How risky is it to make an unpaid reservation for a truck in the Bay Area?

[dustandsnow]

Hi all,

I've made a reservation for a 16 foot box truck at a company in San Francisco. This company does not take payment ahead of time but allows you to put in an order online. I've read some stories of people losing reservations when companies have another contractual obligation like a commercial order.

Generally I'm wondering how risky it is to reserve this way especially for BM. Is it 90% success? 20%? (This is a major rental company btw. I'm just not mentioning them by name as I believe I'm not supposed to do that in the forum?)

[BBadger]

There is risk.


Or do you want some made-up percentage based on anecdotes, unreliable past data, not even knowing what company you're referring to, rentals in other regions, etc.?



You should have a contingency plan if you can't get that truck. What are you going to do if or when you become a negative datapoint in someone else's similar question?

[lucky420]

Call the outlet where you are picking up the truck and talk to them, make sure they have your reservation too. I make my reservation in person over the phone. I ask them "you're not going to pull the rug out from underneath me in August are you?" Still no guarantee but I do feel a wee bit assured.

[Token]

For something as epic as going to BM, you generally want to deal with Burner-Friendly rental companies.

In the Bay Area, Hengehold Trucks has a good rep but you gotta be cool and clean the truck before returning.

There are others too, Google is your friend.

Big chains like Uhaul, Penske, etc may pull the rug under your feet if they suspect a BM destination.

[trilobyte]

At this late stage, renting a truck for the playa in San Francisco proper should either be INSANELY expensive, or impossible (typically all the in-town pickup locations are booked up before memorial day). Also, as a result of ppl who return trucks trashed or even lived-in, many truck rental companies in SF proper have a tendency to flatly refuse rentals for Burning Man, or impose really crazy cleaning fees.

We've had companies that we booked with months in advance, and who we had a history of returning vehicles in great condition just say "sorry, we don't have it" when we turned up on the day with confirmation # in hand... so yeah, it's very risky (I'd say 50/50). My recommendation would be to go there in person and confirm everything. As a fallback, look at other towns in the region though it's difficult to say what availability might be at this late stage of the game. Good luck!

[maladroit]

I once reserved a truck weeks in advance to move my house. Went there on the pickup day, they said "sorry, we don't have any trucks." Apparently a reservation is worthless. They do nothing to ensure that they have the truck available on the day you reserved, I was told that their stock is entirely dependent on what customers bring in. They do not have trucks shuttled between cities in order to meet demand.

[BBadger]

[dustyfux]

Yeah, the trials and tribulations of rental preparations. Did you make sure you fully completed the online registration process? I'd also call the rental office you're planning pickup and confirm they see it too. Finally, try to drop by in the next couple of weeks, with a totally innocent question regarding the rental. "Hi I've got a rental on August 26th and I wanted to check the door dimensions....is it on the lot, I've got my tape".

I'll probably head over to my local....U-XXXX......next weekend to get my propane tanks topped off. That's a good time to check out the reservation. I also slip the yard dog a sixer of cold beer for his hassles. Trust me, they remember when you come back.

[ZigZag]

I have already stopped by the local rental office once "to check dimensions", but am going back again tomorrow. I made the res back in May. When I went the first time, they had the res and everything was good.

A follow up closer to the date can't hurt.

In all fairness though, this is Minnesota, and its not exactly the hotbed of rentals for Burning Man. The bigger worry is its the season when the kids are moving to college. Half of the people I tell that I am going to Burning Man go "Eh? What's that?"