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-   -   4x4 Jeep hire - Himalayas (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-excursions/74273-4x4-jeep-hire-himalayas.html)

Hi, I am thinking of spending 2 weeks driving in the Spiti valley region of the Himalayas in a 4x4 jeep. I am a UK national and would like to know where I can hire a jeep from on a self drive basis and if at all this is possible.

Any help or recommendations will be very gratefully received.

Moe

Moe, I don't think hiring a 4x4 Jeep self drive jeep is a possibility for anyone -- leave alone foreigners.

I think you could hire a self drive car from Hertx/Sixt etc but I doubt if they keep 4x4's, leave alone jeeps :-)

However, members from up-north could give more info and guide you better.

In one word - impossible.

Europcar and all give regular cars for a decent bundle!

You could hire motorcycles though :)

Jeeps don't have central diff with LSD. That means the 4WD system of the Jeep can be completely screwed up by drivers unfamiliar with 4x4 driving. That is why nobody rents out 4x4 Jeeps or Gypsy for self driving.

There is another option. You can do what Harrison Ford did in Clear and Present Danger for renting a Helicopter. Buy a 4WD Jeep which is in good condition, and then sell it after the trip. It will be lot costlier, but that is the only way.

Hi Moe
I have not come across anyone who rents a 4x4 Jeep. Neither in the Spiti region nor the Leh region. You would still come across a few people who are willing to drive you around in their personal vehicles with some pocket money but strangely 4x4 Jeeps are just not available for rent. And to the best of my understanding even Hertz/Sixit/Avis don't have them. They may have luxury SUVs though. But then with all of that cost perhaps it may still be easy to just buy a second hand one use it and sell it off when the trip is done.

Thank you for the replies everyone. I like the idea of buying my own jeep, was thinking of a Mahindra Major as I like the look of them. Any recommendations? Would I be able to buy one new? Are they all soft top or is there a hard top variant I could buy?

Here is no hard top Jeep available anymore. Besides, you may not have the proof of residence to buy a new Jeep. Look for old Jeeps in good condition.

Hi Moe,

You can check out this link Carz on Rent.

I have heard that they have 4x4 Ford Endeavours available for rent.

I have not used their services personally so cannot comment on their customer satisfaction aspect.

Thanks Samurai.

Can you confirm for me what the model numbers of the hard top Majors are?

Major never came with hard top. Some of the hardtop Jeeps are MM540, Armada, Marshall, etc.

Hello Moe,

If possible, you can hunt for a used Suzuki Gypsy (Samurai LWB). It comes in Hard Top as well. Else you can search for Mahindra 4WDs, but beter go for Gypsy with MPFi engine, that way you will have no trouble in high altitude areas.

Have a nice stay!

call up Mr. sood at 0177- 2657645 he is the union leader at the vishal taxi union at shimla, he rents a scorpio @ 2200-2500/day with a driver.he may be able to help you out.

Can't we add Bolero to that list? Boleros did come with 4x4 and live axle in front as an option.

Oh, I was just thinking about Jeeps...:)

You should be able to hire one with a driver no? When we went to Darjeling we hired a Jeep with driver for 2 days.

It looked like a Cj340 but was > 20 years old.