Rent-A-Car for picking up arcades?

the7k

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I've been trying to find the most cost effective way to get two arcade machines that are in Athens, GA (about 200 miles away) back home.

I've found a place that is renting out Cargo Vans for $60 a day, and apparently will grant unlimited mileage so long as the vehicle stays in the Carolinas and Georgia. This is seeming like a much better idea than paying $300+ for a U-Haul or dealing with freight shipping. Anyone else ever done this? Anything I should watch out for?

Also, I've been considering trading in my current vehicle and buying a pick-up just for hauling arcade machines... but if it really only costs this much to rent a cargo van, I'm honestly not even sure I should bother (especially considering my current vehicle gets better miles per gallon than a pick-up). Should I bother?
 
I've used an Enterprise van before to haul 2 games. Worked well and was certainly cheaper than shipping 2 games.
 
Don't forget to factor in that you'll be paying for the gas as well... But that deal sounds pretty solid.

Another option: Buy a cheap utility trailer, and get a hitch on your car...?
 
I recently picked up a Honda Odyssey van and it is great for moving games. I have fit 2 in there, but it was not easy. Before I picked that up, I routinely rented the Home Depot truck. It is $19 for the first 90 minutes and $10 an hour after that. I have driven it 200 miles round trip and picked up 3 games in the process, but it is best for little 50-100 mile trips.

But $60 a day and unlimited mileage sounds even better if you have other factors like getting it out of a basement or other time consuming tasks to get back home.
 
I was supposed to get a cargo van when I was going to p/u an empty Joust cab from Tronguy a while back but the van didn't make it back in time,so they gave me a Dodge Ram 4 door truck for the same price.:)
That thing was nice and even had Sirius in it.
 
I used to rent full-size pickup trucks from Enterprise when I would go to auctions... it worked out pretty well. Now I don't have room for a full truckload of games though, so I take my minivan for my own sake. I still can get 3 normal sized games in there though (Grand Caravan).

DogP
 
I've been trying to find the most cost effective way to get two arcade machines that are in Athens, GA (about 200 miles away) back home.

I've found a place that is renting out Cargo Vans for $60 a day, and apparently will grant unlimited mileage so long as the vehicle stays in the Carolinas and Georgia. This is seeming like a much better idea than paying $300+ for a U-Haul or dealing with freight shipping. Anyone else ever done this? Anything I should watch out for?

Also, I've been considering trading in my current vehicle and buying a pick-up just for hauling arcade machines... but if it really only costs this much to rent a cargo van, I'm honestly not even sure I should bother (especially considering my current vehicle gets better miles per gallon than a pick-up). Should I bother?

I did the same thing (pickup truck from Enterprise) when I went to get my Assault. Worked out great. So far at auctions I've just taken my Scion xb and measured really carefully before bidding. (I've gotten a woodgrain 19" 2 slot Neo-Geo in there, and on a different trip I got a Qix in there.)
 
I've rented a van to get an Asteroids from Asheville and rented a truck to get a Crazy Climber from BFE, NC.

I think both of them came from Rent-a-wreck, which charges no mileage compared to U-haul. Actually, there is a mileage-based fee that increases with your estimated distance. It was nothing compared to the 40-50 cents per mile that UHaul had in mind.

I like to borrow friend's trucks myself :)
You have to kind of space that out to not wear out your welcome though. Always bring back a full tank of gas for that one..
 
If you have a vehicle that can pull a trailer, why not just get one of those? Do you have to tell them you are traveling out of state? I think I paid $20 for the 8' uhaul trailer.
 
Unless you're planning to make hauling games a semi-regular occurrence, renting a cargo van on an as-needed basis is probably the cheapest way to go.
 
I use all of the methods listed so far. I have a Scion xA that can hold a pinball. My girlfriend has a Rav4 that can hold most arcade games 1 at a time. I have borrowed trucks from friends; as mentioned, that should be rare. I rent a uhaul for local pickups. It has been a long time since I have seen cargo vans rented without a mileage fee.

The best solution would be to add a hitch to the rav4 and rent trailers, but that is $700, and I don't need it enough for that cost right now. It would be nice, but I can get 2 or 3 games for that price. :)
 
I have a Rav4. I have fit Pins or Smaller cabs inside. but anything bulky is tight. So I spent 240$ to get hitch on it and I just rent a 4x8 Trailer with a ramp from Uhaul. it's 24.95 for 24 hours, unlimited miles. When I goto auctions I bring that. I rent it that morning or the night before and drop it off when I am done with it. Most uhual places will let you drop it off after hours and they don't charge you for an extra day. Just ask them. I've brought 5 machines and a pin back in one without any issues. I've even rented it for local (100 miles or less) pickups. the ramp is worth the 5$ over the nonramp. I can load and unload all games solo.
 
I have a rav4.....how the he'll do you get a game in there? Leave three foot of it sticking out the hatch?! I got a nintendo cab into our highlander but was sticking out the back because we werent about to remove two car seats...
 
If you have a vehicle that can pull a trailer, why not just get one of those? Do you have to tell them you are traveling out of state? I think I paid $20 for the 8' uhaul trailer.

If you don't tell them you are travelling out of state, and something goes wrong (say, some moron runs you off the road, damages the trailer, and leaves without so much as a 'sorry'), then you'll quite possibly end up responsible for replacing/repairing the trailer. Any insurance from the rental company will be void, and it'd be interesting to see if your own insurance would pay for it or not. They might not, in which case, it's all out of your pocket.

At the worst, you'll be stuck with some stupid amount of money to replace the trailer + whatever the rental should have been (you can bet they'll figure it out and charge you the proper rate).

So it's not the end of the world, but it could be very annoying. I'd not do it, but your mileage may vary.
 
I have a Rav4. I have fit Pins or Smaller cabs inside. but anything bulky is tight. So I spent 240$ to get hitch on it and I just rent a 4x8 Trailer with a ramp from Uhaul. it's 24.95 for 24 hours, unlimited miles. When I goto auctions I bring that. I rent it that morning or the night before and drop it off when I am done with it. Most uhual places will let you drop it off after hours and they don't charge you for an extra day. Just ask them. I've brought 5 machines and a pin back in one without any issues. I've even rented it for local (100 miles or less) pickups. the ramp is worth the 5$ over the nonramp. I can load and unload all games solo.

Where did you find a hitch for $240? Toyota quoted $700. At $240, it would definitely be worth it.

Frax - The biggest game I have fit in there was an Asteroids. The passenger seat had to be almost all the way forward, so lucky there was no passenger. My girlfriend drove that from Vegas to Reno with 2 big dogs in the car. I am really surprised I am not single now. I had a pin in my Scion xA for the trip. I would have gladly traded for the trip to lessen the stress level, but my car is a stick, and she can't drive it. The Rav4 is a 2010, so it might be a bit longer than the older ones. I know some of them look really short.
 
I have a Nissan Murano, and I can fit pretty much any standard size game in it. I so far have carried a Baby Pac, Dynamo HS-5, Gaplus, Simpsons 4 player and Radical Bikers in it.

As for renting a box van, I found that Budget is the cheapest, but you still have to be careful about the distance you drive. If you need to pick up something far away and it is large or multiple machines then a U-haul trailer like this one is the cheapest cause you don't have to pay per mile. There is another ramp trailer that is larger if you have a bigger load.

My Dad is in this photo: :D
2009-11-07-time-11-32-13-day-6.jpg


Also the trailer says its speed limit is 55 MPH, but I just ignored it. ;)
 
I have a rav4.....how the he'll do you get a game in there? Leave three foot of it sticking out the hatch?! I got a nintendo cab into our highlander but was sticking out the back because we werent about to remove two car seats...

seats down. front passenger seat ALL the way up. Face arcade machine so marque is facing passenger window and slide in on an angle.

I got a Cabal machine in that way and a few others. I almost stuffed in a Z cab but the rear door wouldn't close the last 2 inches so I had to tie it
 
Where did you find a hitch for $240? Toyota quoted $700. At $240, it would definitely be worth it.

Frax - The biggest game I have fit in there was an Asteroids. The passenger seat had to be almost all the way forward, so lucky there was no passenger. My girlfriend drove that from Vegas to Reno with 2 big dogs in the car. I am really surprised I am not single now. I had a pin in my Scion xA for the trip. I would have gladly traded for the trip to lessen the stress level, but my car is a stick, and she can't drive it. The Rav4 is a 2010, so it might be a bit longer than the older ones. I know some of them look really short.

I had Uhaul put it on. Under the bumper, not cut the bumper. Toyota will want to do the spiff slice the bumper. charge you a forture. if you go with the under bumper, you might have to flip your ball hitch. Take the ball off your hitch and put you insert in upside down so it's facing up then screw the ball back in. I had it the normal way and when you are carrying alot the chains drag on the ground. The Uhual guy told me to flip it and it's been great since. I can take a pic if you don't get what i am saying about flipping it.

Uhaul hitch is lifetime warrenty for an extra 5$. only extended warrenty I didn't feel I got raped on.

The 240 was including a wiring harness. mine is inside and I just pull it out of the spare compartment on the left side from the rear door. And then just run it to the trailer and plug it in. this way it's always clean and doesn't get all funky from driving around in the snow, flapping in the breeze.
 
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