Burning Man truck renters may face fines, GPS tracking

Visitors fly in from around the world to make the pilgrimage to Black Rock City for Burning Man. But not everyone is happy to take their business.

Located in the middle of the Nevada desert, the festival is only accessible by car. The Playa, as Burners refer to the patch of desert, is about as off-road as it gets. Strong winds can kick up loose dust and sand, which can coat vehicle exteriors and slip through open windows and doors, making for a cleaning nightmare and long lines at Bay Area car washes. Veteran Burners lament the difficulties of renting even a normal sedan, with some anecdotal reports of companies refusing rentals or charging exorbitant cleaning fees. Depending on how much you’re lugging, a normal compact SUV won’t suffice anyway — a truck or van may be the only viable option. But renting one isn’t without complications.

Yesterday, a Reddit user posted what appeared to be a screenshot of an email from the truck rental company Penske on Reddit’s r/BurningMan board. The email, which has the subject line “Burning Man Warning,” warns that “If the truck is found going to this event, the customer will be liable for up to $5,000 for a cleaning fee and will be leveraged at our discretion.” 

“Rented from out of state, picked up already, and just got emailed this,” the user wrote. 

A spokesperson for Penske couldn’t verify whether the email was real, but told SFGATE that “much of the content in that warning message is accurate in noting the violations to various sections of Penske’s Rental Agreement.” Penske prohibits off-road use for its vehicles, and this policy extends to Burning Man, the spokesperson said.

In the Reddit post’s comments, one user shared an anecdote about being fined by Penske when their truck’s GPS tracked the vehicle to Burning Man. “They literally printed out a map of burning man [sic] and had our camp pinned pretty much spot on,” the commenter wrote. “Their on board gps [sic] is no joke.”

While the company did not confirm whether it takes measures like this, the spokesperson cautioned that “Penske does have the ability to track certain rental vehicles and it may do so in the event of a dispute over vehicle damages or misuse.”

Reno’s Home Depot also opts not to rent trucks to Burners, an employee told SFGATE.

For Burners in need of trucks, vans or other vehicles, alternatives exist. U-Haul’s website has an entire page dedicated to Burning Man. The company offers decal kits (at a $39.95 premium) to obscure the logos covering truck and van exteriors since Burning Man attendees are expected to cover up logos on everything from clothing to cars, as per the event’s “decommodification” principle. (Before U-Haul offered decal kits, Burners used duct tape and other materials to cover truck logos, which caused damage to the vehicles.) 

The website also directs Burners to nearby third-party cleaning services. U-Haul increases cleaning fees “significantly” for the event, a U-Haul spokesperson wrote in an email to SFGATE. Fees for dirty vehicles can range from $250 to more than $2,500.

“Removing the clay is very difficult and time-consuming,” a U-Haul spokesperson wrote in an email to SFGATE.

The surcharged cleaning fees don’t keep Burners from using their services, with U-Haul estimating that they rent out more than 1,000 pieces of equipment for Burning Man each year.