Renting a 15 seater passenger van in Las Vegas

October 26, 2007 1:24 AM

Renting a 15 seater passenger van in Las Vegas

We used to hire a 15 seater passenger van, but recently I can't seem to find them on car rental websites, either on the UK sites which offer the US, or on the US sites themselves which they feed from (though I prefer to rent through the UK as the discounting is more aggressive.)

I have found one or two (Budget), but the rates seem huge, not least the insurance.

Am I missing something? Are they just not generally rented anymore?

posted by A189Nut to travel & transportation around Las Vegas, NV (9 answers total)

Should have add this is an enquiry from the UK
posted by A189Nut at 1:24 AM on October 26, 2007

This is a bit of a silly question, but do you actually need 15 seats? Some states require special licenses to drive vans over a certain number of seats, so rental places might only stock them up to that size.
posted by mdonley at 2:18 AM on October 26, 2007

In the US, you need at least a CDL class C in order to drive a vehicle that carries 16 people or more (including the driver). So it's likely this is the reason you're having trouble finding one--fill it up to the brim, and it's unlikely the driver will be legally driving it. This also probably explains the absurd insurance on the vans you have found.

I don't know how long you'll need the van, or how readily you'll need to have access to it, but you might want to consider chartering a minibus instead. (As a bonus, you won't ever have to worry about having a designated driver.)
posted by thecaddy at 3:32 AM on October 26, 2007

I think a lot of places have stopped renting them because of serious safety issues. This is a link to a NHTSA website describing the problem.
posted by dforemsky at 6:15 AM on October 26, 2007

thecaddy, 15 passenger vans include the driver, and they used to be rentable from every major car rental company. I don't know which companies still rent them beside Budget, quite possibly because of the issue that dforemsky mentioned.

I can tell you from firsthand experience that they are inconvenient to drive, but sometimes, you need the 15 passenger van, and then there's no substitute. (My first time driving in snow was on dorm ski trips in college, where I drove one to Tahoe. I was one of the only responsible drivers over 21 who had driven in ANY adverse weather (heavy rain storms), so I was deemed a good choice.

If it will meet his/her needs, The OP might see if it might be more cost-effective to rent two minivans instead of one 15-passenger van.
posted by JMOZ at 6:24 AM on October 26, 2007

Trip is for 11 people and I'd like to get them in one vehicle. With luggage. Two vehicles is.. two.

We have done this before, several times, it is just in the last three years that it has become much more problematic.
posted by A189Nut at 9:44 AM on October 26, 2007

Try googling "rental van 15-passenger las vegas".

Here are a few:

1
2
3

Note that normal credit card insurance coverage for rental cars generally will not cover large vans so you will want to pay for it instead of taking the waiver.
posted by JackFlash at 10:12 AM on October 26, 2007

The large chains like Hertz and Avis probably only have 12-passenger vans which won't leave space for luggage. So you will have to go to one of the smaller specialty rental companies. There must be 30 or 40 in Las Vegas. Since 15-passenger vans are expensive specialty items, each rental company may only have one or two in stock and they want to keep them busy. If someone walks in off the street before you arrive they may just give them your van even if you have a reservation. So keep in touch with your rental agency right up until the time you leave home and have a couple of backup agencies in hand in case you get stiffed.
posted by JackFlash at 10:34 AM on October 26, 2007

I had to rent three of these last spring (long story). Not in Vegas, though. It was a challenge to find them, and Budget was really the only option. You may be stuck with their un-budget rates.
posted by bassjump at 11:39 AM on October 26, 2007