Acquisitions (Pro Forma) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012	Apr. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 5,685,000,000		$ 4,955,000,000
Pro forma revenues	5,747,000,000		5,163,000,000
Historic pretax income	850,000,000		605,000,000		88,000,000
Pro forma pretax income (loss), before adjustments	870,000,000		667,000,000
Pro forma pretax income (loss)	923,000,000		518,000,000
Gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt	(80,000,000)		(1,000,000)		(72,000,000)
National Pump
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Revenues	62,000,000		208,000,000
Historic pretax income	20,000,000		62,000,000
Impact of fair value mark-ups/useful life changes on depreciation
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pro forma adjustments to pretax income	(1,000,000)	[1]	(4,000,000)	[1]
Intangible asset amortization
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pro forma adjustments to pretax income	(12,000,000)	[2]	(52,000,000)	[2]
Interest expense
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pro forma adjustments to pretax income	58,000,000	[3]	(95,000,000)	[3]
Elimination of historic National Pump interest
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pro forma adjustments to pretax income	0	[4]	2,000,000	[4]
Elimination of merger costs
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Pro forma adjustments to pretax income	8,000,000	[5]	0	[5]
Add-on to Senior Notes 6 1/8 percent | Senior notes
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount							525,000,000
Add-on to Senior Notes 6 1/8 percent | Senior notes | National Pump
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate							6.125%
5 3/4 percent Senior Notes
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate	5.75%
5 3/4 percent Senior Notes | Senior notes
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount							850,000,000
5 3/4 percent Senior Notes | Senior notes | National Pump
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate							5.75%
Senior Notes 9.25 Percent
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt						$ 64,000,000
Stated interest rate	9.25%
Senior Notes 9.25 Percent | Senior notes | National Pump
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stated interest rate							9.25%

[1] Depreciation of rental equipment and non-rental depreciation were adjusted for the fair value mark-ups of equipment acquired in the National Pump acquisition. The useful lives assigned to such equipment didn’t change significantly from the lives historically used by National Pump.

[2] The intangible assets acquired in the National Pump acquisition were amortized.

[3] In connection with the National Pump acquisition, URNA issued $525 principal amount of 6 1/8 percent Senior Notes (as an add on to our existing 6 1/8 percent Senior Notes) and $850 principal amount of 5 3/4 percent Senior Notes, and all our outstanding 9 1/4 percent Senior Notes were redeemed, as discussed in note 12 to the consolidated financial statements. Interest expense was adjusted to reflect these changes in our debt portfolio. For the pro forma presentation, the $64 loss recognized upon redemption of the 9 1/4 percent Senior Notes discussed in note 12 to the consolidated financial statements was moved from the year ended December 31, 2014 to the year ended December 31, 2013.

[4] Interest on National Pump historic debt was eliminated.

[5] Merger related costs, primarily comprised of financial and legal advisory fees, associated with the National Pump acquisition were eliminated as they were assumed to have been recognized prior to the pro forma acquisition date.