As for the trailer, we talked about it at Saturday’s meeting, and I think @laura may have had a lead? She may also be able to tow, but thanks for being willing.
Did we have any more info on that?
So here’s an update on this subject from Ben. My Dad has a suburban and trailer, and once I’m again I’m trying to borrow them from him but I haven’t heard anything yet and I’m pretty sure they’re not actually available. My Dad is always telling me how difficult it is to drive with a trailer (esp the parking and lack of backing up) and that I should just rent a van. So I finally took a look on uhaul.com:
A van is only $19.95 a day. I used one to move after college when I still didn’t have much furniture, so I know it has plenty of room. So I thought it would be a good option. The catch is… it’s also 59 cents a mile. Bearing in mind that I would probably pick it up in the North Hills, drive to Josh’s to get the tables, drive to Lancaster, drive to PBF, drive around locally that weekend, and then do it in reverse, it comes to close to 700 miles, which, with the daily rental fee, comes to close to $500 dollars. So I crossed that off as an option.
The good news is that trailers are el cheapo. I looked at one that’s called the 4’x8′ trailer, it’s $14.95 a day, plus tax, period. And just to be sure, I talked online with Uhaul’s helpful online chat agent Manuel, and he confirmed it. The site lists the interior dimensions as 4’1 (wide enough) by 8’1 (deep enough for two tables to lay flat, so we can have two stacks) by 4′ (high enough for all the tables in two stacks). So that seems like an excellent option to me if it turns out that we need it.
So then it would be who’s driving it. I have also never driven a trailer but am willing to try it (in fact I really wanna learn so I can tell my dad that it’s not that hard and just lend me your trailer already). Since I’m stopping in Lancaster both ways, that might add another $15 to the total but I can cover it if need be. I do not have a hitch though so I’d have to take care of that.
Anybody else who wants to do it needs to bear in mind that you’ll need to get the tables from Josh’s house and drop them off as part of your route. And also that Thursday is prime setup time, so if you’re not leaving Pgh til noon Thu and arriving in Philly at 6pm, you’re not the ideal candidate for hauling, since setup can’t really get going until the tables arrive. (Also worth noting, Uhaul recommends you don’t go over 55mph with a trailer, so this’ll slow you down on the Turnpike if you like to drive right up to the speed limit.) I’m still planning on arriving at the convention hall around 1pm that Thursday afterooon.