On our retirement trip we decided not to tow. We wanted to keep things as simple as possible, plus neither of our daily drivers could be towed flat. We rented from Enterprise ("We pick you up") when we needed supplies or when we just wanted to explore. Other than the cost ($3000 over six months - #2 expense for the trip), there are a few problems with this idea.
1. Yes, they pick you up, but only within a certain radius of the office. We found we were selecting campgrounds based on the Enterprise pickup radius - not the best criteria.
2. Some rental locations are nothing more than an office in a body shop manned by personnel from the main office some distance away. The agent is only there to do the paperwork for the rental and may not be there when you drop off. The pickup driver is a contractor and doesn't work for Enterprise, therefore there is no one from Enterprise at the drop off to inspect for damage and indemnify you from liability for the damage.
3. When asked what type of car we wanted, I always answered "Whatever is cheapest". This usually meant a Nissan Note or some other econo-box, but if they don't have the car you reserved (A Seinfeld skit comes to mind), then they give you whatever is handy. Once we got an F250 diesel truck with no granny step and the DW had a tough time mounting and dismounting.
4. The rates vary widely. The "whatever is cheapest" request was usually around $35 a day, but it went as high as double that. When I got a Nissan in Hilton Head for $70 a day, I mentioned that I just rented a Jeep Compass in Myrtle for half that and they knocked it down to $55 a day.
In the end, we didn't see much more than we expected and certainly less than now when we're towing an Equinox. The hookup/unhook takes about 5 minutes and the Chevy just sits back there fat dumb and happy. Search in the towed section and you'll find several posts about this. The conclusion is they will never go back to not towing a dinghy.
