Chase Vehicle concerns

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

On 4th June, myself and my boyfriend Tim are flying to Kansas for our first chase trip. We are so excited and have been learning everything we can in every spare (and not spare!) minute of the day and this forum has been fantastic for gaining advice from seasoned chasers.

However, I currently have a few concerns regarding our chase vehicle. Back in November myself and Tim booked our chase vehicle from Hertz. We reserved a 7 seater Ford Expedition (or something similar) which was fantastic. It exactly catered for our needs by having totally reclining 2nd and 3rd row seats enabling us to sleep comfortably (within reason) in the back of the car. We are plannign on using the car as 'accomodation' and perhaps treating ourselves to a motel every third or fourth night. We have reserved the vehicle for 3 weeks & 2 days for $2,292.

However, on double checking our reservation yesterday it appears as though this exact vehicle is no longer available and the substitute is a Chevrolet Tahoe. The specifications of the car are pretty well matched, but I am a little concerned that the vehicle does not have the functionality of flushly flattening the rear seats. I can only gage this from photos available online, but the last thing I want to happen is to arrive with the wrong expectations of what will, in essence, be our home for 3 weeks.

I tried to call Hertz last night to discuss my concerns (obviously without implying the purpose of our trip; merely stating that on potentially long road journeys we may feel the need to have a little kip in the back of the car to re-energize), but unfortunately got no answer.

In the meantime I thought it may be worthwhile to ask on this forum whether 1) anyone had any experience of either vehicle, or if not, whether there were any vehicles in particular that you could recommend us trying to reserve, bearing in mind we will be spending most of our time in the car! and 2) going on past experience $2,292 seemed a reasonable price for 3 weeks and 2 days (this is exclusive of any loss waiver option, which I know will probably hike the price up somewhat).

Any advice anyone may have would be gratefully received.

Kindest regards,
Cammie

 

[John Erwin]

Hi Cammie;

You might get more "visibility" on this question over in the equipment forum since that's where these kinds of things are discussed.

In an attempt to answer your question, I'm wondering if a Mini-Van might be suited for your purpose. You could specify that you wanted to have the extra seats removed prior to renting it so that you have the whole interior for your "accommodation" needs. It does appear though that you were hoping to rent an off-road capable vehicle given your choices.

I'm certainly not an expert on the area, but very few vehicles I see can do this. I typically sleep in my vehicle too on long chases, however since I'm alone I have a bit more flexibility. The last setup I had that worked well was a 96' Jeep Grand Cherokee, but that beast is long gone. My Nissan Rogue is cramped and "bumpy" by comparison but I get much better mileage

Good luck!

 

[Jim Hunt]

Here is a review which mentions the fold down seats.

http://allcarsreview.com/2009/02/06/in-the-autoblog-garage-2009-chevy-tahoe-ltz-62l-4x4/

Looks like the Nissan Xterra is available from Hertz and it has fold down flat seats.

http://www.autospectator.com/cars/models/2010-nissan-xterra

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Here is a review which mentions the fold down seats.

http://allcarsreview.com/2009/02/06/in-the-autoblog-garage-2009-chevy-tahoe-ltz-62l-4x4/

Looks like the Nissan Xterra is available from Hertz and it has fold down flat seats.

http://www.autospectator.com/cars/models/2010-nissan-xterra

Agreed this should move to equipment thread...

I have an X-Terra, it's not the best vehicle for sleeping, although I do sleep in it from time to time (like last weekend). I'm 5'8" and have to sleep side ways. Some of the new ones (not sure if this is an extra), don't have carpet in the back anymore (to look more rugged). I couldn't imagine sleeping on that.

 

[Jason Foster]

Renting vehicles in the USA tends to mean the vehicle you see or request is that vehicle "or similar". It is common practice for rental companies to have a mix of vehicles. In your case you rented a full size SUV class. It basically said Ford Expedition...but look closely, it'll show "or similar". In this case you've now been told you'll likely have a Chevrolet Tahoe. However, no rental company assigns specific vehicles to customers, rather that assign classes. You may end up with a Nissan Armada, or Toyota Sequoia. The later two are very unlikely, but it is possible hertz (which is one of the most diverse rental companies out there) does have a fixture of these throughout the small SUV fleet. The particular seat feature you are looking for may or may not be available in these other models, the Tahoe, or even all Fords...as rental fleets also tend to supply the base models of the vehicles.

Now...and second thing to verify. Because someone mentioned the Minivan, I suspect that you choose the SUV because of the 4x4 (4 wheel drive). I will warn that you may (if not already) communicate that you require that the rental have the 4 wheel drive. It is not uncommon that some rental companies will only supply 2wd models of the full size SUVs. This is one reason, in the past, I preferred Dollar Rental Car company as they did specify the different, or your request for 4 wheel drive would be locked in.

Last thing. I would not hesitate to have a back-up reservation with another rental company. It is not uncommon either, especially during high volume times, for rental companies to run-out...even though you do have a reservation (anyone remember the Seinfeld skit about it)...it's kinda like airliners that overbook.

 

[Thomas Dolmer]

Hi Cammie,
your rental price seem a bit high to me.
Our team has a reservation from another company on a Chevy Tahoe (or similar) for 22 days. Our price is $1540. This price includes LDW and 3 drivers.
But this is in the late April-late May period. Maybe the prices go up in the summer.
The prices also varies considerably from company to company, naturally.
It also depends if you're booking directly through the rental company or through an agent (travel agency etc)

I don't know the Tahoe, but the Ford Explorer's (and Dodge Durango's) we have rented the previously years all had a flat surface when the 3rd seat rows were reclined.

 

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I will also have a little look within the equipment section to see if I can see any similar threads that may also give me some more information.

 

[Brandon Sullivan]

Moved this into the Equipment Section... It may help spawn more attention also..

 

[J Tyler]

Cammie, I hope you and Tim have a wonderful time in America! Have you ever been here before? Of course, my wife and I want to visit England (and ALL of Europe, really!), so we were both excited to read your post here.

My wife drives a 4x4 Xterra, and it is our chase vehicle. Look at the owners manual, the back seats WILL fold all the way down flat. We are both around 5'7 and fit in the back, but if you are tall it would be tougher. The rear wheels DO protrude into the interior taking up space. The guys on the Xterra forum who sleep in their trucks go and buy an egg crate mattress (It is just a giant piece of foam) from a store here in the states called Wal Mart (they are EVERYWHERE), and cut them to fit the back of the truck, then sleep in a sleeping bag. In highway driving, we get 18 US Miles Per Gallon. Ouch. Gas here right now costs $2.80 per gallon in Dallas Texas.

How much luggage will you have with you for a three week trip? The Chevrolet Tahoe is a larger truck than the Xterra in width and height. If you want more room in the back, the Chevrolet Suburban is the exact same vehicle as the Tahoe, EXCEPT it is STRETCHED to be longer. The Xterra, Tahoe, and Suburban are all built on TRUCK frames. Much more heavy duty for extreme use (heavy hauling, towing, off roading), but get MUCH worse gas milage.

The new Chevrolet Equinox for 2010 gets 32 miles per gallon highway! It is about the same size as an Xterra, but is front wheel drive. Would save you a fortune on fuel cost. If you want something bigger but still good on milage, try to find a Chevrolet Traverse which is considerably bigger than the Equinox (especially longer) to give you more room for luggage/sleeping, and gets 24mpg.

Finally, I have to give a nod to the earlier suggestion of a minivan.

People in the plains of the US in the small towns are really friendly people. I hope you enjoy talking (especially to older people!). I hope you and Tim have a wonderful time. Please keep us informed.

 

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

Hi J,

Thank you for all the info. We booked our vehicle back in November and chose the larger SUV option - originally the Ford Expedition - it looked a beast of a vehicle. I had concerns that the Tahoe would not be as large or as comfy but from the responses on this thread it sounds like it will adequately do the job.

Yes, we have heard many times about Wal Marts and plan do stop by one as soon as we get out there to stock up on necessities such as mosquito cream and a mattress of some sort (thanks for the info on that as it's something we were wondering about).

I completely understand that with a vehicle of that size the fuel costs are going to be very high - but this should be our main expense and roughing it in the back should help save the pennies - it's been really interesting learning about places where we can spend the night and some beautiful places have been described such as Kingman Lake in Kansas.

We should be travelling fairly light in terms of clothes etc, but this will be needed to make room for 2 laptops, a nikon and 3 lenses, a canon and 2 lenses, copies of software, A baron threatnet, 100s of wires and some atlases!

It's the first time I've been to America. Tim has been once, but only as a child. I am so looking forward to it, seeing some fantastic emotion from mother nature and just experiencing the whole feel of the Plains. I want to also read up about some of the history before I go, to really make the most of it.

...and I love to talk, so it's really great to know that that will go down well. Can't wait to see storms and make friends!

Many thanks to all again for the advice.

 

[Steven Marshall]

You had better check the conditions of rental before signing for the vehicle. I was about to rent a mini-van from Hertz a couple years ago...but as an afterthought, I asked if I was allowed to take it out of state....good thing I asked because we were restricted to Oklahoma only. Dollar renta car had no such restriction but I understand many of the rental places do place restriction on where you can take them....and there is a hefty fee if you do take them out of the area. Some of the rentals now have the black boxes that record where you have been and how fast you were driving!

 

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

Hi Steve,

I can't see anywhere in the agreement that we are restricted to a particular state and our agreement includes unlimited mileage so I'd like to assume that we are free to cross state boundaries. Thank you for the tip though and I will double check this with the company over the phone.

cheers.