Rent-a-car seat/stroller?

crystalw88 · September 2014

Hey all! My in-laws take us on a family vacation every year and it got brought up last night about what are we going to do this year? Are we going to go with baby or stay home? We are going sometime in March or maybe it's in April but baby will be ~6-10 weeks old. I'm not looking for opinions on whether or not to bring baby. What I am looking for is...can you rent car seats somehow? From a rental car place? Can you rent strollers somewhere? We just received our car seat/stroller travel system which I bought from Amazon and it was $350. I want to avoid traveling with that because I know how careless airports and people are with luggage. I don't want our new car seat and stroller all mangled once we return home. Sorry for the rambling...:)

jmcgra06 · September 2014

You can rent things - when we were at the beach in the Outer Banks, it was about $75 a week to rent a stroller and car seat.

We just bought a new stroller, too, and we decided to buy a nice bag for it so it wouldn't get damaged. For $75, you could buy a bag for the seat and the stroller, and have it for future trips.

This is the one we got and it worked great for our city select-

https://www.amazon.com/Childress-Standard-Stroller-Travel-Black/dp/B000262HMQ

lilybug319 · September 2014

I know that you can rent car seats from car rental places but I'm sure about where to rent strollers. Maybe check out some bru stores to see if they rent equipment. If you're staying at a hotel they usually have that kind of stuff too.

crystalw88 · September 2014

@lilybug319- we're renting a house but I'll have to google near by bru stores!

Sahara6971 · September 2014

Wait, are you going on a plane??

I would bring your infant carrier and stroller. You can gate check the stroller and you are going to want the seat on the plane. It is MUCH safer that way in case of turbulence. If for some reason there is no room for the seat, they will most likely gate check that too. Make sure it is certified for air travel (most are).

I prefer a frame stroller to a travel system because they are so much lighter and take up much less space in the car. I didn't register for one but ended up buying one after my son was born. HTH

crystalw88 · September 2014

@Sahara6971- Yes we're flying. I didn't think about gate checking them. I just was thinking I didn't want them getting mangled if they were going to be stowed with the other luggage. We bought the Graco FastAction folding jogger/SnugRide Click Connect 35 travel system. Additionally, do most airlines charge for gate checking luggage? That's something to consider too. It just might be easier/less expensive to rent.

gratefulfunmama1001 · September 2014

Personally, I would prefer my own infant/car seat with a baby that small. Rental places at that age,you don't know what you are getting. I would be concerned with the sanitation of it all.

I have flown with both my kids at young ages and we gate checked the strollers (I have a city mini select) and the car seats. All planes I have flown on gate check them for free as you board. I second the bag for traveling for both the stroller and the seats. I also didn't pay for my infant daughter at the time to have a seat, we only few a few hours though. I wore her in the ergo/my husband used the bjorn and I ended up nursing her the majority of the time.

We did rent a pack and play/crib. I think flying with the small ones is so much easier in hind sight than with my now 4. 5 year old and 2 year old.

Sahara6971 · September 2014

gratefulfunmama1001 said:

Personally, I would prefer my own infant/car seat with a baby that small. Rental places at that age,you don't know what you are getting. I would be concerned with the sanitation of it all.

I have flown with both my kids at young ages and we gate checked the strollers (I have a city mini select) and the car seats. All planes I have flown on gate check them for free as you board. I second the bag for traveling for both the stroller and the seats. I also didn't pay for my infant daughter at the time to have a seat, we only few a few hours though. I wore her in the ergo/my husband used the bjorn and I ended up nursing her the majority of the time.

We did rent a pack and play/crib. I think flying with the small ones is so much easier in hind sight than with my now 4. 5 year old and 2 year old.

Yep, all of this!!

No charge for gate checking. Plus, your stroller is right there when you exit the plane. They take much better care of them too (unlike actually checking something).

krispy83 · September 2014

You CAN rent a carseat. I wouldn't. There is no guarantee of safety of a seat that you're renting and there are all kinds of crazy horror stories about the seats available, etc. They also don't necessarily guarantee the seat that you need, so you could potentially show up with an infant and all they have available are boosters.

We have gate checked our seats (infant once, convertible once) when we fly and while it's a pain to lug them through the airport, we've never had to pay extra for them or had any other issues. If you're going to gate check them, bring large bags (either plastic, or BRU sells fabric gate check bags for around $5 for carseats, strollers, etc) because otherwise they'll get filthy.

Beth.1212 · September 2014

You can rent a stroller, but I second (third? fourth?) the recommendation of gate checking the stroller. Make sure that yours isn't too big/heavy for that - I think there might be a max. size limit, and the travel systems are pretty big.

Please don't rent a car seat. You have no way of knowing if the seat is safe or if it has been in an accident that compromised its integrity. My top recommendation is to buy LO her own seat on the plane and install her seat on the plane. That way, the seat stays with you and you know it's in good condition. If you must check it, gate check it, as that is a gentler option. Seeing how they throw regularly checked luggage around, I wouldn't trust a regularly checked carseat to be undamaged.

crystalw88 · September 2014

Thanks everyone for all of your inputs! I've definitely decided against renting a car seat and stroller. I'll be bringing ours and gate checking them in. I'll have to check out cases either on Amazon as suggested or see what bru has. My in-laws purchase the tickets so I can't hardly expect them to purchase a seat for baby but if I get the option...I'll take it! Thanks again for the insight!

StephanieLBerg · September 2014

I used to a run a business that rented stuff out like this! If I were you, if you're renting a car, DO NOT rent their car seats from them! Most of the time something is either broken, missing, or doesn't quite fit inside the car you rented.

If I were you, depending on where you're going, I would rent from a company called Babys Away. They have hundreds of locations across the country and all their stuff is guaranteed to be in tip top safety and working shape. Their prices aren't bad either. $20-$30/week to rent a car seat and depending on the stroller you want anywhere from $15/week for a standard lightweight stroller, to $36/week for a deluxe stroller.

They will ask you pointed questions like, what kind of car are you getting? How old, or how heavy, is baby? Etc. To make sure they get you the right equipment! And they will even meet you with it at the rental car place, or deliver it to your hotel/condo/rental!

Beth.1212 · September 2014

crystalw88 said:

Thanks everyone for all of your inputs! I've definitely decided against renting a car seat and stroller. I'll be bringing ours and gate checking them in. I'll have to check out cases either on Amazon as suggested or see what bru has. My in-laws purchase the tickets so I can't hardly expect them to purchase a seat for baby but if I get the option...I'll take it! Thanks again for the insight!

If there is an extra seat on the plane, sometimes they'll let you install the car seat in the spare seat even if you don't have a ticket for your LO. I've never done that myself so I don't have any direct advice, but maybe ask at the ticket counter at the gate once you're there, and gate check your seat if there isn't an extra seat available? Maybe another poster can give you better advice on this one

csjsmom · September 2014

I've gate checked a stroller a few times and it got damaged. I didn't really care because my kids were older and I only wanted it for the trip (disneyland) for my 3 1/2 year old. Plus it helped get all our carry on luggage through the airport to the plane. Definitely look at some way to protect it.

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