For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (II)

[Tweevil]

So after checking out the rentals from NJ to FL - I am of the opinion that they are all very high.... (no duh right? lol)

I have a new to me 03 Saturn Vue 102K on it and drives pretty well. I only go from work to home usually anyway so I don't invest in a new car... Anyhoo... I have never have taken it on a long trip but was contemplating driving him down to FL for our trip in Aug.

*knock on wood no problems with it, except for a tiny squeek when I roll and hit the brakes which is weird because they are new but ???*

So, should I drive in the luxury of my own car or rent a little pipsqueek to transport the 3 of us? Rental prices for the only place in po-dunk (Enterprise w/ every coupon I could use) is anywhere from $400 for intermediate to over $700 for a minivan.

What do you think? I am debating with myself here....

 

[michael's mom]

So after checking out the rentals from NJ to FL - I am of the opinion that they are all very high.... (no duh right? lol)

I have a new to me 03 Saturn Vue 102K on it and drives pretty well. I only go from work to home usually anyway so I don't invest in a new car... Anyhoo... I have never have taken it on a long trip but was contemplating driving him down to FL for our trip in Aug.

*knock on wood no problems with it, except for a tiny squeek when I roll and hit the brakes which is weird because they are new but ???*

So, should I drive in the luxury of my own car or rent a little pipsqueek to transport the 3 of us? Rental prices for the only place in po-dunk (Enterprise w/ every coupon I could use) is anywhere from $400 for intermediate to over $700 for a minivan.

What do you think? I am debating with myself here....

Ah. Tough one, but I think I'd have to say go with a small but comfortable rental. If something happens to the rental on the way you'll get a new one from the rental company...but if something happens to your car you'll be stuck waiting for a mechanic. We had an older vehicle that DH used to get to and from work and it was perfectly fine for that...until it wasn't. As reliable as our older cars can be...something can go wrong and it can happen out of the blue. For me, the "insurance" factor of knowing that if something did go wrong it would take a couple of hours of my vacation is worth the rental fee because I'd rather that than lose a day (or more) waiting for my car to be fixed.

Just a thought. HTH

 

[cruisingkat]

We're driving out from Naperville for the first time ever. We leave the friday of labor day weekend, probably about 4am. We know we're booked in macon for the night that friday, we can't check into our place til 4 on saturday.

Would this route work well then? Where outside of Chattanooga would you recommend for a trip back. We're still looking for a place to stay on the way home and need to book it FAST!.

We stay at Holiday Inn Express (hubby is a priority club member) and we stop at the Holiday Inn Express in Kimball, TN on I24 past Chattanooga. We usually leave there around 11am and are back home in Bolingbrook around 6pm or a little later if we decide to order and pick up a good pizza on the way home. (After 3 weeks of only having that so-called "pizza" that they offer in FL, we want some real pizza from our local pizzeria.)

 

[kidd_freeper]

So after checking out the rentals from NJ to FL - I am of the opinion that they are all very high.... (no duh right? lol)

I have a new to me 03 Saturn Vue 102K on it and drives pretty well. I only go from work to home usually anyway so I don't invest in a new car... Anyhoo... I have never have taken it on a long trip but was contemplating driving him down to FL for our trip in Aug.

*knock on wood no problems with it, except for a tiny squeek when I roll and hit the brakes which is weird because they are new but ???*

So, should I drive in the luxury of my own car or rent a little pipsqueek to transport the 3 of us? Rental prices for the only place in po-dunk (Enterprise w/ every coupon I could use) is anywhere from $400 for intermediate to over $700 for a minivan.

What do you think? I am debating with myself here....

Use your own car, but get it thoroughly checked out beforehand.

Oil change, check brakes, check tires, make sure the spare can be removed, get the spare tire filled with air, check belts/hoses, check air conditioning, check shocks/supports, check axle, check wiper blades, check all lights. Consider a coolant flush and fill.

We just took our minivan roundtrip from CT-WDW (2800 miles) for two weeks earlier this month. No problems during the trip. We had 117,000 miles on the van before we started. The check-up showed that we needed new brake pads and three light bulbs replaced...so my check-up cost $350. Way less than rental costs, and I needed the brakes anyway.

 

[mamapajama]

ARGH! I'm trying to decide where to spend the night and I can't make up my mind. I would really like to spend under $100 but I'm worried about the cleanliness considering that I am traveling with a 2 year that is low to the ground. The thought of her sitting down on a filthy carpet is grossing me out! Can anyone please make a recommendation of a hotel that they have actually stayed in in Walterboro or Florence. I mean you have actually stayed in the hotel in that city, not one of the chain in another city. I need first-hand experiences. Thanks in advance.

 

[sharadoc]

ARGH! I'm trying to decide where to spend the night and I can't make up my mind. I would really like to spend under $100 but I'm worried about the cleanliness considering that I am traveling with a 2 year that is low to the ground. The thought of her sitting down on a filthy carpet is grossing me out! Can anyone please make a recommendation of a hotel that they have actually stayed in in Walterboro or Florence. I mean you have actually stayed in the hotel in that city, not one of the chain in another city. I need first-hand experiences. Thanks in advance.

Hi. We like the Microtel in Florence. It's feels pretty new and is clean (as far as we could tell, at least!).

 

[Marshay]

So we did our first drive down to WDW in July ... and just booked another trip for November and one more for May (got an annual pass). We'll drive down and take AT back again...we just prefer not driving back at this time and gives our girls and us something new for the way back which seems so depressing to leave Disney...)

Thanks to all of you -- we never would have even considered driving down at all...esp for such a short trip as this (only 3 nights). But you have all opened our eyes that it can be done and rather easily.

 

[SBJB12]

Friends are driving down next week from Delaware and I figured I could find out here where and how bad construction was on I95. Thanks

 

[Tink-aholic]

Friends are driving down next week from Delaware and I figured I could find out here where and how bad construction was on I95. Thanks

Nothing bad from Delaware on down. We just got back yesterday.

 

[mamapajama]

Hi. We like the Microtel in Florence. It's feels pretty new and is clean (as far as we could tell, at least!).

Microtel is saying no availability for our dates. Bummer.

 

[BC1836]

Nothing bad from Delaware on down. We just got back yesterday.

Any other relevant driving/construction details?
[And, how was the non-driving part of the WDW trip?]

All the best.

 

[sharadoc]

Microtel is saying no availability for our dates. Bummer.

Wow - must be lots of DISboarders there. Are you going over Labor Day weekend or something?

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Friends are driving down next week from Delaware and I figured I could find out here where and how bad construction was on I95. Thanks

We didn't have problems, but I would say that when we drove through GA, SC, NC, and FL we saw construction going on. (7/11-7/12 and 7/21-7/22)

 

[dvczerfs]

We didn't have problems, but I would say that when we drove through GA, SC, NC, and FL we saw construction going on. (7/11-7/12 and 7/21-7/22)

unlike the state of pa, in the south, if they are blocking one lane of a three lane highway, they build another lane next to it to keep it a three lane highway. off ramps are before the on ramps and the lanes are more than 3 foot wide.

 

[mamapajama]

Wow - must be lots of DISboarders there. Are you going over Labor Day weekend or something?

We're coming home on labor day but going down 8/28

 

[chipper10]

We leave in 16 days!!!

The bad news is that it looks like DH has broken his right ankle. He goes to the doctor tomorrow to find out for sure. This will make our trip EXTRA fun. I can't imagine pushing DH and DS. The other bad thing is that all the driving will be pretty much up to me, which makes me a little nervous. Our plan was to get up at 4am and start driving and just see how far we got that first night. Now that all maybe up in the air since I will be the only driver.

If we leave at 5am (we are near St. Louis, MO), I think we can still make it to Atlanta by 1-2pm. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. Some people have said to go around Atlanta, but I think it might be easier straight through, what do you think?

 

[Dis_Dreamin]

I would imagine on a Friday afternoon around 1-2 pm you shouldn't experience too many problems. You could probably hop in the HOV lane and fly right on through Atlanta. When we went through, in May on a Saturday afternoon, traffic didn't seem to bad, but we also went the bypass rather than through town, mainly because our triptik had the route set out that way for us.

I don't think I would want to hit Atlanta much later than 2pm on a Friday though. Rough estimates have a drive from St. Louis to just north of Atlanta at about 9 hours (google maps). That means leaving at 5 am would put you on the north side of Atlanta just about 2:00 without any delays/stops/etc.

 

[mamapajama]

Microtel is saying no availability for our dates. Bummer.

So the Microtel in Walterboro is showing availability at a rate of $61.27 incl taxes. However on their site it says 4 people max but on Expedia it says that 3 kids are ok. I would book with Expedia but they will charge my card and then if I have to cancel I need to get a refund. Through Microtel they only charge my card if I don't cancel (or I actually check-in). What to do? Why would the info be different?

 

[shafke]

unlike the state of pa, in the south, if they are blocking one lane of a three lane highway, they build another lane next to it to keep it a three lane highway. off ramps are before the on ramps and the lanes are more than 3 foot wide.

I have seen PA close both lanes on a two lane highway and have all traffic going single lane each way in the other two lanes.

 

[BC1836]

I have seen PA close both lanes on a two lane highway and have all traffic going single lane each way in the other two lanes.

Alas, it's been done here in NJ on more than one occasion.

All the best.