Posted by The Real Bev on July 18, 2008, 10:23 pm
In October we're going on our first roadtrip since 1995. Husband
usually spends the whole trip worrying about keeping the 68 Dodge van
alive, so we're going to rent a vehicle. Just the two of us, and I want
to be able to put a foam mattress in the back and sleep in it most of
the time. What with gas prices being what they are I don't want
anything bigger than I absolutely have to get. 1 to 3 weeks, maybe
longer. Head north and see what happens.
I can probably use any of the rental companies, but whenever I try to
call one I end up wanting to kill somebody.
What's good and who should I get it from?
--
Cheers,
Bev
====================================================================
"My parents just came back from a planet where the dominant lifeform
had no bilateral symmetry, and all I got was this stupid F-Shirt."
Posted by Marvel on July 18, 2008, 10:57 pm
> In October we're going on our first roadtrip since 1995. Husband usually
> spends the whole trip worrying about keeping the 68 Dodge van alive, so
> we're going to rent a vehicle. Just the two of us, and I want to be able
> to put a foam mattress in the back and sleep in it most of the time. What
> with gas prices being what they are I don't want anything bigger than I
> absolutely have to get. 1 to 3 weeks, maybe longer. Head north and see
> what happens.
> I can probably use any of the rental companies, but whenever I try to call
> one I end up wanting to kill somebody.
> What's good and who should I get it from?
> --
> Cheers,
> Bev
My last rental was a 2008 Dodge Magnum Wagon
I did not lay the seats down but it might work.
It was easy to drive and the mileage not bad.
It was from Enterprise rent a car about 800 bucks for a one month rental
unlimited miles
Posted by KW on July 18, 2008, 11:02 pm
> In October we're going on our first roadtrip since 1995. Husband usually
> spends the whole trip worrying about keeping the 68 Dodge van alive, so
> we're going to rent a vehicle. Just the two of us, and I want to be able
> to put a foam mattress in the back and sleep in it most of the time. What
> with gas prices being what they are I don't want anything bigger than I
> absolutely have to get. 1 to 3 weeks, maybe longer. Head north and see
> what happens.
> I can probably use any of the rental companies, but whenever I try to call
> one I end up wanting to kill somebody.
> What's good and who should I get it from?
> --
> Cheers,
> Bev
> ====================================================================
> "My parents just came back from a planet where the dominant lifeform
> had no bilateral symmetry, and all I got was this stupid F-Shirt."
Most of the current crop of minivans run in the 16city/23 highway range.
Try this link as a comparison of 4 popular models. (Honda, Chrysler, Kia,
Toyota)
http://www.kbb.com/kbb/CompareCars/Report.aspx?CompareCarsVehicleIds"4054-166914-223956-198013
The Honda Odyssey gets consistently high marks on ride comfort and fuel
economy. The newer models shut down 3 of the 6 cylinders while at normal
cruising speeds and have heard of folks getting into the mid to high 20's in
flat highway cruising. IIRC National rents these. I've rented tons of
vehicles over the years and one word of caution is that the fine print says
"Honda Odyssey or similar" so be very specific and adamant when you book the
vehicle and call the actual rental counter where you are picking up the
vehicle a day or so ahead of time, talk with the supervisor and explain what
you want. Otherwise, you could wind up with the Lincoln Navigator "Similar
or next class up"
Unless you go hybrid, I don't believe you can do a lot better on fuel than
that listed above by going with a mini-suv, but you will give up a ton of
interior room compared to the mv. Unless you are *really* short, you won't
be able to stretch out on the foam mattress. Toyota Rav4, Ford Escape, and
similar.
--
KW
aka DirtBikeDad (GOR, ADVRider, FRP, GA-MXRacing, OCRA)
aka GA-Spode (JustKDX, KTMTalk)
aka warrenmountain (Photobucket)
03 Kawasaki KDX 220R
01 Honda XR100
03 Yamaha TTR 125L
90 Kawasaki Bayou 220
03 Husky ZTH5221
01 Kubota B1700
Posted by CrashTestDummy on July 18, 2008, 11:31 pm
I agree with what Keith said. For our 5,849 mile road trip through
the west last summer we rented a new Dodge Caravan from Thrifty and
greatly enjoyed the room. Of course, there were five of us and the
Caravan has the most expensive daily rate. Mileage was quite good
though.
Thrifty mostly does Dodge vehicles. If you have one nearby, you
might check out the Dodge Caliber. It's probably as close to what
you're looking for as you're gonna find. Considered a compact, the
Caliber has second lowest renatl rate ($34.95 day here). It also has
fold-flat seating and gets 24 mpg city, 29 mpg highway.
But like Keith said, no matter where you go you have to ensure that
you can get that SPECIFIC model. For example, when we reserved the
Caravan at Thrifty they said "no problem." But when we called the day
before our trip to confirm they tried to put us in a different vehicle
"at a discounted rate." When we refused, they told us that was fine
but our Caravan wouldn't be available until noon (we were supposed to
pick it up at 10am). When we got there at noon it still wasn't ready
and we had to wait while the sole employee detailed and prepped it for
us. But at least we got the vehicle we reserved. Eventually.
Good luck and have fun!!!
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:02:29 -0400, "KW"
>> In October we're going on our first roadtrip since 1995. Husband usually
>> spends the whole trip worrying about keeping the 68 Dodge van alive, so
>> we're going to rent a vehicle. Just the two of us, and I want to be able
>> to put a foam mattress in the back and sleep in it most of the time. What
>> with gas prices being what they are I don't want anything bigger than I
>> absolutely have to get. 1 to 3 weeks, maybe longer. Head north and see
>> what happens.
>>
>> I can probably use any of the rental companies, but whenever I try to call
>> one I end up wanting to kill somebody.
>>
>> What's good and who should I get it from?
>>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>> Bev
>> ====================================================================
>> "My parents just came back from a planet where the dominant lifeform
>> had no bilateral symmetry, and all I got was this stupid F-Shirt."
>Most of the current crop of minivans run in the 16city/23 highway range.
>Try this link as a comparison of 4 popular models. (Honda, Chrysler, Kia,
>Toyota)
>http://www.kbb.com/kbb/CompareCars/Report.aspx?CompareCarsVehicleIds"4054-166914-223956-198013
>The Honda Odyssey gets consistently high marks on ride comfort and fuel
>economy. The newer models shut down 3 of the 6 cylinders while at normal
>cruising speeds and have heard of folks getting into the mid to high 20's in
>flat highway cruising. IIRC National rents these. I've rented tons of
>vehicles over the years and one word of caution is that the fine print says
>"Honda Odyssey or similar" so be very specific and adamant when you book the
>vehicle and call the actual rental counter where you are picking up the
>vehicle a day or so ahead of time, talk with the supervisor and explain what
>you want. Otherwise, you could wind up with the Lincoln Navigator "Similar
>or next class up"
>Unless you go hybrid, I don't believe you can do a lot better on fuel than
>that listed above by going with a mini-suv, but you will give up a ton of
>interior room compared to the mv. Unless you are *really* short, you won't
>be able to stretch out on the foam mattress. Toyota Rav4, Ford Escape, and
>similar.
CrashTestDummy
fbradfordREMOVE@tx.rr.com
Posted by Mike Baxter on July 19, 2008, 2:36 am
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:23:22 -0700, The Real Bev
>In October we're going on our first roadtrip since 1995. Husband
>usually spends the whole trip worrying about keeping the 68 Dodge van
>alive, so we're going to rent a vehicle. Just the two of us, and I want
>to be able to put a foam mattress in the back and sleep in it most of
>the time. What with gas prices being what they are I don't want
>anything bigger than I absolutely have to get. 1 to 3 weeks, maybe
>longer. Head north and see what happens.
>I can probably use any of the rental companies, but whenever I try to
>call one I end up wanting to kill somebody.
>What's good and who should I get it from?
Companies like Avis, Hertz have better cars than say...Thrifty. Check
out what they rent on their web sites and determine what you want to
rent. They sometimes have local rental sites. Right now the SUVs are
the cheapest per day due to the fuel mileage.
Minivans make great road trip vehicles. You'll get about 22 MPG in a
Dodge Grand Caravan. Also, I did a mini-lease through Avis on a
mid-size car for a couple months (min. 30 days) and it was about
$486/month.
Mike Baxter
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> spends the whole trip worrying about keeping the 68 Dodge van alive, so
> we're going to rent a vehicle. Just the two of us, and I want to be able
> to put a foam mattress in the back and sleep in it most of the time. What
> with gas prices being what they are I don't want anything bigger than I
> absolutely have to get. 1 to 3 weeks, maybe longer. Head north and see
> what happens.
> I can probably use any of the rental companies, but whenever I try to call
> one I end up wanting to kill somebody.
> What's good and who should I get it from?
> --
> Cheers,
> Bev