Car rental for 8 persons - Need Advice
 

Our family which contains 7 adults and 1 child (aged 5) are going for a trip in Boston, and then to Orlando. We tried to rent a minivan but most companis has only minivan for 7 persons, while even a few has 8 persons van, they cost much much more. Does anyone knows if it the law in MA and FL are very straight on number of passengers in a car? We may drive to Montreal from Boston as well. Has anyone any other suggestion ? Thanks

Massachusetts has a strict seat belt law with a fine for non-compliance. So you can not put more people in a vehicle than it was designed for. However, they can not stop you for just a seat-belt violation; if they stop you for some other reason and everyone is not in a seatbelt, the driver is fined for everyone. That said, I am not advising you in how to "get away with it". I am assuming you would not put safety in question by stuffing a van beyond capacity. <BR><BR>Then there is the comfort issue. Even if you were to leave one person home and get down to 7, seven people in a mini-van is uncomfortable. I have one of the larger ones and when I carpool teenage boys, the middle third row seated person is not comfortable at all - I can't imagine sitting there for such a long trip. <BR><BR>Also, luggage - most mini-vans don't have much room in the rear "hatch" area for luggage. Roof rack use is possible, but can be a pain - and a rental car place might make you rent a roof rack or box as extra.<BR><BR>The only option I can think of is one of the larger 12-16 passanger vans, which I know would be more expensive.

Gail, we are also renting a minivan for a trip we are taking in a couple of weeks. There is six of us and we will probably have 3 large suitcases. This will probably be either a Ford Windstar or Dodge Caravan that we will be renting. Is the rear hatch large enough to accomodate that amount of luggage? <BR><BR>Thanks for your help.

I haven't looked at the economics, but consider taking Amtrak between Boston and Orlando. It may offset the cost of a large van (if you cannot do the minivan) and will be more relaxed and less stress on everyone's part. Then rent a van when you arrive in Orlando.<BR><BR>Also, using various passes, it may be advantageous to do all the intercity travel, from home, by train . . . suggest you at least check it out.

I also have a question concerning luggage space. We are also renting a minivan, supposed to be a Ford Windstar or similar. We are planning on carrying 2 large pieces of softsided luggage, measuring 30"L,21"W,10"D. My question to anyone happening to own or who has rented a Windstar, is there enough room in the back to handle this amount of luggage?<BR><BR>Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

Probably best to get a full size van for 6 passengers with 3 large suitcases. These minivans have an awkward sized rear storage space when it comes to large pieces of luggage. If it's too late to get a full size van, then a minivan is still do-able if you pack your stuff into small pieces of luggage to maximize cramming everything into the rear area.

Another option is to rent two cars and then travel together, mixing up who's in each car at every stop. This has worked well when our family has traveled with other relatives. It allows for some good conversations, often between two people that don't seem to have much in common; the time goes really quickly. We take walkie-talkie radios to communicate between cars.

Rob, those suitcases you described are gigantic. 30 inches! For the sake of your back, as well as flexibility in loading hte car, you should consider a smaller suitcase, or at least take two medium ones instead of one huge one.

I recently did all the research for the same problem (we will be a party of 8 in Orlando). I ended up renting a Ford Expedition through Budget. Dollar also rents a Dodge Ram 250 and Alamo has an 8 seat Astro Van. Hertz also has Expeditions. Hope this helps

I have an expedition and I love how comfortable it is. Adults can be comfortable in the middle section but only the smaller adults will like sitting in the third seat. Very little space for luggage behind the third seat. Ship it directly to the hotel if you can.

I took a trip last summer with 6 of us (5 adults, one 12-year-old)and we decided a minivan was not going to give us enough luggage space. We ended up renting a Suburban-type SUV which was perfect- and it did have seating for eight (2 in front; 3 each in middle and rear bench seats) with a larger luggage area than a minivan.

Some mini-vans come in "stretch" models, but large suitcases rarely fit into the hatch area - we can fit one, standing up, in ours, but the space is not wide enough to allow more than one to stand up and not deep enough to pack them flat. Most have some space near one of the sliding doors where you might stand up another one, but not all and who wants to climb over a suitcase every time they have to get out. Surprisingly, minivans have much less cargo space than full-size staion wagons or most SUVs - they are really designed for passengers, not stuff.

You'll be happiest in a 15-passenger "church van". Lots and lots of room for luggage, nobody crammed together. That's what we did for our 8-adult Alaska cruise. It cost less than a mini-van too, or two regular vehicles. Not bad to drive, either. If interested, I suggest you call the rental agencies directly, as these vehicles are not built into the search engines, since not every outlet has one.

Usually ends up cheaper to rent two mid-sized cars than one van. <BR><BR>Also, if you check with your credit card regarding insurance coverage for the rental, or with your own car rental policy, usually they will not cover anything larger than a mini-van and you'll end up forking out another $25 per day to get their insurance coverage on the big big vehicles.

Thanks Gail for the advice. I guess we will have to try to get a vehicle with more cargo space or else go with a 24" suitcase and a few duffle bags. Thanks for the help.

Does the Ford expedition have a lot of storage space? We may rent that instead of a minivan on our vacation next month. Thanks for any advice on this.

I don't understand why you won't rent 2 midisze cars That solves all your problems<BR>it will be cheaper, easier to manage (try parking a stretch van in a downtown area) - more room for luggage, more room for people. Do you want to be cramped in seat from a drive from Boston to Montreal?

I have an expedition and it has a very small space behind the third seat. Fortunately the third seat is removable. If you are trying to carry 8 passengers with luggage, it will be difficult unless you are able to use the luggage rack on top. I believe that some rental companies do not install the racks so that you will not use the roof for storage.

Two weeks ago I rented a Ford Expedition for 7 adults. It was comfortable enough seat-wise, but there was very little luggage room. The area behind the third seat is very small. We were horrified when one of our friends turned up with a 21-inch rolling suitcase. Everyone else had packed in soft duffle bags so it was much easier to pack the car and shove things in the windows or under the seats.