There are a lot of unusual hobbies out there, from extreme ironing to decoupage, from competitive duck herding to aquascaping, which I admit I had to look up for the sake of writing this article. But my friends and I don’t iron competitively and we’re definitely not duck herders.
No, my friends and I are competitive toboggan racers, and every year we compete in the US National Toboggan Championships in Camden, Maine. Here’s a short story about how a passenger van rental, with a sled deck in Boston was the unlikely missing piece to our weird hobby.
Yes, you read that right. Every February since 1991, toboggan racers from all across the country make the journey to a picturesque midcoast Maine village for 4 days of fun, community, and piling into a homemade sled to go screaming down a 400 ft metal chute at 40 miles an hour and then be sent sliding out across a frozen pond.
Of course there’s also delicious food, great music, lots of mulled wine, and a makeshift tailgate village made up of ice-fishing huts. If that doesn’t sound like a blast, I don’t know what does.
Our Tradition
My friends and I have been going up to Camden for this weekend of toboggan-driven debauchery for the past 7 years now, and we all look forward to it all year long, like some weird family reunion. We built our own sled according to the rigorous construction rules on the website and, after much deliberation, dubbed it Blitzen.
Old Uncle Blitz, as he’s affectionately known, weighs in at a barely legal 49.7 lbs and measures almost 12ft from front to back, so our main problem is always finding a rental vehicle that can fit the four of us, our four partners, everyone’s baggage, and of course our sled. But this year we found the perfect solution.
Greenvans Van Rental in Boston to the Rescue
Greenvans is located in Providence, RI and specializes in 15 passenger van rentals, which happen to be absolutely perfect for our toboggan team. Now there’s just one more problem: how do we get our sled from Boston to Providence?
I called Greenvans to see if they had any ideas to save us the extra trip, and they quickly offered me the option of having the van dropped off in Boston. It seemed too good to be true, but they assured me it wouldn’t be a problem and seemed genuinely excited to hear our story.
The van they reserved for us is a 2022 Ford Transit passenger van with barely any miles on it. It’s black, sleek, and the base price includes all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a luxury van rental company, including an on-board GPS, Apple Car-Play, and the option to remove any of the rows we don’t need, free of charge.
That last part was really important to us, because Old Uncle Blitz is a bit of a space-hog, as you can probably imagine. We left enough seats for all 8 of us and had the rest of the rows taken out to give us room for the sled and all of our bags for the weekend.
We even had room for a few gallons of our own mulled wine. What more could you want?
Home Away from Home
We always rent the same house in nearby Lincolnville, which leaves us with a 20-minute drive each day but affords us a lot of comfort and space, along with a beautiful view of the ocean.
Our partners are generally really supportive, but we don’t always share the same level of excitement about the art of toboggan racing, so it’s not unusual that they might stay at the house and relax by the fireplace on one of the days of the championship while the four of us get to it. And that’s just fine by us.
Greenvans has a Passenger Van Rental for Everyone
We did a lot of research to find the best available option for a 15 passenger rental van in Boston, and Greenvans was by far the easiest, safest, most affordable solution out there. Especially when we figured in the unforgiving dimensions of our toboggan.
We might be a slightly unusual case, but the Greenvans customer service was so friendly, open, and personable that I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for a more “normal” getaway, like, say, a decoupage weekend or a duck herding tournament.
Check Out Greenvans for the Van Rental in Boston You’re Looking For
If you’re planning a trip to the National Toboggan Championships, or you’re just going on a ski trip with some of your best friends, I highly recommend looking into Greenvans if you need a great 15 passenger van rental in Boston.
You won’t be disappointed!
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