Renting a car
 

We are coming in to Denver on February 8th and driving to Crested Butte. The cost of a mid-sized SUV is two-hundred dollars more than the cost of a mini-van. Can we get where we need to go driving a mini-van?

<b>Can we get where we need to go driving a mini-van?</b>

Will the roads be free of snow and ice? If so, a mini-van will be OK. If not, not.

In Feb I'd go with the 4-WD.

Bill

That is what I figured. Thanks.

I libe here and if you are flying into Albuquerque you may pay more. My suggestion is getting a shuttle from ABQ to where you are staying and rent a car in SF. The Shuttle is like $20 per person, but will take you to your hotel. Do you have your hotel yet? I would reccommend Advantage rentacar. Their number is 505-629-4747 and just opened a location downtown.
If you need assistance with lodging, email me and I can siggest some good places based on what you are looking to do! You will love SF in Februray as we are in a wonter wonderland then.

<b>My suggestion is getting a shuttle from ABQ to where you are staying and rent a car in SF</b>

You are talking about Santa Fe but the question was about driving to Crested Butte from Denver ...

BillH, thanks for that. I was just sitting here trying to figure out what ALQ and SanteFe had to do with this thread. Did we enter the Twilight Zone when I wasn't looking?

I think we enter the Twilight Zone on a regular basis here at Fodors - but it's always an interesting ride :)

You'll be on maintained highways all the way; lots of minivans are four wheel, if not, probably front wheel drive, good enough. (If the roads are too poor for a front wheel drive, nobody should be out on the roads.)

Chains might be a cheaper solution than 4WD, although not as convenient. But not all rental companies allow chains on their rentals.

The mini-van may be AWD which would be fine. Or front wheel drive is usually good enough.
:)&gt;-

Don't count on front-wheel drive as being good enough. At least in the Sierra, once it snows, chain control requires chains on all vehicles that are not AWD or 4 wheel drive. Two inches of snow are sufficient to require chains.

You'll have to cross Monarch Pass, which is over 11,300 ft high, and at Crested Butte you'll be around 9,000 ft elevation, probably with snow and ice on the roads at some point.

Good luck doing it in a mini-van with front wheel drive.

Bill

Ksukrissie, don't know where you are coming from or your experience with winter driving. As someone who has lived and driven for nearly 30 years in the Colorado mountain you will do fine with a front wheel drive mini van. There is no advantage to a four wheel drive when it comes to stopping or driving at highways speeds -- both can slide off the road just as easy. Four wheel has the advantage for pushing through heavy snow at low to moderate speeds. If you are inexperienced with driving 4 wheel drive vehicle, the vehicle will give you the illusion of having traction when you do not and encourages you to drive faster than you should. If the roads are so bad that you need a four wheel --- PARK It and spend you savings on a nice motel.

Snow in the Sierra is very different and not comparable to Colorado. We don't even get the snow plows out for two inches. While the highway department has the authority to require chains on cars, I have never seen it happen.

Unless there is a major storm in progress, a front wheel drive minivan will have no problems whatsoever. I've driven my whole life in snow with front wheel drive and it is nearly as good as a 4x4. The engine being over your drive wheels gives you good traction and you won't fish-tail like with a rear-wheel drive vehicle.

The one thing you get from an SUV is extra ground clearance, which in heavy snow is invaluable. Most of the time when you get stuck in snow it is because your car gets high-centered. An extra few inches of clearance can really help.

4-wheel drive can aid to some degree on ice because it increases the chances of at least one wheel getting some traction. (Think cases when the road is a sheet of ice except for a few clear spots.) But it does nothing to help you stop.

I remember a great line from an old Field and Stream column where a guy said he used to think 4x4 meant you could go anywhere, but learned the hard way it really meant you could get even further in the middle of nowhere before finally getting stuck!

I agree that the minivan will be fine, except in the most unusual circumstances. You can't compare driving in the Sierra mountains in winter with driving in the Rockies. I usually make a trip from SF to Co each winter and the only place we need 4WD is getting through the Sierras. CO does an amazing job of keeping the roads clear, and it's a whole different kind of snow. You rarely get 5 feet of heavy wet snow in CO but it's not that rare in CA.

Thanks to everyone. I kind of read the first few replies, and then chicken out and rented the big 4WD. We get snow in Kansas, but not like you guys do. I can't wait to get to Colorado:)

Just please don't think you can go anywhere, do anything in a 4WD; those are the ones we always see on the side of the road and in ditches when there's snow!

Syliva is more than right. Came over Vail pass a couple weeks ago when it was snowing. At the crest five vehicles were scattered across the road -- four were four wheel drive vehicles and the fifth was a 60ish Chev pickup. On the down side a big SUV with Florida plates went around me at high speed. Five miles later he was in the ditch with all four wheels spinning. I just waived. Probably thinks the natives are unfriendly/

sylvia and fmpden make an excellent point. In fact, we 'mountain people' should start a whole thread about it:
&quot;Do not think an SUV, or any four-wheel or AWD vehicle, will do miracles on icy roads.&quot;

It's so true that most of the vehicles we see off the side of the road during storms, are SUVs. Nothing grips on ice (except may Blizzak tires, studded tires, chains).
:)&gt;-

maybe the upshot here is: if you can't drive safely in a standard front-wheel drive, don't do it?

The big problem is that 4 wheel drive gives a false sense of traction. When you take off you feel the slickness that you do with two wheel drive -- either front or rear. So you tend to think you have been traction than you do. Over the years I have been in the ditch twice with 4 wheel and both times I thought I was being very careful. My current vehicle has an anti-skid package -- that is great and it works. I would recommend it for everyone.