Rent A Camper Van For Trip To Pai?

[thelongshoot]

Hi all. Does anyone know if its possible to rent any type of camper van, winnebego or whatever - just a vehicle that we can wash and sleep in? Its a long shot I realise that but I thought I would ask. Need to drive to Pai on 30th and return to CM on 31st. Idealy we wanted a hotel but everywhere in pai is full on these dates.

Any advice appreciated!

Cheers

TLS

[Briggsy]

I have rented vehicles from many companies here. Never seen a camper van or similar on offer. Sorry.

[stoneyboy]

I would have to say in this instance your user name is apt.

Not the best option,but could you not camp,or is that out of the question.

Edited December 21, 2012 by stoneyboy

[Mapguy]

Not totally a long shot. There is a rental company along the inside road on the north leg of the moat near Chan Puac Gate that has had a small camper van for rent parked out front, but haven't noticed it in recent weeks. Good luck!

Edited December 21, 2012 by Mapguy

[thelongshoot]

Thanks all much appreciated..... Mapguy: 500 baht donation to charity of your choice if you could go see if the camper van is there. if it is, and the guy is willing to rent and you can get a phone number, ill make it 1000 to the charity of your choice

[silverhawk_usa]

Not totally a long shot. There is a rental company along the inside road on the north leg of the moat near Chan Puac Gate that has had a small camper van for rent parked out front, but haven't noticed it in recent weeks. Good luck!

I believe this is the place. I saw it previously parked there. The website is minimal and in French, but it does have an email address.

www.asiarv.com Contact

[dave2]

re.

you can get a phone number

here ya go : )

dave2

ps .. it was there a few days ago !

[thelongshoot]

re.

you can get a phone number

here ya go : )

dave2

ps .. it was there a few days ago !

mate, did you actualy go and take a picture of that for me? Thats bloody good of you thanks so much - really appreciated. I just called them and he said he needs to ask his boss and will call me back. I would love to get my hands on it for the day - great fun pitching up in pai for the night in that I reckon.

Thanks again. Realy good of you.

[thelongshoot]

Not totally a long shot. There is a rental company along the inside road on the north leg of the moat near Chan Puac Gate that has had a small camper van for rent parked out front, but haven't noticed it in recent weeks. Good luck!

I believe this is the place. I saw it previously parked there. The website is minimal and in French, but it does have an email address.

www.asiarv.com Contact

Appreciate it, thanks. Just having a look through the site now. Cheers

[Boyce]

Here's another link from them.

http://www.motorhomerentals.com/rv_hire/asia_rv/lance_lite_845_specification.shtml

[thelongshoot]

I just recieved a call back from the camper van guy. Apparently (and Im quoting here) "can not" rent the camper. I asked if it was booked out, and the answer was "can not". I asked then maybe one day is too short a rental period, is that the reason and the answer was "can not". This went on for at least another 5 "can not's" untill we both grew tired of the pointless exchange and ended the call.

Im properly having a hard time here. I should have booked this weeks if not months ago. Any car will do at this point - I just want to drive the mrs up to pai and back, a place she has always wanted to visit and its such a shame to be in CM and not take her there but ALL of the car rental companies are booked out.

Again, im probably asking a little to much here but does anyone have any idea where I can rent a car just for the one day? Anything from a 40 year old Mini Cooper to a 2 week old Jaguar. Price not an issue. There must be SOMEONE in CM that can rent me a bloody motor for the day?

Any ideas?

[Boyce]

Google it

Done it

http://www.chiangdao.com/chiangmai/budgetcarrental.htm

Edited December 21, 2012 by Boyce

[thelongshoot]

Google it

Done it

http://www.chiangdao...etcarrental.htm

Hi Boyce. Thanks, but I have googled the backside out of it for the last three hours. All of the car rental companies in Chiang Mai are booked out. Im clutching at straws now lol. Thanks anyway.

[MESmith]

Change your dates?

[dave2]

re.

did you actualy go and take a picture of that for me?

nahh .. i took that pic 16 january 11 and its just sits in my

computers with a few others that i have of around chiang mai : )

dave2

ps ... these travelers came a bit further than pai in this one : )

[kjhbigv]

re.

did you actualy go and take a picture of that for me?

nahh .. i took that pic 16 january 11 and its just sits in my

computers with a few others that i have of around chiang mai : )

dave2

ps ... these travelers came a bit further than pai in this one : )

" just sits in my computers with a few others that i have of around chiang mai"

Really? You have have a few more?

[jaideeguy]

Been there/done that too many times........If it were me, I would give Pai a miss as if all the rooms are booked it's gonna be a mess. Parking impossible even in the low season. You should have seen Pai 10 yrs ago before the BKK yuppies invaded it. The beauty of Pai then was the tranquility and rustic accommodation as well as the 'colorful' backpackers, free music and things that I won't mention. Sex, blank and rock and roll!!!

[jaapfries]

Hi; have you considered simply renting a "passenger-van" from say Budget or Avis/Herz ? These units have seat in them, but you can fold them down in order to sleep in them and then you can use the conveniences (as much as they are ?) in the place you're visiting ?

Just a thought.

It's too bad you're requiring this now, because I've been working on creating a fleet of VW-Dehler-Campers (for a rental "Fly&Drive") type set-up in Thailand.

Something that looks like this:

[femi fan]

All the rooms in pai booked? You have to be joking.

Try smile car rental. We used them earlier in the year. They're on the moon muang moat road near soi 2. Near mad dog bar. It's just a small shop, and i think they do travel stuff too. I think they're a small family operation, but they were fine for us. I'd be surprised if they had nothing.

And if you want any info on places to stay in pai, i can help there too. Don't get put off by the highly subjective account of jaideeguy.

[cloudhopper]

All the rooms in pai booked? You have to be joking.

And if you want any info on places to stay in pai, i can help there too. Don't get put off by the highly subjective account of jaideeguy.

I wouldn't doubt that accomodation will be very difficult to find at that time even though Pai has been drastically overdeveloped. I live in the Pai valley in the rainy season and love it, but town is an overflowing zoo in the holiday season and uninhabitable in the hot smoky season.

[jingjoke]

Possibly here:

From: CMCC Community Resources

December 2012

On-line Archive Index of Recent Weekly CMCC Ad Postings

 Cars for rent (Thai Christian ministry) - costs from THB 400-1000 per day. Rental fee negotiable for longer period rent (Insurance included). Sample Inventory: Nissan Super Neo (automatic), MAZDA 2 (Manual tranmission with LPG/petrol options), FORD Aspire (Hatchback) Automatic transmission with LPG/petrol options. Interested please call Praphan at 089-8501009, or email: <removed> to book (9/12)

 Cars for rent: 400–800 Baht a day, first class insurance. It could be a good price if rent it for long term.Please contact : Mr. Chumnong 081-9711990,086-9174410 Email: <removed>(3/12)

 If you are interested in sight seeing tour or trekking to explore rural area privately ,kindly contact me<removed> or 0812893939. (8/11)

 Car for rent. Cars less than 5 years. Well maintenance with first class commercial insurance. (Jazz, Vios, City) 10,000 – 25,000baht per month. Contact Tom, email: <removed> Mobile: 089 838 3135 (5/12)

 Long-term Car Rentals from Expat Auto - We offer monthly and long-term car rentals to the NGO community. Our rental rates are inclusive of collision insurance, service calls, and all maintenance. Pickup and delivery services are available. See more details here: http://expatautocm.com/longtermrentals (5/12) For inquiry's contact Elijah Ridgley by email at [email protected], by phone at 083.572.8488, or visit us on the web at www.expatautocm.com for more details (12/2012)

^ no rentals currently on his site. Try phoning, why not

Good luck

Edited December 22, 2012 by onthedarkside
email addresses removed as per forum rule 13) Not to post email addresses in posts due to potential spam problems.

[femi fan]

All the rooms in pai booked? You have to be joking.

And if you want any info on places to stay in pai, i can help there too. Don't get put off by the highly subjective account of jaideeguy.

I wouldn't doubt that accomodation will be very difficult to find at that time even though Pai has been drastically overdeveloped. I live in the Pai valley in the rainy season and love it, but town is an overflowing zoo in the holiday season and uninhabitable in the hot smoky season.

I'm sorry, but what does this actually mean??

It doesn't look 'drastically overdeveloped' to me, and i've been going there for 10 years.

If you only live there in the rainy season, how can you know what it's like in the holiday season and the hot smoky season?

And does the holiday season mean each and every day, or just the weekend days? If you're there to be able to answer the question that is.

And an 'overflowing zoo' sounds great, but in reality what does it actually mean?? And again, you don't seem to be there at that time, so how can you know what it's like?

And my last point, you say you live in the pai valley. Well, isn't that the exact way to escape the busy town itself, regardless of the season?? Get out to the valley and all it's stunning guest houses and bungalow resorts, with loads of great walks and views, and bingo, the magic of pai presents itself, regardless of season or bangkok mob invasion?

[cloudhopper]

All the rooms in pai booked? You have to be joking.

And if you want any info on places to stay in pai, i can help there too. Don't get put off by the highly subjective account of jaideeguy.

I wouldn't doubt that accomodation will be very difficult to find at that time even though Pai has been drastically overdeveloped. I live in the Pai valley in the rainy season and love it, but town is an overflowing zoo in the holiday season and uninhabitable in the hot smoky season.

I'm sorry, but what does this actually mean??

It doesn't look 'drastically overdeveloped' to me, and i've been going there for 10 years.

If you only live there in the rainy season, how can you know what it's like in the holiday season and the hot smoky season?

And does the holiday season mean each and every day, or just the weekend days? If you're there to be able to answer the question that is.

And an 'overflowing zoo' sounds great, but in reality what does it actually mean?? And again, you don't seem to be there at that time, so how can you know what it's like?

And my last point, you say you live in the pai valley. Well, isn't that the exact way to escape the busy town itself, regardless of the season?? Get out to the valley and all it's stunning guest houses and bungalow resorts, with loads of great walks and views, and bingo, the magic of pai presents itself, regardless of season or bangkok mob invasion?

Hi there f f well don't be sorry if you don't understand my posts I'm sure you're far from alone. Actually we have only been able to escape for the last couple of years and before that lived there full time since '03 so I have a pretty good idea of what it's like all year round (although admittedly not right at this moment). But this is only a personal perspective, like Jaideeguy's, and since it has remained hugely popular for tourists despite (or because of) its being turned into a theme park it is obvious that many others do not share my opinion. By overflowing zoo I mean that it is almost impossible to walk through the mob on walking street or drive a car (or even a bike) on any street during the peak season, every single day. In the smoky season it is worse than elsewhere in the greater CM region due to the narrow confines of the valley where the evening catabatic winds cause the smoke to pool every morning.

I certainly agree that the charms of Pai, IMO at least, lie well outside of town, making it a much finer place to live than to visit, especially for most people who unlike yourself are not familiar with the areas outside of town. But it's all a matter of personal perspective and taste, and to each his own...

Edited December 23, 2012 by cloudhopper

[femi fan]

cloudhopper, apologies for my rather rude post there.

I do have to say i've seen huge crowds at night time, but i thought i'd only seen them at weekends.

Everywhere good seems to get ruined to a degree at some point.

[cloudhopper]

cloudhopper, apologies for my rather rude post there.

I do have to say i've seen huge crowds at night time, but i thought i'd only seen them at weekends.

Everywhere good seems to get ruined to a degree at some point.

No worries ff, TV is all about members provoking members.

If you want to see a place that has been really ruined come to Phuket.

BTW OP I strongly recommend you take up ff's offer to find accommodation if you don't find a camper, and be advised that if you end up tent camping the temps can drop below 10C then. And if you stay one more night you will be witness to thousands of paper lantern balloons going up at midnight that rivals any Loy Kratong spectacle around CM.

[alaninlamphun]

Finding a room in pai at christmas/new year was a nightmare last year,the mrs and myself camped for about a week and had a great time,but it was absolutely packed,wouldn't do it again,took about 9 hours to get back home to lamphun

[femi fan]

Finding a room in pai at christmas/new year was a nightmare last year,the mrs and myself camped for about a week and had a great time,but it was absolutely packed,wouldn't do it again,took about 9 hours to get back home to lamphun

Do you remember the date you returned home? I'm off to pai on the 5th of january, hoping that by that time the main holiday rush is over. Perhaps in vain!

[alaninlamphun]

Finding a room in pai at christmas/new year was a nightmare last year,the mrs and myself camped for about a week and had a great time,but it was absolutely packed,wouldn't do it again,took about 9 hours to get back home to lamphun

Do you remember the date you returned home? I'm off to pai on the 5th of january, hoping that by that time the main holiday rush is over. Perhaps in vain!

It was 2nd jan,nightmare drive home!

[MESmith]

How's the road via Wat Chan now?

[mikecwm]

Just turn up in Pai and ask around - if you have enough money you'll find somewhere to stay.

Of course why anyone would want to go to Pai now it has been completely spoilt is another matter (any suggestions?) - but you'll figure that one out if you get there.

My Thai wife, her sister and myself had to find rooms there at Christmas a couple of years ago - we were planning to get closer to Mae Hong Son, and misjudged the time and distance. We did eventually find 2 basic rooms with teak leaf roofs for an exorbitant sum, but next time I'll be sure and drive straight past.