Car Rental Tips

[dphan913]

Hey everyone,

This is my first time planning a snowboarding trip and I'm kinda stumped on how big of a car I should rent. I'm going to Denver and driving up to Keystone. I have 8 passengers and so I have to account for all the luggage for them.

At this point the questions I have are....
1. Should I rent two cars?; One minivan and one small car in order to put luggage in minivan and people in small car (Or do you think a minivan or a large SUV can fit 8 + luggage
2. Anyone know a good ballpark price of how much a vehicle would cost or be considered a good deal? (We're going to arrive in denver on 12/14 and back home 12/18, so a total of 5 days)
3. Any recommended car rental places in denver?

[bseracka]

Full size passanger van, or mini van + car.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by dphan913

Hey everyone,

This is my first time planning a snowboarding trip and I'm kinda stumped on how big of a car I should rent. I'm going to Denver and driving up to Keystone. I have 8 passengers and so I have to account for all the luggage for them.

At this point the questions I have are....
1. Should I rent two cars?; One minivan and one small car in order to put luggage in minivan and people in small car (Or do you think a minivan or a large SUV can fit 8 + luggage
2. Anyone know a good ballpark price of how much a vehicle would cost or be considered a good deal? (We're going to arrive in denver on 12/14 and back home 12/18, so a total of 5 days)
3. Any recommended car rental places in denver?

With 8 people you'll either need 2 vehicles or a small bus.

Not even a Suburban can handle 8 people and all their snow gear. In 2010 I did a 6 person, 5 day trip to Breckenridge. 4 snowboarders, 2 skiers. We barely fit us and all of our stuff in the car... and that was with loading skis and boards on the roof rack.

The same year (one month prior) I did a 4-person trip to Breckenridge (1 boarder, 2 people with skis). That time I rented my own car and the 3 other people were in an Escalade. They were tightly packed, but could have probably squeezed my stuff in..... but having two cars was extremely helpful because we met up with friends after we got into town.

I would do one suburban, and one mid-to large SUV. Pack one car with mostly luggage (and only 2-3 people), then pack the other car with people and little luggage.

Everyone will be more comfortable, and two vehicles will be available for when people need to go to different places.

[aiidoneus]

I have trouble getting three people in a jeep grand Cherokee. If any of those 8 are girls, good chance they will have twice as much luggage as anyone else. Get two vehicles at least

Also, if you don't have one already. A credit card that covers your loss damage waiver is more than worth it.

[Bones]

I've doing a fly-in trip with 7-9 people for the past few years and here's what I've found:

It works well to have a "cargo" carrier and passenger vehicles. Easier for packing, more comfortable and generally cheaper.

We used to rent a cargo van as the cargo carrier, but a lot of the new mini-vans now have fold flat seats for the entire rear area, not just the rear row. This now allows minivans to function as cargo carriers. 7-8 suitcases and 7-8 board bags take up a huge amount of room. You don't want to use the "ski" racks that rental car companies might equip their vehicles with. They usually are the cheapest things, only hold skis and you have to take the skis out of their bags to fit. Be careful with renting true cargo vans, however, as most credit card insurance plans expressly state that they don't cover cargo vans or pickup trucks.

2 mid-size cars are often cheaper than one mini-van. So if we're 8 people, then 2 go in the cargo carrier and the other 6 go in 2 cars with just their carry-on luggage. And if there's no luggage, then mid-size cars work just fine.

Bear in mind that we're often looking at a 3-4 drive from the airport to where we're going so comfort is part of our calculations.

Checkout the price of a weekly rental. You can always take it back early and be charged for the full week, but a full week is usually cheaper than 4 days and you tend to get unlimited mileage. I've got a minivan booked already for $300/week and the daily rate is $70.

[s1mple]

I'm renting from an enterprise located in conjunct to a holiday inn express by the airport. They have a shuttle that takes you to the holiday inn express and its literally a 5 minute ride. I have 11 people going and we're renting two pickup trucks (Dodge 1500's with 4wheel drive)

[Bones]

Originally Posted by s1mple

I have 11 people going and we're renting two pickup trucks (Dodge 1500's with 4wheel drive)

How are you going to fit 11 people in 2 pickup trucks?

[s1mple]

Originally Posted by Bones

How are you going to fit 11 people in 2 pickup trucks?

They're 4 door dodge 1500's with bench style seating. 3 up front 3 in the back and the truck beds are plenty for luggage boards etc... I'm staying at a ski in/out so its really just a means of transportation to Breck and to pick up misc things. Where I'm staying in Breck has lots of restaurants etc walking distance also. (Staying at the bottom of peak 9 next to Beaver Run)

[poutanen]

Yeah depending on price either two crew cab pickups, or one full size van. We've rented full size vans at work before that'll hold 10 people AND crap in the back.