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Old 01-16-2014, 07:11 PM   #1
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Any rental TVs out there

While I am still looking for my trailer I think I have narrowed my search down to an Argosy from the 70's 24 feet or less. That would put the dry weight in the mid 3000's and loaded in the mid 4000's. My wife's car has mid 6000 tow capacity with a WD hitch so regular trips are no big deal.
A buddy of mine want to go on a 10 day marathon that would involve 2200 miles of driving eAch way including the Rockies and 4 days of boondocking. So yes, 2200 miles of driving in three days. Doable but certainly will beat up our TV.
Rather than sacrificing my wife's car I was wondering if there was a reasonable way to rent a tow ready 3/4 ton pickup. I called Hertz and they wanted 59 cents a mile. Would be cheaper for me to buy a tv off of craigslist for the 10 days than rent from them. Would prefer to rent if there is a reasonably priced option out there beyond the crazy rates I have seen.

Any thoughts on this or is it a pipe dream?
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Old 01-16-2014, 07:19 PM   #2
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Most rental contracts prohibit towing anything with the rental vehicle.
If you do find one that allows towing, it almost certainly will not have a brake controller, and probably no receiver.
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Old 01-16-2014, 07:27 PM   #3
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Local Ford dealer in Kansas City has a few F150's they rent out. A fellow I know rents one occasionally for weekend horse shows when he needs to pull his trailer. Not sure what it costs. So, you might check you local Ford, GM and Dodge dealers and ask.
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Old 01-16-2014, 07:40 PM   #4
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I did a ton of research on this a month ago. Very slim pickens. Your best bet is a local rental place. DOn't waste your time with the big boy rental companies. Another options is https://relayrides.com or something similar. They are just people who rent out their personal cars and trucks. Most are available for extended periods of time...
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Old 01-16-2014, 07:53 PM   #5
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Very simple solution if one thinks out of the box. Go down to Hertz, etc... and rent an F-150 truck for 100 bucks a day with ulimited miles as if you are just running around town or taking a vacation and don't say anything about towing. Pick it up first thing Monday morning and then take it down to the local hitch shop and have them install a hitch and brake controller (brake controller and trailer lights normally have plugs built in so it's just a plug and play). When they are finished, you and your buddy go and get the trailer and bring it back and drop it off at your house. Then get out a set of wrenches and take the hitch off the truck, touching up any marks with a rattle can, unplug the controller and lights then return to truck to Hertz on Friday!

When you're finished, you will have a new hitch, brake controller and light connections for the TV you plan to purchase.

Oh, and pray all the way out and back that you don't break down or get into a wreck!

OR

Just buy a trailer closer to home.

Enjoy,
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Old 01-16-2014, 08:59 PM   #6
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I have serviced some enterprise rental trucks with hitches and integrated brake controllers.Diesel powered Rams to boot.I have no idea what they charge
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Old 01-17-2014, 12:29 AM   #7
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Yeah look for hertz or enterprise commercial rentals.
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Old 01-17-2014, 06:54 AM   #8
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Called enterprise commercial. Even with my corporate rate getting the better 79/day and 150 miles the .29mile a ten day rental could easily cost me 1500 plus taxes. I may be a short term owner of an f250 this summer.
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Old 01-17-2014, 01:54 PM   #9
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I don't think I would want to pick up a cheap vehicle on craigs list for that type of expedition. That's a recipe for getting stranded with a blown engine or some other catastrophic failure. Any used vehicle I buy I want to be driving around town for a while to work the kinks out before I hit the road.

You might be better off trying to rent some sort of full size SUV like a Suburban or Expedition. Most of them come with hitch receivers already installed. You might need to provide your own drawbar and ball. Just make sure your own insurance covers the rental and towing because the rental company insurance may not.
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Old 01-31-2014, 03:39 PM   #10
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My husband and I were in the same boat last year. We were picking up our new to us Airstream in SD, 1600 miles away. There is no way our toyota forerunner was gonna cut it through those mountain passes. We also tried renting a vehicle with zero success. However, we live in a city with a lot of motion picture production, and film companies do a LOT of vehicle rentals. Most larger cities in NA will have a have a couple of branches that rent almost exclusively to productions. And they allow towing! In Vancouver, we have a Thrifty, Budget, and Enterprise branch. If you do live near a large city, try calling around to those companies and ask if they have a branch that does film production rentals. These branches are very used to tow rentals. But it is not known the employees at other branches, let alone to the general public.

We got a weekly rental of beautiful fully loaded 2013 Dodge Ram 350 Diesel with engine brake, trailer brake, tow package, yada yada, for $500 for a week and 1500 miles free!!!!

It was a smoking deal and we couldnt even feel the trailer behind us as we pulled it. It was our first time towing and it turned a potentially stressful nightmare experience into a very relaxed and confident trip.

Hope this info helps you!
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Old 01-31-2014, 06:38 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RhinoWW View Post
While I am still looking for my trailer I think I have narrowed my search down to an Argosy from the 70's 24 feet or less. That would put the dry weight in the mid 3000's and loaded in the mid 4000's. My wife's car has mid 6000 tow capacity with a WD hitch so regular trips are no big deal.
A buddy of mine want to go on a 10 day marathon that would involve 2200 miles of driving eAch way including the Rockies and 4 days of boondocking. So yes, 2200 miles of driving in three days. Doable but certainly will beat up our TV.
Rather than sacrificing my wife's car I was wondering if there was a reasonable way to rent a tow ready 3/4 ton pickup. I called Hertz and they wanted 59 cents a mile. Would be cheaper for me to buy a tv off of craigslist for the 10 days than rent from them. Would prefer to rent if there is a reasonably priced option out there beyond the crazy rates I have seen.

Any thoughts on this or is it a pipe dream?

Hi Rhino, Best to keep it simple and have a stress free trip. Buy your wife a new handbag and use her vehicle. This trip distance is really no big deal and is regularly done by loads of Airstreamers. Jim
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Old 05-14-2014, 04:33 PM   #12
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Not to dig up an old thread, but why not?

I rented on of the Home Depot truck today to get a skid of pavers. Ford F250 with a two inch receiver. The rental agreement showed a weekly rate of about 450.

Made me ask if I could rent it for a week. Lady there said no, which made no sense given the rate quote. But made me wonder if anyone has rented a TV from homedepot. I would assume a prodigy controller would be plug and play.
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Old 05-15-2014, 10:47 AM   #13
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I just want to point out that car/truck rental companies have the government in their pocket. If they get the idea you're doing something they don't like and report the vehicle as stolen you may find yourself trying to find a bail bondsman and criminal defense attorney someplace far from home.

If you return a vehicle and they conclude there's more than ordinary wear and tear they can and do run through exorbitant delayed charges on your credit card, and you won't get them reversed without lawyering up.
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Old 05-15-2014, 08:44 PM   #14
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I just want to point out that car/truck rental companies have the government in their pocket. If they get the idea you're doing something they don't like and report the vehicle as stolen you may find yourself trying to find a bail bondsman and criminal defense attorney someplace far from home.

If you return a vehicle and they conclude there's more than ordinary wear and tear they can and do run through exorbitant delayed charges on your credit card, and you won't get them reversed without lawyering up.
If I rent for an extended period, I'll be reading the agreement carefully. As far as returning fire with fire if they go off the grid with claims, that's what I do in my day job. I'm really curious if anyone has used one of these rental trucks for anything beyond just moving a trailer around while their regular TV is in the shop etc.
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