Charles
Wohlforth All
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Vehicle
rental issues
Question: Can we rent a vehicle to drive on Alaska's gravel
highways?
Major car rental
agencies all seem to have policies that prohibit driving their vehicles
on unpaved roads. We would like to drive the Denali Highway, the Dalton
Highway, or the McCarthy Road. Is there a company we can rent from? Answer:
This question is
addressed in depth in Frommer's Alaska and Alaska for Dummies. The
short answer is that the rental agreements used by the major car rental
agencies generally prohibit driving on thes unpaved highways. The
Enterprise office in Anchorage does allow is, but the renter assumes
all the risk, which amounts to the same thing. However, there are
agencies in Anchorage and Fairbanks renting for gravel roads with older
model vehicles, SUVs or truck campers. You will have to pay more and
buy special insurance, which is expensive but well worth the cost
considering the good likelihood of damage from flying rocks.
In Anchorage:
ABC Motorhomes
rents older cars (their main line is later model RVs)
In Fairbanks: The downtown office of National Car Rental rents SUVs for
off-pavement travel: 907-451-7368
