Anyone rent vehicles on hunting trips?

[mattdepiano]

We rented a truck to drive to South Dakota a few years ago. Shopped around a little bit and had a pretty good deal on an F150 for I believe it was 13 days total. I want to see the truck rental was around 1000 bucks and came with unlimited miles, which I don't know if that is common but that's the deal we're able to find local to us. We didn't trust any of our current trucks to drive that far at the time and the rental was basically brand new and drove great. As if you said, I'm sure the tires are not that high quality as we did get a flat while driving around the areas access roads and luckily were able to change it and bring it back and they never noticed the mismatch tire lol.

 

[RockAndSage]

Like it says. My truck is getting older 140k good enough to get me around home but I’m skeptical of driving 1,000plus miles each way on hunts. Low mileage prices are hard to stomach, and I don’t really need new other than to go on a hunt once a year. I’m thinking about holding on as long as I can and just renting a truck when I wanna go on a hunt. Looks like it’d add about $1,000 for a week long hunt.
Pluses
-grand is way cheaper than 35 or more
-maintenance is someone else’s problem
-I could keep my old truck for bad weather and hunting and get a mid mileage suv or car to commute in for a lot cheaper and lower operating costs

Negative
-that money doesn’t go towards anything

Frugal guys I’m curious what you think. We’re debt free other than our house and I’m unwilling to go on debt on a vehicle. We get 200” of snow a year so I need at least an old 4x4 around

You couldn't pay me to rent a vehicle to go hunting - it's like a time-bomb for something, anything, to go wrong in a way that would cost multiple thousands of dollars.

- Paint scratches? Ensuring you don't get any limits many places you can and do need to go in deer hunting.
- Tires? Others have said it, they're usually not AT, genuine hunt-capable.
- Hair, blood, mud, dust, anywhere in the vehicle? You're spending lots of time and money cleaning that out.
- Breach of contract? Pretty much all the rental companies prohibit offroad use.

All told, it in no way would be worth it to me to rent a vehicle for a deer hunt - if for no other reason, it would ruin the enjoyment of the hunt before, during, and after from to the tension of constantly having to worry about every tiny little thing being used against me by the rental company in the most extreme way possible to extract more money. It's their job to do that - to look for the slightest little excuse to do that. It would be irresponsible of them not to.

Unless you have something regularly going wrong with your vehicle, 140k is not that much. Make sure the serpentine belt has been replaced at 100K, and as long as you've maintained it properly and don't have any known issues...1k miles for a week-long hunt is about as many miles as a lot of people put on their vehicles in couple of weeks of daily driving.

 

[summs]

I would not rent or trust them. They are in the money making business, not car care business. I doubt their fleet vehicles are maintained better than my personal vehicles, and I don't do anything special. Even with high mileage. I prep and bring tools and know my cars inside and out.

Can't bring tools with you if you fly, I always have basic mechanic tools, tire patch kits, come along/tow straps and a chainsaw for North East expeditions.

Sure a 30 hour drive sucks, but I see it as prepared incase of a break down, rather than afraid of a breakdown.

 

[Bdmunro]

I know a guy who rented a small U-Haul box truck. (Nothing else available). He quartered and hung 2 deer in there and said it worked great.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

I have rented a vehicle previously for a hunt, not my first choice and was more of a last minute decision to get some extra hunting in while visiting family in the same trip.

As others have said, it is written in almost every contract "no offroad use" so be careful, wash it really well and don't break anything.

Although it is time consuming and expensive I trust and know my vehicles capabilities vs whatever random "midsized 4x4 SUV" is assigned to your rental. Your situation may vary but for me I will drive my own rig, especially if it only has 140k miles on it!

 

[Happy Antelope]

I suggest looking at trucks on turo, as some won’t have highway tires and that would be the off season for a lot of places and prices should be low.

Make sure you buy the ins from Toro, Credit cards do not cover it. Make sure you have your own auto ins and that Liability transfers which is usually does.

 

[Huntinmechanic]

Just looked up some info from Budget, states clearly with truck and Jeep rental gravel roads and dirt roads and offroad use is prohibited? Why would a company rent Jeeps for the pavement? Same goes for 4x4 trucks.

Most people that buy trucks or jeeps don't ever leave the pavement with them. That's always seemed strange to me but, then I slowly realized that most people care about how they look, not the actual utility of the vehicle.

I've taken my rental vehicles in Kauai off road quite a few times. I've returned them with red dirt and sand covering the interior and exterior. I've never had an issue. I will be doing the same thing in a couple weeks.

I rented a Hummer H2 about 15 years ago at the Las Vegas airport. I used it to drive to Page, AZ for work at the Navajo Generating Station. Of course, being in that part of the state, I had to explore. That H2 had 2200 miles on it when I rented it and was pristine! I returned it to Enterprise at the end of the job and the employee asked me, very sarcastically, "Did you have fun!?" and that was it. They were not amused by the mud covering the vehicle. Of course, it was a company rental so, they may have got the bill for it.

 

[MallardSX2]

Check out this piece of $hit that got pawned off on us as a “awd suv”….



I beat the dog $hit out of that thing in northern Alberta and spent $30 at the car wash blowing the mud off of it before turning it back in. Lol

 

[IDVortex]

Check out this piece of $hit that got pawned off on us as a “awd suv”….

View attachment 723667

I beat the dog $hit out of that thing in northern Alberta and spent $30 at the car wash blowing the mud off of it before turning it back in. Lol

Ride it hard and put it away wet is the best way.

 

[Blacktail247]

That is exactly what happens more often than not

 

[MNHunter92]

Have used Turo before in Alaska. Had a pretty good experience we had a few minor issues off the bat but nothing we could not fix in the few hours we had between hunting party member arriving at airport after us. I would suggest reading reviews carefully and then just being honest with the owner what your intentions are. Some are cool with it and some are not. If you find a good owner who takes care of their stuff and then you treat it with respect like it yours I think it can be a great option.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

If I draw deer in South Dakota this year I think I may try to find a reasonably priced SUV with unlimited miles. Most ford explorer sized vehicles get 25+ mpg these days and the fuel savings compared to my f150 getting 15 mpg would almost pay for the rental. Add in that I wouldn’t be putting wear and tear on my own vehicle and it seems like a no brainer.


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[30338]

I can see it both ways. Only you know your current vehicle. In my previously owned high mileage rigs I'd have no issue driving across country. But I also have rented vehicles for better mpg and wear and tear on the rental not mine.

If you had concerns, get AAA coverage to offset the risk some.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

In October 22 I drove my F150 that had around 150,000 miles on it to Telluride and put it through some rough stuff. No real issues, but did get a leak in a tire. No punctures, they assumed dirt and debris between the bead. Cleaned it up and off we went. Without further problems. Put it in some spots I wouldn't do again, but came out ok.

October 2020, rented a 4 wheel drive Suburban from a small rental group in Jackson, WY for our 8 day mule deer and antelope hunt. Told them specifically it would be used hunting and they had no problems. Got 25% off as it was the off season. Think we paid around $650-750 for that time period. They through a cooler in to boot.
Drove that vehicle across a river/big creek outside Dubois, really rough stuff around Lander too. Did just fine. They had no issues when we returned it.

Rented again from them the following May when out there with the wife, mentioned that I was a return customer and they gave me 10% off. About $1000 bucks for 5 days, but worth it. I would use them again if needed. Jackson Hole Adventure Rentals.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Like it says. My truck is getting older 140k good enough to get me around home but I’m skeptical of driving 1,000plus miles each way on hunts. Low mileage prices are hard to stomach, and I don’t really need new other than to go on a hunt once a year. I’m thinking about holding on as long as I can and just renting a truck when I wanna go on a hunt. Looks like it’d add about $1,000 for a week long hunt.
Pluses
-grand is way cheaper than 35 or more
-maintenance is someone else’s problem
-I could keep my old truck for bad weather and hunting and get a mid mileage suv or car to commute in for a lot cheaper and lower operating costs

Negative
-that money doesn’t go towards anything

Frugal guys I’m curious what you think. We’re debt free other than our house and I’m unwilling to go on debt on a vehicle. We get 200” of snow a year so I need at least an old 4x4 around

You know your truck better than anyone. But, that mileage wouldn’t scare me alone.


If I were in your situation, I’d fix my current truck to be the truck I trusted to do those long drives in. Because on long road trip hunts, I want to haul enough gear, and still be suitable for two people to drive straight through. More time to hunt. You get there sooner and can leave later if you are committed to drive straight through.

If you go through your current ride, if it’s a good enough truck go trust your family in, a couple grand would likely ensure it could be as tight as a new truck once some maintenance was done.

 

[Mike D Texas]

140k high mileage? In my opinion you're playing the 'what if' game to much.

I've got a 180k mile 17 F250 I've taken out in the middle of nowhere with. I guess if I didn't trust a vehicle in the mountains, it wouldn't be in my driveway at all. Or I'd make sure to make it reliable.

Over 3 years you could've bought yourself a pair or NL Pure Binos.

Agreed. I’m taking my 2012 Ram Cummins to Wyoming from Texas in October and it currently has 233k miles on it. I’m 100% confident it will make the trip with no issues.


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[Nicaburns]

There are some great renters on TURO that even cater to hunters in many towns. The owner we use each year loves hearing how the hunt went. (And the truck has a topper on it which is a handy feature!)

 

[Mark.c]

Rented several SUVs for hunts. The other consideration is to rent so you don’t put a bunch of milage on your personal vehicle.
1. Make sure you understand the rental agreement and opt for additional coverage if needed. Backcountry towing is crazy expensive. Tires are not covered and are the renter’s responsibility to fix.
2. Most rental SUV’s or trucks are not 4x4. Suspension clearance is more important IMO. AWD or 2WD with traction control normally does fine on most forest service roads. Be smart on where you drive it. Avoid getting stuck or dangerous/unmaintained trails.
3. Bring: jumper cables, tire repair kit, portable air compressor (or canned Fix-a-Flat, shovel, recovery gear, jack and chains if needed. A 2-vehicle hunting party facilitates recovery if one breaks down.
4. Hertz Gold allows you to pick your vehicle in the lot. I look for good clearance, AWD and decent tires.

 

[Crghss]

Rented a truck on last western 2 trips, well worth it. Was worried first time as I went pretty deep in Black Hills. SUV was trashed. Before I returned it I washed it, waste of time. No one cared, parked in an assigned parking. Dropped vehicle never heard a thing.

As some mentioned rental prices fluctuate. Costco had a weekly rental Ram 1500 for less than $600. That was a steal.

Only draw back I see is the need to ship meat home vs driving it.