The Flybrary by Christina Sporrong of Taos, New Mexico was one of the artworks at Burning Man 2019, the largest outdoor arts festival in North America, in the Black Rock Desert of Gerlach, Nevada.
Jane Hu
Visitors fly in from all over 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 calls the stretch of desert, is as off-road as it gets. High winds can kick up loose dust and sand that coats the vehicle’s exterior and can slip through open windows and doors, resulting in a cleaning nightmare and long lines at Bay Area car washes. Experienced distillers bemoan the difficulty of hiring even a regular limousine, and there have been anecdotal reports of companies refusing to rent or charging excessive cleaning fees. Depending on how much you’re transporting, a regular compact SUV won’t cut it anyway – a truck or van might be the only viable option. However, renting such a vehicle is not without its complications.
Yesterday, a Reddit user appeared to post a screenshot of an email from truck rental company Penske on Reddit’s r/BurningMan forum. The email, with the subject line “Burning Man Warning,” warns, “If the truck is found going to this event, the customer will be required to pay a cleaning fee of up to $5,000, assessed at our discretion becomes.”
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“Rented from out of state, already picked up and just received via email,” the user wrote.
A Penske spokesperson was unable to verify that the email was genuine, but told SFGATE that “much of the content of this alert is accurate in noting violations of various sections of Penske’s lease.” Penske prohibits the off-road use of its vehicles, and that policy extends to Burning Man, the spokesman said.
In the comments section of the Reddit post, one user shared an anecdote about being fined by Penske when his truck’s GPS tracked the vehicle to Burning Man. “They literally printed out a map of the burning man [sic] and we had pretty much settled our camp,” the commentator wrote. “Your onboard GPS [sic] is no joke.”
While the company did not confirm whether it is taking such action, the spokesperson cautioned that “Penske has the ability to track certain rental vehicles and may do so in the event of a dispute over vehicle damage or misuse.”
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Reno’s Home Depot also refrains from renting trucks to Burners, an employee told SFGATE.
A long line of cars on the way to Burning Man.
MediaNews Group/Orange County Re/MediaNews Group via Getty Images
For torches that require trucks, vans or other vehicles, there are alternatives. There is a whole page on U-Haul’s website dedicated to Burning Man. The company is offering decal kits (at an additional cost of $39.95) to cover up the logos on the outside of trucks and vans, as expected of Burning Man attendees, per the event’s “decommodification” principle will obscure logos on everything from clothing to cars. (Before U-Haul offered decal kits, Burners used tape and other materials to cover truck logos, causing damage to the vehicles.)
The website also directs Burners to third-party cleaning services nearby. U-Haul is increasing cleaning fees for the event “significantly,” a U-Haul spokesperson wrote in an email to SFGATE. Dirty vehicle fees can range from $250 to over $2,500.
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“Removing the clay is very difficult and time consuming,” a U-Haul spokesman wrote in an email to SFGATE.
The extra cleaning fees don’t stop Burners from using their services. U-Haul estimates that they rent out more than 1,000 pieces of Burning Man gear each year.
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