Rental Stop not only does events, they also have equipment rentals that the property owner could use to correct the issues. The property owner should know where the buried utilities are and can give the site survey team the answers to most of the questions about the site as he develops the site plan for the event. Rental Stop’s site surveyors welcome not only the customers, outside event planners and caterers at the site evaluations, but also code inspectors from all affected civil jurisdictions which aids in speeding up the permitting process. Also, if everyone that is providing services or products for the event are involved early on, it will make the coordination of deliveries, setup and striking much simpler and efficient.

The majority of Rental Stop clients only need one site inspection, but occasionally there may need to be more than one. The site surveyor will take his notes and measurements from the site visit and produce a site plan using CAD drawings on an overhead view of the property obtained from GoogleEarth. This will give the installation crew a visual map of where each tent, stage, lighting and power generation units should be placed. A schedule will be developed for when each piece of equipment should be erected to coincide with the start of the event. In the end Rental Stop’s goal is for the event to proceed without a hitch, and the customer , event planner and attendees will have a great experience.

If you ever plan to involve yourself in activities such as moving, hauling equipment, boating, camping or some sort of automotive pastime, such as auto crossing or drag racing, then chances are you’ll need to do some towing and you may need to rent a trailer to accomplish the task. At Rental Stop we carry a variety of trailers that our customers use to move all kinds of things. One of the most critical factors to consider will be the capability of your vehicle to tow the trailer you need to perform the job safely and with as little effort as possible. Must paaenger car bumpers are not able to tow a medium weight trailer woithout being re-enforced.

Make sure you truck, van or car is prepared to tow the rental trailer before you go and rent the item. Here at Rental Stop , we have had customers try to rent a tractor and pull it with a Toyota Camry. This will not turn out well for the customer or for Rental Stop. Two of the most important things to have when you tow are basic common sense and the ability to adjust your driving. In other words, when towing, everything you do while driving needs to be done at about half the speed when compared to driving without a trailer. When you turn, go much slower. When you accelerate, do it much easier. When you brake, allow yourself a great deal more space to stop. And when you change lanes, allow room for your vehicle and the trailer.

As far as cars go, a full-size body-on-frame, rear-wheel-drive car like a Ford Crown Victoria (rated to tow 2,000 pounds) or Chevy Caprice is a basic minimum for towing anything approaching the weight of a 2,000-pound trailer. For smaller trailers, a smaller car can work, but for hauling anything more than 2,000 pounds you’re going to need a truly tow-friendly vehicle. Ideally, a truck or an SUV is always a smart choice for towing a boat or camper. Even a compact pickup is going to be better than just about any car. For heavier loads (say more than 4,000 pounds) a half-ton truck like will meet the needs of just about any of the trailer-towing basics we’re discussing here. But even among half-ton trucks, towing ability can vary.

Besides the tow vehicle and the trailer, the other critical element is, of course, the hitch. Trailer hitches are rated according to capacity of the load weight and tongue weight. Load weight is referenced in terms of Gross Trailer Weight (GTW, see chart at the end of article). Tongue weight is the downward force exerted on the hitch ball. This is usually calculated at 10-15 percent of the maximum rated GTW. The tongue is usually formed from the V-shaped merging of the trailer framerails at the front of the trailer. The coupler of the trailer is what accepts the hitch ball. At Rental Stop, we use a 2″ ball which is the most common size in use today. Also, be very concious of the air pressure in your trailers tires. A blowout there can create real handling and braking problems for the most experienced driver. So, ask that the tires be checked before you leave the rental facility.

As we mentioned at the beginning, your driving style when towing a trailer needs to change dramatically. If you’ve never towed a trailer before and you’re nervous about it, we’d strongly recommend seeking out someone who has had experience with towing. In general, you need to remember that when you are towing, you have considerably less room for margin of error. Your vehicle and trailer are much less maneuverable and nimble than your car or truck is without a trailer, and it’s critical that you always compensate for the added length the trailer adds when you change lanes so that you don’t run anyone off the road.

If you are unsure of what you need to safely complete your towing task, call us at 972-336-0059 and our expert Rental Stop staff will assist you in making a great decision.

Pressure washers are one of the handiest tools a homeowner can use.  They can be used for everything from cleaning out your dog kennel to preparing a house for a new paint job. And you can rent a great piece of all-purpose cleaning equipment from your local Rental Stop store right here in the DFW area.

What Do I Need A Pressure Washer For?
The answer to that question is simple: just about everything. When most people think of renting  pressure washers they conjure up images of professional painters dangling off ladders in order to prep flaking surfaces for a facelift. The truth is that pressure washers have a number of possible uses that encompass just about any outdoor cleaning task you can imagine. Some of the most popular everyday uses of these inexpensive rentable machines include cleaning cars, driveways and walkways, gutters and downspouts, siding, outdoor furniture, dog kennels, garage floors, lawn mowers, garden equipment, and trash cans, and other soiled receptacles. Add to these a few of the more industrial uses, such as preparing surfaces to be painted and washing hard to clean areas and equipment where grease, heavy dirt and oil buildup occurs, and it’s easy to see why renting a pressure washer from time to time is an excellent idea. Remember, it’s really a cost-effective maintenance solution for the upkeep of your home, property, vehicles, tools, and a whole lot more.

How to Choose the Right Model for You
Many things need to be taken into account when renting the right power washer. If the washer use is limited to some spring cleaning (washing off your home’s siding, cleaning off the driveway and walks, etc.) you’ll probably be okay with a lower end, direct drive washer. If you plan to use a rented washer more frequently, say more than 100 hours per year, you’ll probably want to step up to a more agricultural or industrial rental model. Most cheaper residential models simply won’t hold up over the long run when exposed to more vigorous use.

The holidays are here and so is the time of the year when most homeowners are likely to be using their ladders more often – hanging Christmas lights or decorating a tall tree, cleaning gutters and cutting dead tree limbs. So, your first thought should be: Do I need a buy or rent a ladder for this job?

The reason for renting a ladder is to get the proper ladder for the job a hand. Old guys like me just can’t do some of the things we used to do, especially while balancing on a ladder. Therefore, you don’t want to use a five foot ladder for a job that would require you to reach over ten feet high. I recommend that you go to your local Rental Stop location to find the exact ladder or lift for your project. I almost ran out of luck a couple of times and now use a taller one because I figured my luck was running out! Don’t test your luck. Renting ladders are cheaper and less painful than a trip to the emergency room.

Any time you are using a ladder it is smart to have another person with you. They can steady the ladder, put it back up if it falls while you’re on the roof or call 911 in an emergency. A “ladder buddy” is always a good idea on even the simplest projects.

Another comment on hanging lights with a six-foot ladder if it is aluminum. Not smart! Metal ladders conduct electricity (I hang my lights lit to check for loose connections, blown fuses and dead bulbs.). Rent a fiberglass ladder, like I now do, when hanging lights or doing other electrical work around your home. We’ve all done projects without having the proper equipment but don’t stretch your luck with ladders like I did. If it’s a one-time job, rent the right equipment and if it’s a recurring project you want to do (like your Christmas lights) invest in proper safe equipment and tools.

Q & A:

How do I know the height of the ladder that I need for my job? Most folks have only two kinds of ladders around the home – step and extension. The highest permitted standing level for an extension ladder is four rungs from the top and for a step ladder is two rungs from the top.

Is there anything other than height to consider when buying my ladder?  First, ladders are rated by weight they will support (the Duty Rating). Heavy folks like me will need a higher rated ladder. Keep in mind this rating isn’t just what you weigh on the scales after your shower! The weight should include clothing and tools & equipment that will be on the ladder with you. Also, rent the right ladder material for your project. As we mentioned, use non-conducting ladders if you are doing electrical work.

Your local Rental Stop will have the correct ladder for your specific need. Call or visit their award winning web site http://www.rentalstops.com.