Long(er) term truck rental recommendations?

As the camping season winds down, and as my '04 Suburban keeps racking up the miles, I start to think about what I'm going to replace the 'burb with. Right now the Suburban stubbornly refuses to die even at 175,000 miles but I know nothing lasts forever and I want to have a plan in place for if/when the Suburban craps the bed and needs to be replaced.

Currently, barring an accident or catastrophic hail damage, I'm keeping the 'Burb at least until the end of 2018.

BUT, I have thought it might give me a good insight on other vehicles if I rented one to see how it was to live with. I'm particularly interested in seeing if a full size crew cab short bed truck would fit my needs.

So I'm wondering how much I might expect to pay for a week-long or two-week long rental of a double cab pickup. Doesn't even need to be 4wd, since I don't plan on taking it off road. From my recollection the "big" rental companies (Hertz, Avis, etc) are pretty pricey for larger vehicles, just wondering what other options there might be for a 1- to 2-week rental.

Does anyone know if there are dealers that do rentals like that?

If possible, I'd love to rent a truck for a camping trip and see how well the truck tows our camper, but I would have to make sure that the vehicle already had the integrated trailer brake.

Current front runners are the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram 1500, ideally I'd like to rent one of each and see which one I liked better.

You could try out a service where people let you rent their personal cars.

https://turo.com/search?country=US&d...r=2018&type=11

There are others out there.

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Originally Posted by mb504

You could try out a service where people let you rent their personal cars.

https://turo.com/search?country=US&d...r=2018&type=11

There are others out there.

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Interesting! Air BNB for cars! :D

At 175k, if taken care of, your suburban shouldn't be thinking about dying.

Enterprise in lakewood on colfax and brentwood.

I rent crew cab trucks from them.

Gas, diesel crew cabs 4x4s.

Dodge and ford only.

Around 1000 $ week 24x7.

I rent them for weekend trips with my family because my old gmc is much like your burb. Saves me the headache of repairs and downtime on the side of the road with wife and kids.

Long 3 or 4 day weekend cost me 700$ or so.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

$1K + per week. Unless it's in season. In CO that means all winter, most of the summer. That arbnb vehicle site looks interesting

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Originally Posted by hurley842002

At 175k, if taken care of, your suburban shouldn't be thinking about dying.

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I agree, and the "core" systems are pretty solid. The 5.3 is not a particularly powerful engine (certainly not by today's standards) but it's pretty bulletproof. The 4L60E transmission is a notorious weak link but mine was rebuilt ~ 20,000 miles ago, so I'm not too worried about that. I replaced the transfer case encoder motor (about the only failure-prone component there) earlier this year as well. Some have also said the G80 rear locker is a failure prone item (though I've heard this mostly happens for those who are 'wheeling their trucks pretty hard, spinning tires, etc.)

However, there are a few well known failure points on the GMT800 Suburban. One is the fuel pump, which is not a particularly expensive part, but it's an expensive repair because of its location on top of the fuel tank that requires dropping the tank to replace (or cutting a hole in the floor.)

The other things I worry about are what, in computer terms, might be thought of as the "peripherals:" The dual zone AC, the HVAC blend door actuators (another known failure point, a $10 part that requires nearly $1000 worth of labor to install because the entire dashboard has to be removed) and the other electronics. Those are things that, if they fail, it won't necessarily leave me stranded by the side of the road (except for the fuel pump, which can do exactly that) but which will put me in a dilemma of "do I pay $1000 to repair something that isn't really going to increase the value of the truck by more than a couple hundred, if that, or do I cut my losses and get rid of it now?"

The other issue is timing, which is tricky. Wife and I do a lot of camping every year - and I mean we go out typically every other weekend from about April through October, with an occasional trip in March or November. With our camping trips scheduled so close together, that means that whatever vehicle I start the "camping season" with, that's the one I finish with, too, because I don't have time (between trips) to buy a new vehicle and get it ready for the next trip. So if my vehicle were to have a catastrophic failure in, say, mid June, it would mean having to either rent a tow vehicle or cancel a camping trip so I'd have time to both buy and outfit a replacement.

I actually really like the Suburban and would love to keep it. It's slow, especially pulling a 3500lb trailer up a steep CO pass (going up to the Eisenhower tunnel a couple of weeks ago it would occasionally drop down to first gear at about 35 mph!) Those steep climbs make me dream of the 6- and 8-speed transmissions that most newer trucks have, as well as 350+ HP engines with massive torque. MPG is another gripe - around town I rarely break 12mpg and it's 10 - 11 towing. Modern trucks do a lot better.

On the flip side, I've put a lot of effort into the 'Burb. A mild lift, 33" tires, dual batteries to run a fridge and extra power outlets, new stereo with Bluetooth and iPod controls among other things. Other than the transmission going out at 150k it hasn't had any issues (and to be fair, while the transmission failed, it "failed safe" in the sense that I only lost gears 3 and 4. So even with a broken transmission I was able to drive home, 100 miles from Kremmling pulling a trailer and with 2 kayaks on the roor, in 2nd gear all the way!)

the other thing that deters me from replacing the Suburban is, of course, the cost. I haven't had a car payment in over 4 years and I like the extra money in the bank each month. Furthermore, not only does a new(er) truck mean a return to payments (at least for a little while) it means getting screwed over on taxes, registration and insurance - all of which are dirt cheap on my 14 year old 'Burb, even with full coverage.

https://www.barcorentatruck.com/

These guys get used in the O/G industry a lot.

They are noticeably cheaper than Enterprise or similar.

ETA: I've always been through them with a company name behind me, I don't know about personal rentals.

Find a beater 1995 Dodge Ram with a 5.9l 12v Cummins drive train to swap into the Burb. Another one of my dream projects.

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Originally Posted by cstone

Find a beater 1995 Dodge Ram with a 5.9l 12v Cummins drive train to swap into the Burb. Another one of my dream projects.

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There is actually a company that does Duramax conversions on Suburbans. They even have a cute name: Duraburb. Duramax engine + 6 speed Allison transmission.

Unfortunately, AFAIK they only do it on the heavier duty 2500 Suburbans, mine is a 1/2 1500.

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Originally Posted by Martinjmpr

There is actually a company that does Duramax conversions on Suburbans. They even have a cute name: Duraburb. Duramax engine + 6 speed Allison transmission.

Unfortunately, AFAIK they only do it on the heavier duty 2500 Suburbans, mine is a 1/2 1500.

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Down in Florida. I’m familiar with them and watched a few of their videos. They will do the 1/2 ton Burb but it isn’t optimal. I just figure if I was going to go diesel with a Burb I would get the most simplistic, bulletproof engine that is widely available. If I had the money and could find one, a Mercedes OM606 would be another strong choice.

Avis has a F-150 for $504/week. Wonder if you talk to a dealer if they would let you take an extended test drive of a newer used model.

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Originally Posted by cstone

Find a beater 1995 Dodge Ram with a 5.9l 12v Cummins drive train to swap into the Burb. Another one of my dream projects.

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you and me both. My K3500 will get a replacement someday.

I wish I could put a small diesel into my Amigo. It's soooo much easier to just buy something else though.

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Originally Posted by Irving

I wish I could put a small diesel into my Amigo. It's soooo much easier to just buy something else though.

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Pick up a Kubota 2.2l, have it rebuilt and put into your Amigo. The car will rot before the engine gives up and you just might get 30% better mileage.

It's all the other aspects of the vehicle that are lacking that stop me.