Rental Car RANT! Portland OR.

DByers · 05:53 PM

So the family and I are flying to Portland to spend Christmas with the wife's side of the family. From what we are seeing it is snowing and will continue to snow well into our trip. Our rental car company (actually all RCC's) will not provide chains with our rental. In fact we are informed by the RCC not to have or use chains. Oregon Law requires that chains be in the vehicle during times of snow. So what is a guy from SoCal to do? RCC says they will fine us and charge us any damage that chains "may" cause if we rent them from somewhere. Oregon Law says we will be fined if we don't have them. Since we are going to Mt. Hood for 3 days, I am not going to go with out chains. RCC says that if I wreck the car do to snow or ice, we are covered by their insurance, as long as we don't have chains. NO CHAINS says the RCC manager.

Seems pretty stupid.

Oh, I will be getting chains. Not because of some law but because my family's safety is worth it.

Mr.Puff · 12-20-2008, 05:45 PM

Yeah, do the chains. F*** the RCC.

9dreizig · 12-20-2008, 06:01 PM

why not just rent a 4wd ? chains are a pia .. Where exactly are you going ? I've never needed them and driven in snow all my life

HardDrive · 12-20-2008, 06:05 PM

F-them. How are they ever going to know? You do not want to try and go up to Hood without chains or studded tires.

I tried to go up to Hood one time in a 4x4 SUV, and figured I didn't need chains. It was getting hairy, so I stopped to put the chains on. I put the truck in park, and had the oddest feeling.......even though I was stopped on only the slightest hill, the truck was slowly drifting backwards! Wild.

9dreizig · 12-20-2008, 06:18 PM

here in N. Cal they have check points , no AWD or chains no go

DByers · 12-20-2008, 06:46 PM

I have rented a 4 wheel drive SUV and will have chains despite what the RCC says. I have plenty of experience in snow/ice conditions for a SoCal boy.

Oregon Law does not care whether your vehicle is 4 WD or not, chains must be at least in the vehicle.

Heel n Toe · 12-20-2008, 06:50 PM

Screw the RCC... why isn't her family picking you up at the airport and providing your transportation for the entire time you're there?????

Seriously... ask her family to check with some locally-owned, smaller RCCs to see if any of them are okay with chains.

DByers · 12-20-2008, 06:57 PM

John, They offered, I said NO. Need a little freedom for the 10 days we are there. Plus with 5 of us it would be packed. We are also going to Mt Hood on our own.
We checked with the major and non-major RCC and they all say the same thing, NO CHAINS.
Like I said, we will get some from Les Schwab and f*** the RCC.

Heel n Toe · 12-20-2008, 07:34 PM

Just curious... I've only used chains once or twice in the mountains 130 miles from here. They were borrowed chains, I didn't have any problems putting them on, and they didn't cause any damage to the car.

Is the RCC's policy driven by the possibility of the chains coming partly undone and flapping against the bodywork, or are they trying to prevent people from driving in hazardous conditions altogether? Or both?

Paul K · Paul K's Garage

Dan:

If you buys the chains from Les Schwab (PNW tire outfit) and don't use them, you'll get a refund. The law here doesn't say you have to carry chains, if you have awd/4x4 and tires with the snowflake symbol, you're covered. If they go to condition C, which is chains required on all vehicles, then your rental company will have to just deal with it, because you'll get a ticket if you don't chain up. By the looks of the weather, you might well need chains. I suggest cable chains from Bi-Mart (local dept. store). Should run $20/pair. Make sure they are fairly tight to avoid damage to the car. Use http://www.tripcheck.com to keep updated on road conditions in Oregon.

And above all, have a safe trip!

Cheers,

Paul.

9dreizig · 12-20-2008, 08:03 PM

Ok guys, here's a question for you .. what happens if he gets a AWD ( NOT 4WD) do you still put chains on only two wheels??

pwd72s · 09:07 PM

Dan, you may consider canceling the trip...according to what I've seen on the tube, to all intents an purposes, Portland has been shut down. That includes the airport.

Click around the road cams here:
http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp?mainNav=RoadConditions&curRegion=1

I'd suggest doing so in the Portland area where there are lights. To give you a clue,,I-84 east of troutdale has been closed.

What the cams don't show is the sheet ice under the snow. I-5 is essentially a skating rink through the Portland area.

Amtrack has cancelled it's runs from Portland to Seattle...

If you insist on coming anyway, buy the rental car insurance,,,because the odds are high you'll bounce around a bit...unless you can rent a jeep with all 4 wheels chained.

BlueSideUp · 12-20-2008, 09:10 PM

I rented a Cobalt in SLC last year during snow, the car felt pretty squirrelly on the road. At first I thought it was just the character of the car until I discovered the tires were bald.

Do a walk around on whatever you rent.

artplumber · 12-20-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

If you insist on coming anyway, buy the rental car insurance,,,because the odds are high you'll bounce around a bit...unless you can rent a jeep with all 4 wheels chained.

Wow that is ugly, chains required on Marquam bridge and in Portland all over! Glad I left....

Paul K · Paul K's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9dreizig

Ok guys, here's a question for you .. what happens if he gets a AWD ( NOT 4WD) do you still put chains on only two wheels??

Yup. Chains on the front.

pwd72s · 12-20-2008, 10:34 PM

I don't know much about "live streaming", but the Portland network stations are covering only the storm. No regular programing. KATU, Channel 2, is the ABC affiliate there. My usual "news" station when I want a weather forecast...I've found them to be more accurate than the NBC or CBS affiliates.

Really...it's BAD up there in Portland...really bad. I wouldn't want to be up there in this, even...cars are bouncing around like balls on a pool table after a smashing break.

HardDrive · 12-20-2008, 11:25 PM

It is wild up here in Seattle. Folks are not prepared for this kind of thing here. We got 4-6 inches a few days ago that got packed down into ice, and now its snowing hard again. 4-8 tonight. You can drive, but its 10-15mph even with AWD.

We live on a steep hill. The street in front of our house is a ski/snowboard run. The kids have actually built a decent looking jump, and the snowboarders are doing tricks off it.

Paul K · Paul K's Garage

FWIW, Chains are currently required on all vehicles within the Portland Metro area.

DByers · 12-21-2008, 07:53 AM

Thanks everyone for the tips and links. We are flying out Christmas Day so maybe it will be better by then. If not then we will just have to make the best of it.

pwd72s · 12-21-2008, 08:01 AM

Good luck! Maybe a thaw by then???