Shore diving vehicle?

[TheWizard]

When I shore-dive Bonaire I always rent a small pickup.
But I don't see small pickups for rent at the usual car-rental places for my upcoming dive trip to Maui. So I'm guessing I'll rent a small SUV or Jeep Wrangler.
What do other folks use for a shore diving vehicle out there?

 

[Peter_C]

We usually rent whatever is the cheapest and most fuel efficient vehicle we can get. Coupons are great and last time in Hawaii our car was $27 a day including fees. Wound up with a Nissan that we put 749 miles with no mileage fees. The trunk easily held our dive gear, where it was out of site, so when we wanted to park the car and go exploring, everything was hidden. Fortunately we also had a garage so I was able to leave the windows down, and affix the trunk switch closed so we could leave the trunk open without the light on every night. Even still it got stinky...

 

[TSandM]

If you can find somebody who is renting Dodge Calibers, they make great diving vehicles. Or you can buy a tarp and put it down in the trunk of anything else you rent. We just did a week out of the back of a Chevy sedan.

 

[pjhansman]

We rent what they now call full size sedans (like the Impala or Altima). Lots of room in the trunk for tanks and gear, and everything is locked and hidden when not in use.

I must admit that after a couple weeks, there is quite a sand buildup and an interesting odour.

 

[diversteve]

Years ago we rented a small KIA SUV - the one with the soft top. Bad Idea since anybody could pry up the velcro while we were gone. Or slit the side curtains more likely. Nothing happened but we were careful not to leave any gear in it all week. Fun when not diving though.

The car rental places on Maui have certain areas where they suggest you hide/lock everything up even as regular tourists - often it's near popular beaches/attractions. So I'd get something with a trunk or a SUV with one of those roll-up covers to hide stuff under. No need to tempt someone.

Just about all the major companies rent Ford Escape's. My buddy has one, it would be a good dive vehicle for Maui.
Although pretty much everything is paved so a car works also.

Somebody (Enterprise?) rents Chevy Colorado's but I don't see the need for a small truck to dive Maui.

 

[scubahawk27]

What ever you rent just don't leave any valuables in the car. There has been a rash of thefts lately. A couple at Black Sand Beach went snorkeling came back and their beach bag was gone so was their rental car!


Greg Walker
www.mauiscooterdivers.com

 

[Midge907]

Each time I've been to Hawaii I've rented a 4-door jeep wrangler. Works great for shore diving and gets you back on some of those rough roads. Also usually book thru the discount car rental websites, they negotiate some great rates with the big brand car rental places for a fraction of the posted rates.

 

[oldschoolto]

Just back from Kawaii, We rented the full size Impala and went to Wally world and got a large plastic bin and a 10 x 10 green tarp... Put the tarp down with the sides up and stuffed in the corners.... Then put the plastic bin in... had 6 tanks and my wife's and my gear with no trouble... When we got back to the hotel after diving we'd have the bell boy bring the bin to our room so to hang the stuff to dry for the next day... Worked great and when we left we dropped off the bin and tarp off to our tank retail dive shop.... The car never smelled and the rental company didn't charge us for having to clean a wet and sandy trunk.... I used the top of the bin under the hanging wet suit's to catch the water dripping.... And the bin made a great soaking tank to clean the gear at the dive site..

Have fun....

Jim....

 

[herbdb]

Hiding stuff, may or may not work. We have had two rental cars vandilized (different trips). One time they smashed the windshied with a rock to get in. The other time they used some sort of tool to rip the barrel out of the trunk lock. Be careful what you leave in a car.

 

[DiveMaven]

Any rental car with a cheap tarp for the trunk should work beautifully. If you buy a gallon of water, you can use it to rinse your boots and other sandy areas and simply keep refilling the container for the time you're there...that should limit the amount of sand you accumulate.

We also wound up buying a bottle of Febreeze type of stuff to spray our vehicle when we are done diving and before we return the car.