Mostly a good trip

We drove down to the beach house yesterday, rented a truck, loaded it up with stuff (with some help), stayed overnight in Tappahannock, and drove back today. It's a long drive (4 to 5 hours) but the scenery was gorgeous. Autumn was a little late this year and the fall foliage was still colorful, with leaves glittering in the sunlight.

U-Haul reminds me of the Seinfeld episode regarding a rental car. Jerry was at the rental desk in the airport and they did not have the car he reserved. He argued with the clerk about his reservation.

Clerk: I know what a reservation is, sir!

Jerry: I don't think you do! You see, you know how to take a reservation, but you don't know how to KEEP a reservation.

So, lessons learned about renting a U-Haul:

• Don't make a reservation using their 800 number. They may rent you a truck that's not really available.


• Call the location where you want to pick up the truck. You can find the locations by town or ZIP code on UHaul.com.


• Don't bother making a reservation on their website. After you fill out all the forms, you see a screen that says they'll call you. Besides , they don't "know how to KEEP a reservation." And the price they quote you may not be the price they charge you.


• Estimate you miles ahead of time using Mapquest or another mapping site. Then you can reserve enough miles so that you don't pay extra.


• Know the hours of the locations you choose - they are not all the same.

Oh, and as you plan your schedule, consider that you'll likely drive a bulky truck more slowly than a car, at least until you get used to it.

The good news is that even though I used the 800 number, I confirmed with the local office a day before leaving and found out that the truck we'd reserved had mechanical problems (and had for some time). I was able to reserve and confirm a truck at another location, so our trip was not ruined.

By the way, rental locations can be very small mom-and-pop stores, so if you call at lunchtime, you may not get an answer. The store we rented from us a little hunting and fishing shop.