Road Tripping in the USA!

OllyM · 17 Jul 2017 at 15:13

USCarHire (a broker I've used a few times) say in their FAQ that there's no minimum time - https://uscarhire.com/faq-restrictions.aspx

4. Is there a minimum time a driving license must have been held?
There is no minimum limit to have held your driving license with Dollar, Alamo and National when booked though our website.

I honestly think that requirement listed on Alamo's UK website is generic, but the local terms will override that.

VaderDSL · 17 Jul 2017 at 15:28

Quick question, getting a train from Chicago to Flagstaff in September, hiring a car for 5 days and driving around the state. Reckon I should bring along a GPS unit (we'll have a couple of paper road maps) or will there be enough cellular signal Flagstaff / Grand Canyon / Monument Valley / Sedona for something like Waze/Google Maps.

Never really used my phone before for navigation, I guess I could always download the offline maps (no lane guidance/traffic info though). What's everyone's thoughts? A GPS unit would be useful for the train journey I guess when there's no cellular signal.

OllyM · 17 Jul 2017 at 15:34

If you have offline maps downloaded for backup I'm sure you'd be okay relying on your phone.

Signal in remote areas will depend on the network you're using though - will you be roaming with a UK SIM or getting a US SIM card?

VaderDSL · 17 Jul 2017 at 15:58

OllyM said:
If you have offline maps downloaded for backup I'm sure you'd be okay relying on your phone.

Signal in remote areas will depend on the network you're using though - will you be roaming with a UK SIM or getting a US SIM card?

Was planning on roaming with my 3 sim. I imagine there will be large gaps in cellular coverage in the Grand Canyon National Park and on towards Monument Valley.

OllyM · 17 Jul 2017 at 16:06

Lots of cellular coverage in that area is provided by a company that specializes in covering remote areas (Commnet Wireless) - I don't know if 3 allow you to roam on them as their charges are really high.

When I used to live in the UK and had EE I seem to remember they allowed voice and text roaming but no data on Commnet.

Howard · 17 Jul 2017 at 16:10

How come Virgin Holidays are so much cheaper for hire cars than seemingly anywhere else, even the hire companies' own sites? It seems to include all the right insurances and even an extra driver.

Joe T · 17 Jul 2017 at 16:43

Howard said:
How come Virgin Holidays are so much cheaper for hire cars than seemingly anywhere else, even the hire companies' own sites? It seems to include all the right insurances and even an extra driver.

I found that Virgin worked out similar to booking direct with Alamo and claiming quidco cashback. Does that apply here perhaps?

[TW]Fox · 17 Jul 2017 at 17:58

Howard said:
How come Virgin Holidays are so much cheaper for hire cars than seemingly anywhere else, even the hire companies' own sites? It seems to include all the right insurances and even an extra driver.

Book with them if they are cheapest, there isn't a catch I don't think.

b0rn2sk8 · 17 Jul 2017 at 19:39

FishFluff said:
Does anyone know of a car hire company in the US who will let someone drive a car with less than a year on their licence? My partner passed her test in January this year and we were hoping to have her do some of the driving for our trip in September, but after reading the fine print for the company we've booked with (Alamo) it seems that they're not going to allow this.

They didn't even check my Wife's licence at Alamo when we went other than 'Is she your spouse?', 'Yes', 'OK shes fine'. Being realistic is she even going to drive? It can be quite daunting especially for an experienced driver.

VaderDSL said:
Was planning on roaming with my 3 sim. I imagine there will be large gaps in cellular coverage in the Grand Canyon National Park and on towards Monument Valley.

Three roams on T-mobile and AT&T but to be honest I wouldn't bother having spent 3 weeks doing it this year. I stupidly ignored other peoples warnings in this thread thinking how slow can it be?

You are locked onto 3G which is fine but the speed is throttled to the point you might as well not bother. We are talking less than 0.1-0.2 Mbps. It is only just about quick enough for Google Maps but even then sometimes it would time out due to taking too long to load. You can get doing anything meaningful online, it took me 25 mins to check in for my flight online. I tried speed test for a laugh and it wouldn't load most of the time because it was too slow. On the other hand coverage was pretty good but whats the point if you can not use it!

I would highly recommend getting a local sim, H2O Wireless (runs on AT&T) are probably the best value. T-Mobile and AT&T will be the most compatible networks.

VaderDSL · 17 Jul 2017 at 19:41

b0rn2sk8 said:
Three roams on T-mobile and AT&T but to be honest I wouldn't bother having spent 3 weeks doing it this year. I stupidly ignored other peoples warnings in this thread thinking how slow can it be?

You are locked onto 3G which is fine but the speed is throttled to the point you might as well not bother. We are talking less than 0.1-0.2 Mbps. It is only just about quick enough for Google Maps but even then sometimes it would time out due to taking too long to load. You can get doing anything meaningful online, it took me 25 mins to check in for my flight online. I tried speed test for a laugh and it wouldn't load most of the time because it was too slow. On the other hand coverage was pretty good but whats the point if you can not use it!

I would highly recommend getting a local sim, H2O Wireless (runs on AT&T) are probably the best value. T-Mobile and AT&T will be the most compatible networks.

Cheers for the heads up, I had heard the speeds were a lot slower, plus I'll need to call a few hotels/U.S landlines when I'm over there and it's £1.40/minute to do so on 3. So I might look into grabbing a local sim.

uncle_rufus · 18 Jul 2017 at 08:28

[TW]Fox said:
Very few rental firms anywhere in the world allow that.

Ever been to a Greek island? The first time I ever drove a car not in driving lessons or for my practical test was a few months after passing on a holiday to Greece - they didn't care in the slightest

FishFluff · 18 Jul 2017 at 12:41

Decided to re-book my car hire through Virgin as a) it was cheaper and b) they have no mention of a minimum licence owning period in their T&Cs. Thanks once again thread posters for being a goldmine of useful info!

Peerzy · 18 Jul 2017 at 21:40

I've used a 3 SIM around Flagstaff and GC without any issues (last year).

I've also used Virgin Cars twice now with no issues.

Aileron · 19 Jul 2017 at 11:51

Hi all - I've been reading through here and seen the mention of Virgin Cars. I've just booked through Virgin Cars for a trip to California/Arizona/Nevada later in the year - do I need to book any other insurance than what is included? It says I have fully inclusive which includes:

Unlimited Mileage, Collision Damage Waiver CDW, $1 million Liability Cover EP,, Third Party Liability (state min), Zero excess in event of damage/accident,, Airport User Fee, Pre payable State/Local Taxes, Pre payable State/Local Surcharges,, 24/7 Roadside Assistance, One additional driver

I've used Virgin Holidays before and booked insurance through a third party company because it was much cheaper. So I guess the question is - what's the difference in insurance between Virgin Holidays and Virgin Cars?

Thanks

Peerzy · 20 Jul 2017 at 10:53

When I've booked through the (UK) Virgin Holidays Car Rental site I've not needed any additional insurances for my trips around CA, AZ and NV.

Dale V · 21 Jul 2017 at 08:30

The Alamo uk site has no where to input the 10% discount code anymore, which is a shame as I go out there for a week in august and 3 weeks in October.

mOdO · 21 Jul 2017 at 13:40

Quick question - am I better off pre booking or just turn up to hire a mustang? It's ~£70.

I'll be in vegas for 5 days and plan to drive to the south rim for the day.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jul 2017 at 15:15

You are far better off pre booking.

You realise driving to the South Rim for the day is like driving to the Lake District for the day from London, right? It's not even in the same State!

Rids · 21 Jul 2017 at 15:34

As our road trip looms closer I'm starting to wonder if there is any preparation I should be doing for driving in the US. Driving duties will be split between three of us, two of the guys have extensive driving experience over there, I've never driven on anything other than UK roads. Obviously my plan is to let them handle the city driving bits early on, I'll handle some of the less crowded stretches until I get my confidence up, but is there any sensible preparation I can do before hand? Realise this will probably sound like a moronic question to most experienced drivers.

VaderDSL · 21 Jul 2017 at 15:51

Rids said:
As our road trip looms closer I'm starting to wonder if there is any preparation I should be doing for driving in the US. Driving duties will be split between three of us, two of the guys have extensive driving experience over there, I've never driven on anything other than UK roads. Obviously my plan is to let them handle the city driving bits early on, I'll handle some of the less crowded stretches until I get my confidence up, but is there any sensible preparation I can do before hand? Realise this will probably sound like a moronic question to most experienced drivers.

One thing I did was figure out what the law was regarding school buses, in some states you have to stop on single carriageways if the bus is on the opposite side of the road, but you might be driving during their school holidays?

At 4 way stop signs, you always stop, first person who arrives has priority, if arrive at same time then it's yield to your right.

Then it's whether the states have a different freeway speed limit, it'll be sign posted but it can be from 65 to 80 generally.