Originally Posted by
staehpj1
I have almost always found rental cars a better option any way especially with more than one person sharing the cost. I always found it best to book through an aggregator online rather than walk up to a rental desk. Walking up to the rental desk always seemed to result in a refusal to let a car go out one way or a huge one way fee. I also found going airport to airport seemed to go smoother. The problem I see is that the whole rental car business has kind of gone to hell since covid and as far I I know is not yet back to normal. Prices are way high and cars scarce. They tend to promise and then not have them when you show up even though you prepaid. Avoiding high air travel times may help with the car availability. Absolutely don't count on getting a car on a big travel weekend.
Maybe buses can fill some of the gaps. I know greyhound sucks, but it might be better than cancelling the trip if they serve the area you need.
Thanks, earlier today I priced U Haul and Enterprise. The cost of gas would probably be the same as we planned to pay for two Amtrak tickets. Drop charge was $200 for a one way before taxes.
Now I need to find out if our bikes can fit in a Pacifica. The Enterprise nearest me does not appear to have that model in stock but I plan to go over there with a tape measure and find out. April is still a month and a half away, so we have some time to check alternatives.
My Lynskey with front wheel removed, but with Tubus Tara installed is almost 5.5 feet long.
I did not plan to use my S&S bike on this trip, but if I need to I can. Splitting the frame in half would make that fit into a lot of vehicles. It would not have to be packed in an S&S case, so I could leave the fork on, water bottle cages on, etc. Would take less than five minutes to remove the wheels, disconnect rear brake and split the frame.
But my touring partner has an uncoupled bike, so that might be the deciding factor on size.
We both would have four panniers.