15 passenger van?

[dreaming4disney]

Has anyone ever gotten a 15 pass van? Is it hard to navigate with? Where do you park if you drive it to a park- up front or way in back with rv's?

Thanks for any input. Considering one for an upcoming trip

 

[Betty Rohrer]

i find them harder to park than a car. hate to back out of parking places. they do take a wider right turn in to parking placs or turns on streets. i would try to drive one before you head to Disney. even if it is something like a ford F150 pickup would give an idea about driving. i drive the 150 all the time and i still hate parking lots that i can not pull thru so i do not have to back out of. drove one fpr grandsons MAW trip no special parking for the big vans. if you are putting stroller in back be careful as the car behind your van may block opening the back end

 

[epsmith921]

Have driven a 12 passenger sprinter van and it was easier than I thought it would be. It was relatively easy to see out of it though on the highway the passengers had to help a bit for blind spots. I will second the previous poster about watching where you park for ease of access purposes. We typically parked out of the way and I admittedly found "pull through" spaces and just left the back end dangling into the space behind me at smaller shopping centers. I don't think I ever drove it in reverse but I was actively trying not to. I really liked it a lot though. Again, only speaking with experience about the sprinter van.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Are you sure you want to rent a 15 PAX van? From the New York Times:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/201...f-15-passenger-van-rollover-danger/?src=rechp

 

[NotUrsula]

Are you speaking of renting one to commute around Orlando, or are you thinking of driving it from wherever you live, to Florida? If the latter, you may have a hard time with that.

First off, have you driven a van this size? If you haven't, I suggest you rent one at home one weekend to experience it. The handling is difficult if you are not used to it, but that isn't the only consideration. Normal 15-passenger vans have THE roughest ride you can imagine, and the seats are vinyl benches that are hard to say the least, and get absolutely broiling hot in summer. A long-distance trip in one of these is my idea of the 7th circle of hell.

In addition, many rental agencies are trying to limit their liability and protect their inventory by refusing to allow vans this size to be taken out of state. (See the previously cited article about why they are worried about losing the vehicle.) If you do manage to rent one for a long-distance trip, in most cases, your regular vehicle insurance will not cover a rental van of this size, which means having to pay the daily fee for the additional insurance coverages. Also, FWIW, the gas mileage tends to be abysmal, you'll spend a fortune on fuel with it fully-loaded.

 

[dreaming4disney]

Thanks so much for all of the replies. I appreciate it. We have a yukon xl, so we are used to driving a bigger vehicle although I realize that this is a bit bigger. We are flying to Orlando with another family and thought this might be a way for us to get around Disney with 11 of us total.

After hearing everything you all have to say, I think I will pass on it. I didn't know about the insurance and it seems like it would be quite a pain to navigate with it.

I have been hoping for some reasonable car rentals rates and haven't seen any yet, so thought this might be an option.

Thank you for the info.

 

[n2mm]

We rented one once and my DH said never again. He's use to driving large vehicles. He has a dump truck and his pickup truck is a Ford F350, extended bed and extended cab-4 door. He hated the van. Parking was a PITA. When we have a large group, we rent 2 vehicles now.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

We rented one as upgrade from Alamo for $5 more a day 19 years ago. I think Carl's van rental has them, he picks you up and drop off. I think there use to be n Internet coupon.
They are a lot more work to park, and back up in, but doable.

 

[gmeh1]

Thanks so much for all of the replies. I appreciate it. We have a yukon xl, so we are used to driving a bigger vehicle although I realize that this is a bit bigger. We are flying to Orlando with another family and thought this might be a way for us to get around Disney with 11 of us total.

After hearing everything you all have to say, I think I will pass on it. I didn't know about the insurance and it seems like it would be quite a pain to navigate with it.

I have been hoping for some reasonable car rentals rates and haven't seen any yet, so thought this might be an option.

Thank you for the info.

They also have little or no cargo space and the seats cannot be removed. Also, they will have you sign a waiver for this size van. In reality, it would be less expensive to rent a mini van an a midsize or full size car. Those 15 pax. vans are expensive to rent.

 

[NotUrsula]

DEFINITELY rent two vehicles. You really don't want to be trapped into going absolutely everywhere together.

Priceline will get you some nice rates out of MCO if money is an issue; the only drawback is that you'll have to wait in line instead of using a kiosk.

 

[mguedes]

Priceline does not allow you to add insurance to the price right? So, should I bid really low so I can still purchase insurance at counter prices?