A very kind RV share!

[JackCatastrophe]

As we all know so well no rental company in the US will touch an under 25 driver, so unfortunately I must ask if anyone would be willing to share an RV with me and 2 friends, taking most of the legal burden upon themselves (although 2 of us do hold drivers licenses and so would be eligible as secondary drivers)

A year of minimum wage slavery and years of childhood dreams have lead us to the Playa, and we'll be making our pilgrimage from the UK to be in LA/Cali for a couple of weeks leading up to the burn in preparation, so that would be a nice time to get acquainted.

I understand full well this sounds like a nightmare group of virgins to collaborate with, but I'd be happy to cover ALL of the fuel costs as well as our share of the rental (of course)

Also please don't be too quick to judge, we've each been working hard and saving for well over a year for this trip, and ultimately we'll get there one way or another, but it's going to be a better experience all round if we are less inclined to rough it every step of the way.

If anyone would like to take on this unlikely RV share of three 19 year olds from the UK and help out some burners in need i would truly LOVE YOU FOREVER.

All comments appreciated

[Savannah]

Hopefully you will meet someone here!

The rideshare link is supposed to be live now, so you might also make a listing there. It might not be super busy 'til June though.
http://rideshare.burningman.com/ridesha ... -man-2013/

One of the things that present a challenge is that you are three in number. It's a lot of people to take on, considering that most RVs are optimistically labeled as to how many people can sleep comfortably. However, some solo owner (especially an American) or an overseas person who has others that back out on him might be very glad to meet you.

Good luck.

[JackCatastrophe]

Thankyou! Yes I shall repost it there just in case some would be kind spirit with an RV is wandering. Ahh yes, we're a biological burden, I should probably edit in that we'll be taking a couple of lightweight 1 man tents and sleeping matts so we can rotate around the privacy and comfort issues and everyone can at least try and catch a snooze here and there!

Thanks again

[Savannah]

Smart. You seem to have a realistic idea of space issues, and no one can fault that you're willing to pay all fuel costs/do some driving. Even if an owner doesn't trust you to drive their rig on the road, it can be nice to have someone else handle the stop-&-go traffic during the hours-long wait to get in and out.

If worse comes to worse, Google the Green Tortoise; they'll drive you from SF on a bus. Not as plush as an RV, but you won't be embarrassed by luxury.

The downside: last I knew, their longest trip is only 5 days, and while I hear good things, neither myself nor anyone I am close with has tried them yet.

[Drawingablank]

(although 2 of us do hold drivers licenses and so would be eligible as secondary drivers)

All comments appreciated

Keep in mind that should a problem arise while you were driving any insurance purchased might be void as per the rental contract. This could lead to some serious issues.

[dragonpilot]

Anyone see any potential issues here?....I certainly don't.

[Drawingablank]

Well, not if you don't consider that the person whose name is on the rental contract (the driver over 25) might be liable for all the damages.

I'm not really sure about all the legalities of it, but iirc a standard rv rental contract states something about being personally liable if you allow drivers under 25 to operate the vehicle.

The reality of it is that the vehicles insurance will be forced to pay either way - whether or not they bother to pursue you for their loss wile you violated the contract I wouldn't know.

[JackCatastrophe]

Thanks everyone, we took up The Green Tortoise in the end, it's difficult because I get the impression there's a lot of 'onlooker' stigma associated with them when I read various burner blogs and stories about them. A couple even planned one year to vandalize their camp, something which worried me a little.

I want to reconfirm that without an opportunity like that or some cosmic rental luck, we wouldn't have a hope of getting to the playa, I'm not sure what you guys think of GT, but certainly it gives would be burners like me a ray of hope where as before we had none. I can't really explain quite how far away the playa feels when you're a teenager with a part time job in the UK, either way it's all sorted now. Thanks for your advice and hope to see you all on The Playa.

Also thanks Savannah for recommending GT... If only they offered commission to people like you

[Savannah]

Thanks everyone, we took up The Green Tortoise in the end, it's difficult because I get the impression there's a lot of 'onlooker' stigma associated with them when I read various burner blogs and stories about them. A couple even planned one year to vandalize their camp, something which worried me a little.

I want to reconfirm that without an opportunity like that or some cosmic rental luck, we wouldn't have a hope of getting to the playa, I'm not sure what you guys think of GT, but certainly it gives would be burners like me a ray of hope where as before we had none. I can't really explain quite how far away the playa feels when you're a teenager with a part time job in the UK, either way it's all sorted now. Thanks for your advice and hope to see you all on The Playa.

This is why I recommended GT to to you. Burning from Overseas is hard, burning when you are 19, a virgin, in multiples, and from Overseas is considerably harder. (First World problems!) One person may often luck out, but three? The chances seemed much slimmer. That, and I would I attempt using them myself if I had no other way to get there. It is as simple as that for me: it's the strategy I would try.

There are some who might consider GT among the pampered "Plug & Play" camps. I disagree. I have no fear that it's going to be plush. They will not be entertaining or coddling you. You will still have to sleep in a tent (of your own purchase) and they don't have showers. Get friendly with a Garden Sprayer and some baby wipes.

If you are worried about being considered an onlooker, sign up for a shift or two, but not early in the week when you are acclimating:
http://www.burningman.com/participate/volunteer.html

Or, skip scheduling yourself ahead of time and instead visit the Lamplighter's Camp any day around 4:45pm, and help light the city. And needless to say, participate by picking up MOOP daily, and getting out there and doing things, rather than get out there and watching things.

Also thanks Savannah for recommending GT... If only they offered commission to people like you

If they offered me a commission (and there's little danger of that happening) I would tell them to sod off.

Congratulations on getting sorted out!