One-way SoCal-SEA car rental for camping road trip: advice

[hodad]

For our upcoming roadtrip, we will be flying to Southern California to visit family, then driving north for a few weeks, ending our road trip visiting more family in Seattle.

I've looked into car rentals and can't seem to find anything for less than $450 a week for an economy. Any tips for when and where to search, or any codes to use? I have a rewards member account with all the rental companies if that makes a difference.

 

[Otter49]

I recommend the Enterprise "Month or More program". 1-800-209-3602. Website Here

I did this last year with them and had a full size SUV for about $1100 all in. I didn't rent in California though so it's probably higher out there.

One thing to look out for - renting at or near an airport may end up costing you an extra daily fee for the Airport authority so look carefully for that.

 

[hodad]

Thanks for the Enterprise recommendation.

Does dropping off at an airport also cost extra daily fees, or only picking up?

Additional question: what's the best way to search for a rental car if our dates and pickup location are flexible? Is there something like Google Flights for car rentals?

 

[JimMIA]

Unfortunately, I don't think there is any shortcut to your research other than using one of the travel sites as a starting point. Your car rental costs could vary widely depending on which airport in southern Cal you fly into. Dropoff fees are going to be all over the place, including differences within the same company for different types of vehicles. Time of the year obviously matters; even day of the week for pickup matters. Any of those cost components could be enough to dictate flying into a particular airport, or make one company (or one vehicle) a much better option. I don't think there is any other way to do this than just slogging through it.

Otter49's "Month or More" suggestion is certainly worth checking out, as is their caution about the extra airport fee. Those fees can be high, and multiplied daily on an extended trip like yours can add greatly to your cost. Might be worth leaving the family at the airport, cabbing to an off-site rental agency, and going back to pick them up.

The other suggestion I would offer is not to look exclusively at a particular category of rental car. Sometimes the same model car can be an "Economy" rental with one company and something very different with another company -- at a much different rental rate. Also, don't assume that small is cheap. Sometimes you can get a larger car less expensively than a smaller car. So you really have to do your homework.

 

[hodad]

I was worried sloggingnis the only option. We are relatively free in our pick up and drop off locations and date; I'm performing in Little Tokyo at the end of July and then visiting family in Orange County, so anywhere we can get to with a car would work. Same on the Seattle end, where we will visit family too. And we know that we want to take a few weeks to drive up the coast but we have a month to do so.

I'll just keep searching and see what I can find. Thanks for the help!

 

[bcla]

Nothing on the costs, but there may be practical considerations for camping. We typically bring a lot of stuff and a tiny car might not haul enough of it. A big plastic container can help. Also if you're camping in the Sierra Nevada, study up on food storage rules. Some campgrounds don't allow food to be stored in a vehicle unless it's an RV. I assume you won't want a bear to peel away the door frame of your rental.

 

[betterbutter]

I've looked into doing this several times and the drop off fees have always been what has made the costs prohibitive. I'm not sure there is any way of getting around that on the West Coast. on the east coast you can avoid it by taking a car south at the end of the summer or north at the end of the spring due to seasonal peaks in rentals, but they don't have that quite as much on the west coast.

 

[hodad]

I made a no commitment reservation through Kayak with my Hertz Gold Rewards info for a two-week rental for $779, picking up on August 9 at SNA and dropping off on August 23 in downtown Seattle, near my brother-in-law's house. That's the lowest rate I could find by at least $50, but I'll keep looking.