Where can I rent a 12-15 passenger van

[mom2boys]

without $5,000,000 in liabilitiy insurance
That's what Enterprise wants - that & no passengers under age 18.

 

[tmasingo]

Are you sure it's no passengers under age 18 and not no drivers I used to work for Enterprise and I don't recall that being a requirement. However, I do know that they weren't allowed to be rented as school or daycare transportation, so maybe it was a regulation but I didn't realize it because of how it is worded.

I see you're in MD, though, and honestly, there are certain locations which you cannot even take them into, due to liability and insurance reasons. I believe D.C. is one of them, so depending where you're headed, you should be sure to check into that. I don't know if that was just an Enterprise rule or is true to all rental companies. It really is going to depend on where you're taking it and what you're using it for. You can try Budget, or check around you for smaller or less known rental companies.

Unfortunately, with this type of vehicle, it's almost considered a bus, so there are stricter requirements when renting them. It's been several years since I worked there and rules may have changed, but chances are you may have a difficult time with this type of rental without paying a lot in extra insurance

 

[golfgal]

A few of our local car dealerships have them for rent. You could check with your dealers and see if they have any or know of anyone that does rent them.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Just rent 2 large SUVs instead. We used to rent the 15 passenger vans when on the road with the band but they would be just as expensive as renting either 2 mini-vans or 2 large SUVs. I don't like driving the 15 pax vans - they handle much differently than a car, mini-van or SUV. 20/20 or one of those types of shows did a report a couple of years ago about all of the accidents in these vehicles by inexperienced drivers. They have a different center of gravity and are very heavy so they are harder to stop.

We always rented from Enterprise when we did rent them though. I don't remember the other car rental agencies offering them.

 

[stevenpensacola]

There have been a lot of fatal accidents with these type of vans.

The problem is due to the extra length of the van just being tacked onto the back of the existing van, so when loaded, you have this large amount of weight hanging way out there behind the rear axle. This really upsets the handling of these vans.

and from http://www.bagoliefriedman.com/15_passenger_van.shtml:

The likelihood of a rollover in a fully loaded 15-passenger van is about five times greater than when a van contains only a driver because the high center of gravity that makes the 15-passenger van unstable. When the vehicle is moving at speeds over 50 miles per hour and on curved roads, the risk of a 15-passenger van rollover increases significantly. The automotive industry has been criticized for knowing the dangers of the 15-passenger vans and the chances of them rolling over yet failing to make any significant safety changes to them.

and from another site:
On November 1, 2002 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent a public recommendation to the Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Company which noted that Ford's 15-passenger vans, when occupied by 10 to 15 passengers, had a rollover ratio of 85.0 percent, compared with a ratio of 28.3 percent for vans with fewer than 5 occupants. The NTSB informed Ford that: "Fully loading or nearly loading a 15-passenger van causes the center of gravity to move rearward and upward, which increases the vehicle's rollover propensity and could increase the potential for driver loss of control in emergency maneuvers."

 

[luvmyeor]

It is getting more difficult to find 15 passenger vans because of the roll-over problems. I own a 15 passenger van for my business and have to carry $1 million dollars of liability. My annual premium is more than I paid for the van. I looked into getting two smaller vans but the savings in my premium still wasn't worth it.

I know when I rented a van in Memphis they asked me what states I was planning to visit. There are some states that have a law that holds the rental company as well as the driver liable if there is an accident. So rental companies will not allow you to visit those states.

I sometimes have to rent a 15 passenger van when I travel. My last trip to Nashville I could not get one from the airport. None of the rental companies offered them anymore. They had 12 passenger vans instead. I was able to get one when I was in Memphis but I had to sign a special form that contained several safety warnings about driving a 15 passener van.

If you do find a place that will rent one to you I would recommend that you check with your insurance agent to make sure you will be covered if there is an accident. I live close to York PA and I only know of three places that will rent 15 passenger vans. Most places stopped renting them because of all the problems.