autotrain?

[yazee1]

I just checked Toyota and Honda websites, are vehicles are practically Identical in dimensions and going back to A/T website I believe they should be oversized. Did anyone actually measure your vehicle? Did they look at your ticket and see what you paid for vehicle? I'm thinking you may have paid regular sized and they didn't even look and just put vehicle onboard??

I'd like to answer your questions in order, but the situation isn't quite so straight forward. I can blame my blunder on the lateness of the hour or anything under the sun, but the fact is I left something really important out of my account that competely invalidates my ability to tell you whether the Sienna (and therefore the Odyssey) will be accepted by Amtrak as a "regular" sized car.

Yes, we measured the van, but dh didn't consult our owner's guide to see if his measurements matched Toyota's measurements. I'm thinking dh's height measurement didn't include the 2 inches or so that the top rack adds to the height of the van. I do know his length measurements were bumper to bumper and his didn't match Toyota's. I'm stumped on that one. Toyota's was longer.

Yes, we paid for a regular car, BUT here's where it gets complicated. No Amtrak employee ever had the opportunity to compare our vehicle with the loading ticket that would have accompanied it. What I only just recalled after reading your post is that every time we've taken the Autotrain, except for the last time, we've taken dh's car NOT the Sienna. Furthermore, this last trip, although we paid for a regular ticket, the van never actually made it onto the loading car. On the southbound journey, the night before we were supposed to leave, the train was canceled due to the unsafe track conditions in South Carolina. (Remember the flooding and hurricanes last October.) We wound up driving down to Florida. On the way north, as you know, we made it to the station but were refused check-in because we were late. So, it's very possible that the van would have been rejected or we would have had to pay the difference at the station. We have no way of knowing.

Yes, we are in the same boat. I don't know anyone personally who has paid for a regular vehicle and successfully loaded a Sienna or an Odessy. I'm sorry I have misled you.

 

[bones]

Simple mistake, "misled" is a little hard on yourself. Hubby probably didn't include the bumpers in his "optimistic" measuring, but i'm sure the manufacturers specs are accurate.
Anyway thanks for your help, I have been reviewing other A/T posts. The problem is this site is so active you get info overload.

 

[Anal Annie]

I know this is off-topic but I just wanted to say that AirTran released their schedule thru at least August this morning and I found an amazing RT direct flight from BWI to MCO for $129! WAY cheaper for us than the autotrain price I got of $730 with our SUV... We stay on site and will use DME and don't care if we have our vehicle or not.