JOLT vs Pac-Van for jobsite offices and storage

Pac-Van buyers now compare JOLT with United Rentals, which acquired Pac-Van's parent, General Finance Corporation, on May 25, 2021 (unitedrentals.com, acquisition history, checked October 22, 2026). JOLT rents container offices and storage nationwide, with published rent and two delivery-pricing cases: fixed fees in five Rocky Mountain states and project quotes elsewhere. An earlier Pac-Van proposal needs current written confirmation before it becomes a purchasing baseline.

What does a Pac-Van inquiry lead to now?

The Pac-Van name belongs in the United Rentals comparison, not on a separate independent supplier line. United Rentals records the General Finance acquisition and includes Pac Van among that company's brands. That ownership history identifies the current operator; for an earlier rate, credit arrangement or rental agreement, use "Confirm in the written quote".

If a saved bookmark, bid folder or purchasing system still says Pac-Van, record the current supplier name alongside it. Keep the earlier proposal as a reference document rather than silently replacing its date or heading. Ask for the current proposal to identify the contracting company before procurement approves the order.

United Rentals lists office trailers and modular office buildings alongside storage and ground-level office containers. Its company-wide operations cover 49 states and every Canadian province, but that statement is not a specialty-product branch count. Request the actual configuration for the actual job ZIP instead of treating corporate reach as confirmation of local stock.

Pac-Van, now part of United Rentals — what United Rentals' site states

Website

unitedrentals.com

Reach

Operates in 49 states and every Canadian province (company-wide; specialty branches vary by area)

Units offered

Storage containers, ground-level office containers, modular office buildings and office trailers

Rental rates

Account pricing after sign-in, or a quote

Minimum term

Confirm in the written quote

Delivery

Delivers storage or office containers to the site, sets them up and furnishes them with requested accessories.

Ownership

Acquired General Finance Corporation on May 25, 2021; its brands included Pac Van.

Also quoted as

Pac-Van

Checked

Oct 22, 2026

Sources — Company overview; Specialty rental range; 20 ft storage product; Acquisition history (checked Oct 22, 2026). Anything the site does not state is marked "Confirm in the written quote". Every company side by side: the nationwide directory.

Which details should an old quote carry into a new request?

Begin with the old quote number, customer name, project location and equipment description. Ask the current representative to identify which document governs the proposed order and whether a replacement quote supersedes the earlier one. For continuity of account pricing or commercial terms, use the answer "Confirm in the written quote" until the new order documents resolve it.

A familiar product nickname is not a complete specification. An older reference to an office trailer might mean something different from a container office, and the current product range includes both. Ask for the unit type, length, layout and included accessories in writing so the field team and purchasing team are evaluating the same item.

Separate an existing rental from a future mobilization. If equipment is already on rent, identify its agreement and unit record before requesting changes. If the request is for a different job, write a new scope with its own address and dates rather than assuming the older project carries forward.

The Pac-Van alternatives comparison offers another route through the supplier decision. For the current operator without the legacy-account questions, use JOLT versus United Rentals. Neither comparison replaces confirmation of an individual account or the agreement attached to an existing rental.

How do the current choices compare at a glance?

Assign procurement questions by equipment and contract term rather than choosing from a brand name alone. The United Rentals storage product checked offers account pricing after sign-in or a quote request. JOLT's published pricing supplies rent and recurring charge categories before the project transport amount is established.

Put both offers into one purchasing worksheet with a shared duration and equipment description. Add separate columns for delivery, pickup, recurring charges and tax. A monthly unit price and a complete delivered proposal are different amounts, so neither should be substituted for the other in the approval request.

Which JOLT office would replace the space requirement?

JOLT's Base 20 ft office rents for $795/mo. This 20 ft ISO container office has an 8 ft width and 8 ft 6 in height. Entry uses a steel personnel door measuring 36 inches; the two slider windows have bars. Included equipment comprises lights, outlets, a mini-split for heat and cooling, vinyl-plank flooring and a shore-power inlet rated at 50 amps.

Base needs shore power or a customer-supplied generator to operate. That requirement belongs in the comparison even when the earlier Pac-Van proposal simply called the unit an office. Ask the site team when power will be available and carry that answer into the equipment request before deciding which JOLT tier meets the work.

Grid-Free includes the Base features, WATCH camera, CONNECT Starlink and built-in POWER solar, plus a 10 kWh battery pack that runs the HVAC. Its rent is $1,495/mo and it does not require shore power. Alpine carries those systems in a mountain envelope with matte-black finish, cedar surrounds, standing-seam over-roof, a covered entry deck and backup heat.

For a bathroom inside the office, request the 40 ft office with bathroom, renting for $1,595/mo. Its enclosed bathroom sits at the far end, and the office includes the same basic conditioning, electrical inlet, lighting, outlets and flooring as Base. Obtain project-specific bathroom requirements before approval rather than assuming a fixture list or connection arrangement.

What if the earlier order was mainly storage?

A storage replacement should start with contents and access habits, not an office floorplan. JOLT's storage lengths are 10, 12, 20 and 40 ft, all one-trip containers with welded lockboxes. Write down which materials need to enter through cargo doors and whether a separate daily personnel entrance belongs in the request.

The smaller pair, 10 ft and 12 ft, combines a barred window and walk-in man door on the long side with end cargo doors. By contrast, the 20 ft storage container has four lock bars on its end cargo doors, without windows or a man door. Its monthly rent is $295/mo, a unit line to compare separately from delivery.

The 40 ft storage option is high cube, measuring 9 ft 6 in tall, and rents for $425/mo. Do not carry that height into an office comparison; the office and storage descriptions are distinct. If the earlier proposal mixes office and storage lines, split them before requesting replacement prices.

Check the planned inventory with the superintendent before choosing several smaller units or a longer box. Record the preferred length, required openings and expected rental period for each unit. That produces an order request a supplier can answer without guessing which part of an older Pac-Van description mattered to the crew.

How does JOLT price delivery for a nationwide job?

JOLT's published transport fees cover five states: Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Montana. Each fee applies per unit and per direction, with the pickup charge equal to the delivery charge. Colorado uses Zones A through E, while the other named states use the Mountain West rate; review the state delivery rule against the project address.

Outside those five states, JOLT calculates project-specific delivery and pickup, including for Hawaii and Alaska. Supply the selected unit and job ZIP when requesting a nationwide transport proposal. JOLT returns the written delivered quote within one business day; an inquiry received later than 5:00pm Mountain Time is counted from the following business day.

The written offer has a 14-day hold. Its emailed "Reserve this quote" link carries the offer's delivery and pickup charges into checkout. Keep the email with the approval package so the transport scope used by purchasing is the one carried into the reservation.

Do not reuse an older Pac-Van transport allowance as JOLT's nationwide fee. Compare the current delivery and pickup lines for the same unit and address, and ask United Rentals for its corresponding scope. For its fee, lead time and retrieval arrangements, the instruction remains "Confirm in the written quote".

How should the schedule be reset after an older bid?

Allow JOLT's standard 2–4 weeks for delivery, measured from reservation confirmation. A quote turnaround is not a delivery commitment, so put those two milestones on different lines of the schedule. State the target arrival window in the request and do not mark mobilization complete merely because pricing has arrived.

Colorado has a separate Express option for an eligible Base 20 ft office. For $795, JOLT Express places that eligible unit on site within seven business days. It is Colorado only, so a buyer replacing a Pac-Van quote for another state should use the standard reservation window rather than importing Express into the forecast.

Before issuing the purchase order, send the chosen configuration and address to the people arranging access and power. Ask each supplier to identify the delivery scope in its order documents. United Rentals describes delivery, setup and requested furnishings, but the work included for the particular order still needs to be matched to the proposal.

Keep a record of changes between the old bid and today's request. A different unit, duration or address changes what is being compared even if the vendor label in the accounting system stays familiar. Approve the current scope explicitly instead of letting an old attachment fill gaps in the new order.

Which contract dates should procurement put on the calendar?

For JOLT, an office at a Colorado address carries a three-month minimum. In Colorado, a one-month commitment covers 10 ft, 12 ft or 20 ft storage; choosing 40 ft storage raises it to three months. Every JOLT rental outside Colorado requires 12 months, including jobs in the other four states with fixed transport fees.

Office reservation deposits are $750 across all JOLT office tiers and the 40 ft office. The deposit is credited to the first invoice under Rental Agreement section two. Treat that payment as its own cash-timing line, not as proof that the quoted monthly rent includes every invoice item.

JOLT invoices include a percentage-based damage waiver and an environmental fee in addition to rent, recurring upgrades and applicable sales tax. Rent also follows the published annual escalator at each delivery anniversary. If the job may cross an anniversary, carry the adjustment into the duration comparison rather than multiplying one starting month indefinitely.

Cancel by written notice while the interval before the delivery window's first day still exceeds 14 days; cancellation is then free. For pickup, send written notice no fewer than 15 days ahead; Rental Agreement section 16 sets that requirement. For the United Rentals order's minimum, deposit, adjustment, cancellation and notice requirements, use "Confirm in the written quote" instead of borrowing terms from an earlier Pac-Van transaction.

Which accessories need their own line in the comparison?

An old phrase such as furnished office is too loose for a new equipment approval. JOLT's READY supplies two chairs with a plan table, plus a microwave, mini-fridge, whiteboard and heater rated at 1,500 W. READY is a separate recurring selection, so list its contents beside whatever accessories the current United Rentals proposal includes.

WATCH combines a panoramic solar LTE camera, cloud clips and motion alerts. CONNECT includes a Starlink Mini, router and 50 GB Roam. POWER combines two 400 W panels with a 3 kWh LFP battery and inverter for loads such as the camera, Starlink, lights and laptops.

The selectable POWER upgrade is not sized to run the mini-split. Grid-Free's HVAC-capable 10 kWh battery arrangement is a different office configuration, not a reason to assume Base gains self-contained cooling by adding the smaller package. Write the selected office tier beside every upgrade to keep those two power choices distinct.

THE JOLT PACK groups WATCH, CONNECT and POWER; furniture remains outside that grouping. When comparing a carried-forward accessory allowance, replace the allowance with named equipment and current recurring prices. For comparable United Rentals inclusions, use "Confirm in the written quote" unless the specific order already identifies them.

How should the account handoff be checked?

Assign one person to collect the current account response and another to review the field requirement. Ask who should receive invoices, which purchase order reference belongs on the new request and who is authorized to approve equipment substitutions. Those are questions for the proposed transaction, not claims that the acquisition changed any customer's billing.

Use a short written reconciliation when the new proposal differs from the old attachment. Identify the changed line, the requested correction and the document that resolves it. For any question about carrying credit, rates or notice terms forward under the Pac-Van account, the purchasing note should read "Confirm in the written quote".

Keep the delivery contact separate from the accounts-payable contact if different people perform those jobs. Give the site team the accepted equipment description and the office power selection, while purchasing retains the commercial record. That division makes it easier to catch a configuration mismatch before the order is authorized without assuming anything about either supplier's internal account process.

What should be in the final approval packet?

Keep the earlier Pac-Van proposal, the current United Rentals response and the JOLT offer as separate dated documents. Add the job ZIP, unit list, rental duration, target window and a short note identifying any changed assumptions. This lets the approver see whether a difference comes from equipment, transport, time or an account question.

For a wider search, the nationwide company comparison groups current operators rather than treating absorbed names as additional bids. The Mountain West company directory is another reference for a job in that region. If storage is driving the decision, JOLT versus Sunbelt Rentals provides a separate head-to-head.

Choose JOLT when its listed container configuration and current terms match the requirement, not because an older brand name feels uncertain. Keep United Rentals in consideration when its current proposed equipment matches the job. Close the comparison only after the accepted quote identifies the equipment, transport, dates and agreement your team is actually authorizing.