# River Shuttles US Deso-Gray Shuttle Problem



## cnalder (Jul 7, 2016)

I always tell the shuttle companies we are getting off the river a day earlier than we really are for these reasons. Early on I didn’t and had to wait a few hours for a vehicle to show up. 

I did have a vehicle with a broken strut apparently the shuttle company (RR) didn’t know they did. That was on Deso also.

That sucks especially after a long trip.


----------



## Dangerfield (May 28, 2021)

I assume that he offered no amount of refund for the trouble he caused? I have found that humans are the biggest danger/threat on any river adventure which could easily translate into a ruined trip. I would rather run Hance, Bedrock and Lava all day long rather than to deal with "misfit's". Hope the rest of your float went well.


----------



## redrocks25 (May 21, 2020)

Dangerfield said:


> I assume that he offered no amount of refund for the trouble he caused? I have found that humans are the biggest danger/threat on any river adventure which could easily translate into a ruined trip. I would rather run Hance, Bedrock and Lava all day long rather than to deal with "misfit's". Hope the rest of your float went well.


Excepting the shuttle the trip was great. Didn’t have too bad winds (last year we had 3 pretty windy days including one period where it blew for 24 hours straight). 
He refunded the one car for our party. He made it clear that the two families that stayed (all for one. One for all) to make sure no one was left behind were not the effected party. And then we all incurred meals. hotel expenses in GJ for the night which wasn’t his problem either apparently.


----------



## caverdan (Aug 27, 2004)

cnalder said:


> I always tell the shuttle companies we are getting off the river a day earlier than we really are for these reasons. Early on I didn’t and had to wait a few hours for a vehicle to show up.


I do the same thing for the same reason. I usually tell the shuttle companies two days early or the minimum trip length for a river trip like Deso. You never know how your trip will go or if you have to cut your trip short for unforeseen circumstances. 
Thanks redrocks for sharing your experience.


----------



## 2tomcat2 (May 27, 2012)

Hindsight is 20/20 (sigh)

#1 red flag: 
"When we prepared our vehicles for launch and I spoke with him to go over details, he said as long as the information was in our online order, we had no need to go over the details and confirmations."
You were absolutely correct to double and triple check your shuttle details; the lack of willingness to do this on the part of the shuttle company (any company) shows lack interest and true customer service

#2: Misinformation without correction:
Repeated communication without specific and truthful information to benefit the customer

#3: Legality of posting customer experience:
As far as your write up is accurate and factual, the service provider is presenting an unprofessional and unethical manner of doing business 

Doesn't help what you and your crew had to contend with, and I am truly sorry about that, but others may "benefit" from your experience

Deso is a great trip, glad you scored a permit and enjoyed the river!


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Well, everyone can have a bad day, and things can always go wrong. My past bad experiences with other companies stop me from even considering them. Granted MountainBuzz isn't representative of the entire Deso boating community, but I've seen way more positive posts from folks using Dusty than I have negative ones, yours being the only one. 

I am sorry that you had to wait, I know what it's like sitting on the LoDore ramp for 7 hours, twice, while waiting for RRT to shuttle the vehicles which were supposed to be shuttled the day before. Herm Hoops (RIP) showed up to the take out with an old 70's Chevy dually, piled our drivers in the bed of said truck, and then proceeded to drive down dirt roads at high speeds.. Yep.. I feel your pain.. 

At the end of the day, nothing's perfect all the time. How folks handle problems makes all the difference, it's a shame that didn't end well either.


----------



## Jim Bob (May 19, 2020)

Our party was one of the missed shuttles as well. I never spoke to Dusty afterwards but I do know that without our confirmation number he did not think we had a shuttle. I chose his service for our group due to the overwhelming positive reviews here. As I had no interaction with him I won’t comment on that, but just thought I would confirm the details above.


----------



## TJP (Nov 20, 2020)

Jim Bob said:


> Our party was one of the missed shuttles as well


Did this happen same day as RedRock, or was it a separate occurrence?


----------



## Jim Bob (May 19, 2020)

TJP said:


> Did this happen same day as RedRock, or was it a separate occurrence?


Same day, we had one of the three missing vehicles that day. Our other 4 vehicles made it.


----------



## duct tape (Aug 25, 2009)

Other, different experiences:

We used Dusty for our late May trip. He was on top of things at both ends and all nine? of our vehicles were at Swasey’s for our takeout.
Regarding Melanie and River Runners- we used her for at least 7 or 8 previous Deso trips. Never once had a problem. Once they went way beyond expectations - after 10 years I finally had a flat on Sand Wash Rd. Was in a new-to-me pickup and couldn’t find the key to release the spare tire. Had never even heard of that before. While I did check in advance of the trip that I had a lug wrench, air pump and jack, it never occurred to me that I needed a key. My bad, but i learned enough to add it to this years checklist! We still had cell and Melanie told us to take the dory and trailer down behind another car and leave the truck. They would come in later and fix it. Six days later my truck was at Swaseys with a new rear tire, spare in back of truck in case I needed it. Additional charge to me? Pretty much the cost of supplies, but you can bet I left a hell of a tip.
Ive read the reviews here and certainly respect the opinions and experiences of others. Just saying ours have been different.


----------



## cnalder (Jul 7, 2016)

When I guided I also moonlighted a little driving shuttle vehicles. The pay was good for just driving. I would say though that it appears to be a tough business, toughest part is keeping reliable drivers. Not like anyone makes a career out of shuttle driving. Commo is key. Leave for the main salmon in a few days, made the shuttle reservation months ago. I called to verify a couple days ago, company wished everyone would do that. Apparently there are lots that make reservations and never check in. 

I know from experience treat them well and they will take care of you. I just got a free shuttle from one because another vehicle had problems, they were shuttling my vehicle, know me so had to use mine to get help.


----------



## T.O.Mac (Jun 6, 2015)

redrocks25 said:


> Excepting the shuttle the trip was great. Didn’t have too bad winds (last year we had 3 pretty windy days including one period where it blew for 24 hours straight).
> He refunded the one car for our party. He made it clear that the two families that stayed (all for one. One for all) to make sure no one was left behind were not the effected party. And then we all incurred meals. hotel expenses in GJ for the night which wasn’t his problem either apparently.


While this situation stinks, that he refunded one vehicle seems reasonable. That you chose to stop and eat and stay in GJ rather than drive straight through is a choice that was made, and does not seem reasonable for compensation when compared to what airlines and other transit companies do when your schedule is in flux as a result of an error on their part.


----------



## Taosgsr (Jul 15, 2017)

Thanks for the info I’ll make sure to use them. I have used River runners for several trips without any problems. This year we used Jolley and had no issues.


----------



## cake (Jun 21, 2011)

Makes you wonder how hard those vehicles got romped on in the rush to get them to swaseys.


----------



## sethlor (Apr 29, 2009)

I won't be using that shuttle company. We all understand that things happen and schedules can be delayed. However, trying to cover it up and threatening instead of accommodating is sure sign of a bad company. In contrast, we ended a North Platte trip last year and only one of two vehicles was there. We got in touch with the owner (Hack's Tackle), he said it was on its way. He then called back and said his driver ran out of gas and it'd be a little longer. In the mean time, he showed up with pizza and sodas for the kids. And "of course" refunded the entire amount for the shuttle. That's good service!


----------



## 2tomcat2 (May 27, 2012)

Some of you may remember Stagman who used to run Deso shuttles....had him shuttle our vehicles for a decade or more before he retired
Honest and up front about anything that might have occurred on the drive
Had a board come loose on our trailer, insisted on paying for the minor repair and gave us a free shuttle the next year


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Jesse with green river avaition back in the day, simply the best...


----------



## 2tomcat2 (May 27, 2012)

Just don't say, "In the good 'ole days"





__





Lyrics for Anticipation by Carly Simon - Songfacts


Lyrics and video for the song Anticipation by Carly Simon - Songfacts




www.songfacts.com


----------



## Bill Bones (Nov 26, 2020)

For whatever reason I've had a lot of contact with Dusty over the last couple of seasons, including having him shuttle vehicles on two occasions. I'll disclose at the start that on one trip, one vehicle in our group did not arrive at Swasey on time. On that occasion, communication was fast and clear (as fast as it could be given the lack of service at Sand Wash) and a full refund was issued. I'll admit it made me think twice about using the company again, but I did. 

Now I should mention that I've been a pain in the ass myself both times I've used Dusty's company. On the first trip I got a flat tire going into Sand Wash late at night. I called Dusty and made arrangements to get a usable spare lined up for his driver's trip to Swasey. When I got there I had a new (used) tire in place of the one I'd mangled and the cost to me was negligible. 

On the second trip, a child in our party (come to think of it it was _my _child) fell seriously ill early in the trip and we needed to have the vehicle at Swasey early. I texted Dusty via inReach and when I next checked my messages 12 hours later he had replied that our rig was at the takeout. 

Aside from those trips Dusty has been generous with his time chatting on the phone about conditions, giving me an honest assessment even when I was contemplating an ill-advised December float, and yes, assuring me that if I had entered my information in the online form I didn't need to do anything else. 

All of that said, it genuinely sucks to arrive at the ramp and have no vehicle. People should genuinely consider the track record when using this company. My personal assessment was that shit happens, this is a new company in its second season of operation, and there will be kinks to be ironed out. It's pretty rowdy to assert that Dusty was willfully dishonest in a situation like this, where variables of communication and logistics are relatively complex. I might consider calling a lawyer too if someone defamed me by calling me a liar in the big bad world of Buzz Towne.


----------



## Dangerfield (May 28, 2021)

Everybody screw's up from time to time and changes details or ignore's them, no matter what company is used. How they handle the aftermath is another issue. No company named in this rant.

Last fall I set up a Deso shuttle for my personal vehicle (payment, details, etc.) which was one of 5 vehicles in our group. The details included where I would place my key for pick up at Sand Wash and where it needed to be at the take out at Swasey’s. Just prior to launch one trip participant informed me that the "company" wanted all the keys at the pick up placed into just one of the 5 vehicles (change #1) of which I did not think too much about it at the time due to the scramble to get going.

At the take out I went get my key from the location on my truck I outlined on my shuttle form and it was not there (change #2). I did not remember hearing that the keys for the other 4 vehicles were supposed to be in the same one as at the put in (change #3) but I guess should have assumed so. When said owner of the key holder vehicle attempted to retrieve the key at the agreed upon location on the outside of his vehicle, it was not there (change #4). Luckily the individual had a spare key on his person and when he finally opened his vehicle he found the "hide key" along with the keys for the other 4 vehicles (change #5). 

Alls well that ends well, however what would have happened if myself or another participant had to depart early from the river for whatever reason? If they didn't have a spare key on their person during the trip or on their vehicle, then the information (bad info) on where the keys on the other vehicle could be retrieved would have left them stranded.

The take away, allway's have a back up plan. Edit: Yes, I have trust issues.


----------



## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

I have run Deso Gray in a group that included Dusty. Found him to be a very kind person on a river trip. No experience using his shuttle service. Wonder what his side of the event mentioned is.

Also, due to personal experience I always carry a extra spare key for my vehicle in my billfold. The billfold key has saved the day multiple times for me. And on shuttles like Middle Fork put a full 5 gallon gas can in the back. Personal MFS experience was driver left a note that he could not open the gas cap but the key was on my car key holder. And the gas cap opened effortlessly for me. At least tho, driver left my gas money under the seat mat.

Bottom line is any shuttle is iffy in my opinion. For sure I expect shuttle drivers to drive my truck like they stole it IE fast as they can stay on the road. Except Smith River Shuttle (they own a ranch at the take out for the Smith River MT) - shuttles for the last ten years and zero issues and clean vehicles always at the take out.


----------



## jbLaramie (Feb 1, 2021)

What a horrible end of trip surprise. The two (somewhat) irrational fears my mind will get stuck on in the middle of the night during a trip is rapidly rising water somehow dislodging the raft and taking it downriver and our vehicle not being at the takeout. Thanks for the heads up.


----------



## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

jbLaramie,

Not always but oftentimes, I will put my pad or cot down next to the boats (depends on the shoreline how close).

On a San Juan trip, I did that. Sandy shoreline and we had run a rope around a clump of little bushes and tied our rafts up to that line. It was the best tie up we determined for this landing. This was back in the days few of us had nice sand stakes (we all do now!)

I woke up around 2 am, turned on my low powered headlamp and looked for the rafts. Did not see them - I can still remember the awful feeling of worry that was in my mind. The water level had come way up, maybe a flash flood upstream cause no rain where we were camped.

I did see raft lines connected to our bush set up. wading into the water I could see the rafts clustered down stream just out of sight. Man was that a beautiful sight.

A bud had camped just up the hill from me. I woke him up. We got the rafts back on shore and pulled up on the sand. I went to sleep. Woke up in the morning with rafts setting on damp sand. Glad I had a witness else rest of the group would have doubted my story.

Then there is the story on a Grand Canyon float where three of my buds tied their rafts to one sand stake, woke up drifting down the river in the dark, doing a three boat dosey doe dance move. But that is another story.


----------



## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

oops, forgot to mention that thank fully all three decided to sleep on their rafts.


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

okieboater said:


> oops, forgot to mention that thank fully all three decided to sleep on their rafts.


In my humble opinion, that is the absolute best place to sleep, hands down unless the weather is dictating a tent


----------



## jbLaramie (Feb 1, 2021)

Am already neurotic enough about this to double tie the raft down most of the time. These accounts are not helping...


----------



## jonseim (May 27, 2006)

I’ll chime in. Ran Deso and used Dusty. Two vehicles. Best part was calling Dusty on our way in and asking if he had any room to shuttle grandpa from Swazey’s as I-70 was closed from the Eastern side. 
He obliged and arranged a sweet ride and met us in between Duchesne and Vernal to save us some driving.

When we got down to put in, met Dusty coming out with some vehicles, he’s already stopped and plugged my buddy’s flat and made arrangements to replace his tires as he got another flat about .1 miles from ramp. Dusty delivered vehicles on time, replaced 4 tires for my buddy, and all was well.
Only surprise was opening the door to my car and wondering whose car it was. Had not seen the dashboard shine like that in at least 5 years. He washed down the dash and seats and I believe vacuumed the seats and floor. 
I wouldn’t hesitate to use him again.


----------



## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

Well, if all these stories help folks do better tie downs of their rafts, that is a good thing.

One thing I have started doing when using a sand stake is to use a figure 8 knot to run a long backup rope from the stake biner with the back up rope laying loose on the ground to avoid a trip hazard up the beach to a handy bush secure tie down. On trips like the Grand, I carry a couple hundred feet of extra Z drag rope any way just in case.

On one Grand Canyon float we tied up to a good sized beach with a couple feet beach at water level then about a 5 foot near vertical lip up to the real sand beach. Was eating dinner when a section of the beach collapsed into the river, freeing one raft which took off up stream (really big eddy) the raft owner and another oarsman ran down faster than either had ever moved before to a raft jumped in and caught up with the first raft just before it eased out the top of the eddy into main current. 

That incident is when I started doing a backup on sand stakes
Call me super cautious but on a 21 day grand canyon type float, doing all you can to be sure your raft is still there in the morning a good thing. As mentioned, if you have the set up, sleeping on your raft is also a good thing


----------



## SOSY (Sep 26, 2007)

We used Dusty for a July 4th trip. Six vehicles. All there when we arrived at Swayze's. I noticed my van was vacuumed and dusted.

Shuttle driving is a hard to please business. Have you seen some of the rides that are left at SW to be shuttled?


----------



## panicman (Apr 7, 2005)

Just got off Deso and we used Dustys service. Was a little worried about this post but they delivered great and like others they cleaned and amoralled the in side of my truck and it was cleaner than it has been in years . Would definatly use them again and as trip leader I really liked not having to be in charge of everyones keys and contracts like when we used River runners before.


----------



## tBatt (May 18, 2020)

panicman said:


> Just got off Deso and we used Dustys service. Was a little worried about this post but they delivered great and like others they cleaned and amoralled the in side of my truck and it was cleaner than it has been in years . Would definatly use them again and as trip leader I really liked not having to be in charge of everyones keys and contracts like when we used River runners before.


Had a very similar experience for 7/17 launch. 
I use my InReach two days before takeout to make sure vehicles have been transported. 
Dusty was at the takeout when we got there and he helped us load boats, too.
More emphasis on the cleanest my truck has been since I bought it.
My only "complaint" is that Paypal is his only method of payment.
With that said, I've use RRT twice before and also never had an issue.


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

tBatt said:


> Had a very similar experience for 7/17 launch.
> I use my InReach two days before takeout to make sure vehicles have been transported.
> Dusty was at the takeout when we got there and he helped us load boats, too.
> More emphasis on the cleanest my truck has been since I bought it.
> ...


But did RRT clean your vehicles?


----------



## tBatt (May 18, 2020)

No, but they were in the place I specified, at the time I specified, undamaged. I hired them to drive my vehicles, not detail them.
With that said, If I pay for a massage and one massage therapist voluntarily gives me a happy ending and the other doesn't, I know who I'm going back to.


----------



## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

tBatt said:


> No, but they were in the place I specified, at the time I specified, undamaged. I hired them to drive my vehicles, not detail them.
> With that said, If I pay for a massage and one massage therapist voluntarily gives me a happy ending and the other doesn't, I know who I'm going back to.


Roller the floor laughing my ass off! Great summation!


----------

