Take my truck on road trip or rent a car

I'm debating if I should take my truck on our road trip for thanksgiving. We're driving from Austin to Nebraska ands it's about 800 miles one way. I trust my truck but I'm not sure about driving it 1600 miles round trip in a weeks time.

Anything I should consider taking with us?


My other option is to rent an SUV or similar.

 

A back massager, fucking seats kill me after awhile. Lol

 

Do the math for the gas mileage.

If your truck gets 20mpg you would burn 80 gallons in 1600 miles.
A rental that gets 30mpg would only burn about 54 gallons.
26 gallons difference at $3.50/gal is $91.

Rent a 40 mpg butt-nugget and save $200.

 

Last time in commuted to Vegas from Phoenix I rented a car. It felt good to put the 700 plus round trip miles on a vehicle someone else owned. Not sure of the rental rates over the Thanksgiving Holiday, but I am sure Priceline or one of the other travel sites might be more reasonable than walking into a rental place last minute.

 

Good math, but it leaves out the daily cost of the car which is easily a $50+ a day expense unless you're a preferred member of a rental agency.

OP, your situation and expense also depends on your passenger list. If you need up to 4, you'll be fine with a fairly basic car (except on hills but your route should only have small ones). More than 4? You'll need a minivan or SUV which doubles or triples the car rental cost per day. Maybe step it up to an intermediate car but you'll pay more for the car and it will probably go from a 4cyl to a 6cyl. Better power but slightly less gas mileage.

Regardless of what car you rent, you'll save money driving your own unless you rent a Prius for $20 a day. Not going to happen. So back to your other question... what to bring with you in your truck for that long of a trip. Well, here are some suggestions that I would take on an 800 mile run:

• A gallon of drinking water per passenger. Also good for radiator top-offs.
• Basic tools to fix things like hoses and whatnot. Wrenches, allens, pliers, etc.
• Make sure everyone has shoes that they could walk miles in. No crappy flip flops or designer shoes with bling
• Plastic tarp. Has a million uses including shelter, something to lay on the street with to fix something, covers your gear, etc.
• Flashlight and spare batteries. Always a life saver for fixing trucks in the dark, or for signaling.
• Weapon(s) of some sort. Check local laws for carry regulations. Pretty much anywhere allows a decent knife, but handgun preferred.
• A backpack. Something to throw basic stuff in and free up your hands in case you have to walk to the next town or go get help. You don't want to carry 2 gallons of gas in your hands for miles when you could fit it in a backpack and save your shoulders, too.
• Snacks. More for boredom than anything else. You can go days without food if you have to.

The bulky stuff can be secured in the bed of the truck and not in your passenger's way. Use the tarp to tie down over your luggage, shoes, etc. that you want to keep dry. Make sure you have cell phone chargers and a way to charge them in your truck.

I'm sure others will have more ideas, but these things should get you by. Just prepare to walk a long distance if you have to, just in case. I find that the more stuff I bring with, the less trouble I find myself in. Kind of like breaking a jinx or something.

 

this is awesome, exactly what i was looking for. I understand I would save gas if I rented a 4cyl car but still the price for a rented vehicle for a week in the past has been 3-400 $'s. There will be 4 passengers so my truck is good and we have enough space. Only negative in my mind is putting 1600 miles on my truck within a weeks time, but thats what I got it for, sooooo.... still deabting but planning ahead is helping

 

take your truck. i thought about the same thing and thought it would save me money until i had to factor in the actualy cost of renting a car. im going from texas to virginia (richmond and DC area) and back in my truck with my baby boy and his mom although we'd save money in the camry that we recently purchased i feel the truck would be more safe since im going in feb when it still might be snowing.

 

Same here, theres a good posibility of snow up north around thanksgiving so I figure the new tread on my truck would help out in that situation. Also saving $400 on a rental car is a +. although I would end up paying a little more in gas but still, it would save a couple hundred in the end. Its gonna be me, wife, and our 2 baby girls. They love the truck and would be comfortable.

The plan is... If we take the truck we will camp one night on the way there and one night on the way back. There are a couple good spots weve looked up. Or if we take the car just get there in one day and get back home in 1 day, which is easily doable.

So, taking the truck would be alot more fun

 

Take the truck and enjoy the drive.

 

not sure about a first gen but i like driving my taco more than anything else, and would rather drive a vehicle that i know has been taken care of and i am familiar with, especially over long distances

 

Don't forget a good first aid kit.

 

I like to do a fresh oil change before a long road trip, too. It's cheap preventative maintenance. Check all the fluids while you're at it. Just pay attention to your gauges while you're driving and don't push the truck too hard with a full load of people and you'll be fine.

 

Definently gonna do an oil change, especially since it's due within the next couple hundred miles. I will be sure to check all fluids, check for any play in wheel bearings, ball joints, get alignment done (have lifetime alignement), tires rotated and psi correct. Any other preventative maintenance?

 

Any chance you could fly? That is not the most scenic route to take by car lol

 

well i see your a prerunner like me so what im going to do besides the preventative maintance is also prepare for the worse because of the snow check my tires buy some recovery gear and a ride along incase i have to pull myself out fix a flat etc. also i'd take the truck to get the battery checked just incase. its free at autozone

 

I do trips like that all the time towing a trailer! Why did you buy the truck if your not going to use it?

 

There you go. I have a compressor on board but a fix a flat is always nice to have. Also great idea on battery testing. I may try and get the alternator and starter checked at the same time. Radiator is brand new as of last month or so, I should be ok there.

 

it was moreso about saving money on his trip

same. dont forget brakes

 

Give it a good power spray and maybe an engine degreasing if it's dirty (just the spray cans from Vato Zone are good). Helps the engine run cooler. Change/clean your intake air filter, too. All are cheap things.

 

I use it daily, only big hesitation is something breaking during the 800 mile trip there or 800 miles back. It is somewhat reassuring driving in a brand new vehicle with all new parts. 1 small hesitation is putting 1600 miles in one week but that's not an issue