Other Car Rental Programs/Partners (ie. Alamo, Enterprise, Sixt) - Alamo Std. SUV @ LAS 4WD? Take Keys to reserve before check-in?

We are starting in LAS for a road/hiking trip to Utah. I have a standard SUV (Chev. TrailBlazer or eq.) reserved. Four of us so we will need some luggage space and would like 4-wheel drive for a few dirt roads in Utah. Anyone know what we can expect to find in LAS and what would be our best choice.

My flight arrives about 40 minutes before my friends. While I am waiting for my friends to arrive (2nd driver) can I go to the garage and look for a good SUV? If I find a good one, is it Ok to take the keys to "reserve" it?

I might do the same thing in LAX on my next trip, because I had to wait for quite a bit the last time around...
On the other hand, this time I am pokering for an upgrade (will $20 in the lot bring me any further?) Let me know how it goes... :-)

I was hoping for a small or regular SUV from National when I was in Vegas two weeks ago. (National and Alamo share vehicles.) They were completely out, so I snagged a minivan. When I returned it, they finally had a few SUVs in, but I'm not sure what they were.

Some unsolicited advice on offroading with rentals that I learned the hard way: If you are planning to go offroad, make sure to check the tires and, most importantly, whether the vehicle has a spare before you accept anything from the rental company. Two cans of FixAFlat, a tire patch kit, and a 12v tire pump are also a very good thing to have. (Rental tires are usually garbage.) Most, if not, all rental agreements say not to take a rental vehicle off road blah blah blah, so give the underside a good wash before returning it.

I'm not sure about the Alamo lot guys at LAS. The National lot guys -- might be the same people -- are very helpful, though. Maybe do a self check in so that you can go grab a car before your friends get there?

We are starting in LAS for a road/hiking trip to Utah. I have a standard SUV (Chev. TrailBlazer or eq.) reserved. Four of us so we will need some luggage space and would like 4-wheel drive for a few dirt roads in Utah. Anyone know what we can expect to find in LAS and what would be our best choice.

My flight arrives about 40 minutes before my friends. While I am waiting for my friends to arrive (2nd driver) can I go to the garage and look for a good SUV? If I find a good one, is it Ok to take the keys to "reserve" it?

Be careful with off roading. If you take LDW, coverage will be void if there is damage to the car. If you are using credit card coverage, same holds true. Also ,in the off chance that you break down and you are not on a "paved" road, you will be billed for the service call.

I don't plan to drive off road, but on a couple dirt roads that might need a little extra ground clearance. We plan to drive a 17 mile dirt loop road at Monument Valley that lots of people take passenger cars, on, but other internet info recommends an SUV. Same with a couple dirt roads to trail heads. Info says that usually a car is OK, but if there is rain, maybe an SUV would be better.

Initially, I reserved a minivan, but then switched to an SUV. I just hope we can fit the luggage!

If I find a good one, is it Ok to take the keys to "reserve" it?

Whatever you end up doing, it would be extremely rude to take the keys to a car you haven't rented yet. Just taking the keys to a vehicle doesn't mean it still doesn't appear in the agents' computers as an available vehicle to rent and some poor sap could get screwed by your actions. How would you like it if you trekked out to your car, loaded your luggage and, when trying to start the car, realized the keys were missing and had to unload and start the rental process all over again just because someone else grabbed the keys to your car because they wanted to rent it?

The best thing to do would be for you to rent the car when you land and then add your friends on as additional drivers when they arrive. If you don't like the car you're given you can ask the agent if any new vehicles have shown up in the inventory while you were waiting for your friends and an official exchange can be made.

lol at elola's rant.

i've never done monument valley but it is on my list along with a trip to moab someday. as i'm sure you know, dirt roads change by the season, day, week, etc. but the fact that road in monument valley is driven semi-regularly by others means you won't have to be worried so much about getting a flat and being stranded. some other places in utah, you're lucky if you see one other person all week.

i had a minivan the last time i was doing some light dirt roads in the southwest. it's not as powerful and it shakes a lot more than an SUV, but it got the job done over short drives. the high clearance helps keep you from gashing the underside of the vehicle. 17 miles is a looong drive if the road is in bad condition, though. good luck

Whatever you end up doing, it would be extremely rude to take the keys to a car you haven't rented yet. Just taking the keys to a vehicle doesn't mean it still doesn't appear in the agents' computers as an available vehicle to rent and some poor sap could get screwed by your actions. How would you like it if you trekked out to your car, loaded your luggage and, when trying to start the car, realized the keys were missing and had to unload and start the rental process all over again just because someone else grabbed the keys to your car because they wanted to rent it?

Well, it is not quite that bad. At Alamo, the agent does not assign you a specific car at the counter. All cars of a specific type are parked in a row and you can select the car that you prefer. If I had taken the keys I would have also locked the car and moved it to a back area of the lot.

As it turned out, I did as you suggest and rented and selected (moved and locked) an SUV and added the addtitional driver when my friends arrived.

lol at elola's rant.

i've never done monument valley but it is on my list along with a trip to moab someday....

good luck

Things could not have worked out any better. With only a couple std SUVs on the lot, the Alamo folks were nice enough to give me a Chevrolet Traverse. I had asked about 4 wheel dirve and a place to plug in my Sirius radio. The Traverse was only 2-wheel drive but had the headphone jack for the radio and plenty of ground clearance. When my friends arrived, the luggage fit with room to spare.

Monument Valley is in the middle of nowhere, but if you are in the area, take the 17 mile drive. I did see passenger cars on the drive, but with the SUV, I could watch more scenery instead of picking my way along the road.

I thought that the scenery at Monument Valley might not be much different other areas in Utah, but it was better than I expected.