Moab Jeep rental and hotel recommendations

untchabl

untchabl

I like rocks
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Location
Bear Creek, NC 27207
Wife and I are going out west for 2 weeks at the end of August. We're flying in and out of Vegas but planning on driving around during the majority of the trip. Yosemite, Grand Canyon, San Francisco (wife wants to see Alcatraz) maybe into Colorado depending on time.

Going to spend 2-3 days in Moab for some wheeling to knock that off the bucket list.

Looking for some recommendations on where to stay and where to rent a Jeep from. Seems to be several Jeep rental places I've found online.

What trails should we make sure to ride and which ones aren't worth the time.
 
When our club went to Moab 5 years ago, all the jeep places were pretty similar wrt rules and vehicle offerings. One of them happened to have a special deal that week.
But even then the price difference was not substantial.
 
We rented from Twisted jeeps, after reading a recommendation on here. Everyone there seemed pretty laid back, and we had no complaints.
Theres a couple tiny houses on airbnb called "the grand view cottages" that my wife and I stayed at in December. Prices where on par with hotels and you have the whole place to yourself.
 
I’m here now, I rented from enterprise in Salt Lake City. Jonathan rented a jeep from one of the places here in Moab , and has a list of places he can’t even visit/go according to gps. As far as covering ground out here, I’d much rather rent a side by side out here to see trails. To see the national/state park stuff the stock rental 4door wrangler I have has been great.

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my parents rented f250 diesel from enterprise truck rental in Vegas and it’s substantially cheaper than a regular car rental. It’s the same thing we rent when we go to the hammers, but enterprise truck is only open m-f 8-5 ish. Definitely doesn’t have the near 24/7 hours of normal airport car rentals.
They are staying at the quality inn in Moab. It’s basic but adequate and affordable as it’s mainly just to sleep/shower.
There are also a lot of airbnb.
 
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We rented from Twisted Jeep’s as well. Great folks, had some of trails that they didn't want rookie drivers take the Jeep on, but said we were ok to do them, Moab rim and Kane creek being couple of them.
 
Called Twisted Jeeps today and talked with them. Seemed like good people and they have Jeeps available on the days we're planning to be there. Going to buy our plane tickets in the next day or two then call and reserve the Jeep.

Here is a list of the trails they allow you to ride. Any that aren't worth the time to ride or any that are must ride? Golden Spike is not allowed anymore, they haven't updated the website.

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We did fins and things, then went straight to hells revenge. My wife got pretty freaked out on hells revenge, so we decided to try out something else. Drove out to 7 mile rim , found uranium arch and then proceeded to get lost for about an hour because there are so many side trails in that area. I'd go ahead and take 7 mile rim off the list.
 
We just went out a couple weeks ago. Rented from Twisted Jeeps and had a good experience. Had a new white JL that he named (ghost). We stayed at the La Quinta and liked it as well. We ended up running Hells Revenge and Poison Spider the day that we had the Jeep. Very different terrain between the 2 trails.
 
CasterTroy said:
@k5-1402 didn't you take your rental on cliffhanger? And wasn't it twisted?

I KNOW you did gold bar rim
Click to expand...
Its been several years... but the first thing we did was look the thing over really good for any kind of an aftermarket tracking unit. Found nothing.
We, um, may or may not have been on a couple places on that list... zero comment on return....

The other restriction is you're not supposed to remove doors or top. Which we were gonna ignore also, but quickly learned... mid day, having enclosed AC is nice...
 
We rented from Twisted Jeeps just a few weeks ago and would highly recommend them. I would also recommend using one of their guides for half the day to get you started. First time wheeling in Moab and had a blast. Jeff the owner was actually our Guide And was very knowledgeable. Because of our experience and ability to follow his instructions he actually took us through some obstacles that they normally don’t let their Jeeps to go through. They are very laid-back and full of information. We actually showed up the evening before we were to pick up our jeeps just to confirm everything. They said to go ahead and take them that evening and didn’t charge us extra, just to save them and us the hassle of dealing with that the next morning.
 
X1000 for having ac after 11am and before 8pm. Pretty brutal between those times without ac. It’s doable, but I work outside everyday so I’m used to heat, but it still definitely taxing and somewhat miserable. Pretty much just stayed wet on the trails with cooler water. It’s boring drinking enough to stay hydrated.
Quality inn is basic and good.
scenic view inn is $119/night and newer, but nice clean and comfortable.

I think it’s worth going up to dead horse point and canyonlands and hit Gemini bridges trail while up that way. If feeling brave and want to burn a day, hit Schaefer’s trail to white rim road. Not too difficult, sketchy but worth the views. White rim road is like 100 miles long.
 
CasterTroy said:
@k5-1402 didn't you take your rental on cliffhanger? And wasn't it twisted?

I KNOW you did gold bar rim
Click to expand...
yes, Twisted Jeeps did let me do those when the club went. I know many of the rental places have changed which trails they allow. Last time I rented from Jenn's Jeeps. They allowed Cliffhanger and the overall trail that Golden Spike is on, but not Golden Spike.
 
How hot would it be around the end of May.

The rental is my big hangup. I don’t know much about the trails. It sucks to have a very built rig here at home and years of experience and go out there to run boring trails. I have to tell myself its more about the experience than the challenge.
I just can’t make the tow there and back. So renting and flying makes more sense.
Do the trails that are allowed still have somewhat fun ledges and challenges?
 
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77GreenMachine said:
How hot would it be around the end of May.

The rental is my big hangup. I don’t know much about the trails. It sucks to have a very built rig here at home and years of experience and go out there to run boring trails. I have to tell myself its more about the experience than the challenge.
I just can’t make the tow there and back. So renting and flying makes more sense.
Do the trails that are allowed still have somewhat fun ledges and challenges?
Click to expand...
For us it was more about the siteseeing, hanging out as a group, and actually seeing what all these famous trsils were like. It's just a very different style of 4wheeling.
 
Subzilla said:
We actually showed up the evening before we were to pick up our jeeps just to confirm everything. They said to go ahead and take them that evening and didn’t charge us extra, just to save them and us the hassle of dealing with that the next morning.
Click to expand...
Definitely talk to them about getting it the night before. I was able to do that after Steve's rec. We went up to the Dino tracks on Hell's revenge to watch the sunset that night.

77GreenMachine said:
How hot would it be around the end of May.

The rental is my big hangup. I don’t know much about the trails. It sucks to have a very built rig here at home and years of experience and go out there to run boring trails. I have to tell myself its more about the experience than the challenge.
I just can’t make the tow there and back. So renting and flying makes more sense.
Do the trails that are allowed still have somewhat fun ledges and challenges?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for the heat in May,

You wheel a lot more than I do, but I have been to Harlan and ran Tellico back in the day so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. For me, it was a blast even being limited. I'm just not used to the steepness of the trails and the drop offs, so that was a little intimidating at first. Hell, I haven't wheeled anything greater than Uwharrie in a long time. The grip level is insane, especially on the terrain at Hell's Revenge. I kept thinking there is no way you would go up this on the east coast. Poison Spider had some really cool ledges and a waterfall. You could really make that interesting if you want. I'm limited by those two trails since it's all we did.
 
77GreenMachine said:
How hot would it be around the end of May.

The rental is my big hangup. I don’t know much about the trails. It sucks to have a very built rig here at home and years of experience and go out there to run boring trails. I have to tell myself its more about the experience than the challenge.
I just can’t make the tow there and back. So renting and flying makes more sense.
Do the trails that are allowed still have somewhat fun ledges and challenges?
Click to expand...
If you have never been, then the rental will be fine. The wheeling is so different that the steepness of a medium trail will freak you out a little. Totally different kind of wheeling. It's not about wheel speed as much as crawling out there.

I know a lot of people want to bring their own rigs and I understand that. But I have rented a Jeep every time I've been to Moab and am glad I did!
 
77GreenMachine said:
How hot would it be around the end of May.

The rental is my big hangup. I don’t know much about the trails. It sucks to have a very built rig here at home and years of experience and go out there to run boring trails. I have to tell myself its more about the experience than the challenge.
I just can’t make the tow there and back. So renting and flying makes more sense.
Do the trails that are allowed still have somewhat fun ledges and challenges?
Click to expand...
I cant speak for May but I went in the middle of August. Was it hot? Of course it was, but it didn’t impact the trip. We rented a Jeep from Twisted and it had AC. We did Fins & Things, Kane Creek, Chicken Corners & Hell’s Revenge. They told us we weren‘t allowed on Hell’s Gate, the Hot Tubs and Escalator. That’s ok, not sure I’ve got the talent for those. I was fine watching others. Had a great time. The scenery was incredible, I‘ve never seen or experienced how grippy the rock is out there.
 
77GreenMachine said:
How hot would it be around the end of May.
Click to expand...
When the club went it was the last week of may into June.

It was hot in the sun...but as long as you found shade it was fine. We actually chilled on the back porch in the evenings and never broke a sweat.

MIN 120oz a day of water (in addition to cold snacks) is a must. You don't sweat out there....no wet clothes. it immediately evaporates so you're unaware how much fluid you're actually losing
 
We rented from Twisted in 2014, it had no floor mats which makes it much hotter. We ended up using the Honda (another rental) floor mats in the jeep, they may have been a little melted on the bottom. We were there in July. Hot but bearable if you are used to the NC summers. We reached out to Friends of Moab on FB and found a few retired people that were willing to wheel with us during the week since we were out there alone. Great people to ride with an some really nice Rigs. Glenn, and Dee went a couple days (no contact info anymore) and really were a great resource. They are very strict about having "guides" that have to be licensed, so Friends of Moab were just wheeling with us.
 
Mac5005 said:
I’m here now, I rented from enterprise in Salt Lake City. Jonathan rented a jeep from one of the places here in Moab , and has a list of places he can’t even visit/go according to gps. As far as covering ground out here, I’d much rather rent a side by side out here to see trails. To see the national/state park stuff the stock rental 4door wrangler I have has been great.

View attachment 351505

my parents rented f250 diesel from enterprise truck rental in Vegas and it’s substantially cheaper than a regular car rental. It’s the same thing we rent when we go to the hammers, but enterprise truck is only open m-f 8-5 ish. Definitely doesn’t have the near 24/7 hours of normal airport car rentals.
They are staying at the quality inn in Moab. It’s basic but adequate and affordable as it’s mainly just to sleep/shower.
There are also a lot of airbnb.
Click to expand...
Maybe a dumb question, but are SxS allowed on the street, to get to and from the trails, or would you need to have a trailer?
 
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