BY MIKE PULFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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ABOUT THIS SERIES
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School is starting and your shopping list is growing: pens to protractors, uniforms to U-hauls. Today, and for the next four weeks, look for tips for getting the students at your house ready for another academic year.
Today: Getting college students -- and all their stuff -- to campus.
Tuesday: Where to find bargains in school supplies.
Aug. 11: New options for school uniforms.
Aug. 18: Lunch boxes and bags that keep the juice cold.
Aug. 25: A student taste team tackles prepackaged lunches.
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Heading off to a distant college? Sending your son or daughter who already knows everything?
Getting there might not be half the fun. Especially if there are a lot of personal belongings making the trip.
Here are some options and logistical details that might make the experience more enjoyable.
Rental cars and trucks. One-way rentals -- with somebody else's vehicles -- could conserve money and frustration.
Parcel shipping. If junior is running off with the family sub-compact because he just can't study well without wheels, pack some of his important belongings onto an airplane, bus or truck and save room in the car for the fish tank.
For a comparison, we chose to send a hypothetical student off for higher learning in Los Angeles (about 2,200 miles from Cincinnati) and found what it would cost to:
Haul it all
Rent a Dollar minivan for one-way trip: $449 a week, with 1,000 free miles, and 25 cents per mile beyond 1,000. The hitch: driver must be at least 25 years old.
Take a step up to a Budget cargo van, big enough for a standard bed, for $794 plus 35 cents a mile beyond 2,800 miles. Dimensions: 12 feet by 51 inches by 70 inches.
For a larger collection of stuff that probably won't be worth a trip back home, get a Ryder 10-foot "box" truck for eight days for $1,423, plus tax plus 60 cents a mile beyond 2,610 miles. Cargo area measures 6 feet by 6 1/2 feet by 10 feet.
Rent a Budget economy car for one-way trip: $149 daily, unlimited mileage. Driver must be at least 25.
Note: Many rental companies either reject the notion of long-distance one-way rentals, or do it only when they need cars in the specified far-away city.
Stretch your capacity
Many cars won't accommodate cartop carriers, but if yours will, get one from company-operated U-Haul centers, for $33 for eight days. Holds 20 cubic feet of stuff.
Ship the chips
With more than half of today's college students feeling they need a computer in their rooms or apartments, getting it there could be key.
DHL Worldwide Express at Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport, will fly 55 pounds of computer equipment (in three boxes) to Los Angeles in one day for $106.80.
Mail Boxes Etc., Montgomery, will supply boxes, pack them and ship them via UPS (one week delivery) for $162.74.
If you find your own three boxes and pack them, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver them for $55.53.
Greyhound, downtown, makes no promises on standard delivery times, but will take the boxes to Los Angeles for $81.50. For priority boxes, with guaranteed two-three day delivery, you pay $124.10.
Other tips
Check the "Travel Opportunities" category in the Enquirer's classified advertising section, and look for companies and people who need drivers to get cars and trucks from one city to another. Place your own ad to find a partner for ride sharing.
