15 Passenger Van deals?

[DavidandLeahZ]

Hi everyone,

I'm bringing a class down in March and may need to rent a 15-passenger van. Does anyone know of some good deals or codes to use? Right now I'm getting quoted around $1500 for 8 days.

 

[IvyandLace]

I have to encourage you to use Florida Van Rentals. My husband, who is a high school social studies teacher, and I along with another teacher/chaperone took 6 high school students to Disney in June of this year for the 1st time. We took Amtrak from NC to Kissimmee, picked up our 15-passenger van at the train station and stayed off-site at a vacation rental. We had initially priced the van around 1000.00 for 7 nights; however, we didn't actually get around to booking this until about a month out and ended up getting it for about $600.00 for the same time period. Obviously, this saved us a bunch of money which we allocated toward a nice meal on property. Our van was brand-new, and we had no problems at all with this rental.

Good luck on your trip!

IVY

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

thanks for the advice.

Just tried and it said none were available.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Be very careful with 15 passenger vans. They tend to tip/rollover more easily and we are required to leave the back seat empty - no luggage back there either. Most preschools and daycares don't use them any more for safety reasons.

Check out this link:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/studies/15passvans/15passcustomer.html

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

Be very careful with 15 passenger vans. They tend to tip/rollover more easily and we are required to leave the back seat empty - no luggage back there either. Most preschools and daycares don't use them any more for safety reasons.

Check out this link:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/studies/15passvans/15passcustomer.html

This would be a college class - and, since I'm the only faculty member - I need to put them all in one van. We've even had to take tests and training in order to drive them.

 

[rock_doctor]

I don't know what school you work for but talk to your motor pool or business office and see if they have a discount contract with any rental companies. If they don't then talk to the chair of your Biology and if you have one, your Geology Department. Both fields tend to have a good number of field trips as part of the curr. and if they don't own the vehicles they would need to rent them. I am surprised they are letting you take a group by yourself. That would be a no go in my old school. They insist that there are two university employees who can drive (grad, profs and support staff are ok) per vehicle.

You had to take a class and test to drive one...ah the good old days of the 15 pass van. If you hit the speed bump just right you can bounce the stuff on the floor in the back over, the seat into the laps of the people in the next forward seat. Luggage leap frog if you will...

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

I don't know what school you work for but talk to your motor pool or business office and see if they have a discount contract with any rental companies. If they don't then talk to the chair of your Biology and if you have one, your Geology Department. Both fields tend to have a good number of field trips as part of the curr. and if they don't own the vehicles they would need to rent them. I am surprised they are letting you take a group by yourself. That would be a no go in my old school. They insist that there are two university employees who can drive (grad, profs and support staff are ok) per vehicle.

You had to take a class and test to drive one...ah the good old days of the 15 pass van. If you hit the speed bump just right you can bounce the stuff on the floor in the back over, the seat into the laps of the people in the next forward seat. Luggage leap frog if you will...

I'll look into that after the holiday. I took 8 last year when I taught the class - and might have as many as 12 this year!

 

[wheelcap]

It is currently against federal law for any organization to use 15-passenger vans to transport students to/from a school or for a school-related program. I work for a LARGE non-profit, and a couple years ago we spent millions of dollars to replace all of our 15s with 12-passenger vans, in order to comply with the law. As a previous poster said, it's because studies showed that they roll-over too easily and are therefore considered dangerous.

The alternate is a 16-passenger bus with stabilizers (like a modified van), but they require the driver to have a commercial driver license (CDL).

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

It is currently against federal law for any organization to use 15-passenger vans to transport students to/from a school or for a school-related program. I work for a LARGE non-profit, and a couple years ago we spent millions of dollars to replace all of our 15s with 12-passenger vans, in order to comply with the law. As a previous poster said, it's because studies showed that they roll-over too easily and are therefore considered dangerous.

The alternate is a 16-passenger bus with stabilizers (like a modified van), but they require the driver to have a commercial driver license (CDL).

We're not transporting to and from a school, we'll be down in Orlando for a week and the van will be to get my college students back and forth from our vacation home. Even at home, the university has a fleet of them for us to use to transport students to activities, volunteer opportunities, etc.
This has all been cleared by the university - all I was looking for was where to find good rates.

 

[rock_doctor]

If it is a school activity see if you can finagle the use of one of the university vans. I taught for our Geology Department which had 3 field vehicles and just about every department in the university use to borrow them. With that said, if it is a large institution i will bet they have a discount deal with somebody. At least you can get the rental tax free...

 

[disneymarie]

Hi everyone,

I'm bringing a class down in March and may need to rent a 15-passenger van. Does anyone know of some good deals or codes to use? Right now I'm getting quoted around $1500 for 8 days.

I used Carls vans, in Orlando. They pick you up at the airport and transport to the office to do the paperwork.
Search the internet for coupons for Carls too.

http://carlsvanrentals.com/
W/O a coupon they are $1,300 all fees incl.

The first 15 passanger van, we had ALAMO mini van reserved and realized without a top carrier, the luggage and all of us would not fit...It was 1993, but they upgraded us to a 15 passenger for only $5 more a day
Get on the Alamo email list, check on Mousesavers transportation site for codes. Therer are usually for Walmart, SAMs, etc.
I had a siversaver card I applied for on the site and that adds additional $ off.

 

[DavidandLeahZ]

If it is a school activity see if you can finagle the use of one of the university vans. I taught for our Geology Department which had 3 field vehicles and just about every department in the university use to borrow them. With that said, if it is a large institution i will bet they have a discount deal with somebody. At least you can get the rental tax free...

We're flying down from IL, so I'm guessing it would be expensive to get a van down there.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I've rented tons of large passenger vans. When I fly into someplace, I run through all the major car rental places used coupon codes from Costco and Sams, usually. I have not rented one in Orlando but I rented one in Houston earlier this summer and paid about $300 for 4 days through Alamo, or was it Avis? One in the airport.

When renting in city, I rent from Capps - do they have those in Orlando? Again, not near the price you were getting quoted. That's SKY high IMO.

Just keep checking pricing. I never rent until 1-2 months out - the prices are pretty high before that - and since you don't have to put a CC deposit down or anything for car rentals, it doesn't hurt to cancel and rebook as you see the prices fall (or find a code - which aren't out right now since you're looking so far out)