Im organizing a trip for me and my friends this summer. We have decided that it would be a good idea to use a rental rather than our private cars. We are thinking about renting a minivan or a full size suv and towing a small utility trailer. Not much weight just some camping gear. Have any of you had experience towing with a rental? Are their particular companies that cater to such a market?

 

Capps Van Rental...

TRAILER TOWING
Trailer towing is available on 15 Pass Vans and select pickups and flatbeds. An additional trailer towing fee may apply. Please call a Capps Representative for full details.

 

most rental companies like Hertz, Enterprise, etc. don't allow towing from what I remember. and those that do allow towing, usually charge by the mile rather than flat daily rates.

i tried renting a pickup about 5 yrs back to haul a car from north FL and ran into these issues.

 

I know the rental companies are trying to protect themselves from liability by not letting you tow, but it seems kind of silly that they'd rent hulking V8 powered pickup trucks and SUV's and not let you tow with them. Might as well just rent you a minivan, it has more seats.

 

Pretty rare for them to allow towing. Have you considered renting a smaller motorhome? It would be much more comfortable, have all the space you need for your gear, and add living quarters into the mix. Lots of fun.

 

Unforunatly they don't have a Chicago location or anything remotely close.

 

Did you have trouble towing physically or was it a paperwork issue?

 

This was my original idea, however I got some really big quotes. Some people wanted almost 7k with miles.

 

I think I'm going to rent a Yukon, I know that these cars equipped with with hitches. I am quite familiar with towing a trailer I'm not going to be towing anything too heavy, just a uhaul trailer with camping gear.

 

I talked to a friend about this topic this morning since I distinctly remember him renting a Yukon XL and towing a U-Haul trailer when he moved himself and his sister out of their respective college apartments.

Turns out he did a spy mission at Enterprise rental car, found an SUV with a tow hitch, and went from there. This is forbidden by most rental car companies but he said he checked with his personal insurance company and they said they'd still cover costs in the event of an accident. Try at your own risk...