bocastephen

I may need to do another 'haul' run from SEA to LA to bring some furniture we left in the house, basically a queen headboard, two dressers, two dining chairs and one small dining table/long dinette (about 60 inches long). The pickup truck I asked about in another thread ended up working out perfectly for the plants - not only did I have 3 to choose from in the Aisle and switched to the much cheaper midsize rate, all of our plants arrived in perfect condition having survived 3 days of cold highway speed winds wrapped in burlap.

For the furniture, I need something enclosed, so the pickup truck won't work - and it has to be bookable using Exec free days, which the pickup truck was not (at least until I got one off the Aisle and modified the rate).

At this point I am trying to decide which is better:

1. 7 passenger minivan, assuming I can fold down all of the seats, although the rounded shape may limit width space and they don't appear to be as long as the LT model SUVs

2. A Premium SUV, assuming I can get one of the super long LT versions and fold down all of the seats

Any suggestions?

aww3583

A minivan will outpack a premium-sized SUV any day.

For example, folding the seat backs down in a Suburban leaves the seats still exposed. A Chrysler T&C has stow-and-go where everything folds flat into the floor.

Stand the head board up against the back of the front seats.
Stand the two dressers up, trying to insert them through the side doors.
One of the dining chairs can go in the front, upside down on the passenger seat.
The dinette will be interesting. The rear hatch on the minivan isn't more than 48" in any dimension.

Lots of options. Pack some heavy blankets and don't be afraid to lay stuff sideways and stack vertically.

- minivan owner.

bocastephen

Awesome advise, thank you!

dwbf11

I'd shoot for a Pacifica or Grand Caravan, most of the Town and Country vans are out of fleet service now. The GC shares its platform with a cargo-only version (and the now discontinued T&C) so that will undoubtedly be your best bet. The Pacifica is good too but because it is rounded off, I don't think there is as much space, though it's close. The GC has been showing up on the lot in RT trim with leather and other goodies so not a penalty ride either.

Wiley

I had a similar dilemma when driving a crapload of stuff from Philadelphia to Seattle recently. Yes, a Pacifica minivan can outpack a Suburban, but the difference was only about 20 cubic feet in the end. Sure, you might get a little more space and a little better gas mileage in the minivan, but in the end it was the comfort of the Suburban that made the decision for me, specially considering the duration of the drive. I still have one more run to make later this summer. I'm definitely booking the Premium SUV for this with free days. If I had to pay the ridiculous $500 a day for it, then minivan, but with free days, it's no question.

Wiley

Btw, FYI:
2017 Chevrolet Suburban/Cargo volume: 39.3 ftł, 121.7 ftł with seat area
2017 Chrysler Pacifica/Cargo volume: 32.3 ftł, 140.5 ftł with seat area
2016 Chrysler Town & Country/Cargo volume: 33 ftł, 143.8 ftł with seat area

Closingracer

eh the Pacifica is actually quite comfortable.. I'll just never drive a mini van considering I don't need that space.

Twixboy

Why are you guys making multiple long trips? Just rent a U Haul and get it over with in one trip!

muricy1

Hey

Since ur first experience with a pick up was so good, why not use a plastic cover(s)?

Just make sure to tie it on very tightly and your furniture should be fine.

bocastephen

The furniture was left for staging the house...lucky for us, the house sold, and now we need to dispose of the furniture. In the end, instead of trying to stuff it in a minivan, we decided to let Goodwill pick it up (it's all old stuff) and take the tax deduction rather than deal with the hassle.

But thanks to everyone who gave advise, much appreciated.

PAX62

Yup...we move a lot of crap and stuff when we travel for work all the time...the Grand Caravan is the largest cargo capacity vehicle that National has short of a passenger van.

Wiley

Why? Because a truck rental is about $1,500 (not including the fuel at a very glamorous 6 to 8 mpg). Add in the fuel at an average of 7mpg and across 3,000 miles, you're looking at about 430 gallons. At about $2.50/g, that comes out to about another $1,075 just in fuel and that brings you up to a grand total of $2,575.

With a Suburban (and five free days), that's $35.40 including taxes. At about 18-20mpg, you're looking at 158 gallons of fuel at $2.50/g, that comes out to $395 in fuel and a total of $430.40. Add in a one-way flight to get back in between trips for another $180 and another $430.40 to get back again, the two trips and the flight costs you a grand total of $1,040.80...or about $1,500 less than the U-Haul truck. Oh and U Haul trucks are terrible. No way I'd want to drive one of those for 5 days!

Twixboy

Haha, can't believe you did the math on that. I was referring to the OP making multiple trips between Seattle and LA when I made that comment. It's an easy ~1,000 mile 2 day drive in a UHaul vs 2 plane rides and 4 days in a Suburban over 2 separate trips. The time saved alone is worth thousands of dollars to me.

BTW, in your case if it takes 5 days in a UHaul, it would actually be 10 days over 2 trips with the Suburban. Plus the opportunity cost of those 10 free days that will end up costing you over $1000 when you go to pay for your next personal car rental while on vacation. There's no way I'd be able to take 10 days off from work to move stuff cross-country twice.

elCheapoDeluxe

The floor shape also has an effect. Much easier to stack things up on a flat floor minivan with stow and go than a suburban where the seats, even folded, are uneven surfaces.

I also have had excellent success with the Ford Flex. Of the SUV-like vehicles, it has a very long and relatively even surface once seats are folded. I actually had a minivan rented at EWR to pick up some large speakers in Albany and drive them to Chicago a couple weekends ago. Once I landed and found a Flex on the aisle I switched my reservation to 1-2-free days and took the Flex.

aww3583

Would something like UShip work?

I did a dummy quote on the website and the average price for a similar shipment is $350 and the estimated maximum price was $440.