TX to MA in Feb'10. Hard to find large SUVs in TX.

My wife and I are moving from TX to MA and we are planning to rent a large SUV (lots of things we wouldn’t like the movers to carry – and break) and get to MA in 4 days, with stops in Little Rock, Knoxville, and DC area.

Some questions we have:

1 – We haven’t had any luck in booking a large SUV (Expedition or Suburban) from Avis or Hertz – smaller car rental companies offer only Trailblazers and Explorers :(. Any suggestions? I’ve been checking in DFW, IAH and SAT as well, to no avail. People from Avis have suggested me to call them every day to see if a Suburban is there by pure coincidence. This would ruin our planning, since we are moving, not just traveling.

2 – Any tips for this driving? We never drove more than 150 miles on a trip before. So yes, we’re newbies to long driving, but we're estimating that 8 hours/day will be fine.

Thanks!!

We rented a Tahoe from National for a trip from New Mexico to Boston in November. That was plenty big to purchase two large outdoor fireplaces in NM and bring them home.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'd be willing to be that when you factor in the rental fee, plus the one way drop fee for a large SUV, you're going to be looking at a very hefty price tag. In fact, I'd be willing to be that it would be significantly cheaper to go with a small uhaul or similar moving truck. You'll also have a lot the advantage that it should be a whole lot easier to find this kind of vehicle for your trip.

Your route and driving distance look right along the lines of what we recommend - about 500 miles a day. That will put you on the road for 8-10 hours a day, leaving a nice amount of time to stop and taking frequent breaks from the road.

If you are determined to deal with a car rental company instead of U-Haul or Penske, look at vans instead of SUV's.