We are planning to rent a pick-up to drive across the country as a family. We have 2 adults and 2 children in forward facing carseats. We spoke to the rental company and they have Ford F150, Chevy Silvarado, and Dodge Ram 1500 available (all would be 2013/14 models). I have a special needs son in a Spirit Adjustable Positioning System seat and a daughter in a True Fit. Any advice on which vehicle to request would be appreciated.
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Truck Rental Advice
- Thread starter Open Arms
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safeinthecar
Moderator - CPS Technician
Why a truck? If your SN child is unable to self transfer the height of a truck may make things extremely difficult.
LISmama810
Admin - CPS Technician
The body style will make a huge difference. Crew vs extended vs extra vs full vs mega vs etc.-cabs. Some trucks are amazing for installing car seats. Others, not so much. If you can give more details on the exact type of cab, we can probably be more help. (Basically, though, the deeper the back seat, the better.)
DawgDad
New member
Why a truck rental?
We are looking at pick-up trucks because the rental cost is less expensive and because we have to bring so much of my son's equipment with us we thought the pick-up bed would be the most useful. He is still under 50 lbs so the transfer shouldn't be too tricky, but I do have concerns about the seats fitting well. All the trucks should be extended cabs (4 doors), but I'll have to call to get more details. Actually what I might do is actually go to the rental site and try out the seats in the trucks and look at the other wehicle options that would have larger cargo areas.
Yes, I would make sure they are truly quad cab trucks and not simply extended cabs with the clamshell doors. The extended cab versions often have a very shallow back bench and no room between the front seat.
Dh has a Chevy Silverado, and honestly I would never drive cross country in that. Before he had the bed cover (and I'm assuming rentals will not have this) you have to use tie downs for all the luggage / gear in the back. Then every time you stop you worry about stuff being stolen out of the bed. The stuff in the bed gets rained on, wind blown, covered in dust. There's no room in the cab with four people for even kids activities or an ice chest. I love the truck for many things, but a cross country family trip would not be one, lol.
If you could splurge for a minivan you would have all the comforts of a car and the room of a truck. Most mini-vans have 3rd rows that fold completely flat, and then you would have a covered safe "bed". If not, I would even look at a full sized car over a truck. Sounds like a fun trip!
Dh has a Chevy Silverado, and honestly I would never drive cross country in that. Before he had the bed cover (and I'm assuming rentals will not have this) you have to use tie downs for all the luggage / gear in the back. Then every time you stop you worry about stuff being stolen out of the bed. The stuff in the bed gets rained on, wind blown, covered in dust. There's no room in the cab with four people for even kids activities or an ice chest. I love the truck for many things, but a cross country family trip would not be one, lol.
If you could splurge for a minivan you would have all the comforts of a car and the room of a truck. Most mini-vans have 3rd rows that fold completely flat, and then you would have a covered safe "bed". If not, I would even look at a full sized car over a truck. Sounds like a fun trip!
TechnoGranola
Forum Ambassador
The Silverado won't have a rear centre headrest so only a harnessed can be used in the rear centre position (there are a couple boosters that could work but limiting to harnessed seats keeps it easy).
You said extended cabs, which have smaller rear doors and on the Ford will open backwards. The Dodge will have smaller rear doors but open like normal doors. I can't recall what the Silverado does, I think backwards opening as well. Our neighbour has an extended Ram as one of his main vehicles and regularly transports a boostered child, a forward facing child, and he's satisfied with the room and the spacing to get in the rear doors. He's got the 6 seater model and carries 4 adults and the 2 kids fairly often and it works for them.
Crew cab versions provide significantly more space than extended cabs and have regular sized rear doors. I recently bought a crew cab F-150 and it would be awesome for travelling with a family. There is tons of room in the cab. With an adult sitting in the back, a rear facing car seat and a booster, I can still stand in the back to buckle my rear facer. The amount of leg room for adults in the rear is insane; so comfy for long trips.
That being said, this is my truck, not a rental so I've got a carpeted bed liner which keeps my gear scratch free, and a hard tonneau cover for weather and theft protection. I also have a model with most every creature comfort and power running boards that are wider than typical running boards and extend lower so even my 2 year old can climb in herself.
The F-150 is really easy to install seats in though and due to the size of the back seat, two seats side by side is a breeze and fitting even a large rear facing seat isn't an issue.
You said extended cabs, which have smaller rear doors and on the Ford will open backwards. The Dodge will have smaller rear doors but open like normal doors. I can't recall what the Silverado does, I think backwards opening as well. Our neighbour has an extended Ram as one of his main vehicles and regularly transports a boostered child, a forward facing child, and he's satisfied with the room and the spacing to get in the rear doors. He's got the 6 seater model and carries 4 adults and the 2 kids fairly often and it works for them.
Crew cab versions provide significantly more space than extended cabs and have regular sized rear doors. I recently bought a crew cab F-150 and it would be awesome for travelling with a family. There is tons of room in the cab. With an adult sitting in the back, a rear facing car seat and a booster, I can still stand in the back to buckle my rear facer. The amount of leg room for adults in the rear is insane; so comfy for long trips.
That being said, this is my truck, not a rental so I've got a carpeted bed liner which keeps my gear scratch free, and a hard tonneau cover for weather and theft protection. I also have a model with most every creature comfort and power running boards that are wider than typical running boards and extend lower so even my 2 year old can climb in herself.
The F-150 is really easy to install seats in though and due to the size of the back seat, two seats side by side is a breeze and fitting even a large rear facing seat isn't an issue.
Thank you for all the information. I honestly hadn't even thought about theft issues with the open truck bed. We were going to use waterproof clamshell boxes for rain protection, but it is sounding more and more like a truck is not the best way to go. I am going to actually look at the rental vehicles available today before we make a final decision. Thank you for all your help.
DawgDad
New member
I would second the idea of looking at a minivan, keeping the kids in the second row and just folding flat the 3rd row. You will actually get more vertical space in a van than you would in a truck, and the rental cost should be less than an extended cab pickup truck. I know at Hertz I can rent a minivan at $60/day, which if you ask me is a great price in today's world. You can usually get Sienna's if you ask...otherwise the predominant one you get in the rental world is the Caravan/Town&Country.
Side Note: Also, you will always have a cheaper rental if you do a round-trip rental and not a one-way or dropping off to another location. It sounded like you were doing round-trip, but just an FYI for future reference. Round-trips don't charge miles...one-way or different drop-off locations even if they are a few miles apart, will charge you miles for your entire trip on top of the daily rental fee. It has something do with asset management and trying to discourage renters from moving cars out of state to another location.
Try Hotwire and Priceline for rentals as well. We usually find great deals there.
http://www.hotwire.com/
http://www.hotwire.com/
Thank you! I didn't know that about the extra mileage. We are doing round trip, but our local rental agency does have mileage fees along with the rental. I'll look and see how close Hertz is to us. We don't travel very often, so, making sure I am keeping track of all the details and options is a little crazy. Thanks again.
DawgDad
New member
Yep...every rental car agency is different. Usually the "budget rentals" have lots of extra fees tacked on that for certain types of rentals or how you rent the car, it can turn out to be as much or more than the trusted brands like Hertz & Avis. You also sometimes get better rental fees at the airports. They usually expect you to return to their location, so they don't charge on the miles. They also have the largest selection of cars...and you can usually take public transportation to pick up the car and drive it home to prep for your vacation the night before.
I wish they made it easier to transfer points, because I have thousands of points that equal weeks of free rentals with Hertz. But if I transfer them, it's like a 10:1 ratio...it's pathetic!
tl01
New member
Can you rent from an airport location? Often local places give a mileage allowance and bill for extra but airport locations usually have unlimited mileage.
safeinthecar
Moderator - CPS Technician
Just had another thought. If you are using the recline bar on the Spirit, a truck may not have deep enough seats to keep 80% of the carseat on the vehicle seat.
MotoMommaNH
New member
Beware of airport rentals...they typically have a facility charge, extra airport tax, parking surcharges etc. So even if the daily rate is less, the overall cost is more. They normally would not have pick up trucks either but otherwise more selection than a local office.
Of course this all fluctuates on supply and demand, how busy they are etc. Just like airlines. So if you are flexible on dates, try different days of the week for pickup. Most of our rental business is on Monday morning and TONS of stuff comes back Friday so that is usually the best day of the week to get a good deal because inventory is flooding in with no room for it and we are more than happy to get the cars back on the road. ( I work for Enterprise)
Of course this all fluctuates on supply and demand, how busy they are etc. Just like airlines. So if you are flexible on dates, try different days of the week for pickup. Most of our rental business is on Monday morning and TONS of stuff comes back Friday so that is usually the best day of the week to get a good deal because inventory is flooding in with no room for it and we are more than happy to get the cars back on the road. ( I work for Enterprise)
tl01
New member
This is sometimes true.. But we needed a minivan lately.. To rent near or house was $130 a day.... And at the airport... A major agency had the same minivan for $30 day. The airport ended up way cheaper than the local agency.
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