On the Road Again: New Company Rents Classic Volkswagen Campers
Salt Lake City, UT August 21, 2004 -- Almost a year ago www.westernroadtrips.com hit the web to entice viewers to hit the road in one of their classic VW Westfalia camper van rentals. Western Road Trips was founded by Pete Van Slooten (28) and Nathan Williams (27) who became friends on a climbing trip while attending Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah near Zion National Park. They started renting the vans to fill the niche between renting a large motor home and renting a “regular” car or SUV to experience the numerous national and state parks and other recreation areas in Utah and the surrounding states.
The Volkswagen vans in their fleet are a dramatic upgrade from the “hippie busses” of the 1960’s yet maintain the nostalgia of the older busses. Western Road Trips’ vans are water-cooled Vanagons made in the mid- to late 1980’s and feature many of the comforts of the larger Class A, B, and C motor homes such as a sink, stove, fridge, tables, beds and storage; yet they still fit into a standard parking spot. The most notable feature about these vans is the pop-up roof with a canvas tent that houses one of the two foldaway beds and gives the van over 8 feet of headroom.
“You will be the envy of the other campers in the campground on rainy days.” Van Slooten explains to his customers while demonstrating how to put up and down the pop top, “While everyone else is outside getting soaked packing up wet tents, you’ll just lower the roof from inside the van, climb in the drivers seat and off you go.” Even when it is not raining, many of their clients chose Western Road Trips’ because they still like to camp but no longer want to sleep on the ground or have children and don’t want the hassle of putting up a tent every time they go to a new campground.
There are plenty of campgrounds and points of interest to visit from their location in Salt Lake City, Utah. Within a half-day’s drive from Salt Lake International Airport, travelers can be in one of nine national parks with Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, and Zion being the most popular among past clients. Western Road Trips’ average rental is about 9 days; however, some people take 20-30 days and see everything from the Grand Canyon to Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. “Some clients ask for a lot of recommendations about where to go and what to see, others do all of the planning themselves. Some don’t even decide where they’re heading until they get off the plane.” says Van Slooten. “I think people are booking with us because there is so much flexibility, there is no fixed itinerary like an escorted tour and they can stop and camp or picnic whenever they like.”
There are a lot of national parks to see in Southern Utah alone but Van Slooten warns against trying to fit in too many attractions. “We recommend averaging at least a day and half for each park you want to see. That will give you time to get out of the van, do a hike or two and really get a feel for each park.” He suggests 10 days in March, April, October or November is the right amount of time in the right season if someone wants to do a loop of all the Utah National Parks. “People who try to fit it all in a week usually come back saying that it was too much driving and not enough exploring, especially with kids.” Says Van Slooten of past clients.
Most of their clients usually spend at least one day river rafting; either on the Colorado River near Moab, Utah or on the Snake River outside of Jackson, Wyoming. More adventurous guests head to such places as the City of Rocks National Monument, Idaho for some rock climbing. Cyclists often get the optional bike rack and head to Moab, Utah’s famed mountain biking trails.
Campers rent for between $89-$109/day depending on the season. 100 miles are included per day and additional miles are either $0.25/each or $20/day for unlimited mileage. Bedding kits, bike racks, camp chairs, pup tents, porta-potties, fishing poles and other equipment are available for an additional rental charge. All campers are outfitted with CD players with a remote, pots, pans and eating gear, and a deck of cards or other travel games. Reservations are recommended as far in advance as possible for June –September and at least two weeks is recommended for all other rentals. Walk in rentals are not available.
Press Contact:
Pete Van Slooten
801-953-6068
pete@westernroadtrips.com
This article courtesy of http://volkswagen-beetle.info.
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