Moving from Orlando to Seattle. Where to find a pickup with a hitch so I can tow my car and motorcyle?
May 30, 2010 3:14 PM   Subscribe

I'm moving from Orlando to Seattle and I need to move a small pickup truck and a small motorcycle. Is it possible to rent a decent sized pickup truck with a hitch so I can tow my own pickup and put the motorcycle in the bed of the truck? I need to move in about two weeks and it's sort of an emergency.

I won't be taking many belongings, mostly clothes and a computer. But I do need to get my transportation out there. The pickup is old and I don't really want to risk the 3000 mile trek.
posted by zorro astor to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
If the truck is old enough to not be able to make it that far, you can probably buy a "new" old truck in Seattle for the price of the gas to haul that thing all the way up there.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 3:44 PM on May 30, 2010


I know you can rent a car pulling thingy along with Ryder and U-Haul trucks, my brother used one to move cross country. You might want to look into to how much the smallest U-Haul/Ryder truck and car trailer combo costs. Might be the easiest to find solution.
posted by token-ring at 3:48 PM on May 30, 2010


Penske also rents trailers/dollys and trucks to pull them and they tend to be less sketchy than U-Haul. Rental on the minimum 16' Truck and a dolly is ~US$1800.

You might be able to offset some of that cost with an offer to haul craigslist post considering you would have so much extra cubeage available. Or you might be able to hook up with someone going that way or part way who would tow your dolly.
posted by Mitheral at 4:12 PM on May 30, 2010


All I needed when I was moving was a pickup truck but found that all of the truck rental places only rented pickup trucks locally. So you pretty much had to rent a larger truck like Mitheral links to. I even checked with car rental places like Avis and Hertz because some even had pickups (I was in Texas and "pickup truck" is sometimes listed as a car class) for rent but with the one-way fee tacked on, it was cheaper going with Penske or Uhaul.
posted by birdherder at 5:32 PM on May 30, 2010


I think your cheapest bet is to sell your current pick-up for whatever you can get for it, move on your bike (can you fit a small trailer to it carry your stuff?), and then buy a beater when you get out there -- or see if transit + bike will do you. Remember it's not just moving the old truck, which won't be cheap if you can't drive it, it's also re-registering and reinsuring it, which are also not trivial expenses. If cost is the driving force, I think this is your pick.

Next suggestion is to take the thousand bucks it will cost you in rental and gas to have that truck dollied out west and spend that on a good mechanic to make the truck able to drive itself with your bike in the back.

Enjoy your move! Please be sure to take your time if you can -- it's a beautiful country and if you can enjoy your trip you'll have some lasting memories.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:54 PM on May 30, 2010 [1 favorite]


U-Haul or similar.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:00 PM on May 30, 2010


« Older Wine Question...   |   NYCfilter, hotels in brooklyn Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.