hauling wood flooring from store to house in winter weather

I bought some Strand Woven Harvest 3/8 in. Thick x 4.92 in. Wide x 72-7/8 in. Length Click Lock Bamboo Flooring (29.86 sq. ft. / case) and need to haul it from the home supply store about 12 miles away. I have use of a Mitsubishi Montero Sport SUV which I believe I could use to haul the flooring boxes, assuming the 6' long boxes will go into the SUV with the passenger seats behind the driver's seat down. The weight of the 22 boxes I ordered is about 1,180 lbs, just 10 lbs shy of the rated Payload Capacity of 1,190 lbs for the SUV.

Alternatively, I could rent a pickup truck for about $20 plus some gas. The truck bed would not be covered. I think the truck would be easier to load and unload.

I guess using the open-bed truck would not have adverse affects on the flooring. The temperatures here in Ohio now are I will allow the flooring to acclimate indoors at the house for the recommended time before beginning installation. What would you do?

 

I would haul it myself. If you think that the weight is too close to the max, make two trips. I wouldn't worry about the temperature.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, two trips seems like the best option.

 

I made one trip years ago with a small station wagon and the load was just under the capacity. All seemed well for a month or so, then the noise. had to replace both rear wheel bearings. Don't borrow someone else's vehicle and push it near the max, they might hate you forever.

Seriously, two trips over 12 miles, a blink of the eyes.

Bud