Drove a U-Haul F-150 earlier.

"SonorousSpeedJoe" (SonorousSpeedJoe)
12/20/2013 at 18:20 Х Filed to: None

Pic not mine. My dad rented one earlier so we could go get a Christmas tree without using my mom's car (a 2013 Hyundai with no roof rails). It was a 2WD XL - I think it had the 5.0 V8, based on the sound and the torque. I liked being able to drive a full-size truck again after my dad sold his Tundra last year.

It had plenty of power, coming from someone who's spent most of his seat time this past year behind the wheel of a 160 HP Focus. The ride was good, and the brakes were pretty grabby too. About the only part I didn't enjoy was constantly being nagged by my dad to speed up/slow down while he complained that I was "too eager to get off the brakes". The brakes and throttle felt like on/off switches to me, so I wasn't going to be perfectly smooth during my first drive anyway. Aside from that and an incessant rattle that my dad attributed to extra clamps, the drive home was pretty relaxed.

DISCUSSION (20)

awe46m3zcp > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 18:24

So was it really $19.95?

SonorousSpeedJoe > awe46m3zcp
12/20/2013 at 18:34

$19.95 + $0.79 per mile, IIRC.

All Motor Is Best Motor > awe46m3zcp
12/20/2013 at 18:36

U-Haul is actually a pretty good deal.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 18:47

Our F-250 with the 5.4 (king cab extended bed) is kind of a hog but it's a great truck.

desertdog5051 > All Motor Is Best Motor
12/20/2013 at 18:56

But they won't rent you a car trailer unless it has 4 doors. Read that, extended cab or crew cab, even if it has the towing package. I have put just under 3000 lbs in my 150 and driven 60 miles.

duurtlang > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 18:57

$19.95 is a bargain. Still though, renting a truck because you want a christmas tree? This is why the wagon and the hatchback were invented.

SonorousSpeedJoe > duurtlang
12/20/2013 at 19:02

I felt silly, too; we used to have a 1998 Sienna minivan that had roof rails and was pretty beat up, so we used that. Both of my parents think that the car we replaced it with, a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport with no roof rails that we bought new, is too nice to use. Thus, the truck.

Dusty Ventures > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 19:06

I rented one of these last year to do a short distance tow with the race truck. My only real complaint was the annoying NuFord turn signals

duurtlang > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 19:06

I'm not really into this christmas thing, but I did pick up christmas trees for my parents in previous years. I just folded the back seats flat, covered the floor with some blanket and put the wrapped tree on the blanket. The blanket caught all of the dirt/needles.

Still though, $19,95? That's so cheap I can totally understand why someone would rent such a truck.

GreenN_Gold > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 19:09

Do you typically wait this long to buy a tree?

I don't even get a tree. <<<ЧЧGrinch

SonorousSpeedJoe > Dusty Ventures
12/20/2013 at 19:13

The 2012 Focus I drive has turn signals with the three-blink tap and that stay in a fixed position when you want to keep them on. The stalk in this F-150 returned to its original position regardless of what I did, which I found annoying.

Nibby > Dusty Ventures
12/20/2013 at 19:13

Yeah they take some getting used to

SonorousSpeedJoe > GreenN_Gold
12/20/2013 at 19:17

I was busy with college, and I have a sister in HS who's on a debate team and juggles jazz band and piano lessons in addition to that. My finals and her mid-terms finished yesterday, so we have time to do stuff as a family. There are plenty of trees still available at the nursery we've gone to for the past few years, though I'd really like to get it done sooner.

I'd be fine with the fake tree that we used for several years, but I think we threw that out.

SonorousSpeedJoe > duurtlang
12/20/2013 at 19:21

It's certainly better than paying insurance costs on the 2001 Toyota Tundra we had that stayed parked most of the time and guzzled gas the rest of the time.

It was a handy truck to have when we did get around to things that needed one, though.

GreenN_Gold > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 19:23

I see, makes sense.

Dusty Ventures > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 20:03

That's exactly what I'm talking about. I hate that

All Motor Is Best Motor > desertdog5051
12/20/2013 at 20:38

That's pretty strange. I had no problems when I helped my sister move to Colorado. We rented one of their trucks to take her stuff, and towed her car behind.

desertdog5051 > All Motor Is Best Motor
12/20/2013 at 20:41

"towed" . Did you rent the trailer?

All Motor Is Best Motor > desertdog5051
12/20/2013 at 20:41

Well, yeah.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > SonorousSpeedJoe
12/20/2013 at 22:07

Wonder if anyone's rented one of these, and put down some 11's in a secluded parking lot/street....
Sounds like a badass way to spend $20!