Hi all, and thanks for all the great posts here. I have searched about ways to get a boat across country, and didn't find much info, so figured I would post a new thread

I am trying to find a way to get a 1980 super cat across country, washington to maryland. I am considering a fly out, rent and drive one way back, but not having much luck in finding a rental company with a cargo van or pickup that has a hitch.

It looks like transport companies may be a bit too expensive. Was curious if anyone had any leads? On truck rentals with hitches? Not sure it would fit behind a small uhaul with the mast having to clear the back of the truck, and their pick-ups and cargo vans are not for one way rental.

Any ideas, leads, etc, would be much appreciated.

thanks

george

Oh my bad, I meant Cross Country, typing too fast for my brain to keep up...

You might do well to buy a truck, then sell it when you return. You could even turn a profit, or at least break even.
Trucks out here in the West don't have the rust you're probably used to seeing on the East Coast.

Howdy.

U-haul has hitches on the trucks. I don't know if they offer one-way rentals. If I wasn't back in school right now, maybe I'd negotiate a deal to drive it from WA to Maryland was it?

D. Ho
H 18 1067

Just about every SUV has a bumper hitch on it, or at least a provision in the bumper to put a trailer ball. Usually you just have to knock out the plastic plug and bolt a ball on. You will probably have to swing by an auto parts store to get a wiring adapter. They're usually $17 or so and you won't have to splice into the vehicles wiring harness. Just plug and play.

I've been thinking about doing something similar for a NA next year, so I don't have to put 4000 miles on my pickup.

U-Haul definitely rents one-way, as do most car rental companies (for the SUV option). You will definitely pay more than a local rental, since in theory, they need to return the vehicle when you're done. You'll use much less gas with an SUV. You should make sure the rental place allows towing (in case of an accident).

As for the mast behind the U-Haul, that's no big deal. You just need to handle it like we do with RVs. Place the mast into the cradles such that the mast stops at least 8 inches behind the hitch mechanism of the trailer. It depends on how much the hitch ball on the truck sticks out, you just want to be sure that as you go over bumps, into driveways, etc. that the mast doesn't contact the truck.

Of course, the mast will extend several extra feet behind the rear of the trailer than you're used to. Technically, you need to have a light on it if it's so many feet past the trailer lights, but most of us just use a red flag, etc. on the end of the mast.

Hope this helps.

Mike

Ok, did this during the summer. here is what I did. I was going to rent a Chevy cobalt and put a hitch on it. when i got to the airport I noticed they had a chevy trailblazer with a hitch on it. I changed vehicles and used the trailblazer. Since I had to order a hitch, I had to resend it back when I got home. One reason I was going with the cobalt was becasue of the better gas mileage. Probalby pulling a trailer, it would have gotten around 20-25 on the highway. With the trailblazer, got around 14-15. Also, on a side note with the cobalt, I was not going to rewire it to handle the trailer lights. But the trailblazer had to the wiring, so that was good.

Talk about hell though. Picked the boat up in Virginia on Monday around noon and pulled into the Phoenix, AZ area around 7 Wednesday night. Dropped the car off the next morning. Only rented it for 3 days. Figured I didnt need the 4th day. Dang cheapo cat owner <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I would almost offer to do it for you....

Jonathan Grant
Mesa, AZ
Nacra 20

well i'm flying out to seattle the 6th of november for work... and flying home 6 weeks later... if this is in your time frame i could rent a car/truck and drive it back for you...... btw what size supercat did you get?

Will a rental company allow you to put a hitch on their car? I'm a little surprised.

Thanks for all the replies-

About rental companies, I've yet to find one that will allow you to put a hitch on the car/truck, that doesn't mean it couldn't be done. If anyone has "legal" experience with using a rental to tow, I'd be interested in knowing what company.

Jonathan- did the rental company know of your plans? It seems like they must have know, given they have vehicles with hitches on them. What company was this?

Uhaul only rents the box moving trucks one way, this is an option I am considering, not that driving a cargo truck 2300 miles seems like fun, less fun than a rental car. The rates are more reasonable than rental cars, but it will be close to even when I figure the gas costs. And I can probably save some money sleeping in the back of a uhaul!

I'm also scoping out a sweet 1981 el camino on ebay that would be perfect for this, as long as it doesn't break down. But it would match the 1980 super cat. I could work on selling it back here, and hopefully break even.

Jason- Drop me an email, those dates may work out. Write me at george.waldbusser at gmail.

I haven't officially bought it yet, supercat 20, but the seller and I have a verbal agreement at this point, and trying to make arrangements so if I fly out to look at it in the next few weeks, I can bring it back with me, or get it back before winter.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

george

There are companies that will do this for you. The last time I looked, it was about a dollar a mile - may be a little more now with the price of gas that way it is. If they can piggyback it with another load it may be cheaper.

If the U-haul or Ryder route is appealing you may want to think about getting the 26' one - disassembling the boat and trailer and put everything inside.

No, they did not know. So, it was illegal. I did not find a place that would except uhaul.

Jonathan

Wow, you don't actually own this boat and you're looking to move it across country? I was actually going to suggest that you sell it there and buy one in your new location. Unless you're really in it for the adventure, you're going to spend a lot of money doing this, you may be better off finding one closer to you (at least on the same coast!).

Mike