Dalton Highway Hunt Rent

[jdvanstar]

Looking to do my first caribou hunt on the Dalton Highway this August. Bringing along 3 other people and trying to find the best option for truck rental. I don't think uHaul would work because they're only two seaters (unless I'm mistaken). I've seen Alaska 4x4 and Go North but they're like 4k for a two week trip. I also saw Turo, which might be cheaper but, with insurance, not by much.

Does anyone have another option that I'm missing?

Thanks!

*Bonus points for anyone who can also give me coordinates for where I can sit and have the herd pass by at 20 yards broadside*

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Airport Rental has F250s and perhaps even 4-door rigs

 

[jdvanstar]

Airport Rental has F250s and perhaps even 4-door rigs

Will check it out - have seen that they often don't allow driving on the Dalton.

 

[Geewhiz]

Get 2 uhaul vans. Then you get sleeping quarters for 4 guys and gear. ALso if 1 backs out there are 3 seats in the front of each van.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Sometimes it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission with vehicle rentals.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

But also agree with Geewhiz about the Uhaul options. Enclosed road-side camper option is money

 

[cmeyer733]

Get 2 uhaul vans. Then you get sleeping quarters for 4 guys and gear. ALso if 1 backs out there are 3 seats in the front of each van.

I saw alot of guys doing this when I went up there. Seemed like a good option.

 

[jdvanstar]

Get 2 uhaul vans. Then you get sleeping quarters for 4 guys and gear. ALso if 1 backs out there are 3 seats in the front of each van.

Not sure why I didn't think of this. Thanks!

 

[Billy Goat]

What are the prevention methods to not be locked in the back of a u-haul?

 

[packer58]

Kinda the same......... I lock out the clasp lever on my modified enclosed trailer.....because I have mischievous hunting partners.....

 

[Lrs183]

Hey,

You should consider calling GoNorth and talking to them about a quote.

There are a few ways to save a lot of money with them. One is the early bird discount, which ends at the end of January for this year (assuming they'll offer it to a new quote, I booked mine back in September of this past year).

You can also save a lot of money on a trip of that duration by contacting your insurance company and seeing if your auto insurance will cover the vehicle. Bear in mind they won't just take word of mouth or a basic declaration showing you're insured. It needs to show in plain text from the company that they'll cover the rental. This is also something you don't have to have done the day you book. It just needs to be good to go a bit before the trip.

You can also choose to prepay miles prior to your trip. My understanding is this can be altered up to the point of when you depart. You can also then pay for any overage from what you allotted but it is about 10 cents more per mile. Currently I have 500 miles paid for. I need to pay for another 500 before I go, which would pay for a single round trip to prudhoe and back but nothing more. I'd rather eat the extra 10 cents per mile on a bit of back and forth than prepay 200 extra miles or go unlimited.

My booking pre-additional 500 miles is just under 1000. Add an additional 165 dollars(ish) for the extra 500 before I depart.

So for simplicity, I'll have 1165 in the game for GoNorth for 10 days compared to U-Haul...

Uhaul, for simplicity, a small 10ft enclosed truck is 20/day. So 200, then .79 cents a mile. At a minimum 1000 miles. That's 790 dollars. So 990. And... Uhaul in Fairbanks said if you take it on the road, liability is on you. No insurance.

So.. 990 before taxes and fees vs 1165 and I'm covered and a nice truck that isn't a uhaul? And less stress? No brainer for the little bit of extra legwork and cash.

U-Haul has intentionally been laying the dick to customers in Alaska from what I've gathered. They told me back in August of 21 that they were on a day by day rental, aka... you book for 10, they can at their discretion reduce your rental time to one day. That's directly from them, not third party. When they wouldn't guarantee a rental for 10 days straight no questions in 2022, I walked away. Not worth the risk.

Goodluck

 

[jdvanstar]

Hey,

You should consider calling GoNorth and talking to them about a quote.

There are a few ways to save a lot of money with them. One is the early bird discount, which ends at the end of January for this year (assuming they'll offer it to a new quote, I booked mine back in September of this past year).

You can also save a lot of money on a trip of that duration by contacting your insurance company and seeing if your auto insurance will cover the vehicle. Bear in mind they won't just take word of mouth or a basic declaration showing you're insured. It needs to show in plain text from the company that they'll cover the rental. This is also something you don't have to have done the day you book. It just needs to be good to go a bit before the trip.

You can also choose to prepay miles prior to your trip. My understanding is this can be altered up to the point of when you depart. You can also then pay for any overage from what you allotted but it is about 10 cents more per mile. Currently I have 500 miles paid for. I need to pay for another 500 before I go, which would pay for a single round trip to prudhoe and back but nothing more. I'd rather eat the extra 10 cents per mile on a bit of back and forth than prepay 200 extra miles or go unlimited.

My booking pre-additional 500 miles is just under 1000. Add an additional 165 dollars(ish) for the extra 500 before I depart.

So for simplicity, I'll have 1165 in the game for GoNorth for 10 days compared to U-Haul...

Uhaul, for simplicity, a small 10ft enclosed truck is 20/day. So 200, then .79 cents a mile. At a minimum 1000 miles. That's 790 dollars. So 990. And... Uhaul in Fairbanks said if you take it on the road, liability is on you. No insurance.

So.. 990 before taxes and fees vs 1165 and I'm covered and a nice truck that isn't a uhaul? And less stress? No brainer for the little bit of extra legwork and cash.

U-Haul has intentionally been laying the dick to customers in Alaska from what I've gathered. They told me back in August of 21 that they were on a day by day rental, aka... you book for 10, they can at their discretion reduce your rental time to one day. That's directly from them, not third party. When they wouldn't guarantee a rental for 10 days straight no questions in 2022, I walked away. Not worth the risk.

Goodluck

This is exactly what I did this year. Was going to do Turo but it was expensive, you couldn't contact the person prior to renting their car and they can cancel any time. No brainer.

 

[LongWayAround]

Looking to do my first caribou hunt on the Dalton Highway this August. Bringing along 3 other people and trying to find the best option for truck rental. I don't think uHaul would work because they're only two seaters (unless I'm mistaken). I've seen Alaska 4x4 and Go North but they're like 4k for a two week trip. I also saw Turo, which might be cheaper but, with insurance, not by much.

Does anyone have another option that I'm missing?

Thanks!

*Bonus points for anyone who can also give me coordinates for where I can sit and have the herd pass by at 20 yards broadside*

This is exactly what I did this year. Was going to do Turo but it was expensive, you couldn't contact the person prior to renting their car and they can cancel any time. No brainer.

Your original post doesn't seem to make sense with your most recent post?

I rented a small RV from GoNorth for a week this past July. It was about $2500. We could have saved some money by more accurately estimated mileage and such but the original quote was pretty close to the final cost. The whole process with them could not have been easier. I would and likely will rent from them again in the future. We didn't drive the Dalton highway but it appears to be alright to do so for m their website.

 

[jdvanstar]

Your original post doesn't seem to make sense with your most recent post?

I rented a small RV from GoNorth for a week this past July. It was about $2500. We could have saved some money by more accurately estimated mileage and such but the original quote was pretty close to the final cost. The whole process with them could not have been easier. I would and likely will rent from them again in the future. We didn't drive the Dalton highway but it appears to be alright to do so for m their website.

At first I wasn't sure and almost went Turo. I ended up calling GoNorth. Didnt get insurance (mine applies) and also paid for extra miles up front. Seems like it'll be the ticket.

 

[Sawtoothsteve]

At first I wasn't sure and almost went Turo. I ended up calling GoNorth. Didnt get insurance (mine applies) and also paid for extra miles up front. Seems like it'll be the ticket.

jdvanstar, thanks for the tips. What type vehicle did you get for that deal? Was that a pickup, RV, pickup with camper?

 

[jdvanstar]

jdvanstar, thanks for the tips. What type vehicle did you get for that deal? Was that a pickup, RV, pickup with camper?

Yep - happy to share things as I learn them.

Went with 4-door pickup. I believe with a topper on the back.

 

[AkRyan]

Please don't rent a person's truck off turo and take it on the Dalton. Stick with corporate shows that can afford to loose a vehicle for the year.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

Have you considered outdoorsy.com?

 

[jdvanstar]

Have you considered outdoorsy.com?

I'd be fine with using someone's truck off Turo but that's gotta be a decision they make knowing where you're headed. I didn't do Turo because they can cancel last minute and I wasn't able to speak with the person prior to renting.

I went with GoNorth. Seemed easy enough and they've got a ton of options for add ons. Haven't heard of outdoorsy

 

[Southeast]

How has Fairbanks Uhaul been treating you caribou hunters this season?

I learned about Turo from this site about a year ago and quickly booked a pickup truck in the Fairbanks area using the app. Thankfully, this site (including jdvanstar's post above) also warned me that Turo rentals can easily be cancelled by the vehicle owner. That made me nervous so I also rented a Uhaul cargo van as a backup.

Well, with two weeks before my trip I checked in with my Turo vehicle owner and he basically said, "Oh, I guess I should have told you, my truck got wrecked a while back. Sorry about that." Apparently he would have let me show up in Fairbanks expecting that truck if I had not checked on its status!

Anyway, a backup plan appears to have saved my moose trip. Hopefully Uhaul has not been up to any tricks lately.