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Cheap US crag transport

Aidan

13-Oct-2012
6:03:14 PM

Ill be in the US for a mere 20 days but because im under 25 I cant hire a car for less than $1000! Are there any other decent options for me?

technogeekery

13-Oct-2012
7:37:36 PM

Bicycle. Try craigslist.

Miguel75

13-Oct-2012
9:52:37 PM

Buy a car?! My first US car was a 1980 Honda civic hatch. Cost me $250 and was a rad little car. My second was a super cool Dodge V8 van. Cost $600 and while it wasn't the best in the snow it was tons of fun as I pretended I was in the A-Team;) Insurance might be tricky; here's another post that discussed car insurance in the US;

http://www.chockstone.org/forum/Forum.asp?Action=Display&ForumID=1&MessageID=81109&Replies=16

EDIT; where will you be in the US? Have you tried Mountainproject.com? They seem to have a pretty good partner finder... Almost as good as e-harmony;)

Aidan

15-Oct-2012
7:51:20 AM

Thanks Miguel...i havent tried MP but I will now. I did think about buying a car but I thought it would just be way too much dicking around for the small amount of time that im there.

Im flying into LA and mainly sticking to the west coast. Nov 10-30. Any chockstoners be in the area by any chance?

Superstu

15-Oct-2012
8:09:50 AM

Exactly where do you want to go?
You can get to yosemite on public transport, or try posting on supertopo for a lift. It would probably be easier to come from san fran. At a guess there is a steady procession of weekend warriors heading fom LA to Bishop tht time of year.
If thats too cold, i reckon you could probably get to joshua tree by bus with a little hitchhiking for the last bit. Its been a few years since i hitch hiked in the US but if you're standing at the entrance station to a national park with a rope on your back i reckon you'll have no trouble getting a run into the park.

rodw

15-Oct-2012
8:59:40 AM

Just a note ..each US stats has different laws about hitchhiking...with a surprising number saying its illegal.....how much they enforce it though is the question

http://hitchhiker.50megs.com/custom.html

Superstu

15-Oct-2012
9:12:40 AM

Wot kind of party pooper law-nazi nerd would post that ??

There were heaps of folk hitch hiking all over the west coast in 2011. We picked up climbers near Squamish, we picked up Navajo in southern Utah with broken down cars, French tourists in Yosemite NP, to lost Aussies wondering around Canada... made many friends and met lots of interesting people. Plenty of people out on the roads looking for rides.

If standing beside the road with your thumb out is a bit unnerving, then just put notices on message boards at backpackers or in campgrounds or just wander around the campground looking for friendly souls looking like they are heading out. Aussie accent, rope on your back, friendly smile, its not that hard. Just avoid the big cities, freeways, or ethnic ghettos ... the land of the free is surprisingly uncohesive and divided, and getting a ride out of a ghetto will be impossible, just start walking.

rodw

15-Oct-2012
11:14:02 AM

Lol stu...just keeping the punters informed...I agree you would have to be unlucky, but like most things you only need to come across a local sheriff/trooper on a bad day :)....just knowing the laws means rather than acting all high and mighty if they pull ya aside, keep low profile and be nice...as obviously if they want......the law is in their side.

Guangzhou

18-Oct-2012
1:29:37 PM

Not 100% sure, but I think you can rent from a franchise named "Rent a WrecK." They rent used vehicles.

Also check out RV rental by owner site. Sometime you can find a cheap rental van that has been converted for camping.

dalai

6-Nov-2012
6:49:53 PM

I am possibly looking to spend 3-4 weeks west coast USA next year, so am interested in people suggestions on the best places to hire a car or even possibly a van? Not interested in buying for such a short time...

On 18/10/2012 Guangzhou wrote:
>Not 100% sure, but I think you can rent from a franchise named "Rent a
>WrecK." They rent used vehicles.
>

Rent a Wreck website doesn't list vehicles or cost. Any idea what they have and how much? Would need to be unlimited km's as I plan on spending some time as far east as Colorado...

nmonteith

6-Nov-2012
9:15:51 PM

One thing I learnt on my recent trip is that car hire companies actually don't stock many of the cheapest small size vehicle - so you will pretty much be guaranteed an upgrade if you order stingy! I asked one place I hired from why I was getting a large Jeep SUV when I paid for a Hyundai Getz and they told me they only had 6 budget hatches in their 2000 car US fleet. Hilarious!

Guangzhou

7-Nov-2012
9:11:21 PM

No real easy way to rent a car for cheap if under 25. it's insurance related issues.

VW Van Rental

james

8-Nov-2012
7:07:30 AM

pretty sure Dalai's 25th b'day zoomed past years ago... :)

dalai

8-Nov-2012
12:18:04 PM

On 8/11/2012 james wrote:
>pretty sure Dalai's 25th b'day zoomed past years ago... :)

Ouch!!! Not a day over 24... ;-)

Fair comment from Guangzhou given the OP asked about under 25 y'old options...

So far I am looking now at the Dodge Caravan / Chrysler Voyager as both have back seats which fold into the floor so would have a flat floor to sleep on.

Definitely not paying that much for an old Kombi! I've owned one (technically two - one in the USA I owned for only a day - has been in Canada and the salt had destroyed the underside. Fortunately got my money back) and am not paying US$850 a week for a car I will be worried breaking down on me at any time...

There are 14 messages in this topic.