Hiring a car with a towball?

I need to hire a car for a week’s trip to the Lakes next week – my van is crooked and not likely to be fixed before we are due to go.

Ideally I need a car with a towball, so I can use my Thule rack to take the bikes, obviously most hire cars wont have one fitted.  Hiring a large SUV is going to be expensive.

Any know how I can locate something suitable?  Failing that, cheap van hire?

Thanks

where are you?

I’d just hire a van. Often cheaper than car hire and if it’s for a bike why wouldn’t you? Only reason I can think for car hire is number of seats maybe.

Even if you hire a car with a towball, won’t you then need to have a numberplate made and hope you have the same connector?

He should already have a plate on the rack…. And connector adapters are easy to get (and he may already have one)

Any know how I can locate something suitable?

A mate does van rental (with tow bar) if Ellesmere Port is suitable.

He should already have a plate on the rack

Have a think about what plate would be on the rack…

I very much doubt you’ll get a hire car with a towball. Might get a 4×4 or a van, but I’d doubt you’ll get one from a typical hire company.

Thanks.

I’d not thought about the number plate issue.

I’m in Bristol. Can anyone recommend a cheap van hire company?

The number plate issue is solved by a tenner on eBay with next day delivery.

Anyway, hire a van or get hold of one if those suction cup roof mounts. They work fine.

I always use Elliots for vans, cheapest and easy. This is in Salford, no idea if it’s the same in Bristol or if they even operate there!

Another option might be hiring a private car direct from the owner rather than from a hire company. Might find one with a towball if you’re lucky. Search for “car sharing” or “peer to peer car rental”, there’s a few different schemes for this, it goes through the company running the scheme to handle insurance etc. Never used it myself so don’t know the pitfalls etc.

Rent a hatchback or estate and throw the bike in the back. Lock bike to seat rails or similar and cover with old blanket or tarp.

Job done

Your best bet is a band van – muddy in the pack, nice in the front, can normally go overseas without complications